ters of yellowish flowers. These branches are symmetrical, and the
effect is like a lofty, branched candlestick.
When the pulque is first extracted, before the process of fermenta-
tion sets in, it is sweet and scentless, and in this state is preferred by
VOL. I — 4 ,
50 (3eograpbical Botes on fK>e£ico.
those unaccustomed to the drink. The fermentation takes place in
tubs constructed for the purpose, and to aid or expedite the process a
little " madre ]iulque," or pulque mother, is added, which hastens the
chemical change. At times fermentation is retarded by a cold spell at
the vats. When the laborer draws the sweet sap with his rude siphon,
made either of a gourd or a calabash and a hollow horn tip, he dis-
charges the contents into a pig- or goat-skin swinging at his back. The
" agua miel " in this stage is like a green water in appearance and taste.
Soon carbonic acid is formed, and it becomes milky, and resembles in
taste very good cider. The amount of carbonic acid contained is so
great, and the decomposition so incredibly rapid, that in a few hours
it would become vinegar if not closely watched. To prevent this the
pulque dulce, or sweet pulque, is poured into a tinacal — an oxhide
strapped to a square wooden frame, and capable of holding a consid-
erable amount of the liquid. These tinacals are of various sizes, to
meet the emergencies of the situation.
To the sweet pulque is added an equal proportion of milk, and
then a slight dose of infusion of rennet. This is not enough to coagu-
late it, but sufficient to induce a slight amount of putrescence, as in
cheese. The putrid odor and flavor of pulque as sold in the pulque
shops is due to the rennet alone, for the belief that this is caused by
the flavor of the pigskin, in which it is brought to market, is without
foundation.
From the tinacal it is poured into a hogshead by means of pigskins,
and it is transferred to the barrels of venders from the hogsheads of
the " haciendado " by means of the same skins.
The plants are wholly independent of rain and storm, and are of a
beautiful deep-green color. The pulque is carried every day to the
City of Mexico, by special trains, in " barricas," or large tierces, and
by " cueros de pulque," or pigskins filled with the liquid.
The plant does not arrive at maturity or yield its sap before its
eighth year. During the growth of the plant a central bulb is formed
for its coming juices. This is scooped out, leaving a cavity or hole
large enough to hold a few quarts. This cavity is made in the bottom
and middle of the plant. The juice exudes into this cavity and is
taken out daily by being sucked into a long-necked gourd on the
siphon principle, by the Indian laborers, and then poured into the tubs
taken to the fields and then removed to the vats.
The outlay on each plant up to maturity is calculated generally at
about $2, and the return is from $7 to $10, according to the size of the
plant. Its period of production is about five months, and each plant
supposed to yield from 125 to 160 gallons of liquid during that time.
The principal regions for the cultivation of the maguey are the arid
limestone chains of hills, and here, in many places, the hole for the
iflora. 51
reception of the young plant is made with a sort of crowbar with a
sharp point, used principally in the quarrying of tepatate, the chief
building material of the Mexican capital. It is usual to aid the young
plant by putting some good soil into the hole. These young plants are
suckers which the mature maguey throws out on all sides, and which
have to be removed before the heart is tapped for the sweet sap, which
is the " agua miel," or honey water, of the pulque.
The leaves of the pulque plant are long and pointed, with prickles
along the edges. Sometimes these leaves are very large, and the
bunches of them springing from the common stalk are enormous. The
bruised leaves are made into a kind of paper — a rather tough, stiff, and
hard paper — and they are also used in their natural state as a thatch
for the roofs of the common huts or houses occupied by the peons.
A kind of thread is also made from the fibrous texture of the leaves,
A rough needle and pin are made from the thorn, and from the root a
cheap and palatable food is made.
Cactus. — Mexico is often called " the land of the cactus," and the
multitudinous development of cactus forms in that country cannot be
appreciated by any one who has not seen them in their home in the
hot land. There is a species known as the giant or candelabra cactus,
which has a single stem, from which spring innumerable branches, the
whole plant resembling an immense candelabrum. I have seen in
Oaxaca, some candelabra cacti about twenty feet in height by thirty
in diameter. Some cacti shoot in single, column-like stems, others run
like leafless vines, and others resemble needle cushions stuck full of
needles.
