QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MUNICIPIO — BRAND 



135 



9 mm.; April, 5 mm.; May, 36 mm.; June, 174 

 mm.; July, 251 mm.; August, 239 mm.; Septem- 

 ber, 188 mm.; October, 82 mm.; November, 30 

 mm.; and December, 21 mm. On the upland 

 fields solving of maize commonly takes place in 

 March and on into May. 



The seed grain is normally selected through a 

 gradual process of ehmination. After the harvest, 

 as the family begins to eat the maize that was not 

 sold, the house-wife each time she needs maize to 

 grind selects the poorer ears. When planting 

 time comes around, if the family is fortunate 

 enough to have a sufBcient residue, there is a 

 remnant consisting of the largest ears with the 

 best kernels. These ears are now shelled and the 

 seed is ready for the planting. In the highland 

 fields on slopes there may be plowed only one 

 open furrow or surco for planting which parallels 

 the first and third plowings, but wherever possible 

 (both in the uplands and lowlands) the surcada 

 is at an angle (commonly 90°) to these plowings. 

 In the more common case of plowing en cruz or 

 at an angle, the planter (usually a boy or a woman) 

 follows the plowman and drops three kernels of 

 maize at every intersection — which are normally 

 75-90 cm. apart. The planting furrows are also 

 75-90 cm. apart. Should there be interplanting 

 another boy or woman will follow the maize 

 planter and will drop one or two kidney beans by 

 the maize kernels. About two-fifths of the maize 

 fields in the Quiroga area are interplanted with 

 kidney beans. Should pimipkins also be inter- 

 planted a single pumpkin seed may be dropped in 

 the same spot with the maize and beans by a third 

 planter, but more commonly pumpkins are planted 

 only with maize. The poorer families who do not 

 own or cannot afford to rent a second yoke of oxen 

 cover the seed by Idcking in sufficient earth, but 

 the more common procedure is for a second yoke 

 to follow the last planter about a span to one side 

 of the seed fm-row and the orejera thi-ows earth 

 which nearly fills the seed furrow. In some fields 

 the last planter or another person places a small 

 handful of manure by each group of seeds. About 

 2 weeks after the planting, by which time the 

 young maize plants are about 10 or 15 cm. tall, 

 the field is examined for hills that did not sprout. 

 Reseeding (resiembra) is done with a digging stick 

 {coa or estaca). Where there is interplanting 

 the average hill contains two maize and one bean 

 plant. 



Irumediately after the resiembra, and commonly 

 2 to 3 weeks after the planting, is the first cultiva- 

 tion {escarda, changueo or beneficio). This primera 

 cscarda is done by plowing along one side of the 

 seed row in such a fashion as to throw earth onto 

 the seed row. One or two boys follow the plow- 

 man and "hill" or amontonar the plants by un- 

 covering and straightening the smaller plants and 

 heaping up the earth by hand. This first cultiva- 

 tion usually occurs about the middle of June 

 (17th to 25th, in 1945). From 1 to 3 weeks later 

 comes the second escarda also known as la troza, 

 which is accomplished by plowing an open furrow 

 at right angles (on flat lands and gentle slopes) 

 to the seed rows in such a fashion as to throw dirt 

 to both sides. Boys again follow the plowman 

 and hill the plants. Two to three weeks later 

 there may be a third escarda, known as the tablon, 

 on the better lands. The tablon is an open furrow 

 plowed at right angles to the troza and parallel 

 with the seed rows. These various cultivations 

 result in an orderly rectangular pattern of maize 

 hiUs, which pattern degenerates progressively as 

 one goes from the fields on level land to those on 

 steep slopes. Normally all plow cultivation is 

 concluded by the middle of August. Durmg the 

 cultivation period the excess suckers are removed 

 {raspa or desahije) and fed to the livestock. 



In August and September, normally beginning 

 when the maize is in tassel, it is necessary to weed 

 (chaponear or desenzacatar) some of the fields. 

 The weeding is done with a small curved machete 

 or sickle (garabato and hoz), and is done in a lei- 

 siu-ely and informal fashion. The fields in the 

 Quiroga area are ciu-sed with many native weeds 

 and also with some 40 plants introduced with 

 seeds from the Old World. Among the more 

 common native weeds are bracken (in the upland 

 fields), some 15 genera of grasses, nettles. Poly- 

 gonum and Rumex (in the lowland moist fields), 

 various amaranths and chenopods, Phytolacca, 

 Arenaria, Cerastium, Argemone (the Mexican 

 prickly poppy is quite abundant on some fields), 

 Lepidium, a number of legumes (especially 

 Astragalus, Crotalaria, and Desmodium), spurges, 

 mallows, Eryngium., milkweeds (very common), 

 bindweed and dodder {Convolvulus, Cuscuta, Ipo- 

 moea), verbena, mints and sages, solanums, cucur- 

 bits (especially Sicyos — the chayotillo or acaren), 

 and some 16 genera of composites (among which 

 Bidens, Cosmos, Tithonia, and Tagetes are most 



