History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 6/Chapter 23

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XXIII.

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF MEXICO.

1887.

Capacity for Production — Unequal Distibution of Land — Necessity of Irrigation — Drainage of the Valley — The Nochistongo Cutting — Poumaréde's Siphons — Garay's Project — A Pestilent Metropolis — Maize and Other Cereals — Chile Pepper — Plantains, Cacao, and Coffee — The Agave Americana — Pulque, Mescal, and Tequila — Hennequen and Ixtle — Sugar and Aguardiente — Tobacco, Olive-oil, and Wine — Cochineal, Indigo, Cotton — Silk Culture — Vanilla and Jalap — Stock-raising — Horned Cattle, Horses, and Hogs — Agricultural Prospects of Mexico.

Mexico, with regard to her agricultural resources, were they fully developed, would be found to be unsurpassed by any land, possessing, as she does, capabilities for the growth of almost every production of tropical and temperate climes. Her physical conformation bestows upon her three distinct climatic zones, designated as the tierra caliente, the tierra templada, and the tierra fria, meaning, respectively, the hot, temperate, and cold regions. And in them every want and luxury of man can be supplied. Luscious fruits and odoriferous flowers,^[1] aromatic herbs and medicinal plants, abound in profusion. The cultivation of cereals and vegetables, of coffee and cacao, the olive, the vine, and the sugar-cane, of tobacco and the indigo plant, can be developed to an almost unlimited degree in this fair conservatory of nature. Extensive forests furnish useful and ornamental timber, dye-woods, gums, and resins. Broad plains and rich valleys afford pasturage for immense herds of cattle and horses, and on the mountain slopes flocks of sheep might feed by the hundred thousand.^[2]

Nevertheless, agriculture in many parts of Mexico is still in its infancy. The peasant, content with obtaining at cost of little labor the mere necessities of his simple life, has in some places not yet cast aside the rude implements of his forefathers; but the time is not far distant when the Mexican farmer will adopt the improved agricultural implements of foreign countries.^[3]

Although the development of this industry is greatly retarded by the absence of facilities of transport, the greatest drawback to its progress is probably the ownership of land in vast tracts by individuals. It is a monstrous injustice that one person should be allowed to possess a dozen haciendas of a dozen square leagues each in extent; that one man should withhold from his fellow-men enough of this earth's surface to support a nation.^[4] But this is not all. The laboring peon on these large estates, as well as in the mines, as I have elsewhere shown, is little better than a slave. As long as this system prevails, whether in Mexico or any other country, the highest progress and prosperity can never be attained. To pass laws forbidding land to be held except in small parcels would doubtless be an arbitrary measure, which would meet with the violent opposition of a wealthy class, and probably be found impracticable. It would be a step too far in advance of the other highly respected civilizations, such as England and the United States, to meet with general favor. But the Mexican government can and ought to discourage future sales or grants of land to any but occupants, and such conveyances should be limited to the transferrence of ground in small lots.

One cannot rightly judge of Mexico by seeing certain localities only. Never was a country so widely different in different parts, not only in its construction by nature, but in its development by man. With so many varieties of soil and climate, local specialties are broadly marked. In one district the cultivation of corn predominates, in another that of pulque, and in another barley, which in the cities is the principal fodder for horses and cattle. The crops in certain localities are more dependent upon irrigation than the rainfall, the wet season on the table-lands north of the 20th parallel being of short duration, and periods of drought not unfrequently occurring.^[5] Want of water, indeed, is the great drawback to agriculture on the table-lands; so fertile is the soil that production would be almost unlimited if systems of irrigation were established by means of artesian wells, and by damming up the barrancas of the sierras where suitably situated for the storage of water-supplies.^[6] Nevertheless, large sums of money have been expended by enterprising Mexicans in irrigating experiments.^[7]

In connection with aqueducts and irrigation, it will not be out of place to give some account of the attempts that have been made to drain the valley of Mexico, which may be regarded as among the greatest hydraulic undertakings in the world, and which has been before spoken of in this history. After the destructive inundation of 1629,^[8] the great dikes or dams of San Cristóbal were constructed at a great sacrifice of Indian life;^[9] but with all these efforts, the capital was never secure against flood. The tunnel of Huehuetoca was found to be a failure, as it was impossible to keep it free from the débris which continually choked it up. It was therefore decided to convert it into an open cutting, but owing to improvident suspensions of the work during periods when no danger of inundation was feared,^[10] it was not finished until 152 years after its commencement.^[11]

