THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE 



131 



business and farming are free, so that what a town 

 plants is not a matter for laws, and that one town 

 has more of a certain crop than others because it 

 produces better there. Some, dissatisfied with 

 this opinion, changed the subject. It may be 

 added as a sequel that since 1939 a local Indian 

 has planted anise successfully; and this crop may 

 eventually pass back from San Antonio to Pana- 

 jachel. Indian laborers from Santa Caterina, 

 where anise is also grown, showed him how to 

 cultivate the plant. 



Coffee is a new crop that has become extremely 

 important. It probably had its greatest boom in 

 the twenties. Coffee requires relatively little 

 labor; but it does not return as much from the soil 

 as do vegetables. The rich therefore find it 

 advantageous to grow coffee in part of their lands, 

 since labor difficulties would arise if they tried to 

 plant all with vegetables, while the poor do better 

 with vegetables which permit them to work more 

 time on their own land and earn more for their 

 time. Most Indians see advantages in diversifying 

 crops; the ideal is some coffee, some vegetables — a 

 little of each kind — some pepinos, some inilpa, 

 and so on; for then if one thing tiUTis out badly, 

 all will not be lost. This is one reason why, they 

 do not always plant a crop that pays better to the 

 exclusion of less profitable things. The Indians 

 also rotate crops, and let lands rest, knowing they 

 will then produce more. 



One point is clear: that while they do not 

 always succeed, the Indians consciously try to 

 get as much from the soil as possible, in a definition 

 that includes long-term considerations. 



On this basis, perhaps, the Indians should 

 eschew the raising of domestic animals, especially 

 hogs and fowl. They do not pay. It could be 

 argued that they permit a more complete utiliza- 

 tion of resources, since they feed partly on kitchen 

 refuse and wild flora that would otherwise be 

 largely wasted (but such food constitutes only a 

 small percentage of their diet, the rest mainly 

 corn) and they help to fertiUze the soil near the 

 house (although it might be cheaper to buy animal 

 fertilizer from Ladinos than to keep domestic 

 animals). Hogs and the few sheep, goats, and 

 cattle are the only animals kept primarily for 

 revenue. All meat, nulk and cheese, and other 

 animal products are purchased; the Indians raise 

 these animals for sale. Except for hogs, these 

 animals add considerably to the total land utiliza- 



tion, for they are pastured on land lying fallow 

 that, in the milpa system, would not otherwise be 

 used, and they increase its fertility. Grazing 

 animals are not more popular probably because 

 milpa land (hence pasture) is not plentiful and 

 because the considerable time expended in caring 

 for cattle could earn more money in agriculture. 

 Hogs, on the other hand, are clearly uneconomical 

 to raise. The case of barnyard fowl is different. 

 The com consumed is returned neither in increase 

 nor in eggs. Bnt it is not a matter of business. 

 Fowl are part of the family and necessary for the 

 prestige of the housewife ; they are a food necessity 

 on certain occasions that are difficult to buy; and 

 finally they are a means of insm-ance — of saving in 

 times when corn is cheap for days when it is 

 scarce and money is needed. One woman said 

 she keeps chickens because she does not like to 

 waste garbage. Nevertheless, iu 1941 an Indian 

 with whom we went over accounts in 1937 said 

 the family no longer keep chickens since we had 

 proved that they do not pay. Nor will they have 

 a pig. 



Dogs and cats are wanted for their companion- 

 ship, and dogs to guard the house, and cats to rid 

 the house of small animals. Except that puppies 

 and kittens are occasionally sold, these animals 

 bring no cash retiu-ns and they are a considerable 

 expense; they are a consumer item. Horses and 

 mules supply manure, hence increase the fertility 

 of the soil; but they consume more food than they 

 repay in value; indeed, Indian merchants who use 

 them as beasts of burden realize that as compared 

 with himian burden-bearers, they eat as much as 

 their value in transportation. Again, the values 

 are not to be separated from a variety of satisfac- 

 tions. The situation in Panajachel is probably not 

 typical for Guatemala. Where there are wide 

 stretches of land used chiefly for milpa, or useless 

 even for that, the pasturing of animals is doubtless 

 good business ; and in communities where barnyard 

 fowl have more room to forage and there is a 

 surplus of corn, chickens and turkeys probably 

 more than earn their keep. 



TIME SPENT MARKETING 



Table 47 sums up the amount of time spent in 

 buying and selling. The time spent selling local 

 produce is only partly chargeable to its cost, since 

 bu5ring is recreation and, other errands are often 

 combined with visits to markets. This is especially 



