THE TAJLN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



119 



Concerning seed corn, we have data from 30 

 families, but not all are usable, for occasionally 

 the informant is unable to guess even roughly the 

 size of the crop, or he does not know the extent 

 of his field. However, for 25 of these 30 families, 

 we can guess at the approximate yield per liter of 

 corn planted. 



Unfortunately, because of the ambiguity of 

 measures, the yield per unit of land cannot be 

 given. A milpa is described in terms of hectares 

 or of destajos. The hectare is measured by meters 

 and contains 10,000 sq. m. The destajo usually is 

 calculated by garrochas of 2.4 m. ; since a destajo 

 is 50 by 50 garrochas, it contains a fraction less 

 than 15,000 sq. m. Although the destajo is almost 

 half again as large as the hectare, the two terms 

 are used interchangeably in conversation. Some 

 in Taj in deliberately reduce the length of the 

 garrocha to 2 m., in which case, the destajo and 

 hectare are equivalent. Others do not make this 

 arbitrary correction, yet use the terms synony- 

 mously. 



As a matter of fact, the amount of seed corn 

 seems to be about the same, whether the field is 

 reckoned by hectare or by destajo. For 1 hectare, 

 informants' estimates range from 12 to 24 liters; 

 for 1 destajo, from 8 to 24, with one case at 48. 

 Most plant between 12 and 24 liters, which is pre- 

 cisely the range given for the hectare. Nor is there 

 any significant difference in the amount of seed 

 planted in summer and winter. Of 30 families, 3 

 plant a few liters more in the summer, and 3 plant 

 a few more in the winter ; the others sow the same 

 quantity for both harvests. 



While in actual practice, the amount of seed 

 allotted to a destajo varies somewhat from farmer 

 to farmer, anyone who is asked in general terms 

 usually replies 18 liters, plus about 3 for "replant- 

 ing." This ratio is so firmly established that some- 

 times land area is expressed in terms of seed corn. 

 If one inquires, for example, the extent of a certain 

 plot of sugarcane, the answer may be 3 cuartillos 

 (9 liters) — meaning that 9 liters of maize would 

 be required to plant the area in question. 



For 25 families we have concrete figures of the 

 estimated yield per liter of seed corn, as given 

 below. Both harvests are from the year 1946, and 

 in most cases, from precisely the same field. 



Hammer 



20 



24 



28.8 



36 



36 



38.4 



40 



40 



54 



72 



72 



76.8 



80 



84 



90 



96 



96 

 104 

 115.2 

 120 

 144 



144-156 

 144-156 

 216-240 

 252 



Winter 

 18 

 120 

 76.8-96 

 21.3-24 

 48 

 48 

 24 

 24 

 48 

 48 

 64 

 76.8 



48 



28.8 



60 



96 



96 



72 



72 



72-96 

 72-96 

 240 

 ' 252 



Naturally, in such a small series, the yield varies 

 widely. Some of the fields are new, hence pre- 

 sumably more fertile; others are on the point of 

 being converted into vanilla plantings. In some 

 the drainage is good; in others, not. Some are 

 planted to the large white corn, considered of high 

 yield. 



Even so, the variation is extraordinary. For the 

 1946 summer harvest, the estimated yield per liter 

 of seed ranges from 20 to 252 liters." For the 

 winter harvest, the range is about the same, from 

 18 to 252 liters. In 15 fields, the yield was less in 

 the winter ; in 3 it was the same ; in 5 it was higher. 

 Generally the summer harvest is considered the 

 better and most regard the 1946 winter crop as un- 

 usually poor "because of too much sun and wind." 

 Those whose yield increased presumably planted 

 on relatively low, level land, with poor drainage — 

 terrain which produces well only under special 

 circumstances. 



Obviously, the only way to obtain a reliable 

 record is through a series of controlled plantings, 

 over a period of years. Even allowing for a very 



*• For 1947. we have data from the field of Santiago Simbron. 

 Both his summer and winter harvests show a yield of 156 liters 

 per liter of seed, despite the fact that lie has grown maize con- 

 tinuously on this same plot for the past 7 years. 



