to produce rank flora. Our knowledge of this area is still rather scant, but what information we have indicates that the whole interior Amazon Basin with the contiguous east coast noted above should be considered as one distinct food area. That the art of agriculture is now absolutely unknown to any of the Amazon tribes is doubtful, because far into the interior we find manioc, tobacco, coca, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, etc., growing in the village fields. Also, maize has been reported from a number of localities, though the climate is unfavorable to it. The blowgun with poisoned darts is used in hunting, the game consisting largely of birds and small tree climbing animals. No living thing is so abundant as to offer opportunity for food specialization, and the native must make use of everything he can lay hands upon. On the upper Amazon and elsewhere the taking of fish by poisoning the water is common. A very characteristic dish of this whole area is the "pepper-pot." Small game of whatever kind is cast into a pot and boiled into a thick broth made hot with peppers. The pot is rarely emptied, but the contents continually augmented.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
Now that we have gained a general perspective of New World food traits, we may note some of their most distinctive characteristics. It is clear that the art of agriculture centers around maize, for almost everywhere we find it grown. Its only rival is manioc, but, as we have seen, this plant is resorted to only in spots where it is too moist for maize. In the same way, the quinoa displaces it in the highest altitudes of the Andes. But this only serves to show how maize dominates aboriginal agriculture. We can be quite sure that if we knew the full history of this plant we should have a good insight into the development of the higher cultures of Mexico and Peru, yet in spite of its obvious importance, very little attention has been given to the subject. Though this homely art of maize culture is still practised by many surviving natives, the only field studies we have approaching a satisfactory standard are those of Parker[1] for the Iroquois, Hough[2] for