from 25 to 150 feet. In all the principal cities the supply of water by aqueducts furnishes the means of irrigating, and the gardens and orchards display a corresponding luxuriance and fecundity. A list of the principal aqueducts in each state will be found in Hernandez, Estadist. Mej., 30. In 1870, there were 260 artesian wells in the federal district. Voz de Mex., 6 Ab., 1878. In the same year, the rainfall in the capital was 583.4 millim.; in the previous year 214.1. Id., 23 de Ag. The first application for the exclusive right to sink artesian wells was made in 1836. Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 308. During the next twenty years a great number was opened in Vera Cruz, Guerrero, Mexico, Tlascala, Querétaro, and Colima. El Universal, 14 Sept., 1850, 4, Oct. 24, 3; El Estandarte, May 2 and 11, 1857; Cincinnatus, Travels, 325; Silíceo, Mem. Foment., 65–6. The exclusive right system, however, was found to be an impediment to progress, and the government abolished it, extending to all persons the privilege of sinking artesian wells. During the war of independence this work called the Nochistongo cutting — El Tajo de Nochistongo — was greatly neglected, and the passage of the water was obstructed by accumulations of earth and detritus. No attention, however, was given to the canal until the capital was again threatened with inundation in 1830, when work was resumed.^[12] But when completed, the canal did not answer the purpose, and the city of Mexico was periodically in danger of being flooded. The consequence was, that an entirely different system, comprehending the general drainage of the valley, was adopted,^[13] and in 1856 a board for the drainage and canalization of the valley was appointed, an award of $12,000 being offered for the best project.^[14] The plans sent in by engineers were numerous, but for novelty that of J. A. Poumaréde was unsurpassed. He proposed to drain the valley by a system of huge siphons.^[15] The prize was finally awarded to Francisco de Garay; but political strife and the war of the French intervention long prevented his plans from being acted upon. In April 1868, however, work was commenced. The plan was to construct a grand canal, which from a terminus at the garita de San Lázaro should pass through Lake Texcuco at the lowest portion of its bed, thence through Lake San Cristóbal to Lake Zumpango, whence it was to extend to a tunnel to be opened through the hills that close the valley on the north, giving exit to the water into the barranca of Tequisquiac.^[16] For nine years the work proceeded with more or less vigor, when Garay, having been appointed director-in-chief of the valley drainage, called attention to the fact that his original plan had been deviated from, and laid a new project before the government, in which he proposed that the tunnel and the cutting in the barranca should be abandoned, and another tunnel opened into the ravine of Ametlac.^[17]

Garay's project met with approval. It included an extensive system of navigable canals and irrigating ditches, all discharging into main arteries connected with the last collector, the grand canal, which was to have its debouchure at the Ametlac tunnel. The work is yet unaccomplished, although on the drainage of the valley depends the health of the inhabitants of the capital. The city of Mexico is cradled on a subterranean lake,^[18] ever emitting poisonous exhalations. The mortality is excessive, and seems to be increasing.^[19]

 

Maize, or Indian corn, constitutes the principal article of food, and its cultivation, in later years, has become most important in the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Oajaca, Puebla, and Vera Cruz. About the middle of the present century, great uncertainty as to the yield of the crops in different localities is noticeable, and while in one place corn would be selling for almost its weight in gold, at another it would be so abundant as to be used as food for hogs. The main reason of this great difference was the difficulty of transportation.^[20] During later years, the increase in the production of maize has been prodigious, its value in 1879 amounting to $112,164,424, representing about five eighths of the total product of the country.^[21] Of other grains, wheat ranks next in quantity; grown chiefly in Jalisco, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Querétaro, and Coahuila.^[22] It is only raised for home consumption, as also barley, which is grown in the immediate neighborhood of towns, highways, and mining places, and is principally used as fodder.^[23] Owing to the favorable conditions for the cultivation of rice in the moist and swampy regions of the coast, the production of this cereal has gradually exceeded the home demand, and of late years some rice has been exported.^[24]

Second to wheat in value, and maize in quantity, is the production of frijoles, or beans, which, with the tortillas of maize, and the chile pepper, form the national dishes of the Mexicans from ancient times. The consumption of frijoles has greatly decreased, however, during the last twenty years.^[25] The pepper just mentioned is of great importance in the Mexican household, and its consumption is almost incredible.^[26] This condiment is of inestimable benefit to the poor, supplying in a measure the absence of meat and bread; without it their tortilla would be quite insipid. It is a powerful stimulant, and its pungency so great that it will produce excoriation of the tongue, gums, and palate of a person unaccustomed to its use. Of farinaceous plants, mention must be made of the plantain, potato, and manioc, the first named being to the coast-dwellers what corn is to the people of the uplands.^[27] It is wonderfully prolific, producing on a given area more nutrition than any other known plant.^[28]

Occasional efforts have been made to develop the cultivation of various vegetables, in the desire to increase the supply of aliments for the poorer classes, but these attempts have been attended with little result.

Equally unsuccessful have been steps taken to revive the cultivation of cacao, which in colonial times fell to insignificant proportions.^[29] The attempt, however, has checked to some extent its importation from other countries, which in former years was considerable.^[30]

The future cultivation of the coffee shrub affords a more favorable prospect. This plant was introduced 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.^[31] The encouragement given to the cultivation of this plant by the government has been persistent,^[32] 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.^[33] 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.^[34]

The maguey, or pulque plant — agave Americana — is one of the most important productions of Mexico.^[35] Considering the variety of uses to which the plant subserves, the little care and trouble required in its cultivation, its vigorous growth on soils and in localities where no other plant will thrive, and the enormous returns which it yields for the outlay of small capital, a maguey plantation as a profitable source of income is unsurpassed by any other agricultural industry.^[36] The history of the discovery of producing from its juice the intoxicating beverage known as pulque is lost in the obscurity of the past, but traditions are not wanting on the matter.^[37]

The consumption of pulque has always bnee enormous, though during the war of independence its manufacture greatly decreased,^[38] as also that of mescal, a spirituous liquor obtained by distilling the fermented juice, and produced chiefly in Jalisco.^[39] Considerable quantities of both these liquors are manufactured illicitly. Although the maguey grows wild throughout a large area of the country, it is but little utilized except in the districts of which the cities of Mexico and Puebla are the centres, and where it is systematically cultivated.^[40] In addition to pulque and mescal, a brandy called tequila is obtained from the bulb of the maguey.^[41] With regard to the great value of the maguey as a producer of hennequen and ixtle, it has been estimated that a machine capable of turning out 200 pounds a day, and costing about $500, will yield a net profit of five dollars daily.^[42]

