The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-07-07
Of pin money from the trade carried
on By their wives

or indian women wearing striped |
blankets Of red. yellow. blue. and
green. There are also natives in
black mantos. With black crepe
shawiS wound tightly around their
olive-skinned faces. They have stop
ped on their way home from church
They have prayer books in their
hands. and also prayer mats. Many
are accompanied by the men OF the
family. who wear high black silk
hats. black clothes and black gloves.
They are also foreigners for la Paz
is q cosmopolitan city. anu all the
queer classes OF these Bolivian high
lands
The most interesting OF all are the
indians We can see them everywhere
buying and selling. Let Us take a
look at the wares. Here is a We
man with d little pile OF potatoes
and two or three artichokes before
her. Close by is another ~peddling on
ions, and a little farther over a girl
has for sale green roasting ears.
peas. celery, and lettuce. On the
opposite side of the street IS a peddler
who has -four in bags that hold half
q pint. and farther on are peddlers
If fruit. Everything is sold by the
pile. and YOU measure the pile by
our eyes. There are no weights and.
measures to tell you how much you
are getting. You pay by the pile,
and the piles are exceedingly small.
A half dozen little potatoes. a hand
ful Of flour or a tablespoonful Of
salt makes up a purchase. and the
) usual trade is equal to ) cents Of
our money. A whole marketing
4. could be crowded into d half peck.
| doubt whether the average cook
ing stove at La Paz could prepare
+, much more at one time.
r And still the variety Of vegetables
and fruits and meats IS great, and
the quality is especial fine. This
high plateau is the home of some OF
the chief crops Of the world. 1t is
. known that the potato came from the
Ande and it is a question as to
:, whether this is not the birthplace OIL
our indian corn. Bolivia has maize,
the grains of which are twice as large
as any grown by our farmers. Some
are of a bright yello" color. every
grain as big as my hulnb nail. Other
6 are white. OF twice the size OF a lima
n beam, and so foury that they coult
DC mashed to a powder between two
n stones. Some of the corn is OF q mul
If berry color, other kinds are red O
" even jet black.
Il AS to the potatoes, they are red
d white and yellow, and some are o
N pink as the toes of the babies Dlayin;
among them. Some OF the potatoe
IS are as big as your fist, and othe
10 NGI1ttlcS not ulo1c NtI1dI tie. SIZE CI
thimble. They are all sold by tn
pile and a half dozen or ten MAX
re up the average purchase.
a. Nearly every potatOe seller h1
ID chuno among her wares. These ar
st potatoes SO treated that they look lils
IS. hleached bones. and are almost q
@ hard. When you break them apal
you find them fbrous and tough. The
are ordinary potatoes so frozen an
IT'S dried lat they can be kept for Eeal
without spelling. The usual meJho
of making chuno is to soak the Ia
potatoes in water, night after nigh
ne and then lay them out on the grOun
IS. to freeze. Then the skins are rubbe
off by %treading them with the bal
feet. After that they are dried in>tf
ca open air. Potatoes SO treated beCOn
rd as hard as stones. They form one
SIS the chief foods Of the Indians, VII
nd store them away for the winter. The
We have to be soaked before being cate
ey They are served in the form a ste'
IN I have tasted them. but they are il
an sipid and not all appetizing.
Wis -
Sc Going on with our walk through tt
We market, we see many fruits and grain
us that are strange 20 our eyes. Here
ne a woman who sells quinua or tt
seeds Of a plant akin to our pig wee
CT The seeds are as large as grains
lat mustard. and as white as snow. Tht
Ne are sweet to the taste. and Inalle>t
ne excellent Cruel. There are also Whea
lp- barley and oats. sold in infinitesim
pes o,,.nt+ios 1rhare are sweet and so
I'm anaane and whita cranes as b;o
Din 49, a.~.on nlrms There are DE-
icy tas or alligator pears OF twice the 81
of those that come to our marke'
as- and the picae, a fruit that ooks III
III a mammoth bean pod. 1t has a gree
skin, and inside it a pulp Xix L
finest of white spun silk. which VIII
the cole tastes like a finely favored i
he cream. There are also oranges, app
he cots and bananas, as we'll as tuns
ely the fruit of the cactus. All OF the
)ll- come from the Yungas valley, VIII
ner is reached through the break in t
sh- great basin in which La paZ lies. q
ks ing down through that break y
Irts rapidly decend until you reach a TOT
cen cal climate. where the vegetation
dense. and where therea re banan