118 



THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE 



wings clipped when it is 

 so that it can be given 

 These wild pigeons are 

 multiply in the house, 

 children who care for th 

 time dribble away only 

 their care. 



accustomed to the house 

 the freedom of the yard. 



occasionally allowed to 

 Probably the women and 

 e fowl a few minutes at a 

 about an hour a week in 



Table 40. — Value of domestic animals owned 



Kind 



Chickens, young.. 

 Hens and roosters.. 



Ducks 



Pigeons 



Pigs 



Goats -. 



Sheep -.- 



Bulls or steers 



Cows -. 



Calves - 



Rabbits 



Guinea pigs 



Colmena bees 



Coxpin bees 



Horses and mules.. 



Dogs - 



Cats 



Total. 



Number 



386 

 445 

 14 

 22 

 40 

 14 

 13 

 8 

 8 

 8 

 6 

 10 

 14 

 4 



20 

 198 

 61 



Average 

 value (each) 



$0.10 

 .20 

 >.76 

 1.60 

 2.60 

 1.60 

 1.12 

 7.60 



13.50 

 4.00 

 >.20 

 '.10 



M.OO 

 >.10 



12 60 

 .30 

 .10 



Total 

 value 



$36.50 



89.00 



6.25 



5.60 



100.00 



21.00 



14.60 



60.00 



108.00 



32 00 



.60 



.50 



14.00 



.40 



250.00 



59 40 



6.10 



802 85 



' Per pair. 

 ' Per hive. 



Because they are important in belief and custom 

 and a "good" housewife is expected to keep them, 

 it is noteworthy that turkeys are absent and 

 chickens sparse, and that this fact coincides with 

 the fact that it does not pay to raise chickens in 

 Panajachel. One careful informant estimated 

 that his flock of 2 roosters and 17 hens ate 480 

 pounds of corn in 1936, worth $6; during the year 

 he lost 4 chicks, worth 40 cents. Thus, not 

 counting the value of the time expended in caring 

 for the fowls, building the coop, etc., the cost 

 was $6.40. At the same time the value of the 



flock increased (by natural growth) by $1.60 — 

 counting the four chicks that died — and produced 

 360 eggs worth $4.50, for a total of $6.10 and a 

 net loss of 30 cents. Data from several other 

 informants make it clear that at best one breaks 

 even on the raising of chickens. Thus a household 

 owning 5 roosters, 16 hens, and 18 chicks casually 

 reported that the flock consumed 2 pounds of 

 corn daily ($9 worth a year) and increased in 

 value by $3.40 in the year while some 400 to 500 

 eggs (worth $5 to $6.25) were produced; another 

 with 6 hens reported that each laid 18 eggs 

 monthly for 6 months for a total of 648 during a 

 year (worth $8.10) and that the flock ate 2 pounds 

 of com daily ($9.12 a year). 



The Indians appear to know that it does not 

 pay to raise chickens, and that perhaps explains 

 why so many do not. Certainly they do not raise 

 turkeys for that reason, for they frequently say 

 that a turkey eats as much as a pig while at the 

 same time the fowls are delicate and often sicken 

 and die. But, aside from the feeling that a 

 household is not complete without chickens, there 

 is a recognized reason why it is desirable to raise 

 them. During the rainy season when money is 

 scarce and corn must be purchased, the sale of 

 chickens is a source of emergency income. On 

 August 15, 1936, Resales noted in his diary that 

 many women were selling chickens in order to buy 

 corn and sugar because money was scarce; "The 

 onions are all gone and only garlic is left, and its 

 price is low." An Indian reported before All 

 Souls' Day that he took chickens to Solola to sell 

 in order to buy things for the fiesta. We fre- 

 quently noticed that when the need for money 

 arose, a single hen or rooster was offered for sale. 



Ki 'iTlli'^u ** "'j.^ ,'?''L^' '"^^'° '^'"^ "'*' numbers in the "Total" row and follow them up. Thus, 38 households have no animals (for all the other spaces are 

 DiaoK), jj Households have only dogs, 11 have only dogs and chickens, etc. The column headed "Total" shows how many households have each species of 



