10 MISC. PUBLICATION 650, U. S.. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
cultivated fields from weeds and keeping them clean. This practice 
of clearing new land prevails, partly because draft animals, plows, and 
mechanical cultivators are virtually unknown. 
With simple hand tools, such as the hoe and the machete, it is too 
difficult to combat the vigorous encroachment of grasses. Also, in 
certain high-rainfell areas, where the soils are excessively leached and 
commercial fertilizers are too costly, it is apparent that better yields 
can be obtained by this method than on land maintained in continuous 
cultivation. 
Land-clearing operations generally take place during the drier 
months of the year so that undergrowth and the leaves and branches of 
fallen trees will have an opportunity to dry out sufficiently to burn. 
In the Amazon region there is little danger that. brush fires will spread 
beyond the clearings into the green growth of the surrounding rain 
forest; so when the trash is dry enough, it is set ablaze on a clear, 
relatively windless day. The flash burn consumes the mass of debris 
within a few minutes, but slow, smoldering fires started in stumps and 
logs may continue tor days or weeks. No further seedbed preparation 
is practiced by the farmer (fig. 5). who simply waits until the subse- 
quent rainy season to plant his crops. 
Propagating Material and Field Spacing 
Techniques used to cultivate lonchocarpus resemble those employed 
by the Amazon native to grow yuca (Manzhot utilissima), which is his 
principal subsistence crop. Both plants are vigorous and will return 
tair yields even though cultivated in a rather haphazard manner. 
For propagating lonchocarpus, the pianters use leafless stem cuttings 
10 to 18 inches in length and from * to 2 inches in diameter. The 
average farmer exercises little care in the preparation of these cuttings, 
which are often needlessly bruised and crushed, or even exposed to sun 
and rain, betore planting. As a consequence, a mortality of 50 
percent, or more, is not unusual. By observing reasonable precau- 
tions, ‘‘takes’’ mav be 80 percent or more. 
The cuttings, which usualiy possess from three to six axial buds, are 
set into holes made with digging sticks, hoes, or machetes (fig. 6). 
They are inclined at angles varving trom approximately 15° to 60°. 
The apical portions, with one or two buds, are left exposed, and the 
remainder of the cuttings are covered with soil. which is firmed around 
them by the tramping of the planters’ feet. One or two cuttings are 
placed in a single hole, and sometimes two, or more, holes may be 
dug side by side. Some planters even dig a series of holes to form such 
designs as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Seldom is a 
field laid out in rows or checkrows, since the tangle of stumps and 
fallen logs makes precise spacing impossible. Distances between 
plants and planting designs are not standard. Reports indicate a 
range of 3 to 12 feet, although spacing of 5 to 7 feet seems to be more 
common. Close spacing is generally practiced when only one or two 
cuttings are used at each location and where skips are likely to occur 
owing to poor survival of the cuttings. 
Interplanting 
The average rural Amazonian is a subsistence farmer and hunter. 
He grows such crops as yuca, beans, corn, rice, bananas, plantains, 
and okra to assure himself a minimum food reserve. He also gathers 