Cocoa. — Cocoa is produced in several localities. That of So-
conusco, in the State of Chiapas, is of so excellent a quality that when
Mexico was a colony of Spain it was the only kind used by the
Spanish royal family. On account of the expense and difficulty of
transportation, and the cultivation of cheaper quality in other locali-
ties, the production has dwindled down to an insignificant amount,
and now hardly enough is grown to supply the demand in that dis-
trict ; but it is universally acknowledged that the Soconusco cocoa
is the best in the world.
The best elevation for cocoa is from 300 to 1000 feet, and the tree
seldom thrives well at an altitude exceeding 3000 feet. Warmth and
moisture are necessary for the successful cultivation of this plant.
The State of Tabasco produces a very good quality of cocoa,
although it cannot be compared with that of Soconusco. In other
places it grows very well also, but for various reasons the production,
instead of being developed, has dwindled down until it is not enough
for home consumption, and we have to import some, especially from
Venezuela and Ecuador. One disadvantage of the cocoa industry is
52 Oeoorapbical IRotci* on /iDcjico.
that the tree requires several years to reach maturity and to bear fruit,
and few investors can afford to wait the necessary time.
Vanilla. — The vanilla bean grows very luxuriantly on the Gulf coast
of Mexico, and it has been for some time a very profitable production,
especially in the counties of Papamtla and Misantla, in the State of
Veracruz, on account of the excellent quality of the bean and the
high price which it brings. It grows in a region which is subject to
intermittent and remittent fevers, and sometimes yellow fever, and
where labor is very scarce ; for these reasons it has not attained a
greater development. I hardly think there is any locality where the
vanilla vine grows better than in Mexico.
Vanilla requires a hot, moist climate, and, therefore, the lowlands
are best suited for its culture. Very little of the vanilla produced in
Mexico is at present grown at an elevation exceeding looo feet. At
the same time it is claimed that in some places it thrives up to 3000
feet.
The vines will usually i)roduce considerable vanilla in the tliird
year, and they will yield considerably more during the fourth, fifth,
sixth, and seventh years, and the production then begins to decrease.
But before this time new rootlets have been dropped from the old
plants, which form new vines that take the place of the old ones ; thus
the plantation is kept in a state of continued production. The central
portion of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is one of the most suitable re-
gions for its cultivation, as much wild vanilla is found growing in the
forests there.
The Mexican vanilla dealers have established five grades, namely :
First, vanilla " fina," or legal, the beans and pods of six and a half
inches long, or upwards, short in the neck, sound and black, and the
beans which become S])lit or open, provided they have the foregoing
qualities and the split does not extend more than a third of the pod.
This class is again divided into "terciada," which is composed of the
shortest pods ; " primera chica," " primera grande," " marca menor,"
and " marca mayor," the largest of all. Second, " vanilla chica,"
those pods which differ from the " terciada " only in being shorter, two
of them counting as one of the first class. Third, vanilla " zacate,"
the pods of all sizes, which are off color through being gathered before
becoming properly ripe, or being over-cured ; " pescozuda," " vana,"
" cueruda," and " aposcoyonada," names for pods in a more or less
damaged condition. Fourth, vanilla " cimarrona," the wild vanilla in
good or fair condition, three pods counting as one of the first class.
Fifth, the " rezacate," composed of the very short pods ; of those
split all the way up to the stalk, of the badly damaged, of the very
immature, and of the greatly over-cured ; of this, six pods count as
one of the first class.
jflora. 53
After the sizing and classification are finished, the pods are tied up
rn bunches of 100-150, so as to weigh one pound, antl wrapped in
filtering paper and tin foil.
Silk Culture. — The mulberry-tree and silkworm industries have a
very great future in Mexico, and are destined to produce a veritable
revolution in the industries of the central plateau of that country.
The mulberry tree can be grown in Mexico almost to an unlimited ex-
tent, especially in the central plateau, and, as wages are low, the raw
silk can be manufactured at a great profit. Several exi)erinients have
been made on a small scale, more particularly in the Valley of Mexico,
by Mr. Hipolito Chabon, a gentleman of French descent, and he has
obtained most satisfactory results. I have no doubt that the time is
not far distant when the silk industry will assume great proportions in
Mexico, and we will be able to stand among the foremost silk-producing
countries of the world.
