# Appleton's Guide to Mexico/Chapters 16to29

XVI.
Mints.
There were formerly fourteen mints in the country, the oldest of which is that of the City of Mexico. Visitors are admitted to these institutions from 8 to 12 a.m., and from 1 to 4 p.m. It is better to go in the morning, as the workmen are more commonly employed during this time. English machinery is generally used at the mints.
The following table, taken from Señor Busto's great work, gives the coinage of the mints for the fiscal year of 1878 to 1879:
| Mints. | Gold. | Silver. | Copper. | Total. |
| Mexico | $304,500 00 | $5,116,000 00 | $14,800 00 | $5,435,300 00 |
| Zacatecas | 50,111 00 | 4,597,939 50 | | 4 648 050 50 |
| Guanajuato | 212,158 00 | 3,740,403 75 | | 3,952,561 75 |
| San Luis Potosí | | 2,519,110 00 | | 2,519,110 00 |
| Guadalajara | 3,830 00 | 1,413,161 00 | 1,500 00 | 1,418,491 00 |
| Chihuahua | | 806,025 00 | | 806 025 00 |
| Culiacán | 49,230 00 | 891,951 00 | | 941,181 00 |
| Durango | 23,935 00 | 854,882 50 | | 878,817 50 |
| Alamos | 13,700 00 | 756,598 15 | | 770,298 15 |
| Hermosillo | 1,360 00 | 555,650 00 | | 557,010 00 |
| Oaxaca | 3,700 00 | 153,610 00 | | 157,310 00 |
| | $662,524 00 | $21,405,330 90 | $16,300 00 | $22,084,154 90 |
XVII.
Post-Office and Letters.
Before the Conquest letters were carried throughout the realm by swift-footed couriers. The distance from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, about 300 miles, was traversed in twenty-four hours.
​Reports and messages were generally transmitted in picture-writing. It was in this manner that Montezuma learned of the arrival of Cortes and his warriors.
The various lines of steamers now carry the mail along the coast, and the railways, diligences, and special couriers, transport it into the interior.
In 1881 the number of post-offices in the Republic was 873, and the proceeds from the sale of stamps amounted to $500,000 annually.
In addressing letters, Sr., Don, stand for “Mr.," and Señora is used as the title for “Mrs." Strangers should omit such affixes as "esquire," in directing letters, on account of the difficulty the Mexican clerks have in deciphering foreign names.
On the arrival of the mail at the post-office, the names on the letters are written on lists, and placed on bulletin-boards near the door. There are separate lists for letters coming from foreign countries, from the interior, and from the city or county in which the post-office is situated. Sometimes a local letter is put on the foreign list by mistake. It will be advisable, therefore, for the stranger to look at all the bulletins. If the traveler sees his name on the list, he should write it down just as it appears on the board, and hand it to the clerk at the window.
Post-offices are generally open from 8 to 12 a.m., and from 3 to 9 p.m., throughout the country. In the City of Mexico the office hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 3 to 5 p.m.
Tourists are recommended to go to the post-office in person, in depositing or receiving their letters, in order to guard against mistakes.
Public letter-writers do a considerable business on the plazas of all the principal cities. Many of the natives can not write. In times of revolutions the post-office is of ​little use, as the insurgents examine, and often confiscate, the correspondence.
At present, the rates for postage in the interior of Mexico are so high that letter-writing is rather expensive. The foreign are much lower than the domestic rates.
Stamp-tariff.—For single letters to points in the interior of the country, not exceeding 16 leagues, the rate is 10 cents for each quarter of an ounce; 25 cents for half an ounce; 35 cents for three-quarters of an ounce; 50 cents for each ounce.
Single letters to points exceeding 16 leagues, 25 cents for each quarter of an ounce; 35 cents for half an ounce; 50 cents for three quarters of an ounce; and 6O cents for each ounce.
Printed matter in unsealed wrappers, 5 cents a pound, or $1.25 for a package weighing one arroba (25 pounds).
Unsealed business circulars, 5 cents each, or $4 a hundred. Printed or engraved cards on pasteboard or vellum, 75 cents a pound.
For Foreign Letters.—Each half ounce (15 grammes), 5 cents; postal-cards, 2 cents each.
Printed matter of all kinds:
1 cent for 50 grammes or less. 2 cents for 100 grammes. 3 cents for 150 grammes. 4 cents for 200 grammes and up to 2 kilogrammes.
Each State in the Republic has its own stamps, with particular numbers marked on them. No stamps are allowed to be taken outside of the post-office, except in the city of Vera Cruz. The rules of the department require that letters must be delivered at the stamp-window, where ​the amount of postage should be paid. The Government officials attach the stamps to the envelopes. In the national capital there are various shops, in the business part of the city, at which letters will be received and forwarded.
XVIII.
Telegraphs.
There are several lines of telegraph in operation throughout the Republic. The Federal Government has its wires all over the country, and the States of Zacatecas, Hidalgo, Morelos, and Michoacan, also own telegraph-lines. The Mexican Railway Company, the Mexican National Railway Company, the Mexican Central Railroad Company, and the Morelos Railway Company, have erected lines of telegraph.
It may be remarked that, in the case of the Mexican National Railway Company, the General Government reserves the right to put up two wires on its poles.
There are private lines in the States of Jalisco and Vera Cruz. That of the latter State extends from the capital to the city of Vera Cruz, and is called the Commercial Telegraph Line. A New York corporation, entitled the Mexican Telegraph Company, has established itself in the country; and there are submarine cables running from Mexico to the United States, Central America, and South America.
All the railway stations contain telegraph offices, and the hours of business are in general from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The principal offices of the lines belonging to the National and State Governments are in the business part of the larger cities. English is rarely spoken by the operators; ​and the rates for messages are much higher than in the United States.
On the 1st of June, 1883, the total number of telegraph lines in operation amounted to 10,200 miles. The Mexican Central and Mexican National Railroad Companies are erecting telegraph-poles as fast as each mile of track is completed. In some cases the wires are extended beyond the temporary terminus.
XIX.
Census.
No complete census has ever been taken of the Mexican Republic. The figures given in the public documents are generally estimates rather than correct enumerations of the inhabitants.
At the time of Humboldt's visit (in 1803), the total population was 5,840,000.
In 1838, it was 7,044,140; in 1856, 7,859,564; in 1872, 9,097,056; in 1874, 9,343,470; in 1878, 9,384,193; in 1879, 9,577,279; in 1882, 10,000,000.
