very superior qualities both as a tonic and nutritive, when many live on nothing but corn and pulque. In the mining districts, where a great deal of nervous force is expended working in a high temperature and under very unhealthy atmospheric conditions, this drink is almost indispensable, and I imagine that when a way is discovered to keep it for some time, and its medicinal qualities become better known, it will be exported in considerable quantities and used by foreign countries. From the agave of other districts a drink is made called mescal, which has some remarkable therapeutic properties, the most celebrated being made in a district of the State of Jalisco called Tequila, from which it takes its name; and in the very dry and stony regions of Yucatan another species of agave grows, which seems to derive its food wholly from the atmosphere, yielding a very good fibre, much like manilla, which we now export in large quantities, particularly to New York. All the agave yields a first-class fibre as raw material, either for paper or cordage-some of it being rather coarse, like the Yucatan henequen, and some of it almost as fine and glossy as silk, like pita.

Henequen. By far the most important of our fibre industries is the cultivation and preparation of the fibre known as "Sisal hemp," so called from the name of the port from which it used to be principally exported, and in the United States as "henequen hemp." The plant which produces it is a species of agave which flourishes to best advantage in stony and arid land at the level of the sea. The present prosperity of the state of Yucatan, a large proportion of which is too sterile to yield any other crop, is due almost entirely to the development of this industry. The plant requires very little cultivation, and the separation and cleaning of the fibre is effected very cheaply. The yield of fibre is estimated at the rate of 1000 to 1200 pounds per acre.

Pulque. The pulque plant is indigenous to Mexico, often growing wild on the uplands, where for months and years at a time no rain falls; and it is also largely cultivated on the Plains of Apam, a large tract of land lying in the States of Mexico, Puebla, and Hidalgo, about sixty miles east of the City of Mexico. The plants are transplanted when two or three years old with much care, then cultivated in fields especially prepared for the purpose, each acre containing from 360 to 680 plants.

Nature requires the plant to be milked, when the liquor is ready to flow, for the use of man, else the superfluity of juices will cause the growth of a thick stem from the centre of the plant, which shoots up some ten or fifteen feet, putting out branches at the top, with clusters 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 fermentation sets in, it is sweet and scentless, and in this state is preferred by

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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 pulque," 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 discharges 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 considerable 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 coagulate 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

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 Soconusco, 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 localities, the production has dwindled down to an insignificant amount, and now hardly enough is grown to supply the demand in that district; 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

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 1000 feet. At the same time it is claimed that in some places it thrives up to 3000 feet.

The vines will usually produce considerable vanilla in the third 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 regions for its cultivation, as much wild vanilla is found growing in the forests there.

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Second, "vanilla chica," only in being shorter, two Third, vanilla "zacate,'

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 split 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. those pods which differ from the "terciada" of them counting as one of the first class. 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.

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After the sizing and classification are finished, the pods are tied up in bunches of 100-150, so as to weigh one pound, and 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 extent, especially in the central plateau, and, as wages are low, the raw silk can be manufactured at a great profit. Several experiments 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 dollars per pound, and it made the wealth of that State. But recent discoveries 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 production, although I understand it is also raised in that way in some localities. 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, resulting in a steady growth of the production since the gum first became an important commercial article, about ten years ago. Prior to that