52 THE LAND 



The normal return in corn appears to be close BEAN-SQUASH YIELDS 



to two-hundred-fokl in the hills and four-hundred- j . ,. i i • . t 



, , ^, -, ,. , , ,, , .1 Information on milpa beans is scant. In one 



fold in the della. The Indians' report that they .if u , a i i i i. 



, , , , , , ' case, the farmer harvested 1 pound per plant 



sow about a pound of seed to the cuerda, or o.6 ,,,_ , n c i i i i -. i . 



' ' (1]2 pounds per acre) of black, white, and red 



pounds to the acre, appears reasonable. Kernels , n r i • i ■ i i i ii a .i • i 



^_ • ,, r ■ ,^o . inr, i .1 beans, all of whicli yielded equally. Another said 



of corn suitable for sowinp; run 100 to IJO to the .i ^ i • • i i r i i" i i " i i • ,r,.i^ 



., , , , r ^, ,,,,•, that his yield of black beans on new land in 19.?5 



ounce; if planted 5 kernels to the stalk at inter- . "oo i i a t i i- 



' ' /, T^ ,• , ,• ,s - 1 came to 8.S pounds per acre and tliat an addi- 



vals of 1.5 rams (4.1 English feet), some 7 pounds .■ \ , i \ * i i i * i t 



, ^ , '^ m/ i-iT- 1 tional (unknown) amount had l)een st()l(>;i. In 



would be used to the acre, the ditterence be- , i i • t i i . ^i , t 'n 



. . ^ , . „ , 1, 19'^h the same land yielded at the rate of 5.3 



tween this figure and 5.G pounds may result , a ,i r r" . i i • i * i 



,"7 r /■ .1 * ■ pounds. Another Indian reported haviii!' planted 



because usually not everv foot of the acre is , -„ r i i i i ,- i 



.,. , , ^ -^ , ", • r ^ 1 r 84 bean plants per acre, .)() of black, and 1/ each 



utilizable. Even on the basis of 6 pounds of c i •. i if i • i i i ^ i ,i 



, , .,, . , , of white and red, from which he harvested (he 



seed to the acre, a conservative normal lull yield • i\ oq i f i i i i i . i 



, , '. Ill, said) 28 pounds ol lilack beans, and an unreported 



of 20 bushels gives a return one-hundred-and- ., ^ ,, ,, . . • , .i ! f 



, , , , . . 1,1, quant itv ol tlie ottwrs. Another said that fi'oin 



eighty-seven-fold, and a minimum normal tlelta ,' "; /, -o ■, i i . i .->- if 



• , , r „„ 1 1 1 . 1 II 1 10 cucntas [l.ii, acres) he harvested 2o pounds of 



yield of 30 bushels, a return two-huimred-and- , ^ at - / i ^ xi i ■ i i i 



■'. , , , , XT , • 1 .1 f 1 beans, in case Wo. o (above) tlie beans yielded 



eighty-fold. No account is here taken of seeds . n i f ,u i f • ,, V\ ,i 



'^ '. , . , . , , , , ,, 1 . nothing at all because ol lack ol ram. On the 



used in replanting, which would lower the relative , . • ■ i , ■, • i<r- u, f - , 