Cochineal. — The cochineal is a bug which feeds on the cactus ; and
which, when fully developed, is brushed off the cactus leaves and
roasted to prevent decomposition, being then ready for market. It is
raised to great advantage in Mexico, and especially in the valleys of
the State of Oaxaca. When it was the only article used to dye red it
was very valuable, commanding sometimes between four and five dol-
lars per pound, and it made the wealth of that State. But recent dis-
coveries in chemistry have supplied other substances for dyeing which
are very cheap, especially aniline, and the price of cochineal has fallen
considerably, so that now it is hardly raised at all. When it had a
high price, it was raised in Guatemala, and it was the beginning of the
wealth of that State. It is now raised, I understand, in several other
countries.
Rice. — Rice grows very well in Mexico, and I have not seen any
district where it is necessary to inundate the fields to favor its produc-
tion, although I understand it is also raised in that way in some locali-
ties. It is generally planted just as wheat and barley are in the United
States, needing no irrigation and depending entirely on the rainfall.
I imagine that raising rice by inundation would be more expensive,
and also be dangerous, because it could not fail to affect the salubrity
of the country.
Chicle, or Chewing-Gum. — This article, like many others, grows wild
in Mexico, where the demand that has arisen for it in the United
States has begun to develop its production. For some time past the
shipments from Mexico have been on an increasing scale, owing, no
doubt, to the comparatively high prices which ruled early in 1896.
Every year a larger extent of forests is worked for chicle, result-
ing in a steady growth of the production since the gum first became
an im])ortant commercial article, about ten years ago. Prior to that
54 (Beoorapbical IRotes on /IDcjico.
time 7 or 8 cents a pound was considered a good price, and in 1896
it was sold at 36 cents. The importation into the United States con-
stitutes ahnost the entire production, and the amounts and vakies are
thus officially reported by the Statistical Bureau of the United States
for the fiscal years ending June 30 :
i8g4. 1895-96.
Chicle 1.903,655 lbs. 3,618,483 lbs.
Value $490,438 $1,167,101
Average 25I cents per lbs. 32 cents per lbs.
The following statement has been compiled from official data col-
lected by the Mexican Government, the value of the chewing-gum
being in silver :
Year. Pounds. Value,
1885-86 929,959 $ 156,402
1886-S7 1,254,853 353.641
1887-88 1,542,794 371,673
1888-89 2,037,783 592,810
1889-90 1,827,131 714,242
1890-91 2,457,653 1,284,682
1891-92 2,494,177 703,572
1892-93 1,757,813 705,167
1893-94 2,645,722 803,019
1894-95 1,668,636 679,367
1895-96 3,297,371 1,527,838
Total 21,913,932 $7,892,413
Yuca. — Yuca, or starch-plant, called manioc in South America, is
a bush from four to six feet high, having tubers, like horse-radish, six
to ten to every plant, and weighing from one to twelve pounds each.
It is an important product of Chiapas and may be sown at any time,
but it is better to do so from the stems when the rains begin, say in the
month of I\Iay, by opening ditches five feet apart, and planting the
cuttings, eight inches long, in them consecutively, leaving one foot be-
tween. Vegetable and sandy soil is best adapted for it, although it
can be planted and will thrive in any kind of land. In arid and hard
soil it needs plowing. If the land has been thoroughly cleared before
planting it requires but little weeding during cultivation. A year after
being sown, if the soil is rich, it will begin to yield tubers which must
be dug up at the time the tree begins to flower. In replanting after
digging the tubers, a slip is left standing and this will bear in twelve
months. Besides extracting the starch from the tubers, the leaves are
used as fodder for stock.
Sir Henry Bering, the British Minister to Mexico, sent recently to
the Foreign Office some practical notes on the cultivation in Mexico of
the "Yuca" or cassava plant, pineapple, ginger, " chicle " or chewing-
fiova. 55
gum, sarsaparilla, jalap, licorice, canaigre, and ramie, and I shall quote
here from his notes on some of those products.