In 1803, the number of inhabitants in the three principal cities was in Mexico (city), 135,000; Puebla, 67,800; Guadalajara, 19,500.
In 1879, Mexico had a population of 241,110; Guadalajara, 78,600; Puebla, 64,588.
The following table, copied from Señor Busto's great work, gives the population of the several States, their area and the number of inhabitants to the square kilometre; also the population of the capitals of the States, in 1879: ​
| | STATES. | Area in square kilometres. | Total population. | Average number of inhabitants to square kilometre. | Capitals of the States. | Number of inhabitants. |
| 1. | Aguascalientes | 5,776 | 140,430 | 24-30 | Aguascalientes | 31,872 |
| 2. | Lower California(Ter.) | 152,847 | 23,195 | 0-15 | La Paz | 2,396 |
| 3. | Campeche | 67,539 | 86,299 | 1-28 | Campeche | 15,190 |
| 4. | Coahuila de Zaragoza | 152,517 | 104,131 | 0-68 | Saltillo | 11,340 |
| 5. | Colima | 7,186 | 65,827 | 9-22 | Colima | 28,572 |
| 6. | Chiapas | 43,930 | 219,735 | 5-00 | San Cristóbal de las Casas | 8,500 |
| 7. | Chihuahua | 272,716 | 180,758 | 0-66 | Chihuahua | 12,116 |
| 8. | Federal District | 231 | 354,340 | 1533-94 | Mexico, cap. of the Rep. | 241,110 |
| 9. | Durango | 110,463 | 190,846 | 1-73 | Durango | 27,119 |
| 10. | Guanajuato | 20,276 | 788,202 | 38-87 | Guanajuato | 56,112 |
| 11. | Guerrero | 68,568 | 308,716 | 4-50 | Chilpancingo de los Bravos. | 3,800 |
| 12. | Hidalgo | 21,698 | 434,096 | 20-01 | Pachuca de Guerrero | 12,500 |
| 13. | Jalisco | 114,896 | 994,900 | 8-66 | Guadalajara | 78,600 |
| 14. | Mexico | 25,245 | 696,038 | 27-57 | Toluca | 13,300 |
| 15. | Michoacan de Ocampo | 55,693 | 648,857 | 11-65 | Morelia | 20,400 |
| 16. | Morelos | 4,536 | 154,946 | 34-16 | Cuernavaca | 16,320 |
| 17. | Nuevo-Leon | 35,156 | 194,861 | 5-11 | Monterey | 15,300 |
| 18. | Oaxaca | 70,838 | 718,194 | 10-14 | Oaxaca de Juarez | 26,288 |
| 19. | Puebla | 31,120 | 704,372 | 22-63 | Puebla de Zaragoza | 64,588 |
| 20. | Querétaro de Arteaga | 8,300 | 179,915 | 21-68 | Querétaro | 27,560 |
| 21. | San Luis Potosí | 71,210 | 506,799 | 7-12 | San Luis Potosí | 34,300 |
| 22. | Sinaloa | 69,211 | 167,093 | 2-41 | Culiacan | 7,878 |
| 23. | Sonora | 209,694 | 139,140 | 0-66 | Ures | 9,700 |
| 24. | Tabasco | 32,935 | 93,887 | 2-84 | San Juan Bautista | 6,800 |
| 25. | Tamaulipas | 75,191 | 144,747 | 1-92 | Ciudad Victoria | 7,800 |
| 26. | Tlaxcala | 8,898 | 133,498 | 34-25 | Tlaxcala | 4,300 |
| 27. | Vera Cruz | 71,116 | 504,970 | 7-10 | Jalapa | 12,400 |
| 28. | Yucatan | 84,585 | 258,384 | 3-37 | Mérida | 32,000 |
| 29. | Zacatecas | 68,596 | 413,603 | 6-03 | Zacatecas | 32,000 |
| | | 1,958,912 | 9,577,279 | 4-89 | | 854,101 |
XX.
Population.
The population of Mexico is divided into four great castes, as follows:
Whites (individuals born in Europe, Spanish Creoles born in America); Indians; negroes; a mixed race (mestizos from whites and Indians, mulattoes from whites and negroes, zambos from Indians and negroes).
The Indians outnumber the other inhabitants. They are variously estimated at from one half to three quarters of the entire population. They are a long-lived race, small ​in stature, but possessing great endurance. Thus far the Indians have not been affected by foreign influence. It is very difficult to give a correct estimate of the number of foreigners in the country. We are disposed to believe that it does not exceed 100,000. The foreign population consists chiefly of French, Spaniards, Americans, Germans, Italians, and English. They live mostly in the cities of Mexico, Vera Cruz, Puebla, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Monterey, and Guaymas. The Mexicans reside principally in cities and towns. In the rural districts the traveler will find some haciendas, or farm-houses, at a distance from any settlement, but isolated dwellings are rarely met with. Except along the trunk-lines of railroad, one can ride fifteen or twenty miles in many parts of the Republic with-seeing a house.
XXI.
Architecture.
The architecture of the ruined palaces and temples of Mexico is described in the chapter on ruins. It may be said, however, that the former resemble the buildings of the ancient Greeks and Romans in ornamentation, and the latter are not unlike the pyramids of Egypt in external appearance.
​to the Government, are imposing and commodious. The largest edifice in Mexico is the national palace at the capital. It has two high stories and a frontage of 675 feet. Most of the houses have one story, and are provided with a patio, or courtyard, in which flowers and fruit-trees are planted. The roofs are generally covered with tiles, of which red is the prevailing color. In the principal cities a second story is added; but in the capital, and in the mining towns of Guanajuato and Zacatecas, where land is quite valuable, the buildings contain three, and often four (including the entresol), floors. While the larger edifices are constructed of igneous rocks, such as porous amygdaloid, trachyte, and porphyry, the dwelling-houses are usually made of brick and stuccoed. The roofs of the former are flat, and commonly furnished with a low wall, whereas those of the latter slant from the ridge-piece and are provided with eaves. In some cities the eaves are of sufficient size to afford protection to the pedestrian from the sun and rain.
As a rule, all buildings in Mexico are erected in the most substantial manner. The walls are of great thickness, and cellars are rarely seen. The windows are generally covered with railings of Biscay iron, reminding the traveler of Spain. Balconies are added to those above the ground-floor. Many private residences of the better class have porte-cochères, and a fountain in the paved courtyards. The dry climate is favorable to the endurance of the edifices, and many houses built soon after the Conquest are still in a fair state of preservation.
