into Mexico at the commencement of the present century, but little attention was paid to its culture until 1818-19, when large plantations were laid out in the neighborhood of Córdoba and Orizaba in Vera Cruz. Shortly afterward this industry was introduced into the valleys of Cuautla and Cuernavaca, and has since gradually extended to Tabasco, Colima, Oajaca, Michoacan, Chiapas, and elsewhere.[1] The encouragement given to the cultivation of this plant by the government has been persistent,[2] but for many years its progress was slow, owing to the limited consumption, chocolate being the favorite beverage of the Mexican. It was only when the advantages offered by the exportation of the article became more evident that the cultivation increased.[3] Of the future development of this agricultural industry, there can be no doubt. Its rapid progress is perceptible from the exportations of coffee by way of Vera Cruz for the years 1877 and 1883, which were respectively 60,000 and 141,493 quintals.[4]
The maguey, or pulque plant — agave Americana — is one of the most important productions of Mexico.[5] Considering the variety of uses to which the plant subserves, the little care and trouble required in its culti-
- ↑ The coffee of Oajaca is second to none produced in Mexico.
- ↑ The exemption of coffee from all duties and imposts for ten years was decreed in Oct. 1823, which privilege was periodically extended down to 1858, the govt being advised still to continue the exemption. Silíceo, Mem. Foment., 68-9.
- ↑ In 1826 there were 1,250 quintals produced. Hernandez, Estad. Mej., 103, makes the total production in 1861 amount to 34,715 quintals, worth $520,725. In 1879 it was worth over $2,000,000. For further details, consult Mülhlenpfordt, Mej., i. 121-2; Soc. Mex. Geog., 2d Ep., iii. 349-51; Mex., Mem. Agric., 1843, 18, and 1846, 37-8; Mex., Mem. Fom., 1866, 60-1.
- ↑ Voz de Mej., Jan. 3, 1878; Mex. Finan., March 8, 1884; Mex., Diario Ofic., June 5, 1883. In 1870 the cultivation of the tea plant was urged, and resolutions for its introduction adopted by the Sociedad de Geografia y Estadistica of Mexico. Soc. Mex. Geog., 2d Ep., ii. 525-9.
- ↑ There are more than 30 varieties of this plant. An enumeration of them is given by Payno in Id., x., 403-5. A notable one of small size, now called the lechuguilla, little lettuce, supplies a fibre as fine as silk, known by the name of ixtle. From this variety a substitute used by corset-makers for whale-bone is also procured. Its culture is, however, limited as compared with the maguey, which produces pulque and hennequen, a fibrous substance obtained from the central white part of the plant, and used for the manufacture of rope. The production of ixtle is about one third of that of hennequen.
