LONCHOCARPUS, DERRIS, AND PYRETHRUM CULTIVATION 13 
exerting some leverage on the end of the pole, he is able to lift the | 
crown slightly above ‘the level of the soil so that he can see where the 
main roots are attached. He then severs the roots on one side of the 
plant and pulls them from the ground individually. If they are very 
large roots, or if they penetrate more than a few inches below the 
surface of the eround, he may be obliged to pry them loose with his 
stick or dig them out with his machete. The roots still attached to 
the crown are more easily removed by pulling backward on the 
attached butt of the stem and ripping them out of the soil, sometimes 
with the assistance of the digging stick, or machete. 
Figure 8.—Roots of selected lonchocarpus plants on experimental drying racks 
of caiia brava; Instituto Quimico Agricola Industrial, Iquitos, Peru. 
The operation requires a strong back and strong arms, and only a 
man of considerable endurance can engage in this task for more than 
5 or 6 hours a day. The average farmer gathers and carries away 
from the field about 125 pounds of fresh roots in a day’s time. To 
facilitate carrying, he ties the roots into a single large bundle securely 
bound with long pieces of forest liana. Usually the bundles are 
bought from individual growers by local dealers, who, in turn, sell to 
exporters in the principal shipping centers. 
Roots for export in crude form are kept in storage for several 
months until their moisture content has been reduced to approxi- 
mately 20 percent of their weight. When freshly dug, they contain 
about 60 percent moisture. In preparation for export, crude roots 
are baled and wrapped in burlap or unbleached muslin. On the 
ocean voyage from the Amazon to the United States, they usually 
lose considerable moisture and arrive in a fairly dry condition. Local 
grinding industries have been established in Iquitos, Peru, and Belém, 