In the villages on the table-land, the most common building material is adobe, or sun-dried brick. The peasants living in the tierra caliente and tierra templada, commonly use sugar-cane stalks and palm-leaves in making their huts.
Tourists are advised to spend much of their time in ​visiting the churches. The cathedrals are generally provided with two towers, from which a fine view of the city may be obtained. These religious edifices are usually built in the form of a Latin cross, and the interior is seldom frescoed. The traveler soon grows weary of the white plastered walls, on which indifferent paintings are frequently hung.
The cathedral of Puebla has a stone floor, while that of Mexico is of wood, which seems out of place in comparison with the solid magnificence of the building. The objects of interest in a Spanish church are: the high altar, the stalls in the choir, the lateral chapels, and the relics and vestments in the sacristy.
The following terms applied to different portions of churches will be found useful:
Fachadas, façades; lonja, a long platform, which often surrounds the churches exteriorly, and which is ascended by steps or grees, escalinata or gradas.
The font is pila bautismal.
Pila de agua bendita is the stoup, or font, containing holy water; coro, is the choir; trascoro, the back to it, often profusely decorated; the respaldos del coro are the lateral sides of it.
The stalls are sillas, forming sillaria alia, or baja, as the case may be.
The choristers' desks are called atriles; the lectern, facistol, and the transept, crucero. Over it often rises a dome or lantern, which is called cimborio, and, from its shape, media naranja.
The purclose, or railings, rejas, are often beautifully executed, and made of silver.
The abside contains a capilla mayor, with the high altar, altar mayor; the reredos, or screen rising from it, is named the retablo. The latter are commonly exquisitely gilded. The right side of the altar—i. e. , the right of the ​celebrant, looking from the altar—is called lado del evangelio; the left is lado de la epístola.
The chapter is el cabildo.
The sagrario is a special chapel, where the Holy of Holies is often placed, de manifiesto, or displayed.
The vestry is la sacristia; the sexton, sacristan.
The relics, vestments, plate, etc., are kept in what is called el relicario.
Monaguillos are the vestry boys.
Misa mayor is high mass.
The belfry is la torre or el campanario.
XXII.
Painting.
The art of painting was rudely known among the Aztecs, whose means of conveying information was called picture-writing. Unfortunately for learning as well as for art, Zumarraga, the first bishop of Mexico, ordered all Aztec paintings and manuscripts to be committed to the flames. There are, however, a few specimens of these antique pictures in the museum at the national capital. There are but two academies of fine arts in the Republic, one at the City of Mexico, and one at Guadalajara. Art schools are connected with each, and another has been established at Puebla.
The academy of San Carlos, at the capital, contains paintings of considerable merit. Among the best Mexican artists are Jose and Luis Juarez, Baltazar de Chave, Obregon, Parra, Arteaga, Rodriguez, Ibarra, and Cabrera, the latter being an Indian. There are several excellent portraits of illustrious Mexicans in the Sala de Embajadores at the National Palace, most of them having been painted by Segredo and Obregon.
​The churches throughout the country are full of pictures, most of which are the work of Spanish artists, such as Murillo, Velasquez, Zurbaran, and Ribera. There are paintings by the former in the cathedrals of Mexico and Puebla, and in the church of La Compañía at the latter city.
The picturesque landscapes and street scenes of Mexico afford good material for artists, and we would recommend the country to them as a new field of labor.
XXIII.
Immigration.
The Mexican Government has recently adopted a comprehensive plan for the encouragement of immigration. Agents are employed to bring settlers into the country. There is a bonus of from forty to fifty dollars a head for each immigrant, and the Government gives each helpless one an allowance of twenty-five cents a day till he can sup- port himself. Many Italians have come into Mexico. Some have been brought from New York, and others directly from the ports of Northern Italy. This scheme, however, is not productive of beneficial results. Each immigrant is maintained at the public expense for an indefinite period, and there is little incentive to work. Furthermore, a number of these Italian settlers belong to the criminal classes. A Mexican official of high rank has lately informed the author that this plan is about to be discontinued.
The Mexican Transatlantic Steamship Company will receive thirty dollars a head for each immigrant.
As the Federal Government owns but little land, of which sections may be given to settlers, arrangements have been made with the railroads to carry immigrants to the ​interior at reduced rates. The Government will pay for their passage; but, as the metes and bounds of the public lands are not accurately defined, it would seem as if no lands could be given away at present.
Señor M. Romero states, in The International Review for November, 1882, that land in the State of Chiapas is valued at twenty cents an acre, while that in Sonora is worth only five cents.
Land is not for sale, however, in large quantities, excepting a few stock-ranches in Northern Mexico. The proprietors are still sufficiently imbued with feudal notions to prompt them to hold on to their real estate. A few families still retain immense tracts. One hacendado is said to own an area of 10,000 square miles on the northern part of the Great Plateau.
The railroad companies have occasionally been obliged to pay very high for a site on which to build a station and freight-house in the farming districts.
We venture to predict that settlers will pour into Mexico rapidly after the American trunk-lines are completed.
It is obvious, however, that the introduction of intelligent Americans, with capital, will be a very different thing from the influx of poverty-stricken peasants or miners from Europe.
American immigration means permanent colonization, whereas that from other countries will hardly attain that distinction.
It is possible, however, that colonies of German or British miners may be established in Mexico. High wages and the salubrious climate will tend to attract them. During the year 1882 settlements of Europeans were founded in the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Morelos, and San Luis Potosi. The majority will certainly enter the Republic with the intention of engaging in either mining or manufacturing enterprises.
XXIV.
Mines.
An elaborate description of the mineral wealth of Mexico wonld require a large volume. We have only space for a brief account of the mines, together with some statistics of the production of the precious metals.
The Cordillera, from Chihuahua on the north to Oaxaca on the south, contains almost inexhaustible deposits of gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead; while zinc, mercury, tin, platinum, and coal occur in a few localities. The greatest variety of ores is found in the States of Sonora, Chihuahua, Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. The first and last named States of the Republic possess auriferous gravel or placer deposits.
