132 
Lesson — Distribution. History and Present Distribu- 
tion. Taro and related plants have- been under cultivation as 
long and perhaps longer, than any other crop. Probably a na- 
tive of India; migrating from there to Ceylon, Sumatra, Malaya, 
China, Japan, and Egypt. More recently to Fiji and New Zea- 
land. From New Zealand to Samoa, Tahiti, and Hawaii. Jap- 
anese taro (sato-imo) entirely different from Hawaiian taro. 
Factors Liinitino- Distribution. Warm climate; heavv, moist, 
rich soil ; good water supply. Usually in valley bottoms. 
Lesson Three — Raising the Crop. Preparation of the Land. — 
Suitable location found ; usually valley v^^ith stream. Best re- 
gion is near lower course of stream, because land is low and 
level, and water has good head. Land cleared. Size of patches 
determined. Patches arranged in terraces, so that water can 
flov/ from one patch to another. May be large or small and 
shaped according to the contour of the land. Soil broken by 
pick. Embankments built around patch. Ditches constructed 
to bring v^^ater. Water turned into patch, and is soon soaked up 
by broken soil. While soil is still wet, is plowed again and again, 
and harrowed. Sometimes horses or cattle turned in to break 
lumps and to make soil soft. Lumps of sod and stones picked 
out and put on embankments. Banks wet with water, and mud 
trampled upon them to make them solid ; smoothed over with 
shovel. Water turned in and left for fevv^ days, so that ground 
becomes soft and muddy. Water then drained off. 
Planting. Huli is planted in soft mud. Huli is slice taken 
from the top of a mature corm, together with the leaves cut down 
to a height of about six inches. If huli is taken from, immature 
taro, it is liable to develop the disease known as "taro rot." 
Hulls are piled on embankments and covered with grass to pre- 
vent drying out, until used. Sometimes hulls are planted in 
hills — mud brought together with the hands until it stands 
above the water. Four or five hulls planted in each hill. Usually 
planted in rows, one to three feet apart, according to varietv. 
Small, temporary ditches are often run between every five or 
six rows to keep moisture uniform. 
Lesson Four — The Grozmng Plant. — Water not allowed to 
enter patch for several days, so that huli may become fixed in 
the soil. Then a small amount of water admitted, filling the 
ditches, but not flooding the taro. If plants are flooded too soon, 
taro rot may attack the plants. After a period of about thirty 
days, during which the plants have become rooted and the leaves 
have developed, the patch is cultivated by hand between the rows 
and then flooded. Water is left until taro is ripe. Taro grows 
best if water is in continual circulation. During first six months 
patches are v/eeded ; dead leaves are pulled off and trampled 
into patch. After six months no v/eeding done, as taro is too 
large and would be injured. For eight or ten months the corm 
