32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I25 



cane are usually situated along the rivers to supply the necessary water 

 power. This lack of rivers, and therefore of fly-breeding areas on the 

 "dry fincas," does not in itself preclude the possibility of black-fly 

 prevalence or of endemicity of onchocerciasis. There are "dry fincas" 

 in Guatemala that do, and others that do not, have the flies and the 

 disease. This presence of flies in the absence of breeding areas is 

 easily explained when the flight range and longevity of the flies is 

 considered (see section on "Ecology"). 



Few fincas have the entire terrain under cultivation. In the Munici- 

 pality of Yepocapa, some fincas have as little as 15 to 20 percent of 

 the terrain planted to coffee or other income crops such as sugarcane 

 and bananas. The latter also serves as a cover crop to supply the 

 mottled sun and shade environment so necessary for proper develop- 

 ment of coffee in Guatemala. The remainder of the finca terrain is 

 composed of temperate to semitropical rain forest (pi. 6, fig. i). 



Usually all the buildings of a finca are concentrated in one area cut 

 out of the woodland (pi. 6, fig. 2), Here will be found the home of 

 the finquero (finca owner) and/or his administrator, the various 

 offices, storerooms, garages, carpenter shop, stables, beneficio, drying 

 patios, and the huts (rancheria) of the permanent residents. The ad- 

 ministrative helpers are usually given quarters consisting of a fairly 

 well-constructed wood or adobe building with cement floors. The peon 

 and his family usually live in a one-room hut loosely constructed on 

 the bare ground (pis. 4, fig. i; 5, fig. i; 7, fig. i). The walls are 

 constructed of cornstalks or bamboo reeds tied together with vines, 

 or adobe, wood, or thatch. The roofs are usually thatched but at times 

 galvanized iron, corrugated metal sheeting, or local tiles are used. The 

 materials used depend, to a large extent, on the availability in the par- 

 ticular area, and what the individual finca owner cares to spend. All 

 these huts (ranchos) are usually grouped together to form the ran- 

 cheria (pi. 7, fig. 2). To supply water to all the inhabitants of the 

 finca, a nearby river, flowing along terrain higher than the village area, 

 is diverted into a canal leading to communal wash basins and tubs 

 (pilas), to the pipe line for the hacienda (home of the owner), and to 

 various other outlets. This canal (toma) is usually left with the natu- 

 ral earth walls (pi. 8, fig. i), although some fincas do cement them. 

 The sides of those that are not cemented are usually lushly covered 

 with grasses and various plants, the leaves of which float on the surface 

 of the water. Such canals serve as excellent breeding places for 

 Simulium metallicum. 



The proximity of all the finca buildings to the cafetales (coffee 

 fields) and to the woodlands, as well as the loose construction of the 