The cultivation of sugar-cane, at the opening of the present century, in spite of the restrictive policy of Spain, had advanced so as to admit of an annual exportation of about 125,000 quintals; but during the struggle for independence most of the finest plantations in the districts of Oajaca, Guadalajara, and Michoacan were destroyed, and the industry languished for many years. Nevertheless, the culture of the cane has gradually spread over a large portion of the country.^[43] The consumption of liquors, also, made from the sugar-cane is considerable, the annual value of aguardiente alone exceeding two million dollars.^[44]

Tobacco, in its different forms of cigars and cigarettes, is another article of general consumption, being used by both sexes. In colonial times, its monopoly formed one of the principal sources of wealth to the government. In May 1829, however, the cultivation and sale of tobacco were declared free, and have practically remained so, notwithstanding temporary attemps to reëstablish the monopoly.^[45] The result was that its culture spread gradually over the greater part of the country, although the districts of Orizaba and Cordoba in Vera Cruz still retained their former lead, till finally rivalled by Jalisco.^[46] Nevertheless, the production, though greatly increased, is little more than sufficient to meet the home demand, and the exportation of tobacco is insignificant as compared with that from Habana, the United States, and Brazil.^[47]

The liberal policy introduced after the independence has not had a similar effect on other products of the soil. Olive culture was relieved in 1810 of the restrictions which hampered its development; yet it has made little progress, though exempted from imposts in 1823; and it was only in Guanajuato that it met with any attention, about 7,000 arrobas of oil being annually produced in that state.^[48]

It was little letter with viticulture, though exempted from taxation by the law of October 1823. There were a few vineyards in Puebla and Oajaca, but it was only where the expense of transportation precluded competition by imported wines that those of native manufacture became of any importance, the district of Parras, in Coahuila, being the most famous locality.^[49] Vast tracts of land in Mexico are suitable in soil and climate for the cultivation of the vine, and its progress has doubtless been retarded by the aboriginal pulque and mescal, and aguardiente from the sugar-cane. Its development will probably assume important proportions during the present generation, the success which is attending viticulture in California acting as a stimulus. The state of Sonora especially, from its similarity to California in the necessary conditions, offers inducements to enterprise in this industry. Besides Parras, Paso del Norte, in Chihuahua, has gained a good reputation for wine-producing requisites.^[50]

Different in class to the preceding productions are others connected almost exclusively with foreign commerce. Prominent among them is cochineal. The culture of the insect which yields this dye was, and still is, almost confined to the state of Oajaca, where a great proportion of the Indian population used to find employment in the nurture of the bug and its preparation for market.^[51] This production in colonial times was considerable and very valuable, as also during the earlier years of the republic. More lately the culture of cochineal has greatly declined, owing to the discovery and extensive use of cheaper mineral dyes which supply its place.^[52]

The indigo plant grows wild in many parts of Mexico, especially in Yucatan and Tabasco, the extraction of coloring matter being known to the Aztecs before the conquest. In time, the superiority of the indigo produced in Guatemala caused a corresponding demand for it in European market and a decline of the industry in Mexico, which now receives but little attention, though extensive tracts of land are preëminently adapted to the production of this dye.^[53]

Cotton holds the fifth place in the list of Mexico's productions, its annual value exceeding $6,500,000. The cultivation, however, of hemp, ramie, and flax might be proportionately developed.^[54] Owing to the importation of foreign fabrics, and the inability of Mexican manufacturers to compete with those of Europe and the United States, cultivation of cotton has declined, until at the present date the supply is hardly equal to the demand for home consumption.^[55] When increased facilities for transportation offer an inducement to capitalists to engage in the production of cotton with a view to exporting it,^[56] the cultivation of the plant will probably become extensively developed. In the United States frosts necessitate the annual labor and expense of forming new plantations. In the tierra caliente of Mexico, the cotton plant is perennial, and only requires being kept clear of weeds and other vegetation.

Sericulture has made little progress during the present century. About the period from 1830 to 1850 some attention was given to this industry. Treatises were published from time to time,^[57] and societies formed for the promotion of it, and establishments were erected in different parts of the country,^[58] and by the year 1845 some little progress was perceptible. At the present time, only a small quantity of silk fabrics is manufactured out of the native article, the bulk of them being imported from foreign countries.^[59]

The vanilla plant is a parasitic evergreen creeper, indigenous to Vera Cruz, Tabasco, and Oajaca. Its aromatic flavor and perfume were known to the Aztecs, who used it in their chocolate. Little care is required in its cultivation, it only being necessary to suppress hardier creepers around it. The pods which constitute the vanilla of commerce are first dried in the sun, then sweated in woollen cloths, and again dried.^[60] Humboldt estimated the annual average export of the article through Vera Cruz at $60,000, since which time its production has increased fivefold.^[61]

From another parasitical plant is procured the drug jalap, which derives its name from the city of Jalapa. The medicinal properties are contained in the root, the virtues of which the Spaniards obtained a knowledge of from the Aztecs. Cultivation of the plant was not commenced before 1865, when exhaustion of the wild species growing in the forests of Jalapa, Orizaba, and Córdoba doubtless necessitated its culture.^[62]

Among the numerous contributions of the Mexican forests to the pharmacopolist,^[63] mention can only be made of the sarsaparilla, ipecacuanha, rhubarb, gentian, sassafras, valerian, and verbena. But these forests, which yield in such lavish abundance timber, dye-woods, and other useful produce,^[64] in some parts the country have been improvidently destroyed. Early in the present century attention was called to the serious inroads upon forests, and steps were later taken to prevent the entire denudation of the country by offering inducements to plant trees.^[65]

