EMPIRE S CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



67 



a little alfalfa for fodder purposes. Alfalfa and 

 barley are considered especially good for milk 

 cattle. A little clover is planted for fodder, and 

 carretilla zacate, which grows wild in milpas, is 

 also cut. A wild radish which grows in milpas 

 is not cut, but cattle are turned in to graze 

 upon it. 



GARDEN CROPS 



A good many — perhaps a majority — of 

 householders plant minor crops within their 

 patios or in flowerpots near the house. Small 

 gardens, hortalizas, are often located along the 

 lakeshores, and are particularly popular among 



which the vine climbs. Unlike in some other 

 parts of Mexico, the vine is but rarely allowed 

 to grow along the ground. A few small chayotes 

 are produced the fall following planting, but 

 real production does not begin until a year later. 

 Then, each fall for a period of 7 or 8 years, 

 fine large chayotes are produced. One of the 

 most characteristic sights of many patios is the 

 circular fences in spring, and in fall the arbors 

 covered with the large green leaves and the ripe 

 fruit. 



When the vine is old it is cut down, and in 

 January, February, and March one digs for the 

 roots, which vary in size from that of a small 



Figure 8. — Irrigation system. 



the Tarascans in Ojo de Agua and La Vuelta. A 

 priiuitive type of irrigation makes possible con- 

 tinuous planting throughout the year. A ditch 

 is dug from the lake, as far inland as is prac- 

 tical. At the head a stone structure about 70 

 cm. high, with a trough running down grade 

 away from the lake is constructed. Across the 

 ditch a cross bar is placed, and a wooden scoop 

 60 cm. long by 20 cm. wide by 14 cm. deep fas- 

 tened to a 2.5-m. pole is balanced on it. By dip- 

 ping the scoop into the canal water and lifting 

 it with a swift motion, the water sloshes out, 

 falls on the stone structure, and runs down the 

 trough to a series of minute irrigation canals 

 v.'hich lead it through the garden. Occasionally 

 the first scoop is used to fill a second canal 

 which continues a few yards farther inland, 

 where the process is repeated (fig. 8). 



Most important of patio crops is the chayote, 

 planted in 43 percent of all Tzintzuntzan yards. 

 Most families have one or two vines only, 

 though some have up to 10 or a dozen. Chayotes 

 can be planted any time of year, but February 

 and March are the common months. The young 

 vine is protected with a circular fence of quiote 

 stalks 70 cm. in diameter and 120 cm. high, and 

 later a trellis is erected of the same wood on 



potato to that of a large manioc tuber. A pickax, 

 shovel, and pointed iron tip on a wooden handle 

 — the same as that used to excavate pottery 

 clay — are used, as one feels through the earth, 

 looking for the roots. Often several cubic me- 

 ters of earth may be removed, and with good 

 luck a half dozen roots will be discovered. 

 Sometimes the roots have rotted, and a molded 

 tuber is all that rewards the digger for his 

 work. Some persons are believed to have a 

 bveha mano, a good hand, and can easily find 

 large, plump tubers. Others have a mala mano, 

 a bad hand, which causes chayotes to wither 

 and dry; they can neither successfully plant 

 chayotes nor dig for the root. 



Boiled chayote roots are a great delicacy. 

 They taste like the fruit but have a firmer, 

 starchy consistency and a richer flavor. Usually 

 they are cooked as soon as dug and eaten as a 

 between-meals snack. Eleven-year-old Gauden- 

 cio, when asked whether he preferred the root 

 or the fruit, probably summed up the majority 

 opinion when he replied, "I think I like the 

 root best, although now that the season for cha- 

 yotes has finished, I think maybe I like them 

 best." 



In addition to chayotes the following vegeta- 



