ckly. It can be opened only by a member of the family
"whom the spirit knows;" and should another attempt to remove the
grain, sickness or blindness will befall him. So rigorously is this
enforced that a bride never opens her husband's granary until he has
presented her with a string of beads, which she wears about her neck to
identify her. It is further necessary that she receive a similar gift
before she eats of his rice, otherwise she will become ill. However,
this does not apply to others, even strangers being fed without this
gift being made.

A custom which formerly prevailed, but is now falling into disuse,
was for the bride and groom to visit the family fields, where the
youth cut a little grass along the dividing ridges. He then took up
a bit of earth on his head-axe, and both tasted of it, "so that the
ground would yield them good harvests, and they would become wealthy,"

_Cultivated Plants and Trees_.--Near every settlement will be found
a number of small gardens, in which a variety of vegetables are
grown. Occasionally a considerable planting of bananas will be found,
while many villages are buried beneath the shade of coconut trees,
but in comparison with rice the cultivation of other crops becomes
insignificant. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of food stuff,
as well as of plants and trees used in household industries, are
planted in prepared land; while many of wild growths are utilized. The
following list is doubtless incomplete, but still contains those of
special value to this people. [220]

Next to rice the _camote_ (_Convolvulus batatas_) is the most
important food product. Occasionally it is raised in the gardens or
rice terraces, but, as a rule, it is planted in hillside clearings from
which one or two crops of rice have been removed. The tuber is cut
into pieces, or runners from old plants are stuck into the ground,
and the planting is complete. The vine soon becomes very sturdy,
its large green leaves so carpeting the ground that it even competes
successfully with the _cogon_ grass. If allowed, the plants multiply
by their runners far beyond the space originally allotted to them. The
tubers, which are about the size of our sweet potatoes, are dug up as
needed, to replace or supplement rice in the daily menu. Both roots
and plants are also cooked and used as food for the pigs and dogs.

_Aba_ (_Colocasia antiquorum_ Schott) is raised, [221] but as it
requires a moist soil, and hence would