Stock-raising, during the present century, has considerably progressed, and the capabilities of Mexico for the future increase of horned cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs are incalculable.^[66] Though cattle and sheep can be reared with advantage in most states of the republic, the plains of the central plateaus are peculiarly adapted to stock-raising. Even Chihuahua with deserts and barren mountain regions would become wonderfully productive of pasturage all the year round by the use of artesian wells.^[67]

Horned cattle seem to thrive equally well at all altitudes, but the horse thrives best at an elevation of from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, while sheep are reared principally in the mountains. Special mention must be made of the raising of hogs, which are bred in great numbers all over the country. Indeed, the animal is ubiquitous.^[68]

 

Great encouragement has been given to the development of agriculture by the government during this century. Schools and societies for its promotion have been established;^[69] botanical gardens have been laid out, and exhibitions held of the floral, horticultural, and agricultural productions of the country. Nevertheless, the mode of cultivation in many districts remains in the backward condition which prevailed a century ago. The causes of this tardy progress have been, the facilities for raising on a small patch of land all the wants of a household, the decadence of the manufacturing industries, and the absence of means of cheap transportation. This last is the principal one. The cultivator would not extend his labor when he knew that the result would be that he could not convey his surplus crop to a market. Improvidence and shiftlessness followed, and the inhabitants in many parts of Mexico have frequently suffered great misery from failure of the crops through drought or floods, the devastations caused by hurricanes, and the ravages committed by locusts. Another cause is a chronic disinclination to change. The introduction of steam and other improved machinery is regarded by the lower orders as an innovation fatal to the means of support. But Mexico's prospective rise in the scale of nations will elevate her working-classes, and vast tracts of land will be put under cultivation, affording well-paid employment to a rapidly increasing population.

The value of agricultural real estate and lands, exclusive of forests and uncultivated wilds, as supplied by Busto in 1880, was estimated at $583,000,000.0^[70] What it will amount to at the end of the next generation it would be vain to conjecture.

 

 