Before the Conquest the mines of gold, silver, copper, and tin were worked by the Aztecs; but the accounts usually given of the fabulous amount of gold used by this race of people, either for ornament or as money, have been greatly exaggerated. Cortes seized a large sum of gold at the ancient capital of Mexico, the amount of which is variously estimated by different authors. The most accurate writers place the figures at $300,000. As soon as the Spaniards had conquered Mexico, they turned their attention to the development of the mineral wealth of the country. The mines of Tasco, Zultepec, Pachuca, San Pedro de Jorullo, and Tlalpujahua were almost the only ones that were worked directly after the destruction of the city of Tenochtitlan in 1531, and from that time to 1548, when the silver deposits of Zacatecas were discovered.
Argentiferous veins constitute the principal part of the mineral wealth of Mexico, the silver generally occurring in the form of sulphides. The gangue is chiefly quartz. Most of these mines are situated between north latitude 19° and 24½°.
​Humboldt, in his Political Essay on New Spain, vol. iii, page 138, states the order of the districts containing the richest deposits of silver as follows: 1. Guanajuato. 2. Catorce. 3. Zacatecas. 4. Real del Monte. 5. Bolaños. 6. Guarisamey. 7. Sombrerete. 8. Tasco. 9. Batopilas. 10. Zimapan. 11. Fresnillo. 12. Ramos. 13. Parral.
In 1803, the mean annual yield of the precious metals amounted to 2,500,000 marcs of silver, and 700 marcs of gold. It is said that the total product of the Mexican mines up to the year 1880 is equal to $3,700,000,000 of silver. We should remember, however, that some of these mines are now on American soil, e. g. , those of California, New Mexico, and Arizona. The yield of silver for 1882 can be roughly estimated at $20,000,000, while that of gold amounts to about $1,000,000. Millions of dollars' worth of silver have long been and are now being exported to Europe. Humboldt states, in his work on New Spain, that two thirds of the silver supply of the whole world was annually shipped from the port of Vera Cruz, between the years 1800 and 1812, and some silver was also sent abroad from Acapulco. At present about fourteen millions' worth of this metal are annually exported to Europe. (Compare with chapter on commerce.)
The supply of silver in Mexico is now derived chiefly from the mines of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Sombrerete, Catorce, and Pachuca. Gold generally occurs in small quantities with the silver-ores. But most of it is lost in the process of reduction.
According to Humboldt, the joint yield of the Zacatecas and Guanajuato mines from 1548 to 1600 was $2,000,000, and from 1600 to 1690 it was $3,000,000. The ores at the ​former locality, as well as at Tasco and Catorce, are poor in gold; while those of the latter town, and also at Guadalupe y Calvo, are rich in their percentage of the same metal.
Perhaps the two most remarkable mineral veins of North America, excepting the famous Comstock lode of Nevada, are the veta madre of Guanajuato and the veta grande of Zacatecas. These veins have been worked for about three hundred years. (Vide section on the Mexican Central Railroad, for description.) The region adjoining these mining towns is an elevated desert, similar to the environs of Virginia City in Nevada.
Next to argentiferous deposits in importance are the immense beds of iron, which consist principally of the oxides called magnetite and hematite. The well-known Cerro del Mercado, in the State of Durango, has been calculated to contain sixty million cubic yards of iron-ore, having a specific weight of five billion quintals. An analysis of this ore by Mr. M. H. Borje, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, gave 66 per cent of pure metal. There are other vast hills of iron in Sonora, near Coalcoman, in Michoacan, and in the central part of the State of Oaxaca.
Lead-ores, usually in the form of galena and oftentimes argentiferous, are abundant throughout the country.
Copper, either native or as oxide, carbonate, or sulphide, is mined at various localities in Chihuahua and Oaxaca, at the towns of Mazapil and Jalapa, and near the volcano of Jorullo.
The oxide of tin is found in veins and alluvial beds at Durango.
Mercury occurs combined with sulphur, i. e., cinnabar, in the States of Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Michoacan, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, and Guanajuato. Zinc-ores are met with in Chihuahua; and platinum, antimony, cobalt, and nickel come from the same State. These last-named metals, however, are not found in large quantities.
​There are beds of coal in various parts of Mexico, but principally in the States of Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Puebla, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Sonora. Anthracite of good quality is mined in the latter State, and a fair quality of it is worked in the northern parts of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. Some of this coal is burned in the engines of the Mexican National Railway. Lignite or brown coal occurs in many localities, but it is not used to any extent. We have stated elsewhere, that coal is imported in large quantities, owing to the scarcity of fuel near the lines of the railroads. It may be added that an extensive mine of coal would be of more value to Mexico at present than one of gold.
As regards the cost and methods of mining in Mexico, it may be remarked, that the art has not yet attained the high degree of perfection known in Europe and the United States. Humboldt stated in 1803, that subterranean geometry was mostly unknown, and that, as a rule, the means of communication between contiguous mines were badly arranged. Millions have been expended in developing the mineral wealth of Guanajuato and Zacatecas. It is said that the Count de Valenciana dug three pits in a single mine near the former city, at the cost of $1,700,000 (vide p. 266).
Owing to the low price of labor and the very economical methods of the natives, more can be accomplished for a given amount of money at present, by working the metallic mines on the old Mexican plan, than by the modern and improved system. (Vide chapter on labor and wages.)
Thus far, few shafts have been sunk to a greater depth than one thousand feet. Steam-hoisting works, pumps, and tramways in the various levels of the mines are rarely ​used. Malacates, or large horse-whims, are substituted for the former; and water is raised in large skins attached to ropes. The peons carry pieces of ore weighing from one hundred to two hundred pounds on their backs from the "headings" of the levels to the main shaft, where the mineral is hoisted in huge baskets.
Iron drills of domestic manufacture and tipped with steel are still used by the peons. A few foreigners are employed at high wages in the mines of Chihuahua and the neighboring States, and also at the town of Pachuca, but they generally occupy positions like that of superintendent or engineer. American mine-owners in Mexico admit that the "jackass" mode of mining of the natives is cheaper than the European methods.
The Mexican miners are not much annoyed by heat nor by water. Humboldt found the temperature at the bottom of the Valenciana mine, then 1,681 feet deep, to be 93° Fahr. The miners descend in the shafts, either by means ​of massive stone steps that have been used for ages, as in Guanajuato, or on a series of ladders, as at Zacatecas.
Peons pick the ore over by hand at the surface and separate the gangue with small hammers. The ore is then carried to the reducing-mills on mule-back.