The yuca is to the peon, in the tropical section of the Republic,
what potatoes are to the poor and working people of Ireland. Yuca is
a native of the country, and its rise dates back before the conquest of
Hernan Cortez, and it has always formed a portion of the food of the
ancient and present Mexicans, especially those living in Veracruz,
Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Yucatan. It has been estimated that
the returns of yuca cultivation are immense ; the yield of an acre
contains more nutritive matter than six times the same area of wheat.
Ginger. — Ginger is found growing wild in various parts of Mexico.
The returns from an acre of land vary considerably, but when culti-
vated under favorable conditions, the crops ought to be 4000 pounds
and upward. A ten-acre patch would yield annually from $5000 to
^7000.
Canaigre. — Though for years canaigre has been used in Mexico,
both for medicinal and tanning purposes, it has but recently attracted
the attention of the outside commercial world as a valuable source of
tannic acid. The result of investigations has been to create a great
demand for canaigre in the tanning business of European countries,
and more recently in the leather-making centres of the United States.
The only supply now to be obtained of this plant is from the wild
growth along the rivers and valleys of Western Texas, New Mexico,
and Mexico, and a fear has been felt for some time that with the con-
stantly increasing demand the present sources of supply must become
-exhausted.
Peppermint. — Water mint {fnent/ia vulgaris) thrives very well on
the central plateau of Mexico and in some sections of the warm zone,
especially along the rivulets and small lakes. There is no reason
why the peppermint {mentha piperita), as well as spearmint and tansy,
should not grow in abundance in Mexico, as they belong to the same
family and require the same climatic conditions. As the oil of pep-
permint is very extensively employed in medicines and the arts, the
cultivation of this plant will be profitable to Mexico.
Cabinet and Dye Woods. — In the low, hot countries we have all the
cabinet woods growing wild and a great many dye woods, some of
which are indigenous to Mexico, like the Campechy wood, not being
found in other countries. It would take too long to enumerate the
different kinds of cabinet woods we have, and I will only say that it
happens with them as with our fruits, that only such of them as have
been introduced here, like mahogany, cedar, rosewood, ebony, and a
few others, are known in this country and in Europe, while hundreds
of other kinds as hard as those and of as fine, if not a finer grain, are
found in the wild woods of Mexico.
56 6eoc;rapbical IRotes on /iDejico.
Grasses. — In the lower regions of Mexico, especially at the sea-level,
we have various grasses which can be grown at very little expense and
which make very good food for cattle, fattening them very much, and
in comparatively short time. While I lived in Soconusco, I used to
buy lean cattle, three years old, at $io per head ; and letting them pas-
ture on the grass, the expense being little more than that of a few men
to take care of the cattle, without providing them with any shelter,
pens, or anything of that kind, only giving them about once a month
some salt, at the end of four or five months they became very fat and
could be sold on the spot at $25 a head. The fattening grasses can be
very easily cultivated, because they are of such rank growth that they
do not allow any other vegetation to spring up on the same spot, and
so save the expense of cleaning the ground of weeds ; which, in the
hot regions is very great, as vegetation is there very rank.
Alfalfa. — The alfalfa grows very luxuriantly in almost every place
in Mexico, and it is so abundant there, that it has very little com-
mercial value. It is nowhere dried and kept for fodder, but of course
such use can be made of it. Land good for alfalfa has a very low
price, and we are greatly surprised when we hear that in California the
alfalfa land is worth $100 an acre.
Cattle Eaising. — Mexico has special advantages for the raising of
cattle, not only because of its mild climate, which renders unnecessary
the many expenses required in the northern section of this continent,
but also on account of the grasses that grow in several localities and
that constitute very good food for cattle, as I have just stated.
Mexico will be, before long, a very large producer of cattle and other
animals, and they will form a large share of her exports. Mexico has
sent within two years about 400,000 small undeveloped cattle to the
United States at about $15, Mexican silver, per head, and has also sent
nearly her entire output of cotton-seed meal to the United States and
Europe at about $16, silver, per ton. The meal sent to the United States
is fed to cattle. The Mexican cattle sent there take the place of the
better stock which is sent to Europe, causing virtually a five-thousand-
kilometre railway haul against the short haul in Mexico to reach the
coast. In addition we have to pay import duties in the United States.
