24 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



While crops are small, posts are placed in the 

 fields to provide perching places for hawks. 



Worms may damage small plants to the point 

 that reseeding is necessary, especially if there 

 are long periods of cloudy weather without 

 rain. Worms also damage about 35 percent 

 of the ears. Deer damage crops badly only in 

 isolated mountain fields. Badgers in some 

 places are serious pests. The only remedy is 

 to attempt to shoot the animals. Birds do lit- 

 tle damage. Some maize is attacked by a fun- 

 gus. The fungus is eaten, but it is not sold or 

 prized as a delicacy as is the case in some parts 

 of Mexico. 



Trespass by domestic animals and theft must 

 be guarded against. Sometimes isolated fields 

 are completely stripped if not watched. Stray 

 animals caught damaging corn are taken to the 

 municipio and held in jail until the owner pays 

 for the damage. 



Unseasonal frost often damages corn, par- 

 ticularly late plantings and in fields at high 

 altitudes. In 1940, frost, heavy enough to 

 damage some fields, occurred on September 29. 

 When maize is about 1 foot high it is culti- 

 vated {"cscarda" also "trozando") by running 

 the plow between the rows, throwing dirt to- 

 ward the plants. This is done a second time 

 when the plants are about 18 inches tall. If it 

 is delayed too long, the roots may be cut, the 

 maize leaves will yellow at the tip, and no ears 

 will form. 



When the maize is in tassel, after the rainy 

 season is well underway, the fields are weeded 

 "chaponeado." This is done by hand with a 

 short machete, called "os," with a sharp curve 

 at the point. Also, earth is piled around such 

 plants as were not sufiiciently covered by the 

 cultivation. If the weeds are bad, a second 

 weeding is sometimes done, but not often. If 

 weeding is omitted, weeds climb high up the 

 stalks and the crop suffers considerably. The 

 weeds removed are piled up beside the fields and 

 are not used for feed or fertilizer. 



As soon as grain is well formed on the ears, 

 some maize is used for food, usually roasted. 

 At this time, also, guards must be set in the 

 fields, not only to keep animals out, but to pre- 

 vent theft. Whole families may move to tem- 

 porary field shelters at this time and remain 

 until the harvest. In the "plains," usually 



only a few watchers are necessary. A pine 

 tree some 20 feet high is trimmed and set 

 firmly in the ground. The watchers climb this 

 and spend hours standing uncomfortably in the 

 crotches left by trimming the branches. Often 

 several families may cooperate in watching, oi 

 several landowners may hire watchers, called 

 veladorcs. 



When the ears are well formed, but while 

 stalks and leaves are still green, fodder 

 {"rastrojo") is cut. All stalks without ears, and 

 the ear-bearing stalks above the ears, are cut, 

 dried, carried to the house, and stored in sheds. 

 This forms the principal fodder for animals. 

 The stalks remaining in the field are not cut 

 after the harvest, but animals are allowed to 

 graze the harvested fields. 



The main work of harvesting is done by men. 

 Women bring food to the men, and they also 

 glean, assisted by children. At harvest each 

 man takes two rows at a time. The ears are 

 picked, husked, and thrown in a round cane- 

 splint burden basket (sundis) carried on the 

 back with the aid of a tumpline. Ears which 

 miss the basket belong to the gleaners, who also 

 take the nubbins. When the basket is filled, 

 the corn is piled at convenient spots. 



The harvest is the busiest time of year. 

 Except for a few specialists, the sick, and the 

 infirm, everyone works, either on his own har- 

 vest or as a laborer for someone else. Labor 

 also comes from other towns. Wages are 40 

 to 50 centavos a day, plus the right to glean. 

 Women and children follow the men of their 

 own household and close supervision is neces- 

 sary in order to prevent too many ears from 

 being dropped or overlooked. The workday is 

 about 7 hours. The larger landowners have 

 tried unsuccessfully to eliminate gleaning by 

 raising wages to 1 peso a day. Men refused to 

 work without gleaning rights, despite the opin- 

 ion of mo.st objective observers that the maize 

 secured from gleaning had less value than the 

 additional wages. The landowners would have 

 saved through eliminating supervisors. When 

 the harvest is over, some farmers treat all their 

 help to a few drinks of aguardiente (caranda). 

 Most of the harvest is carried to town and 

 the storehouses on burros. Nets are used to 

 hold the ears. Sometimes other animals are 

 used, and for some fields employment of two- 



