x weeks to make ready the fields, and in the
meantime the rice in the seed beds has grown to a height of twelve
or fourteen inches. The shoots are then pulled up by the roots, are
tied into bundles, and the tops are cut off (Plate LI). The bundles
are distributed about the fields at convenient distances, and the
workers then transplant the young rice--three or four together--in the
soft ooze, using the thumb and fore-finger of the right hand for that
purpose (Plate LII). The preparation of the field is looked after by
the men and boys, and oftentimes they aid in transplanting, but the
latter is considered to be women's work, and is generally left to them.

The rice is set so thickly that when a plot is planted it presents to
the eye a solid mass of green. It is hard to imagine a more beautiful
sight than to look down on these fields, which rise in wave above
wave of brilliant green, until at last they give way to the yellower
billows of _cogon_ grass which cover the mountain slopes.

After the transplanting, the grain needs constant attention; at
first, to keep it properly weeded and flooded; later, to protect it
from animals and birds. Hence many workers are always in the fields,
but it is, nevertheless, the happy time for the people, and if one
approaches a group of workers unawares, he will hear one or more
singing the _daleng_, a song in which they compliment or chide the
other workers, or relate some incident of the hunt or of village
life. Toward midday little groups will gather in the field shelters
to partake of their lunches, to smoke, or to rest, and usually in
such a gathering will be a good story-teller who amuses with fables,
or tales of adventure. [192]

When the rice begins to mature, an even stricter watch must be kept,
for, in addition to its other enemies, the rice birds [193] now seek
to feed on the crop and, while they are small in size, they often
appear in such numbers that they work great havoc.

The usual device employed in frightening both birds and animals is
a bamboo pole cut into strips at the top, so that, as it is shaken,
these strike together, producing a great clatter. Many of these
poles are planted, and then all are connected by means of rattan
lines which finally lead to the little watch house. Here a man or boy
sits and occasionally gives the lines a sudden jerk, which sets up a
clapping over the whole field (Plate LIII). A clever development of
this device was seen by the writer