1. Busto enumerates 87 different kinds of fruit, among which are many natives of the temperate zone, such as the peach, apricot, apple — of which fruit there are seven classes — the gooseberry and strawberry. Estad. Rep. Mex., i. la pte, 4-5.
2. The principal productions of the three regions are as follows: In the hot region, cotton, vanilla, indigo, dye-woods, cacao, maize, rice, hemp, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, chile peppers, anise-seed, cassia, oranges, plantains, bananas, and other tropical fruits. In the temperate region, coffee, sugar, tobacco, maize, cotton, frijoles, pease, cereals, vegetables, and fruits of northern latitudes thrive, the forests abounding in camphor-trees, oaks, and cypresses. The cereals, the maguey, and the hardier vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, beans, and turnips, are cultivated in the cold region. Here, too, are found deciduous trees, and conifers, namely, the pine, spruce, fir, and cedar; also all the different species of cactus.
3. American iron ploughs are already in general use, but are provided with one handle, 'only to suit the long-timed habit of the Mexican tiller.' Groso, dex. Phot., MS., 4-5.
4. The unequal distribution of land, and the grasping and oppressive procedure of estate-owners, was deprecated early in the century. Bustamante, Med. Pacific, MS., 97-108. A writer in 1821 thus describes them: Ó por error de entendimiento. . . . ó por maliguidad del corazon, son unos tigres en dos piés, son unas sanguijuelas insaciables del sudor de los pobres, polilla del estailo peor que los usureros, causa de la miseria, despoblacion y casi de todos los males del Reyno.' Pensador, Tapatio, 1-2, in Pap. Var., 159, no. 3.
5. On the table-lands the rainy season lasts about four months, while in the southern states the rains fall during six and even seven consecutive months. In the tierra caliente, no meteorological law of regularity seems to rule, and heavy showers will fall at any time during the dry season which prevails elsewhere.
6. Two crops of wheat and maize are grown annually on those portions of the central plateau where water can be obtained for irrigating purposes. More than half the surface of the country requires irrigation for the success of agriculture, and during the Aztec empire irrigating ditches were extensively used. Between Lerdo and Chihuahua water is reached at a depth of
7. The owner of a hacienda of about 20 sq. leagues — by no means one of the largest estates in Mexico — assured me that he had expended over $300,000 during 1882–3 for water.
8. For particulars, see vol. iii. 85-9, this series.
9. One of the dikes is a league in length, and the other 1,500 varas. They are 10 varas in thickness, and from 31/2 to 4 varas high; they are built of stone with buttresses of masonry, and were concluded in 11 months. Wart's Mex. in 1827, ii. 287-8.
10. 'On négligea le travail dans les années de sécheresse.' Humboldt, Essai Polit., i. 219.
11. The total expense of drainage, including all works undertaken from 1607 to 1789, is estimated at $5,547,670, and during the following 15 years from $605,000 to $700,000 more were spent in improvements. Id., 219-20, 2245. The dimensions of this enormous work are astonishing. The length of the cutting is 24,530 varas; for a distance of 2,624 feet the width at the top varies from 278 to 360 feet, and the perpendicular depth from 147 to 196 feet; for a distance of 11,483 feet, the depth is from 98 to 164 feet. The width of the channel at the bottom in Humboldt's it's time varied from 9 to 13 feet, and the slope of the sides from 49° to 45°, though in a large portion of the cutting the incline was less, the result of which was that frequent slides occurred.
12. In 1832, an act was passed setting apart $50,000 annually for the drainage of the valley. Arrillaga, Recop., 1832-3, p. 86.
13. This project of general drainage, abandoned since the time of Enrico Martinez, had been revived by Oidor Mier in 1775, but it was not until 1804 that it was definitely adopted. Iturrigaray passed a decree that year for the construction of a canal from Lake Tezcuco to the cutting of Nochistongo, the expense of which was estimated at $1,600,000. Work was vigorously commenced at several points, but ceased with the fall of that viceroy. Orozco y Berra, in Soc. Mex. Geog., ix. 461; Diario Mex., ii. 163.
14. To the projector of the second best plan, an award of $2,000 was to be given. Mex., Legis. Mej., July-Dec. 1856, 29-31. During this year an experimented attempt was made to effect the drainage by subterranean absorption. Wells were sunk in the hope of cutting into a porous stratum which would carry away the waters of the lakes. The contract was given to Sebastian Paule. Id., Jan. June 1856, 14-15, 26-9.
15. J. A. Poumaréde — Desagüe de Valle de Mexico, Nuevo sistema de impedir las inundaciones de la Ciudad y del Valle de Mexico, y hacer desaparecer en parte las causas de insalubridad que ofrecen uno y otro. Mexico, 1860. 12no, pp. 167, 2 plans.
16. The length of the Grand Canal was 48,300 metres, or nearly 30 miles; that of the tunnel, 4,954 metres, that is, six miles, less a few yards. At the debouchure of the tunnel, at the barranca of Tequisquiac, was a cutting nearly one and a half miles long, and 92 feet in depth at its deepest part. Iex., Jiem. Foment., 1868-9, 281-2; Id., 1873, 93-4. The plan of conducting the canal to the cutting of Nochistongo, as begun by Iturrigaray, was abandoned, and the construction was carried along the opposite side of Lake Zumpango. Preparatory work had been commenced by Maximilian, and Garay's original plan changed with regard to direction. This initial error was not corrected during the following decade, and much labor and money were thrown away. Palacio, Mem. Foment., 1876-7, 379.
17. The first tunnel opened into the ravine of Acatlan, which led into the barranca of Tequisquiac. The Ametlac tunnel would be more than one mile -1,644 metres — shorter than that by Acatlan, and the cutting 1,522 yards shorter. The Garay project was, moreover, superior in other respects, namely, in direction and in the termination of the work in a fall-an advantage which prevented obstruction to the outflow by floods in the ravine, to which the Acatlan tunnel would be liable. But the Acatlan cut had already been finished, and 410 yards of preparatory tunnelling done, besides the opening of 24 shafts, 4 of which had been sunk to the required depth. The question to be decided was, whether the Ametlac project would cost the same or a less amount than the completion of the work already commenced, under the supposition that the tunnel should be of the same dimensions as the Acatlan one. But Garay went further; he argued that the dimensions adopted by the government would be insufficient for the result expected; namely, the total drainage of the valley. The section of the Acatlan tunnel was only 6.44 square metres; he proposed that that of the Ametlac tunnel should be 21.10 square metres, capable of discharging 36 cubic metres of water per second, or four times the quantity that could be discharged by the smaller tunnel. The cost of the Acatlan tunel he estimated at $446,130, that of the one he proposed by Ametlac at $744,300, showing a difference of $298,170; but by the expenditure of this additional sum the perfect drainage of the valley, he maintained, would be accomplished. See his reports, in Mex., Mem. Foment., 1876-7, 373-4, 378-81.
