Figure 4 Sketch of a divided field
Figure 4 Sketch of a divided field
history of village land holding, discussed in Chapter 7. A typical example of fragmentation is shown in Fig. 4.
In Sakaltutan, many households were making, or had recently made, small walled gardens for themselves, usually a patch of land near the village, in which they grew vines, fruit trees and vegetables. These were said to be at most ten years old, but in spite of doubts about the long-term success of these in so severe a climate, more and more people were following suit. Another recent innovation was the planting of potatoes and onions for the Kayseri market. Ground peas (nohut), lentils, fodder crops and even a little irrigated alfalfa immediately below the meadow were also grown.
Elbashï had fewer and even more recent gardens. It had the advantage of irrigated land, but most of this seems to be used either for alfalfa, for water meadows or for growing rather more successful cereals.
In both villages, almost all households aimed to produce a surplus of cereals for sale, and after the harvest the village hummed with activity as everyone jostled to get his own grain sacks on the lorries before his neighbours. In Sakaltutan, and for the smaller and poorer households in Elbashï, the habit of cash-cropping was a new one, developed under the stimulus of a government guaranteed price for grain. The first aim of