66 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



acres are under cultivation, half of which is in 

 naaize. 



The third portion of the property is nearby and 

 consists of 240 acres on which live, in one house, 

 a family consisting of three adults and a child and, 

 in a second house, an unmarried man. This land 

 is worked for a rental of half the production. 

 Twenty-four acres are in maize, 9 acres are in 

 beans, 3% acres in rice, 3 acres in onions, and II/2 

 acres in potatoes. All production is consumed 

 on the fasenda, with the exception of part of the 

 onions and potatoes. Seventy head of cattle are 

 being pastured. The fourth portion of the prop- 

 erty is located on the other side of the village; it 

 comprises 59 acres and is in pasture. 



The entire property is thus composed of 166 

 alqueires, or approximately 991 acres. On the 

 four parts, live 9 families consisting of 42 adults 

 and 14 children. There are 360 head of cattle 

 being pastured on 759 acres of land. Of the 89 

 acres in cultivation, 66 are in maize. 



The size and relative frequency of sitios are 

 described in the section on Wealth and Property, 

 page 95. 



PLANTING, CULTIVATING, AND HARVESTING 



As has been indicated, maize is the principal 

 crop. It is planted anytime from early in Sep- 

 tember to the middle of December. After accumu- 

 lated grass, weeds, and small brush have been 

 burned off, a patch of land may be plowed ; or the 

 corn may be planted directly after the burning. A 

 small opening about 4 inches deep is made with the 

 hoe or cavadeira "' and five to six grains of maize 

 are dropped in and covered with the foot. Prefer- 

 ably, this is done when the moon is waning. In 

 old land, hills usually are a little over 4 feet apart ; 

 in new land, only about 3 feet. Tlie plants are 

 weeded twice, about a month after planting and 

 again when needed. The hoe is used for this pur- 

 l^ose and, at the first weeding, a little dirt is pulled 

 up around the plants. When ready for harvest, 

 the ears are snapped and piled unhusked on the 

 ground; later they may be carried on the back of 

 a mule or burro to the paiol for storage. If the 

 maize is to be sold, it may be husked by hand and 

 shelled in a hand sheller. 



>■"= See Tools and other Eciuipment, p. 50. 



Potatoes are increasingly gi-own. Care is taken 

 to clear the land well before planting. If the 

 plow is used, the land is gone over twice and, if it 

 is new ground, all stumps and brush are care- 

 fully cleared out. Furrows are then made with 

 the riscador 3 spans apart, and an entire potato, 

 which ordinarily is quite small, not more than 

 11/4 inches in diameter, is dropped by hand every 

 114 spans and covered with dirt 1 span deep by 

 another person who follov.'S with a hoe. Three 

 plantings may be made each year : in February or 

 March, in May or June, and in August or Sep- 

 tember ; in each case, before the new moon appears. 

 One weeding, 4 to 6 weeks later, is considered 

 sufficient, at which time dirt is pulled up around 

 the young plants. About 3I/2 months after plant- 

 ing, the new potatoes are dug with the hoe and 

 sacked in the field, subsequent to which they are 

 carried and piled in a nearby rancho, if available, 

 or taken to the house. 



To plant beans, openings about a span apart and 



2 inches deep are made with the hoe and three to 

 four beans are dropped into each hill. Two 

 plantings are made each year, one in the "dry sea- 

 son," in September or October, and one in the 

 "rainy season," in February or March. This is 

 done when the moon is waxing. One weeding, 15 

 to 20 days after the new plants appear, is con- 

 sidered sufficient, the hoe again being used for this 

 purpose. The crop is harvested approximately 



3 months after planting. Each plant is pulled up 

 by the roots and carried to the house or to a raivcho, 

 if available, where they are laid in the sun until 

 the pods are quite dry, which usually takes about 

 3 to 4 days, after which they are piled up and 

 beaten with long sticks until all the beans are sep- 

 arated from the pods ( pi. 11, c). The latter are 

 then removed with a rake and the beans piled 

 with a broom. With the peneira, they are win- 

 nowed of chaff and other extraneous matter, in- 

 cluding dirt, and sacked. 



All rice grown in the area is of the upland va- 

 riety. It is planted in low places where maximum 

 moisture is to be found. The land is first well 

 cleared and worked over with the enxaddo. Open- 

 ings about a span apart and 3 inches deep are then 

 made with the hoe, and the amount of rice which 

 three fingers put into a sack can withdraw is 

 dropped into each opening. Planting is prefer- 

 ably in September or October. Beginning about 