18. The bed of Lake Texcuco is gradually rising, owing to the deposits of sedimentary matter. In Humboldt's time its greatest depth was 16 ft 8 in.; in 1882 its normal depth in the rainy season was only 6 ft 8 inches. Humboldt's statement has been contested on the ground that it was given without precision, Orozco y Berra, in Soc. Mex. Geog., ix. 466-7; but Garay, after a series of observations which extended over a period of 14 years, found that the mean rise of the bed of the lake was 1.6 in. annually, which verified Humboldt's statement. Drainage of Valley of Mex., 14-15. The result of this rising of the bottom of the lake is that the water percolates underground. The last-mentioned author says: 'It is true that the waters do not cover permanently our valley, but they spread stealthily under our feet and rise almost to the surface of the ground to poison the air we breathe.' Id., 17.
19. At this time the annual death-rate exceeds 14,000, whereas 15 or 20 years previously it was only half that number. Mex. Financier, May 9, 1885, p. 86.
20. Sixty years ago, maize sold in the capital at from two to three dollars the fanega, the price in the country being only three or four reales. At the mines of Guanajuato alone, 14,000 mules were daily fed on this grain and the straw produced from the dried leaves and stalks. In other mining districts the consumption was in proportion. Failure of the crop was a dire calamity, and affected the mining interest as much as the price of quicksilver.
21. Jalisco and Guanajuato produced nearly one fourth. Busto, Estad. Rep. Mex., i., Cuad. Agric., no. 30.
22. Previous to the introduction of railroads and steamer lines, the consumption of flour on the coasts was insignificant. In the early part of this century, wheat sold for from $13 to $16 the carga of 300 lbs., when maize soll for $1. The total value of the yield in 1879 was $17,436, 345, Jalisco alone producing one fourth of the quantity.
23. The daily quantity of barley hay consumed in Guanajuato alone was about 4,000 quintals. Mex., Mem. Foment., 1866, 57. The value of the production in 1879 was $4,403,742. Busto, ut sup.
24. In 1879 the value of the production was $1,248,244. During ten years ending June 30, 1880, rice to the value of $1,316,132 was exported to the U.S. In 1865, the yield was only sufficient for home consumption. Ib.; Brocklehurst, Mex., 96; Mex., Mem. Foment., 1866, 52.
25. In 1861 the crop was estimated at 2,172,268 cargas, valued at $19,550,412, while in 1879 the number of cargas was a little over 1,541,000, with a value of $8,406,211. Soc. Mex. Geog., Ep. 3a, i. 249; Azcárate, Not. Est., table 1; Mex., Mem. Foment., 1866, 66-8; Busto, ut sup.
26. Tlascala produced about 20,000 arrobas in 1861, which were not sufficient for the consumption in that state. Mex., Mem. Foment., 1866, 65. The total quantity produced in 1879 was about 470,000 cargas, valued at $4,196,482. This fiery spice is greatly relished by cattle. I have seen a plant covered with fruit, and of the hottest kind, stripped and destroyed in a few minutes by a cow.
27. Five kinds are cultivated in Mexico; namely, the platano grande, plátano dominico, plátano guineo, plátano manilo, and plátano manzano. Busto, Estad. Rep. Mex., i. 1st pt, 5.
28. Humboldt calculated that half a hectare planted with the plátano grande — called by him the plátano arton — will support 50 men for a year, while the same quantity of ground in Europe would not yield wheat enough to support two men. Essai Polit., 366. Its cultivation is attended with little trouble and trilling expense. The plant is propagated from its suckers. These are set in rows at a distance of about ten feet apart. When the fruit is gathered the stem on which it has been produced is cut down and left to decay upon the ground, constituting a fertilizer of the richest kind. New shoots from the root continually supply the places of their predecessors, whose duty and existence are completed with the maturity of the fruit.
29. In 1823 a law was passed exempting new plantations from taxation for 10 years. The tree is chiefly cultivated in the state of Tabasco, where it has been the object of special protective laws, which have had the effect of increasing its culture in that portion of Mexico. Mex., Guia Hac, iv. 24-6; Mex., Mem. Agric., 1843, 12; 1846, 32; Siliceo, Mem. Fom., 68; Dublan and Lozano, Ley. Mex., vii. 474, 521; Mex., Col. Leyes, Jan.-Aug. 1855, 222.
30. During the years from 1825 to 1828, 35,000 quintals worth $461,033 were annually imported. Mex., Mem. Aqric, 1840, 33. In 1856 the importation still represented $120,391 worth. Mex. Mem. Geog., Bol., Ep. 2a, i. 308. The production of cacao in 1879 amounted to the value of $1,140,050, of which sum $880,000 represents the yield in Tabasco for that year. Busto, ut sup. During the decade ending June 30, 1880, $1,306,329 worth of this bean was imported into the U. S. Brocklehurst, Mex., 96. The tree, like the cotton and indigo plants, is indigenous. The finest quality of cacao is produced in Soconusco, the reputation of which was so great that in colonial times a certain number of cargoes were annually sent to Spain for the use of the royal family in conformity with an order from the king. Robles, Prov. Chiapa, 33-4. Its production in that district is now small, and confined to the natives. In Chiapas, the price varies from 2, 4, and 5 to 6 reales a pound, according to the abundance or scarcity of the crops, of which there are two a year, one in May and the other in Sept. The price in the Mexican capital varies from 5 reales to 10 reales per lb. Mex. Financ, March 14, 1885, 373-4.
31. The coffee of Oajaca is second to none produced in Mexico.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. Payno estimated that these plantations yield a return of 80 per cent annually. Id., 418-16.