Most of the mines and mills are inclosed by high walls, and the peons are searched before being allowed to leave. It is very common to conceal valuable fragments of gold or silver-bearing rock in the clothing, or in the hair, or under the arms, of the miners. (See chapter on Guanajuato in Section V.) The argentiferous ores of Mexico have been worked by the patio, or cold amalgamation process, for about three centuries. Mule-power is used almost entirely in the haciendas de beneficios or reducing mills. (Vide chapter on Guanajuato, in Section V, Part Second, for a description of the patio process. )
Mines in Mexico belong to individuals and not to the Government. If abandoned, however, they revert to the State. In order to hold a mine, the owner is required to work it during four months of the year. Should the proprietor neglect to observe this law, the property is "denounced," i. e., escheats to the State, and it is soon advertised for sale. Sometimes valuable mines can be purchased for a mere song at a Government sale.
Foreigners intending to invest in Mexican mines should employ a competent mining engineer to examine them, and should also exercise extreme caution in dealing with the owners, as Mexicans will not dispose of mining property unless they can make a very good bargain. At present very few mines in Mexico are paying dividends.
In closing this chapter, it may be said that, if the tourist desires to visit the mines of the Republic, he will be treated with great courtesy by the superintendents and ​miners generally. The morning is the best time to go underground.
For the convenience of travelers, we give a brief list of mining terms:
Socabon, gallery or main adit; tiro, shaft; malacate, horse-whim; escalas, ladders; peña or piedra, rock; guija, quartz; veta, vein; mineral, ore; ancho, wide; angosta, narrow; oro, gold; plata, silver; cobre, copper; hierro, iron; azogue, quicksilver; plomo, lead; estaño, tin; azulfre, sulphur; caliza, limestone; bronce, pyrites.
What kind of rock is it? Como se llama esa piedra? How wide is the vein? Que anchura tiene la veta? Ten inches wide. Diez pulgadas de ancho. How deep is the shaft? Que profundidad tiene el tiro? I wish to see the mine. Quiero ver el interior de esta mina. Can I enter? Puedo yo entrar?
Thanks, gracios.
For further information on the metallic resources of Mexico, consult Humboldt's work on New Spain, vol. iii especially; Ward's Mexico; Whitney's Metallic Wealth of the United States; and Busto's Estadistica de la Repilblica Mexicana.
XXV.
Mineral Springs.
Mineral springs abound on the table-land of Mexico. Perhaps the best-known springs are at the city of Aguascalientes, where a large bathing establishment has been erected. Ojos calientes, or hot springs, are found in many places, not only in the vicinity of the volcanoes, but at great distances from them. These places are not as yet used extensively as resorts for invalids, but it is believed that they will be visited for this purpose when rendered accessible by railroads.
XXVI.
Geology.
This chapter may be read in connection with that on mines. Much has been written by Europeans and Americans on the geology of Mexico. But, interesting as the subject is, we have only space for an outline of the formation and physical structure of the country. A large part of Mexico is overlaid by igneous rocks, which consist chiefly of trachyte, feldspar-porphyry, and amygdaloidal basalt.
In the Sierra Madre, the metamorphic rocks, such as granite, gneiss, and clay-slate, are common. The great argentiferous veins frequently occur in the latter rock, although sometimes in porphyry, e. g., at Real del Monte, or in talcose slate, e. g. , some mines at Guanajuato.
Limestone is found at Tasco and Orizaba. It is extensively quarried at the latter town. The same rock constitutes the greater part of the eastern branch of the Cordillera between San Luis Potosí and Monterey. According to Dr. Wislizenus, the limestone at Saltillo belongs to the Silurian age. The lower part of the tierra caliente consists mostly of alluvial soil, although in a few places rocky ridges extend to the coast, e. g. , at Acapulco.
We have referred to the localities of the ores of the principal metals and of coal in the chapter on mines. Deposits of nitre, kaolin, common salt, and Glauber's salt, or sulphate of soda, are abundant on the table-land. Petroleum occurs plenteously in the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Tabasco, and Oaxaca. Sulphur is found at the volcanoes, especially those of Popocatepetl and Orizaba. A large supply is now obtained from the former.
It is said that Cortes's warriors descended into the crater ​of Popocatepetl to procure sulphur for the manufacture of gunpowder. The abundance of hot springs on the Mexican plateau has already been mentioned (see p. 83).
The volcanoes are perhaps the most interesting features in the geology of Mexico to travelers. There are four active volcanoes in the Republic; but no eruption has occurred in any of them during the present century. Earth-
quakes are common in the vicinity, however, and soJfataras, fumaroles emitting hot aqueous vapor, and adjoining warm springs, indicate that these volcanoes are still in a semi-active state.
Beginning on the western coast, the Mexican volcanoes are: Colima, Jorullo, Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, Orizaba, and Tuxtla. The heights of these mountams are given in Part Second.
Humboldt, who was the first scientific observer to make an extensive geological reconnaissance of Mexico, has ​remarked that the volcanoes just named lie on the same great vent of the earth's crust, and approximately on the nineteenth parallel of north latitude (vide Cosmos, vol. v, p. 377, et seq.).
The most important geological event in Mexico since the Spanish Conquest is the elevation of the volcano of Jorullo, which took place in the year 1759 (see Section IV, in Part Second, for a long account of it). The description of Jorullo explains, in a general way, the manner in which volcanic mountains are formed.
There are still many parts of the Mexican Republic where the hammer of the geologist has not yet sounded, because scientists have thus far confined their observations chiefly to the vicinity of the metallic deposits and the volcanoes. A great variety of minerals and precious stones is found in Mexico. Señor Busto states that the number of mineral species is three hundred and sixty-five, the majority of which occur as ores.
We have not sufficient space in this volume to give the complete list, but among the gems of the country we may mention the ruby, diamond, opal, topaz, emerald, garnet, agate, carnelian, and tecali, or so-called Mexican onyx, which is a variegated calcite.
For further information on the geology of Mexico, the reader is referred to Humboldt's Cosmos and New Spain; Busto's Estadistica de la RepilUica Mexicana; Burkart's Aufenthalt und Reisen in Mexico in den Jahiren 1825-1834 ; Wislizenus, Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico; and various articles in the American Journal of Science and Arts, in the Annales des Mines, in Poggendorff's Annalen, and several other French and German scientific periodicals.
XXVII.
Zoölogy.
Owing to the variety of climate of the three zones of Mexico, the fauna of each one differs greatly.