' ^ basis ol such data it is dithcult to lorm a, judgment 



' ■ , •, 1 /- • f 1 as to average or normal yield. As calculated from 



In all the cases cited, live grains of see<l per n- • i c ' .i • iT- .i i i ^^ 



, , T X- 1 .1 1 - ,1 1- olncial hgures, the yield in the whole Department 



plant were used. In cases A os. 1 through .), the dis- =■ , . ,„.,^„„„ ,„.,., , 



' , ,11. , , f r • .1 was 66.3 pounds m 19.3.j-,36 -■ and 9.5.1 pounds per 



tance between the jilants was 4.1 leet, m the re- . '.,,. .>.,,.„,,, , . • i , 



.,,„.,, • ,, . • 1 ,1 acre in 19,i6-37.^» Jiut these reports must include 



mainder 4.8 feet. Assuming that m each case the ,, n i i t • 



, , , ,, 1 r . • , 1,1. ground beans as well as miiiia b<'a;!s. 1 estimate 



seed was planted throughout at even intervals, that Vi . ,i i . f i i , ■ -,1 



, . , 1 • ,1 /- . that the harvest ol beans planted with corn in 



7 pounds ol seeil were used per acre in the nrst ,, • i i i m i • ,r>., . i -r- 



,^ 1 • ,1 ,1 .1 , lanaiachel hul milpas in 19.50 averaged ^5 pounds 



cases and 5 pounds in the others, the returns were: , .i -,7 o i 



to the acre.-*' 



^°- ^' Data on the yields of squash are also inadequate. 



Yellow Two-huncired-and-t\ventv-four-f(il(l. t ,i i i <■ . ■ , 



,,.,.. r, 1 I I 1 • t <•" u f'l the seven cases recorded — nonc^ trom trained 



White One-luinared-aiid-sixtv-fola. 



I,Tp 2 Two-hundred-fold. informants— the number of plants range<l from 17 



No. 3: to 315 per acre, and tlu^ yield between 3 and 5 



Yellow One-hundred-and-fourteen-fold. chilacayoles and between 5 and 10 ayotes per 



White One-hundred-and-sixty-fold. pij^,j^_ Pj.,-,j^j ^j^j^ information I estimate an av- 



^°' Yellow One-hundred-and-eighty-fold. ^^'^^^ YK'W of 50 chllacnyntr. ail.l 100 ai,'Oles per 



White Forty-fold. acre. 



No. .I Or.e-hundred-and-twenty-five-fold. TRUCK FARMIN(; 



No. f) Two-hundred-and-eighteen-fold. 



No. 7: The chief crops in irrigated llelds in the delta 



Average Two-hundred-and-eighty-fold. (besides corn) are onions and garlic, beans, and 



No 8-*^'* One-hu„dred-and-sixty-eiKht-fold. ^^,.j^ vegetables as cabbugi.s, .•arrots, turnips, 



°' 1938 Two-h,i„dred-and.f,ftv-eight-fold. nidishes, etc., sweet cassava and sweetpotatoes, 



1939 Onc-hundred-and-.sixty-cight-fold. "■'1^1 pepinos. Garlic and pepinos have fixed 



No. 9: I)lanting and harvesting times; the others may be 



Whole area Two-hundred-and-eighty-fold. found at any time at any stage of development. 



Measured por- Three-hundred-and-sixty-five-fold. £^^^^3 may be grown at any time, l)ut in practice 



are generally planted in delta milpas between 

 In the one case of the delta lan;l mentioned above, 



,, . ,, . , , , 1 ■ . r 1, r^^ " A/€morm, l>..pt. Agr., I'MT. p. 332. 



the yield was tour-hundred-and-si.\ty-told. the => A/fmo™, ixi.t. .\sr.. lyss, p. 211. 



return m those portions of the experimental milpa " '^'^'^^'^ '^ '''*' ""^ 'lucstiim m the effect or miipn beans on the com yield. 



1,1 1 fi. i.L T 1- r , • On that i)oint there is no informution from the Indians; hut from the incon- 



planted more or less after the Indian fashion was elusive results of the experimental ooruflelditappearsth.it beans do adversely 



two-hundred-and-twenty-eight-fold. Probably the ''''^''' "^"^ '^"™ y'*^'''- '° ''^"^ "^^^ '"'""■'= '''^^"^ "'<''■" planted, the corn 



111, • 1 1 • li 1 ,1 1 1 , c 1 1 yield was smaller (and in all hut one case much smaller) than in corresponding 



iioniial delta yield is well above three-hundred-fold. pUnts wiihout he.ms. 



