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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] When increased facilities for transportation offer an inducement to capitalists to engage in the production of cotton with a view to exporting it,[4] the cultivation
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
