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INSTITUTE' OF SOCIAL ANTHEOPOLOGy — PUBLICATION NO. 12 



October, or November, in each case when the moon 

 is waning. A hole is made with the enxaddo, 

 about 6 inches deep and 10 inches square and three 

 peanuts are planted to a hill. The plants are 

 weeded three times, once shortly after planting, 

 again 6 weeks after planting, and a third time 

 about 2 months after that. At the last weeding, 

 dirt is pulled up around the plants so that only 

 the upper parts are left in view. The new peanuts 

 are harvested about 6 months after planting, the 

 vines being pulled up by hand and left to dry in 

 the sun, after which they are carried to the house 

 or rancho in baskets. 



To plant tobacco, local farmers also select their 

 best land. A seedbed is prepared early in Sep- 

 tember, in ground heavily fertilized. Ashes are 

 sprinkled over the bed and left for 15 to 20 days 

 before the seeds are planted. Transplanting oc- 

 curs in the "time of the rains," usually in De- 

 cember, and early in the new moon. Plants are 

 taken out of the seedbed and set in holes a half span 

 deep and a span apart. Three feet are left 

 between the rows. There are three weedings, a 

 month or so after planting, a month or two later, 

 and just before harvest. At the second weeding, 

 dirt is pulled up around the plants and withered 

 leaves are broken oif. In March or April, when the 

 leaves turn yellow, they are stripped off the stalks 

 by hand and carried in baskets to a depository 

 where they are stood up on their stems. The next 

 day, they are hung on an estaleiro^" two leaves 

 to a side, one on top of the other, and left to dry, 

 which usually takes 10 to 12 days. The leaves are 

 then braided tightly into rolls which are turned 

 twice a day for about 40 days and once a day 

 thereafter until they have dried for some 3 months. 

 All tobacco grown is ordinarily used in the 

 community. 



Manioc requires 2 years to produce a crop. It 

 is planted on high, dry land and in the best soil 

 the farmer has. At the beginning of "winter," or 

 about the first of June, the stalks of the previous 

 crop are cut off close to the ground and piled to 

 use for cuttings to seed the new crop. After the 

 land to be planted has been burnt off, trenches 

 are dug with the hoe about 10 inches deep and 10 

 inches square and 3 spans apart, into each of which 



"'The estaleiro is made by fastening a number ot bamboo or 

 other poles, each about 6 to 7 feet long, horizontally to two verti- 

 cal poles of somewhat lesser length. 



is dropped a cutting containing three buds. About 

 4 spans are left between rows. Planting is done 

 any time from August to October, in any phase of 

 the moon. The new plants are weeded six times, 

 once every 3 months. Manioc is said to be har- 

 vested "in those months which do not have 'r' " ; 

 that is, in May {inaio), June (junho), July 

 {'jiiJho), and August (agosto). If the ground is 

 moist, the tubers are pulled up by hand; if the 

 ground is dry and hard, the enxaddo is used. They 

 may also be left in the ground, since manioc keeps 

 indefinitely in any soil. 



Almost every farm has at least a few stalks of 

 bananas. They are ordinarily planted on old 

 land. With the enxaddo and the shovel, holes are 

 dug 3 spans square and about 8 feet apart. A 

 shoot with attached roots from a neighbor's ba- 

 nana grove is then set into each hole and the roots 

 covered with dirt. Approximately every 2 

 months, the weeds are cut away from the new 

 plants and after the first yield, which comes about 

 lyo to 2 years after planting, a little dirt is pulled 

 up around them. As soon as a bunch of bananas 

 ripens, the stalk is cut off near the ground with a 

 foice or a facdo and the bunch of bananas de- 

 tached (pi. 11, /) . A new stalk soon appears from 

 the stump and will i:)roduce another bunch of ba- 

 nanas in about a year. 



Although, as has been indicated, groves of or- 

 anges are rare in the community, approximately 

 half the farmers have at least one or more orange 

 trees. For planting, young trees are first grown 

 from seeds in a seedbed and when they have 

 reached about a span in height, they are trans- 

 planted, preferably in massape soil. They are set 

 out in holes made with a hoe about 3 spans deep 

 and 25 spans apart. Planting occurs anytime in 

 the "time of the rains." The new plants are 

 weeded two to three times a year. If they have 

 been grafted, fruit will be produced in from 1 to 

 2 years ; if not, in from 7 to 8 years. Harvesting 

 may be any time from April to September. A 

 ladder is used for picking. 



GARDENS AND OKCHARDS 



Gardens ordinarily are small and have few va- 

 rieties of vegetables. On the 17 farms visited 

 during the growing season, the 2 gardens which 

 were most adequately producing food for the fam- 

 ily contained, respectively, about 35 tomato, 80 





