630 



TARO 



TARO 



them being alike, and are so arranged that the 

 water may pass over the higher patches, through 

 those adjoining, to the lower fields. 



To prepare a new taro patch, dikes must first be 

 thrown up around it and the bottom prepared so 



Fig. 852. Taro. 



To the left is a " liiiU " ; two last on right show disease known 

 s "root-rot "of taro; the others are normal roots. 



that it will hold water. To do this the land is 

 plowed, water is turned on, and the subsoil packed 

 to make it tight. This puddling, of course, is not 

 necessary for an old taro patch. When the land 

 has been thoroughly prepared, and the water has 

 been partly drawn off, the taro patch being a mass 

 of mud, it is ready for planting. 



Planting. — Taro is propagated by planting the 

 crown of the former plant. An inch or two of the 

 crown, together with about six inches of the leaf- 

 stalks, is planted in the mud. This cutting or 

 plant is known as a "hull." The hulls are set 

 about one foot apart in a row, and the rows one to 

 two or three feet apart, according to variety and 

 method of cultivation. Some growers plant in hills, 

 four or five hulls being placed in a little circle 

 slightly elevated. 



The lower part of the hull beneath the soil 

 sends out roots and enlarges, forming the central 

 taro plant around which are arranged the younger 

 plants, which arise from buds on the corm of the 

 parent. 



Subsequent care. — The after cultivation consists in 

 pulling the weeds, which is usually done by hand or 

 with a hoe, in removing the outer and dead leaves, 

 and in keeping the patch supplied with water. In 

 hoeing, the weeds which are not likely to grow 

 again, and the outer and dead leaves of the taro 

 plant, are buried in the soil under the water, and 

 thus used as fertilizer. No horse tillage is used in 

 cultivating the water taro. The water must be kept 

 running continuously, or must be changed frequently. 



Harvesting. — The crop matures in thirteen to 

 fifteen months, according to variety. It frequently 



is gathered before it is mature because of the de« 

 sire to reap rapid returns. This fact may be respon- 

 sible, in part, for the deterioration of taro. The 

 laborers pull the plant by hand, throwing it out on 

 the banks, where the tops are removed and the 

 corms are bagged for marketing 

 for the manufacture of poi. If it 

 is to be marketed as a vegetable, 

 it is tied in bunches by the tops, 

 there being three to five corms in 

 a bunch. 



Culture of upland taro. 



The so-called dry -land taro 

 might better be known as upland 

 taro, since a dry soil is in no way 

 suitable for its cultivation. It re- 

 quires abundant moisture and is 

 cultivated only where there is a lib- 

 eral rainfall. The land is prepared 

 as for any root crop. It should be 

 plowed, harrowed and- furrowed, 

 making the rows about three feet 

 apart, to allow for tillage by horse- 

 power. The method of propagation 

 is the same as that employed in the 

 growing of water taro. 



Uses and manufacture. 



Poi. — The chief use of taro in 

 Hawaii has always been in the man- 

 ufacture of poi. For this purpose the corm, or root- 

 stock, is cooked by steam. The skin is then removed 

 and the taro beaten on a long boat-shaped taro- 

 board, with stone pounders. This is the ancient 

 method and is still in vogue, but has been replaced 

 to some degree by machinery. In this method, suffi- 

 cient water is added to the taro by moistening the 

 stone pounder. 



In the modern method, essentially the same 

 results are obtained by machinery. The taro is 

 steamed and run through a machine similar in con- 

 struction to a meat chopper, a small quantity of 

 water being added as necessary. The consistency 





Fig. 853. Upland laro. Hilo, Hawaii. 



of this poi in the old days was varied by the use of 

 more or less water, and if very thin was known as 

 " tv.'0-finger " poi, or if thick as " one finger " poi, 

 since it could readily be eaten according to the 

 Hawaiian method, with the use of one finger. In 

 the absence of spoons the Hawaiians dip one or two 



