120 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



wide margin of error, the above figures suggest a 

 tremendous range in productivity, not only from 

 one field to another, but in the same field, from one 

 season to another. For reasons which will be 

 evident later, it seems likely that the yield per liter 

 of seed generally is at least 100 to l. 45 The lower 

 figures probably represent bad guesses, special cir- 

 cumstances, or, in the majority of cases, a deliber- 

 ate effort on the part of informants to conceal the 

 productivity. 



As a check on the preceding data from indivi- 

 dual families, we have information concerning 

 two fields which have been planted under more 

 or less controlled conditions. One is a field tilled 

 by communal labor, for the benefit of the school ; 

 the other is a field that is planted collectively by 

 about a dozen men, as a commercial enterprise. 

 In both cases, the amount of seed corn is known, 

 and, since the entire crop from both fields is sold, 

 the total yield likewise is well known. We are 

 indebted to Juan Castro for these data, which are 

 summarized in table 11. 



At this point, some supplementary data may be 

 added concerning the cooperative. The original 

 group consisted of 13 men ; before the first harvest, 

 2 withdrew, after having been paid for their labor 

 and reimbursed their advance on the rent of the 

 land. Some 7 hectares were rented on the Tajin- 

 Tlahuanapa border, within the limits of the latter 

 community. Of this, about a third was placed 

 under cultivation, and measurements taken by 

 Jose Luis Lorenzo, of our group, indicate that 

 the field proper contains 2.3 hectares. This land 

 is considered fair for corn but would be better if 

 it had a more pronounced slope. 



Clearing was completed too late to plant maize, 

 and as a filler, beans were grown — with little suc- 



Table 11. — Maize yield from two fields a 



,5 There are comparative figures from Yucatan, where the Maya 

 practice milpa agriculture. There, Morley (p. 147) calculates 9.5 

 pounds of seed corn per acre. The yield, "in general," he esti- 

 mates at 17 to 25 bushels per acre (p. 154). Naturally, the 

 weight of maize by volume varies with local conditions, but if 

 we calculate a bushel of shelled corn at 56 pounds (information 

 from Dr. Anderson), the yield is 952 to 1,400 pounds per 9.5 

 pounds of seed corn. This is, roughly, between 100 and 150 

 pounds per pound of seed. In short, the Maya and Totonac 

 figures are well in accord. 



Dr. Edgar Anderson writes : "In the United States corn belt one 

 counts on a 300 to 350 fold increase per year. I expect that 

 would be the maximum for any area of any considerable size." 



This apparently is the maximum yield in a zone where maize 

 production is highly specialized and is, moreover, characterized 

 by the use of scientific methods, modern machinery, and improved 

 seed. On the whole, milpa agriculture does not compare too 

 unfavorably — especially since the Tajfn figure is reckoned very 

 conservatively as the minimum yield. 



Item 



School field; 3 succes- 

 sive harvests pooled 

 (winter, 1946; sum- 

 mer, winter, 1947; 

 1st, 2d, 3d crops) 



Cooperative field; 2 suc- 

 cessive harvests pooled 

 (summer and winter, 

 1947; 2d and 3d crops) 



tfl 



cfl 

 o 



w 



so 

 -a 

 S 



s 



3 



Pesos 



D9 

 CD 



es 



O 

 CD 



a 



•a 



1 



3 



Pesos 



Size of field 



Seed, each planting.. 



3.3 



..... 



"""60 



180 



21, 612 



120 

 7,204 



2,183 





2.3 



"3."5 



----- 



84 



10,188 



121.3 

 5,094 



2,215 







Estimated total 

 seed 









Total yield 





1,801 







849.0 





Yield per liter of 

 seed corn. 











Estimated yield, 

 per crop. 















Estimated yield, 

 each hectare, per 

 crop 















Total proceeds from 

 sale of corn 







$4, 924. 66 

 $497. 44 

 $994. 88 







$2, 976. 18 



Estimated proceeds, 

 each hectare, per 

 crop 















$647.00 



Estimated annual 

 proceeds, each 

 hectare 















$1, 294. 00 



















1 In neither case is the yield particularly high. Through theft, the 

 school lost considerable corn, which is not included In the record. 

 Moreover, members of the cooperative admit that their replanting was 

 Inadequate. In neither case should the crop be considered better than 

 average, yet the minimum yield Is 120 liters of maize to each of seed corn. 

 The cooperative field shows a slightly higher yield and considerably higher 

 cash proceeds, the latter because the maize was marketed to better 



1 The original entries are In terms of almudes, which we have converted 

 into liters; our calculations are based on the latter unit. 



cess, however, since Tlahuanapa cattle apparently 

 harvested more than did the cooperative. The 

 first maize was planted in the summer of 1946, 

 and the data below apply to the first crop, that is, 

 to the winter harvest of 1946. Accounts were kept 

 by Francisco Abundio Xochigua, the former 

 school teacher, now deceased, who very kindly 

 permitted us to copy his records. 



He places the borrowed seed corn at 3 almudes 

 (36 liters), not at 3.5, as does Juan Castro 

 (table 11) for the two subsequent plantings. If 

 we assume that this seed was returned, the ac- 

 counts indicate a crop of 3,594 liters. As a matter 

 of fact, the harvest probably was somewhat 

 greater, for in the final financial settlement, of 

 April 1947, adjustments were made which indi- 

 cate that individual members purchased from the 

 collective stock $115.50 pesos of corn more than 

 is noted in the body of the record. Roughly, this 

 is equivalent to 462 liters, which probably should 

 be added to the yield, giving a total of 4,056. 

 This is approximately 113 liters for every liter of 

 seed corn — or about 1,763 liters (12.2 fanegas) 

 for each hectare. In a good season, the Totonac 

 farmer expects close to 15 fanegas a hectare. 



