The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-07-22
USE FOOT PL0W
Primitive implement Is Still En-
pIoyed in Peru.
Ancient System Of Cultivation Found
Sufficient to Produce All Crops
the Country Needs.

In the intermediate or temperate
vdrfuys Of the eastern Andes, at altl-
tudes between 5000 and 1000 feet,
agriculture was of the terrace system,
which the ancient Peruvians carried
to a higher developments than any
other people, says a report OF the
Smithsonian institution. Hundreds
OF square miles of land were re-
claimed by strengthening rivers, wall
ing, filling leveling and covering with a
deep layer of dne soil. All of these
artificial lands had also to be irrigated,
often by carrying the water channels
for many miles through craggy noun
tains or along precipitous slopes. After
being cropped With maize continu-
ouSly for centuries the terrace farms
are still fertile and have enabled
millions of people to live in a region
that in its natural condition could
have been Of no use for agricultural
purposes.
In still higher valleys, at attitudes
Of from 1000 TO 1900 feet. the eli
mate is colder, moisture is more album
dant and the slopes are more gentle.
There is less need of t%crracing or ir-
rigation, but the alpine grasses and
other small plants form q dense, tibrOuS
turf, a condition like that of northern
countries where the plow is the basic
implement Of agriculture. The farm
ing Of the mountain grass lands was
done by human labor, facilitated by
peculiar implement for breaking the
sod.
The Peruvian foot plow consists Of
a rather stout wooden handle between
five and six feet long, shOd, as in mod
ern times, by an iron point about three
inches wide and two or three times as
long. On the left side, just above the
iron point is q fOotrest bound to the
handle by leathern thongs. A few
inches farther up is another rest, at
tached in the same way, projecting
forward. This is for the left hand,
which thus assists the foot in applying
the weight of the body to pushing the
implement into the soil.
Two "plowmen' work together, so
that their plOws enter the soil only a
few inches apart under the same piece
of sod, which is then pried up. A boy
or woman kneelS in front Of each
team to turn the sOds as fast as they
are lOosened. In the raretied atmOS-
phcre Of the high mountains blowing
is q very strenuous exercise and the
work has to be done in short Shifts.
The tough sod disintegrates during the
long growing season into a loose
black soil. The cultivation Of potatoes
bv this method is carried on to an alti-
tude of more than 1900 feet on the
southern slopes.
The hardest v~arities Of potatoes are
too bitter to be eaten in the fresh
state, but are dried as a reserve stock
Of food after freezing, thawing and
threading out tile juice. The natives
are familiar with the names, habits
and distinctive qualities Of many yarie-
ties of potatoes, including several types
that are very different from any known
in the United States. The flavors,
colors and textures of the different
kinds of potatoes are as keenly APP
preciated among the high altitude peo-
pie as the varieties Of apples or peaches
are with us. The firm textures and
distinct favors of the Peruvian varie-
ties may be due in part to their being
less affected by cooking, since water
boils at lower temperatures in the high
attitudes. Potatoes are not baked or
roasted, fuel being too scarce.