Among the animals indigenous to the country, large mammals are very rare. The most common species are the black bear, or oso; the deer, or venado; the Mexican wolf, or coyote; the marten, or camomiotte; the otter, or nutria; the squirrel, or urion; the porcupine, or hoitzlacuatzin; the skunk, or gatomontes (of which there are four varieties); and two kinds of the hare, or liebres. One of these was called the jackass-rabbit by the United States troops during the Mexican War.
Several other rodents, the armadillo, the shrew-mole, or topo, and the opossum, or zorra mochilera, also abound.
Besides the domestic fowls, two hundred kinds of birds, including eagles, hawks, ravens, wild turkeys, and buzzards, are found in the Republic.
Reptiles are comparatively scarce on the table-land, but are abundant in the tierra templada and tierra caliente. Turtles (tortugas de mar) are common in the Gulf of Mexico, the chelonia imbricata, which furnishes the well-known tortoise-shell of commerce, occurring near the eastern coast.
Alligators (lagartos) live in the swamps of the southern States.
Lizards (lagartijas) are plentiful in the hot zone. The iguana (Lacerta iguana, Linnæus) sometimes grows to a length of three feet. Another species of lizard, known as the alcatelepon, being about fifteen inches long, and having a rough gray skin, is found in the country. Its bite is painful, though not dangerous.
Snakes (serpientes) occur in the various zones, but ​principally in the tierra caliente. Poisonous serpents are unknown at an elevation above seven thousand feet. Both land and fresh-water snakes exist in Mexico.
The most common species are the rattlesnake, or cascabel; the darting-snake, or saltillo; the black-snake, or culebra; and the centoatl, whose skin shines in the dark.
Among the sirens, the siredon, or axolotl, having a length of ten to fifteen inches, is found in the Lake of Texcoco, and in lagoons of the adjoining mountains. During the war of the Conquest, the axolotl was so plentiful that Cortes is said to have fed his army upon it.
The many fresh-water lakes of Mexico are well stocked with fish (pescado), the principal kinds being the bass, eel, trout, white-fish, and bagre. The flesh of the latter is delicious and is extensively used for food. The waters along the coast of the Republic likewise afford a great variety.
The red mullet, or mujol, is a favorite article of food among the Mexicans. It was this kind of fish that was carried by swift-footed couriers from Vera Cruz to the ancient capital, a distance of two hundred miles, for Montezuma's table.
​There are infinite numbers of species of insects in the country. Many are poisonous, and the bites of others are very painful.
Butterflies (mariposas) and ants (hormigas) exist in great variety.
The arriera, or carrying-ant, is very injurious to agriculture. The black and red ant are abundant, and their
sting produces much pain. There are six kinds of bees (abejas).
Among the worms may be mentioned the teocuilin, which possesses the properties of the cantharides, and the temahuani, whose bite is venomous.
Ticks (reznos), mosquitoes (mosquitos), jiggers (neguas), and moniquiles, are common in the tierra caliente. The latter burrow under the skin, causing great suffering (see p. 156).
The cochineal, or cochinilla, is found extensively in Oaxaca. Fleas (pulgas) are plentiful throughout the country.
​The silk-worm (gusano de seda) is raised in the southern states.
Among the arachnida of Mexico are the scorpion (escorpion or alacran) and tarantula, which are found in all the zones.
The centipede (escolopendra or cientopiés) occasionally grows to a length of eighteen inches, and is abundant in the tierra templada and tierra caliente.
In the sub-kingdom of mollusca, we will mention only the pearl-oyster, which occurs on the Pacific coast. The pearl (perla) fishery at La Paz, in Lower California, is of some importance. The fauna of Mexico has not thus far been fully described.
XXVIII.
Botany.
The flora of Mexico consists of an infinite variety of species, on account of the configuration of the country. There is, perhaps, not a single plant known to science that can not be grown in the Republic.
The three zones have each a different flora, which may be described as follows:
In the tierra caliente, the plants consist mostly of tropical fruits, cocoa-palms, dye-woods, sugar-cane, indigo, and cotton.
In the tierra templada, there are bamboo and camphortrees, oaks, cypresses, coffee, tobacco, and the cereals.
In the tierra fria, are found deciduous trees, and conifera like the pine, spruce, cedar, and fir, and the various species of cactus.
Wheat and a few vegetables also grow in the latter region.
Much logwood and Brazil-wood are found in the States ​of Tabasco, Chiapas, and Campeche; and in Sinaloa, mahogany, rose-wood, and ebony are abundant.
There are extensive forests in the States of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Chiapas, and in the neighborhood of the volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Orizaba. We have referred elsewhere to the forests that once existed in the valley of Mexico (vide Section III of Part Second).
During the winter season the deciduous trees on the
table-land shed their leaves, which are replaced by a new growth within a few weeks.
There is a great variety of fruits in the tierra caliente, among which are many species which are rarely seen in temperate climates, such as the granadita, mamey, and chirimoya.
​The most abundant fruits are oranges, limes, bananas, and pineapples.
Flowers are cheap and plentiful at all seasons. Some species bloom on the great plateau. Dahlias and roses are most common in the parks and gardens of the cities.
The country possesses many other beautiful flowering plants that are known only to Europeans in the botanic gardens, such as the clavel, floripondio, and azucena.
We may sum up the flora of Mexico as follows: There are fifty-six kinds of building-woods and twenty-one kinds of "cabinet"-wood; four varieties of gum and three of resin; twelve kinds of forage; one hundred species of odoriferous flowers, and fifty-two of cereals and vegetables; eighty-seven kinds of fruit, and one hundred and thirteen species of medicinal plants.
There are in all ten thousand known families of plants, many of which are of no economical importance. The principal trees and shrubs of the country are referred to in the itineraries of Part Second.
XXIX.
Agriculture.
According to Prescott, agriculture in the Aztec Empire was in the same state of advancement as the other arts ​of social life. In the natural openings of the primeval forest, or in a fertile strip of interval, the Aztecs planted beans and Indian corn.
All, except the nobles and soldiery, cultivated the soil, the work being done chiefly by the men.
