tas_), sugar-cane,
or cotton, but in the majority of cases they are allowed to lie unused
for several seasons, when the grass or undergrowth is again removed
and the fields replanted.

The wet fields produce by far the greater part of the rice, and it is
about them that most of the agricultural labors center. In the broad
valleys, low embankments, of sufficient height to maintain the water
at a depth of two or three inches, separate the fields. The lower
plots are often of considerable length and width, some covering as
much as an acre of ground, but as they begin to ascend the slopes,
the walls rise higher, and the fields become narrower until they
may be only a few feet in width. In the rugged mountain districts,
the terraces often begin just above the flood water of the stream. At
this point, a stone wall, four or five feet in height, is erected,
and back of this the mountain side is cut away and filled in until
it forms a step or terrace. Back of this another wall is raised, and
the process is repeated until at last the terraces extend for two or
three hundred feet up the mountain side (Plate XLIX). When the field
is first made, top soil, enriched with vegetable growth, is laid on
the surface, often to a depth of several inches, but from this time
on no fertilizer, other than the decaying straw of the previous crop,
is added, although the field is used continuously for many years.

Water is conducted to many of the fields by means of ditches, usually
by diverting the flow of some of the numerous springs or streams but in
a few instances, stone dams have been thrown across the rivers and the
water carried for considerable distances by flumes and ditches. The
highest terraces are first inundated to the desired depth, and then
openings are made in the side walls--so as to allow the lower fields
to be flooded. This method of irrigation provides for the maximum
use of the water, and also supplies a constant current which prevents
the formation of stagnant pools.

Some of the fields are situated too far up the mountain side to
be reached by ditches, and in such cases the growth of the rice is
entirely dependent on the rainfall; however, in normal years, the
precipitation is sufficient to mature the crop.

At the beginning of the rainy season, some of the seed rice is sprouted
in specially prepared beds in the villages. In such cases a small plot
is surrounded with low dirt walls, the soil is enriched with manure,
wat