The men engage only in the larger affairs of the business of the family, such as marketing the animals and the grain raised on the farm. The small trade in chicha, liquors, poultry, etc., is attended to by the women. In nearly every house is kept a supply of such articles as may be required by the peons. In the sale of these, the money that is paid out by the farmer, in wages, comes back in small amounts, and with interest. The profit made on this small mercantile business, in the sale of sugar, mate, chicha, etc., pays for the articles of the same class consumed by the farmer’s family. In these transactions they never refuse credit to anyone, but politely say they have not the article called for, notwithstanding the fact that it may be in plain view of the would-be purchaser, or sold to another before his eyes. They understand each other and their method of dealing with delinquent customers furnishes an example that might be emulated with profit by more progressive and up-to-date tradesmen. These farmers are received at the haciendas, not exactly as equals, but because of a money consideration. They have land, stock, and usually money in the bank. Notwithstanding the fact that many of them have a competency, they resort to a method of economy that is absolute penuriousness,--stinginess personified. They never visit their friends, or entertain their neighbors. They never keep a coach, for two reasons, one being that where they reside, and places to where they journey, there are no coach roads, and for the more general reason that they never spend money for such an unnecessary luxury. The men always ride horseback, and when the women go away from home, which is seldom, they also travel on horseback. Few of them possess sidesaddles, and the common custom is for them to go “en anca,” sitting upon a cloth spread upon the back of the horse, behind the saddle occupied by the man. There is still another class of dry land, hill farmers, who own large tracts of land, and farm upon a large scale. In sandy or loam soil they employ modern machinery and implements. This class often becomes rich, in which case they invariably move to the provincial cities and work their estates through an “administrador.” These hill farmers are autocrats in their respective communities; not in the same despotic manner as the owners of the large irrigated estates, for the inquilinos and peons of the hills are more independent, are treated with greater consideration, and are more nearly on an equality than is the case on the great hacienda. HACIENDAS AND HACENDADOS.