44 



THE LAND 



El is atypical only in tliat the land is almost 

 equally divided between the "races." El and 

 E5 are unusual in that the Ladinos have extraor- 

 dinarily large proportions of their land in coffee : 

 the statistics are upset by the fact that in each 

 section there happens to be a coffee plantation 

 accounting for a large part of Ladino-ownetl land. 

 Section W4 is atypical in that the Indians, instead 

 of having a large percentage of their land in truck, 

 actually have a little more in coffee than they have 

 in truclc. Most of the disproportion is accounted 

 for by one large-land-holding Indian family that 

 came to Panajachel from Soloh'i two generations 

 ago and has planted coffee on most of its land. In 

 the area of the delta comprising sections W3, "\Y4, 

 and Wf) tlie soil tends to be sandy rather than 

 black. Tlie Indians say tluit until recently they 

 thought it was not very suitable for vegetables. 

 They were proved very wrong, but the fact 

 remains that vegetables were not grown much in 

 the area. Sections W3 and ^4 are particularly 

 stony, since the river once flowed through them, 

 and probably little cultivated until coffee (easier to 

 plant under the circumstiinces than truck) was 

 introduced. It is likely that tlie family of S0I0I& 

 Indians (whose coffee groves are indeed very old) 

 planted most of the land in coffee because at the 

 time any other course seemed impracticable. In 

 any case it will be seen that there are good reasons 

 for a large landowner to plant a large proportion 

 in coffee. 



In the second pattern, comprising sections Wfi, 

 E2, Ea, and E4, the Indians own the great bulk 

 of the land and have it largely in truck, while 

 the Ladino land, smaller in extent, is largely in 

 coffee. Section W5, atypical in that the Ladinos 

 reverse their usual condition of having more coffee 

 than truck (although they still have three times 

 as much of their land in coffee as the Indians do) 

 has been discussed above. 



TRUCK LANDS 



The specific uses to which truck lands are put 

 are exceedingly complex, differing with the class 

 of owner, the season, and to some extent the kind 

 of land. Most of the data obtained concern lands 

 used by resident Indians whose use patterns are 

 also described below in connection with agricul- 

 tural practices. In anticipation some general 

 points are pertinent. 



A given piece of truck land is utilized in one of 

 three ways: 



(1) Com may be grown during the rainy season, 

 in which case the soil is prepared much as in the 

 hills. The niilpa occupies the land for about 7 

 months. Sometimes while the corn is drying the 

 cucumberlike melon locally called pepino is 

 planted between the corn plants. The land is 

 not otherwise utilizable during those 7 months. 



(2) Pepinos, usually planted in small individual 

 hills, occupy the land for from 9 to 11 months; 

 with the exception noted above, it camiot be 

 othenvise used during that time. 



(3) Most frequently the land is made into the 

 rectangular garden beds, called iablones, in which 

 are grown onions, garlic, sweet cassava, sweet- 

 potatoes, and various other vegetables including 

 cabbage, carrots, radishes, etc. These crops have 

 different growing seasons, and some — notably the 

 tubers — are grown simultaneously with others. 

 Thus there results great complexity. But where 

 and when there are tahlon crops, neither com 

 nor pejnnos are grown. 



Between crops, some land is usually idle. How 

 much land is idle in a particular case depends upon 

 the crops customarily planted by the owner. 

 There are several very common patterns in this 

 respect, which may be listed as follows: 



(1) A season of corn followed by a crop of 

 garlic, and repeated. This sequence crowds the 

 land, for since garlic grows for at least from 5 to 6 

 months, and corn for at least from 6 to 7, obviously 

 the planting of one must coincide with the harvest- 

 ing of the other. The land is never idle. This 

 sequence is not considered favorable for the garlic, 

 so frequently corn succeeds garlic, but another 

 crop succeeds the corn. 



(2) A season of corn followed .by a crop of beans, 

 and repeated. This is a popular sequence, 

 especially with the rich (notably Ladinos). It 

 usually allows 2 months' rest for the land each 

 year, and no doubt is preservative of the richness 

 of the soil; it is not an economically intensive use 

 of the land. 



(3) A season of corn followed by one or two 

 crops of onions and other vegetables, and repeated. 

 Depending upon the amount of onions grown, 

 there may be 2 or 3 months of rest, or none. 



(4) The whole year devoted to onions and other 

 vegetables. Onion niu-sery grows for 2 months, 

 the transplanted onions for another 3, and the 