The more important branches of husbandry were the culture of the banana, which was easily grown and gave exuberant returns; the production of chocolatl from the cocoa-palm; the cultivation of the vanilla, which was confined
to a small strip of the sea-coast; and the planting of maize and the maguey. Prescott calls the latter “a miracle of nature," on account of the large number of articles that are made from it. The Aztecs pressed the stalks of Indian corn to obtain the sap for sugar. There is no evidence that the tillage of the country was materially improved by the Spanish Conquest.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that agriculture is still in its infancy in the various parts of Mexico. This is due to the persistency of the peons in making use of the rude implements of their forefathers. Fortunately, an easily worked and fertile soil generally exists in the Republic. Frost occurs only on the table-land, and is rare in many portions of it. All kinds of cereals, vegetables, and fruits are cultivated in the country, but the absence of facilities for cheap transportation in some of the States is a great drawback.
​The products of the three geographical divisions of Mexico may be briely stated as follows: In the hot region, cotton, vanilla, indigo, rice, hemp, sarsaparilla, peppers, bene-seed, anise-seed, caoutchouc, cocoa, cassia, oranges,
bananas, and other tropical fruits grow to perfection. Several of these plants thrive without tillage. In the temperate region, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, brown beans, peas, and a few other vegetables, and the fruits of northern latitudes are cultivated. In the cold region, the cereals, the maguey, or aloe, and the hardy vegetables, as potatoes, carrots, beans, etc., are found. (Vide chapter on botany.)
Wheat grows at as high an elevation as 8,500 feet in the latitude of the capital; and maize and the maguey may be cultivated at nearly the same altitude.
The crops in Mexico are dependent partly upon ​rainfall and partly upon irrigation. North of the twentieth parallel, irrigation is necessary on the table-land. In the southern States the rains are generally limited to one continuous season, which varies from five to seven months in the year. As in other tropical latitudes, a deluging rain oftentimes does more harm than good to the growing crops.
Referring to this important subject, Humboldt has remarked in his work on New Spain, vol. ii, page 455: “Were the soil of Mexico watered by more frequent rains, it would be one of the most fertile countries cultivated by man in either hemisphere." The prosperity of New Spain depends upon the proportion of dry and wet season. The farmer, of course, takes advantage of the rainy season, and in the northern and central States he sows in May and reaps in October. Two crops of wheat and Indian corn are grown annually in various sections of the tierra templada and on the central table-land. The second crop is, however, sometimes destroyed by a premature frost. In the States of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Tabasco, Mexico, and Jalisco, three crops of maize are cultivated in a single year! They are called respectively the riego, temporal, and tonalmile.
As irrigation (riego) is necessary for more than one half of the surface of the country, let us now consider this subject. In the Aztec Empire acequias, or irrigating ditches, were used. The Spaniards were agreeably surprised to find a system equal to that which the Moors had established in the Iberian Peninsula. The plan of watering the soil by artificial channels, however, is at present limited to a comparatively small portion of the arable land in the country. In order to increase the annual yield of grain and vegetables, the Mexicans should adopt the system of tanks which has been in use so long in British India.
Water-companies should be organized for this purpose, and the huge ravines, or barrancas, of the sierra should be ​dammed up for the storage of an abundant supply of water for seasons of drought.
The soil of Mexico might be caused to yield a hundred-fold more grain than is now produced, and the Republic eventually enabled to compete with the States of California and Oregon in exporting the cereals to Europe. Grain has recently (1883) been sent from California to New Orleans, La., via the Southern Pacific Railroad. The cereals of Northern Mexico might be transported to the sea-board by the same route. This subject is worthy of the attention of foreign capitalists.
As regards the amount of cereals cultivated within a given area in Mexico, it may be remarked that the proportion of grain to seed varies from forty to one to three hundred to one. An average yield would be about one hundred and fifty to one. In very fertile land one fanega (about three bushels) of seed will produce four hundred fanegas of maize. Humboldt has remarked that the finest soil on the plateau is to be found in the rich plains lying between the cities of San Juan del Rio and Leon.
It is not usual in Mexico to estimate a crop of grain by the number of bushels to the acre. In response to inquiries made in various States, the author was told that the yield of maize varied from twenty to forty bushels to an acre. The highest production is seventy bushels. No figures as to the proportionate amount of wheat and barley yielded could be obtained. Next to the cereals, the great staple ​products of Mexico are coffee, sugar, tobacco, cocoa, and cotton. All except the last-named are exported.
Coffee (café) was introduced into the West Indies about the year 1714, and was thence advanced to New Spain at the beginning of the joresent century. It grows best in the temjaerate zone, and in the shade of the forest. It is now cultivated in eight States—viz.. Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Guerrero, Colima, Michoacan, and Morelos. The State of Vera Cruz yields the largest quantity.
Colima ranks next, and produces the finest variety of the article. It rivals the choicest Mocha brand. There is a great demand in foreign countries for Mexican coffee; and doubtless the annual production will soon be doubled if not quadrupled.
Sugar-cane (caña de azucar) is grown extensively in all but seven States of the Republic. The greatest amount of sugar comes from Morelos, and the State of Vera Cruz ranks second. Irrigation is necessary for its successful cultivation in some States. Sugar-cane grows both in the ​tierra caliente and tierra templada up to an elevation of 6,000 feet. In the latter, eighteen months are required for the crop to mature, wliile in the former the time varies from nine to twelve months. The sugar-cane of Mexico is of three kinds—viz., those of Castile, Havana, and Otaite.
At the time of Humboldt's visit, about 14,000,000 pounds of sugar were exported annually. In 1881 the amount did not exceed 500,000 pounds.
Tobacco is indigenous to Mexico. Indeed, it derives its name from the town of Tobaco in Yucatan. The culture of it was formerly restricted by law to the vicinity of Orizaba. At present it grows chiefly in the States of Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Jalisco. (Vide chapter on cigars and tobacco.)
Cocoa (cacao) is found in the States of Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Colima. The first-named State produces the largest amount, the culture of cocoa being the principal branch of its agricultural industry. Chiapas ranks second, and but little of this article grows in the remainder of the Republic.
Cotton (algodon) is cultivated in about half the States. Yucatan produces the largest quantities, and Durango ranks next. The finest cotton comes from the Pacific coast States and from Vera Cruz. It is also grown extensively in the vicinity of the lagoon of Tlahualila (which is familiarly called the "laguna country"), and in Southern Chihuahua. According to Señor Busto, an acre of land will yield about 2,000 pounds of cotton as an average. It thrives up to an elevation of five thousand feet.
In 1803 the annual exportation of cotton amounted to ​700,000 pounds. At present it is not exported, nor is it cultivated in quite sufficient quantities for home consumption.
