CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



21 



boundary with Aranza and Cheranastico (pi. 1, 

 upper left). The second most impoi'tant 

 "plain" is south and southeast of the town and 

 extends on the east to the boundary with 

 Nahuatzen. On the north and south the plain 

 is bounded by hills and mountains, on the west 

 by the slope to el plan. This area is usually 

 referred to as Sharicho (sarico). The "plari 

 of Arantepacuaro" is south of the range of 

 mountains of San Marcos, and extends to the 

 boundary of Arantepacuaro on the south. The 

 fourth and smallest "plain" of importance is 

 northeast of the mountain of El Pilon. 



Patches of sloping land under permanent cul- 

 tivation are found scattered throughout the 

 municipio. A large number of plots are found 

 on the slope between el plan and the town and 

 on the lower, gentler slopes of many mountains 

 and cinder cones. These lands may be fenced 

 or, more commonly, protected by deep ditches 

 with hedges of agave on each side. Thorny 

 crab apple or other fruit trees sometimes are 

 also planted along ditches. Weak spots may be 

 guarded by thorny brush and poles (pi. 4, 

 lower left). 



The so-called "joyas" are usually patches of 

 only a few acres, often in isolated places far 

 from town. They may be fenced or ditched to 

 keep out animals and, like the other areas, are 

 privately owned. Unless they are unusually fer- 

 tile, "yoT/os" are cultivated only every other year. 



The garden plots are within the town proper. 

 In a few cases they may occupy an entire block, 

 but normally they are merely part of a building 

 lot (solar). Few of them are as large as half 

 an acre. They are fenced and, unlike any other 

 areas, they are cultivated every year. 



Temporary fields are created by clearing the 

 forest on community lands. Permission must 

 be obtained from the Federal Department of 

 Forestry, Hunting and Fishing. Extra forest 

 taxes must be paid, but charges are nominal. 

 Usually the areas cleared are steep and the soil 

 is poor and badly leached. Frequently, serious 

 erosion results from such fields. Although 

 cultivated only in alternate years, these fields 

 are short-lived and are abandoned after a de- 

 cade or so. Only use rights exist for such 

 fields and after abandonment they revert to the 

 public domain. 



THE FARMING CYCLE 



A clearer picture of the agricultural cycle 

 may be given by a monthly summary. 



January: Little to do; second plowing of maize lands 

 may begin. 



February: Second plowing of maize lands. 



March : Maize planting begins. 



April: Maize planting; first cultivation of early maize 

 at end of month; planting of vegetables and maize in 

 solares. 



May: Wheat harvest; second cultivation of maize. 



June: Second cultivation of maize; some wheat 

 threshing (continued in dry weather throughout rest 

 of year) . 



July: Fairly free month; weeding of maize begins; 

 second cultivation of maize continues. 



August: Plowing for wheat. 



September: Planting wheat; cutting maize fodder. 



October: Plowing for maize; rains usually end; cut- 

 ting maize fodder; wheat threshing nearly finished. 



November: Maize harvest (if lower lands planted); 

 plowing. 



December: Maize harvest on higher lands; plowing. 



SOIL PREPARATION 



Land is prepared for field and garden crops 

 (except for small kitchen gardens of cabbage 

 and herbs) by plowing one or more times (pi. 4, 

 upper left) . The plow used is usually a 

 wooden type (fig. 3). The Government has 

 given some 30 steel plows to the municipio, 

 which lends them to farmers; although these 

 are all in use, they care for only a small part 

 of the plowing. 



Regardless of the type of plow, it is almost 

 always drawn by oxen. Mules, and perhaps 

 horses, undoubtedly are used sometimes, but 

 not as frequently as in adjoining Aranza; in 

 the entire season of 1940-41 no single instance 

 was observed on Cheran lands. If the wooden 

 plow is used, the long plow beam is attached to 

 the ox yoke directly. Steel plows are attached 

 to the ox yoke by a chain. An ox goad of wood, 

 often with a chisellike metal butt (for sticking 

 in the ground) , is employed. 



A great many farmers own oxen ; if they do 

 not, they must rent them at 75 centavos to 1 

 peso a day, depending on the demand. If driv- 

 ers are hired, 50 centavos a day is usual. On 

 the other hand, if a man has rented his land on 

 shares, he must make sure his tenants plow at 

 the right time. Usually land is plowed twice 

 before planting, but the depth rarely exceeds 

 6 inches. 



