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THE MARKETS AND FLOATING GARDENS.
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culture, and that is the period that must elapse before a new plantation can be rendered productive, and the uncertainty with regard to the time of flowering, which varies from eight to eighteen years; but the maguey grounds, when once estab-
EXTRACTING AGUAMIEL.
lished, are of great value, many producing a revenue of $10,000 to $12,000 per annum."
A long, train departs every day from the stations on the plains of Apam, loaded exclusively with pulque, from the carriage of which the railroad derives a revenue of above $1,000 a day. From the hacienda the pulque is carried to the cities in barrels and sheep-skins, and there retailed. The shops are gaudily