In 1806 Mexican cotton-seeds were introduced into Mississippi by Walter Burling, Esq., and are supposed to have improved the character of the staple thus grown.
Vanilla is produced in the States of Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. According to Humboldt, Europe received its entire supply of this commodity from Mexico previous to 1812.
Bananas grow luxuriantly in the tierra caliente, and the maguey, or aloe, is cultivated extensively on the table-land. It is said that a plantation of the latter pays better as an investment than any other kind of crop in Mexico. The maguey will grow in a soil that is almost barren. It matures in eight years in the States of Puebla and Mexico; and in San Luis Potosi it becomes ripe in five years. This plant will not blossom in northern climes.
​With the improved processes of tillage, including the use of modern implements, extensive tanks and irrigating ditches, all of which are likely to be introduced at an early day, the staple products of Mexico will of course be increased many fold.
The culture of sugar and tobacco is, and will doubtless continue to be, more profitable than that of the cereals. The cultivation of the tropical and semi-tropical fruits will also be carried on far more extensively than at present throughout the tierra caliente, and in the lower parts of the tierra templada.
A recent correspondent of the Chicago Tribune describes the Mexican farmer as follows: "On the ranch or village home of the 'greaser' Mexican everything bears the stamp of negligence and shiftlessness. Their gaunt, sharp-nosed, long-legged, and tan-colored hogs share with their owners in the comforts of the family residence. No fences except brush surround their fields. Generally there are none. They raise just sufficient wheat, barley, beans, and chili (red peppers) to meet their absolute needs. They thrash their crops upon bare, smooth ground by driving flocks of goats over them and washing in the nearest stream. They often plow with a crooked stick, and the hoe is their seythe, sickle, and reaper. Even their hay is cut with a hoe. They as a rule live in villages and cultivate small fields upon their outskirts. Living as they do, and possessing a soil which under irrigation is wonderfully productive, they require but little ground to cultivate."
Agricultural implements are admitted free of duty (vide p. 57). American reapers, mowers, plows, etc., have been introduced on the ranches of the northern and central part of the table-land. Time will, however, be required to induce the peons to abandon their rude ancestral tools that simply scratch the ground. Labor is abundant at three reales (37½ cents) a day. It is hardly necessary to remark that ​the land will be best developed by the immigration of skilled farmers from Europe and the United States.
The following table, copied from Busto's Estadistica de la Republica Mexicana, gives a list of the agricultural productions of the Republic. It will be seen that the proportion of maize is about four fifths of the total product, while that of wheat is but one twentieth. Oats are rarely cultivated, and rye not at all.
| PRODUCTS. | Pounds. | Value in Mexican dollars. |
| Chickling vetch (a kind of pea). | 27,831,012 | 543,283 |
| Cotton | 55,391,072 | 6,605,831 |
| Bene-seed | 6,710,308 | 153,643 |
| Canary-seed | 2,467,025 | 57,410 |
| Anise-seed | 2,477,090 | 127,268 |
| Indigo | 422,941 | 358,002 |
| Rice | 33,366,493 | 1,248,244 |
| Sugar and molasses | 154,199,210 | 8,761,317 |
| Cocoa | 3,174,605 | 1,140,050 |
| Coffee | 17,514,877 | 2,060,382 |
| Barley | 511,134,850 | 4,403,742 |
| Cumin-seeds | 225,141 | 23,500 |
| Peppers of all kinds | 119,081,908 | 4,196,482 |
| Brown beans (frijoles) | 508,656,233 | 8,406,211 |
| Peas | 25,277,928 | 471,075 |
| Beans | 34,589,634 | 477,610 |
| Hemp | 88,176,000 | 3,352,000 |
| Ixtle (a kind of hemp) | 4,910,158 | 154,053 |
| Lentils | 4,625,775 | 83,043 |
| Maize (Indian corn) | 11,681,140,666 | 112,164,424 |
| Potatoes | 23,227,024 | 457,592 |
| Straw | 431,740,320 | 1,962,879 |
| Tobacco | 16,510,980 | 2,006,153 |
| Wheat | 747,349,004 | 17,436,345 |
| Vanilla | 121,248 | 651,958 |
| Sarsaparilla | 1,073,648 | 149,489 |
| Total | 14,452,954,787 | 177,451,986 |
* ↑ After January 1, 1884, inland postage will be 10 cents for each quarter of an ounce.
* ↑ This regulation is of great annoyance to the tourist.
* ↑ This list is taken from Busto's Estadistica de la República Mexicana.
* ↑ The company's steamers are now in progress on the Clyde.
* ↑ At the time of Humboldt's visit.
* ↑ The production of the mines of the United States for the fiscal year of 1882-'83 was $47,000,000 of silver and $32,000,000 of gold, given in round numbers.
* ↑ See Section X in Part Second.
* ↑ In Section II of Part Second.
* ↑ One steam-mill with improved machinery has been erected at Guanajuato.
* ↑ By the term "active" we mean those volcanoes in which an eruption has taken place within the memory of man.
* ↑ The ek, caoba, acum, evano, chimay, chulul, copal, and other woods grow in the State of Tabasco.
* ↑ Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 134.
* ↑ Brown beans, maize, and pepper grow in all the States.
* ↑ Wheat grows in all but five States.
* ↑ Notwithstanding her immense mineral resources, California has since 1876, with the aid of improved agricultural implements and acequias, yielded more in agricultural products than from her mines. This State resembles Mexico in soil and in outline. According to Señor M. Romero, more wheat can be cultivated in Sonora than in California. And it may be added that the same remark will apply to the Mexican States bordering on the Pacific Ocean, as well as to those of Guanajuato, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Mexico, Morelos, and Puebla. Indian corn, barley, and brown beans are also grown extensively in several of these States.
* ↑ 1803.
* ↑ In 1800 two million pounds of tobacco grew in the districts of Orizaba and Cordoba.
* ↑ In the southern part of the United States, 950 pounds of cotton to the acre is a fair average.
* ↑ There is a popular belief that the maguey in temperate latitudes will reach maturity once in a hundred years. Hence the name "century-plant."
* ↑ Compared with the United States, the annual corn-crop of Mexico is one ninth of that of the sister Republic; the wheat-crop is one forty-first, and the cotton-crop is but one forty-fifth. Maize being the principal article of food, the failure of the crop causes great suffering, as the poorer classes must then subsist on unripe fruit, berries, and roots.