37. Consult Id., 384-7, and 3d Ep., ii. 282; vol. iii. 608, this series, and Native Races, ii. 395, this series.
38. The revenue derived from its sale amounted in 1808 to $680,604; in 1812 to $250,118, remaining at about the same figure during the next 10 years. For detailed statements, see Payno, Mem. Maguey, 94-5.
39. And to a less extent in Guanajuato, Morelia, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo Leon.
40. The Mexican govt offers every encouragement for the production of the hennequen and ixtle fibres for the manufacture of cordage, sacking, and textile fabrics. Permission has been granted a company to utilize for ten years the magueys growing on public lands, and a premium of $30,000 will be paid for each mill put in operation. On maguey plantations it is arranged that one tenth of the plants reach maturity annually. The plant dies after it has yielded its juice, or, when unmolested, has finished flowering. It is propagated by suckers which spring from the parent root, which are not disturbed till they are two or three years of age, when they are dug up and dried in the sun, for if planted green the shoots decay and produce a destructive worm.
41. Derived from the district of Tequila, in Jalisco. The process of making the liquor dates back to the days of the Aztecs. The bulbs are roasted in a furnace, and yield a sweetish liquor from which tequila is distilled. The value of this brandy produced in 1879 was $1,176,000; of mescal $570,646; and of pulque to $4,589,528. The maguey thus yielded, in liquors alone, $6,336,174. Busto, ut sup., ii. 427.
42. The production of hennequen is chiefly confined to Campeche and Yucatan, when great quantities are annually exported. It is estimated that the increase in the production of this fibre, during the 10 years ending 1884, was was 400 per cent, and that of ixtle 250 per cent. Mex. Financier, Oct. 25, Nov. 29, 1984, 62-3, 131.
43. In 1861, about 2,816 sq. leagues were under cultivation for the growth of sugar-cane. The fluctuations appear from the following figures: In 1803, the export of sugar from Vera Cruz alone amounted to about $1,500,000; in 1813 to only $19,412; and in 1822, to $150,000. While the exportation has never been of great importance, the home consumption is immense. The aggregate exports for four years, 1872 to 1876, were only about 65,000 quintals, worth $256,000; that for the fiscal year 1977 to 1878 being $276,479. Comparing these figures with the value of the total production estimated in 1861 at $5,200,000, and in 1879 to $8,761,317, an idea of the proportion of home consumption to exportation may be formed. Ward's Mex., i. 66 et seq.; Soc. Mex. Geog., 34 Ep., i. 249-59; v. 50S; Mex., Mem. Fom., 1956, 53; Vera Cruz, Mem., 1872, annex 43; Busto, ut sup., i., Cuad. Agric., no. 30. Though the cane is grown in almost every state, Morelos, Michoacan, and Vera Cruz produce about one half of the total amount.
44. Id., ii. 426. The district of Cuernavaca alone is said to have produced annually 50,000 barrels of aguardiente and the more ordinary chinguirito, Michoacan following with 12,000 barrels.
45. The law of 1829 will be found in Mex., Col. Leyes, 1829–30, 27-32. Details of the discussions about the reëstablishment of the monopoly in Mex., Dictámen, Mexico, 1831; Mex., Legisl. Mej., Jan.-June 1858, 31-3; Esteva, Apunt., 87-9; Mex., Mem. Fom., 1366, 77.
46. In 1979, Jalisco produced tobacco to the value of $710,000; Vera Cruz, $884,376; and Yucatan, $229,503. The total value of the production for the same year was $2,006,153. Busto, ut sur., i., Cuad. Agric., no. 30.
47. In the fiscal year 1873-4, leaf tobacco to the value of $66,866, and manufactured to the value of $35,520, was exported. The corresponding figures for the year 1977-8 were $58,882 and $31,260. Id., i. 4a pte, 97.
48. Busto, however, gives the total annual production in the republic as only 2,210 arrobas, worth $27,629. Id., ii, 426. A full treatise on the cultivation of the tree will be found in Geog., Soc. Mex., 2d Ep., i. 933–17. Lately the government has endeavored to give an impulse to this industry, and in 1885 the governor of Aguascalientes was notified by the department of fomento that 83,000 olive plants would be sent to be planted in that state by any one who might wish to set them out. Mex. Financ., June 13, 1885, p. 165; Diario Ofic., 16 En., 1883.
49. The parent of these vineyards was that planted by Hidalgo at Dolores, in Guanajuato, at the beginning of the century. Mex., Mem. Fom., 1866, 62; Hist. Mex., iv. 109, this series.
50. The total value of wines produced in 1879 was $2,662,671, of which sum $1,307,174 represent the production of Chihuahua, and $1,301,742 that of Coahuila, these two states thus yielding the total amount, with the exception of $53,755 worth. Busto, ut sup., i., Cuad. Indust., no. 3.
51. For accounts of the propagation of the insect, its life and habits after being transferred to the nopales, or plantations of the cactus on which it is nourished, and the drying process by which it is converted into the dye, the reader may consult Ward's Mex. in 1827, i. 83-6; Mem., Insecto Grana, in Mex., Col. Mem. Instruc., no. 9; Soc. Mex. Geog., iii. 82-6; and Humboldt, Essai Polit., 456-65.
52. 1n 1810 the yield was 545,000 pounds, worth about $2,000,000; during the period from 1821 to 1832 the registered production of Oajaca was 5,175,000 lbs., representing $10,260,000; the value of the amount exported in the fiscal year 1873-4 was $494,124, while that of the year 1877-8 was only $78,155. In 1844 the crop of Oajaca was worth $1,000,000. Mühlenpfordt, Mej., i. 157-8; Silíceo, Mem. Fom., pt v., doc. 3; Mex., Mem. Agric., 1846, 18; Busto, ut sup., i. 3a pte, 75, 4a pte, 95.
53. The decadence of the native cotton manufactures had a great effect upon this industry. The annual average value of the exportation of indigo for many years through the port of Vera Cruz was calculated by Humboldt to be $280,000. In 1802, an exceptional year, the value of this article which passed through the same port amounted to $3,229,796, and in 1803, through fear of war, it fell to $263,729. Essai Polit., 446, 697, 701, 706. The total production in Mexico for the year 1879 amounted to 422,941 lbs., valued at $358,002. Busto, ut sup., i., Cuad. Agric., no. 30.
54. Successful experiments with regard to the ramie plant are already leading to its increased cultivation. Flax and hemp are successfully cultivated in Michoacan, especially the latter, which grows spontaneously in that district. Seed was imported in 1832 from the U. S., and distributed among farmers. Mex., Mem. Rel., 1832, doc. ii. 23, in Mex., Mem. Rel., 21. In 1845 plantations were established in Zamora, Querétaro, Toluca, and San Martiao, with good result. Mex., Mem. Agric., 1846, 28. The facilities for growing and manufacturing cotton have retarded this industry, the plants having been cultivated chiefly for their seed, which is used for medicinal purposes. Mühlenpfordt, Mej., i. 129; Меx., Меm. Аgric., 1843, 13.
