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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



sweet fruits as opposed to jocotl for acidulous fruits. 

 This tree has a white flower and yellowish fruit which is 

 harvested from April to August. Apparently this is a 

 very old cultivated fruit tree since we saw no wild forms 

 in the area. However there are fewer than 150 trees in 

 the entire Quiroga area, usually occurring 1 or 2 in a 

 solar. 



Capulin or xengua (Pruniis capuli Cav.), the native Mexi- 

 can cherry or cerezo, is cultivated to the extent of 120 

 to 130 trees, but a large crop of fruit is obtained from 

 wild trees in the highlands during June, July, and August 

 when the capulin is the chief fruit consumed. The 

 abundance of this tree in the area is indicated by the 

 fact that the aboriginal name for neighboring Capula 

 was Xenguaro (the two forms meaning place of the 

 capulin in Mexicano and in Tarascan). The black 

 capulin predominates over the white. 



Aguacate or cupanda {Persea americana Mill, and Persea 

 americana var. drymifolia (Schlecht. & Cham.) Blake), 

 known in the United States as avocado and alligator- 

 pear. About 110 aguacates are raised in the lowlands, 

 which do not begin to supply the local demand. The 

 season is April to September. 



Guayabo or enandi {Psidium guajava L.). There are 73 

 guava trees in Quiroga, 37 of which are in the largest 

 orchard in town. The principal season is December and 

 January. 



Chirimoyo or ahle and uruata (Annona cherimola Mill.). 

 The fruit of this and closely related species is considered 

 a delicacy, and is known under the names chirimoya and 

 anona. There are but 63 trees, in the lowlands of 

 Quiroga. The season is December to April. 



There are few other native fruit trees worth 

 mentioning. Some use is made of wild grapes, 

 blackberries, and strawberries, but none of these 

 is cultivated. The fruit of the few cultivated 

 elderberry trees is consumed by the bu-ds, and the 

 same is true for the native mulberries. There are 

 no mameys, Spondias, sapodillas, yellow sapotes, 

 papayas, pineapples, and similar native fruits 

 which require a warmer climate. A few hack- 

 berries, mesquites, and other trees of the steppe- 

 lands occur, but they are ornamental curiosities. 



In Quiroga and its ranchos there are 3,063 fruit 

 trees of Old World origin, not counting the banan- 

 as, date palms, and 17 coffee trees, which are 

 principally for ornament. Most of these trees are 

 scattered by I's, 2's, and 3's over the solares, with 

 the exception of one orchard in a manzana near 

 the springs of Atzitzindaro which contains 417 

 peach trees, 47 apricots, 42 quinces, 46 pears, all 

 30 grapevines, and 72 other trees and shrubs. The 

 principal fruit trees are: 1,987 peaches, 365 citrus 

 fruits, 160 figs, 120 apricots, 81 loquats, 69 

 quinces, 66 pears, 56 apples, 31 pomegranates, 

 30 grapevines, 22 mulberries, 21 plums, 9 walnuts, 



and 6 cherries. Perhaps a third of the above 

 trees are too young or too old or too degenerate to 

 bear, and most of them are poorly attended except- 

 ing in 5 or 6 "orchards." Consequently fruit of 

 aU types is at a premium, and most of the fruit 

 consumed in Quiroga is imported. There is such 

 fruit hunger in Quiroga that much of the local 

 fruit is consumed in a somewhat unripe condition. 



The 1,987 peaches {duraznos, melocotones, persi- 

 cos, alberchigos) are more widely distributed than 

 any other fruit, being cultivated in 412 of the 797 

 occupied solares. Differences in cultivated strains 

 and in the climatic conditions from the highland 

 ranchos to the lowlands provide a season from 

 June to September, although the main crop is 

 picked in July and August. There are a number 

 of strains which include white, yellow, and 

 greenish-sldnned peaches. We were unable to 

 determine the relative proportions of clingstones 

 to freestones. For the most part the local 

 peaches are small, poorly flavored, and lacking in 

 succulence. The peach {Prunus persica (L.) 

 Batsch.) was one of the earhest and most widely 

 distributed of Old World fruits in the temperate 

 areas of the Spanish New World. 



The 365 citrus trees or shrubs represent seven 

 definite species, in addition to which there were 

 three fruits (jnaranja-lima or lima-naranja, limon 

 pilato and limon romano) with sweetish pulp of 

 whose scientific identification we were uncertain. 

 In Mexico there is a great variety of citrus species 

 which were introduced very early (especially 

 oranges and limes, which grow wild in parts of 

 IMexico including southern Michoacan) ; and 

 apparently a considerable number of hybrids and 

 mutants exist. As a consequence of the many 

 varieties and species, the terminology for the citrus 

 fruits is in a state of anarchy; e. g., a lemon may 

 be called a hme and a lime may be called a limon. 

 Furthermore, the gradations in size and sweetness 

 give rise to such tei-ms as "lime-lemon," "orange- 

 lime" or "lime-orange," "sweet lemon" and "sour 

 lemon," "sweet lime" and "sour lime," and 

 "som'-sweet hme." This situation, however, is a 

 carry-over from the Old World where citrons, 

 lemons, and limes so intergrade that at one time 

 all three fruits (and their scores of varieties) were 

 placed in one species. The approximate distri- 

 bution of the ti"ees by species was: 



Limes, 165 trees known as lima, lima agria, lima dulce, 

 limdn dulce, lima chica, lima cinchona, and lima agridulce 