This is a sufficient evidence that a large profit could be made by fat-
tening cattle with the cotton-seed meal in Mexico, and shipping the
fattened cattle direct to Europe, even using the best cattle of the
country. But rapid improvement should be made in the class of cattle
for beef purposes. Cotton-seed meal is the feed to be relied on chiefly.
The quantity of it produced already is sufficient to fatten a large num-
ber of stock. The cattle should also be fed with a small amount of
corn along with the meal during the last month of feeding to harden
and whiten the meat, as feeding only with cotton-seed meal makes the
Jflora. 57
meat dark, and militates against its selling value to some extent, and
the corn can be easily and profitably supplied. The total cost of fat-
tening a steer should not reach $15 silver. There is an unlimited de-
mand in Europe for choice meats at about 12c., gold, per pound, and no
import duties have to be paid. Poor classes of meat are a drug in all
markets of the world. With these great advantages placed within easy
reach, the producers in Mexico of grain and stock have a guarantee of
ready sale at good prices for all they can produce.
Inquiry was made in Liverpool about the possibilities of the Mexi-
can live-animal trade with England, and it was found that the initial
difificulty is the small size of the Mexican cattle, as cattle weighing
1 200 pounds are considered small by the trade there, and from 900 to
1000 pounds is therefore extremely small. The smallest Texan cattle
ever imported in Liverpool averaged 1226 pounds.
The best Mexican steers can be made to weigh 1200 pounds if well
fattened. The difference in cost of transportation on account of
lighter weight is but small in proportion to the cheapness of Mexican
cattle. Cattle breeders in Mexico, on the whole, have not advanced
much in developing good breeds of cattle. They do not appreciate
their value, nor would they pay one-half their actual cost, though they
can be had from the United States at half of what they would cost
from Europe. Herefords are the best breed. I am sure that the rail-
roads will do all they can to encourage that industry by charging as
low rates as possible, as they would thus develoyi an industry which in
the course of time would become very profitable to them.
A great need of Mexico is a reliable supply of good and healthy
water through artificial means, well distributed over the stock ranges
to prevent the great loss by death through lack of water, as well
as the heavy shrinkage of meat and tallow, by so much unnecessary
travelling of stock to water. They cannot grow fairly, much less fat-
ten, and over one-half the annual increase die of exhaustion, while the
value of the stock lost in one year would supply permanent water at
convenient distances and prevent three-fourths of the loss and shrink-
age now sustained. It has been amply ])roved that stock water can be
secured under the most unfavorable conditions.
It would be to the advantage of the breeder to import some Eng-
lish short-horn bulls, with the object of breeding larger cattle, so as to
make profitable the export of cattle to England, as animals should
weigh from 1200 to 1300 pounds. This has been done in Texas and
in the Argentine with beneficial results, and the improvement in the
cattle from the latter place has been most marked during the last five
years. With the proper attention, the same good results could be
achieved in Mexico.
The English steamers that bring a large quantity of merchandise
s8 (Beoorapbtcal Botes on ^ejico.
to Mexican ports have trouble in even securing ballast to get out of
those ports, and have to traverse the Gulf and United States coasts to
secure loads for the return trip. Their owners are w^illing and ready
to supply facilities for the exportation of live stock and frozen meats if
assured of a sufficient traffic to justify them in the expense, for they pre-
fer reloading direct for Europe to going elsewhere for freight. The
time required to return direct from Mexican ports is but little more
than from New York and Baltimore, and is sufficiently short to warrant
good service in transportation of live stock, and the cost would prac-
tically be the same as from United States ports. The United States is
beginning to export beef and stock from Galveston to Europe, which
is practically the same distance as from the Gulf ports of Mexico.
Mexico could export annually and easily after the next ten years
400,000 of fattened cattle, which would increase considerably the
amount of our exports, and this trade would greatly assist the develop-
ment of many other industries.
The desired result in question could be hastened by mixing good
foreign labor with the native labor. The latter would be better fed,
clothed, and educated, as well as encouraged, taught, and compelled
to do better work, and thus the country's physical and mental welfare
would be greatly promoted.
Sheep. — The same conditions apply to the sheep and wool industry.
It is a great mistake for the Mexican sheep-owners to raise a class of
sheep that yield each only from one to two and one-half pounds of
very coarse and inferior wool, annually, while they themselves wear