55. In 1841 the manufacturers of cotton presented a memorial to congress, calling attention to the detrimental effect of foreign importations on the industries connected with its production and conversion into fabrics. Mex., Espos. al Congreso, 1841, in Pap. Var., xix. no. 5. The quantity produced in 1845, according to official tables, was a little over 20,000 quintals ginned. Mex., Mem. Agric., in Id., xi. no. 4, 40-51, and table no. 6. During that year the supply was not equal to the home demand. In 1863 a law was passed exempting cotton-planting from duties for ten years, in order to encourage its cultivation. Mex., Col. Ley. D. C., 63-7, i. 199-200.
56. In the economical year of 1877 to 1878, the amount of cotton exported was represented by the insignificant sum of $218. Busto, Estad. Rep. Mex., 4a pte, 94.
57. Mex., Col. Mem. Instruct., nos. i., vi., and vii.
58. Particularly in Michoacan and Guanajuato. Pap. Var., xi. nos. 3 and 4; Bustamante, Diario Mex., MS., xliv. 3; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 518-19; Soc. Mex. Geog., iii. 285.
59. Mexico in certain parts seems to be exceptionally adapted for the production of silk. The mulberry-tree thrives in the country to perfection, and there are indigenous trees, the ailantus and palma christi, which have been considered superior to it as nurturers of the worm. Jimenez, in Id., 2a Ep., ii. 504-9. Ramon Martinez, in a letter to Bustamante dated Alvarado, August 24, 1830, called attention to an extremely prolific silk-worn which matures and propagates upon the encino prieto, rejecting the mulberry-tree in preference to it. Bustamante, Voz de la Patria, no. 24, 2-5. During the last few years, much attention has been attracted to this industry throughout Mexico, and the government has done much to encourage it. Between 1870 and 1875, sericulture was introduced with success into the state of Puebla, and in 1882 a concession was granted to José Fulcheri to enable him to organize a company for the purpose of growing the mulberry-tree and erecting twenty establishments in different parts of the country, the government engaging to grant a subsidy of $12,000 annually for the term of ten years to each establishment that should be founded. In the following year a favorable concession was also granted to Juan Fenelon for the production of silk in Oajaca, and a society was established in Monterey, for the same purpose, in Nuevo Leon. In 1885 the governor of Guerrero secured 100,000 mulberry plants from Italy, in order to introduce silk culture into that state. Consult Puebla, Var. Ley., no. 75; Diario, Ofic., 5 Jun., 1875; 5 Feb. 1878; 28 Mayo, 21 Ag., 1883; 28, 29, 30 En., 1 Feb., et seq., 1884; Estad. de Sin., 28 Ab., 1883, p. 1-2; Anderson, Mex. Stand-point, 92–3; Mex. Financ., May 2 and June 13, 1885, pp. 70-1, 165-6.
60. Much care must be taken in the process, as a single blemished pod will ruin a whole box in its transportation from America to Europe. Humboldt, Essai Polit., 438-41.
61. In the two fiscal years of 1873-4 and 1877-9, the exportations amounted respectively to $284,710 and $346,133. The amount produced in 1879 was 55,118 kilograms, worth $651,938. Busto, ut sup., i., Cuad. Agric., no. 30, 4a pte, 97. When exportations of Mexican produce are spoken of, the reader should bear in mind that the figures quoted do not represent the true amounts, owing to contraband trade.
62. At the beginning of the century, the annual exports amounted to about $60,000, while now they do not exceed $7,000. Id., i. 4a pte, 96; Humboldt, ut sup., 967. M. R. Gallo was the first to engage in cultivating the plant. Soc. Mex. Geog., 2a Ep., i. 7; Mex., Mem. Fom., 1866, 69.
63. Busto supplies a list of 113 medicinal trees and plants. Id., i. la pte, 3.
64. Among which I may mention the India-rubber or hule tree, and the vegetable wax-plant, both of which have suffered extensive destruction by unnecessary mutilation in the extraction of their produce. There still exist vast wooded districts in Chiapas, where the former grows in abundance, and the world is now looking to that portion of Mexico for a supply of rubber which is getting scarce in its old quarters. Consult Poumian, Notic., in Soc. Mex. Geog., 2a Ep., iv. 502-3; and for particulars about the vegetable wax-plant called by the Mexican Indians copaltzihuitl and by the Spaniards limoncillo, see Id., 2a Ep., i. 889-91, and ii. 115-16; Mex., Col. Mem. Instruct., no. 4.
65. Plantations containing from 50,000 to 100,000 trees were to be made of ash, willow, poplar, eucalyptus, acacias, and other varieties. The cost of the government will be $200,000. Diario, Ofic., 28 Mayo, 1883.
66. In 1860, the total number of stock comprising horned cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, and hogs was estimated at 15,172,725, having a value of $75,631,846. Hernandez, Estal. Rep. Mej., 122. The corresponding figures in 1879 were 25,610,000 and $122,000,000, including 4,600,000 goats, at $1 a head, a decrease in the value of horses, and an increase of $2 a head in that of hogs being observable. Busto, ut sup., iii. 422.
67. In the northern states, cattle-stealing on the frontiers and depredations by Indians have been a great drawback to stock-raising. These evils will presently disappear. English companies have already purchased large ranges in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Sonora.
68. In value, hogs far surpass the other classes of domesticated animals. The figures representing the numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs for the year 1879 are respectively 4,460,030, 2,500,000, 6,800,000, and 6,200,000. The corresponding values are $35,680,000, $25,000,000, $6,800,000, and $43,400,000, cattle being valued at an average of $8 a head; horses at $10; sheep at $1; and hogs at $7. Busto, ut sup., ii. 422.
69. In 1828 a society was formed, and an agricultural school was established by law in 1843. In 1856 the national agricultural school was organized. During later years, numerous institutions of the kind have been founded.
70. Estad. Rep. Mex., ii. 5a pte, 422. Garcia Cubas, in 1876, estimates the value of landed property at $322,000,000, without taking into account that of the streams, grazing lands, orchards, and other rural property of less importance.' Rep. Mex., 24-5.