EMPIRE S CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



65 



after planting can cause this damage — rain 2 

 or 3 days later is much preferable. 



After sowing, the farmer has nothing to do 

 in his fields until harvest time. If the light ca- 

 bahuelas rains, which sometimes fall in Decem- 

 ber and January, come on schedule a good crop 

 is almost a certainty. 



The main wheat types are well known in 

 Mexico, and fall into two groups, the pelon or 

 beardless, and the barbon, or bearded. Pelon 

 bianco, known in other parts of Mexico as coma- 

 ron or Ba]a California, is said to be softer than 

 the bearded varieties. It is ground on the me- 

 tate for home consumption. Differences be- 

 tween bearded wheats are relatively slight. The 

 tejido, which with the ocotillo, is most favored, 

 has small, very compact grains, giving the "wo- 

 ven" impression which the name implies. The 

 ocotillo has larger and heavier grains, but fewer 

 of them on a head. One hundred liters are said 

 to make a tercio of 801^ kilos as compared to 

 110 liters of tejido for the same weight. The 

 unidentified siciliano is somewhat more beard- 

 ed than the two foregoing varieties; by weight 

 it produces less per hectare and relatively lit- 

 tle is planted. Trigo extranjero, said to be plant- 

 ed by a few farmers, was not seen. It is 

 bearded "almost like barley," and is said to 

 have very white, round grains. Production by 

 weight is so low that it is very rarely planted; 

 occasionally it is cut to use as green fodder. 

 The unidentified trigo violento is a fast-matur- 

 ing variety which, with luck, may be ready to 

 harvest by December, after a growing season 

 of only 3 months as compared to 6 or 7 for 

 other wheats. Except for the violento, harvest- 

 ing normally does not begin until April, and 

 it continues well into May. 



The tejido and ocotillo are the overwhelming 

 favorites and apparently do as well as any of 

 the other varieties under adverse circumstances. 

 This raises the question as to why the others 

 are planted at all. In part, the explanation is 

 pure accident. Apparently nowhere in Mexico 

 is an entire wheat field of one single variety 

 found; Tzintzuntzan is no exception. Mixed 

 with the predominant and preferred seed one 

 always finds at least one, and usually two or 

 three other varieties. Hence, a ramble through 

 an average milpa will reveal most of the types 

 planted in the area. Normally in harvesting 



no attempt is made to segregate different species. 

 A second explanation is more purely cultural. 

 A farmer has always had a certain species, and 

 a portion of each harvest is saved for seed the 

 following year. There is great reluctance to 

 buy seed from another man, and perhaps reluc- 

 tance on the part of the prospective^ seller if 

 he feels he has a superior type. Apparently no 

 mystic connection between farmer and seed 

 exists; it is simply a case of extreme conserva- 

 tism and reluctance to try anything the least bit 

 new, even though the benefits are apparent. In 

 any event, even though in small quantities, in- 

 ferior types of wheat are planted year after 

 year. Even tlie most progressive farmer makes 

 no attempt to segregate the species which he 

 prefers for seed and to thresh it apart from that 

 which he sells, in an effort to improve the total 

 yield of his milpas. 



Wlieat is harvested from early April well into 

 May. A short, crescent 20-cm. sickle is used. A 

 few stalks are grasped close to the ground, and 

 the sickle, held on the far side, is deliberately 

 drawn toward the harvester, never with a quick, 

 slashing motion. With these stalks in hand the 

 harvester grasps a few more, and repeats the 

 operation until he can hold no more. These are 

 placed on the ground and are subsequently ad- 

 ded to until the reaper has progressed so far 

 that it is easier to start a new pile. These mono- 

 jos are left to dry, and several days later are 

 tied up in bundles with wheat straws that are 

 still slightly green. 



Threshing is done by driving mules or horses 

 • — even burros — over the threshing floor. 

 There are a few stone floors in town, but more 

 commonly the farmer erects a six-sided corral 

 with rope and quiote stalks, perhaps 5 m. in 

 diameter, on a smooth hard spot in a street. 

 This is filled to a depth of 30 cm. with wheat, 

 leaving a mound a meter or more high in the 

 center. Horses are preferred to mules and bur- 

 ros because of their larger hoofs. From one to 

 five animals are driven into the enclosure, and 

 a boy with a whip on the central mound urges 

 them in the perpetual circle, reversing the di- 

 rection every few minutes when they get dizzy. 

 Animals thus run the entire morning. Wheat 

 gradually is thrown down from the moimd, 

 and all is stirred frequently. After lunch the 

 corral is removed, a clearing a couple of meters 



