The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-01-14
uex,eo,s Immense Resources.

WeXic0ss Immense heso0Tcess7e-s
60 mueh has been said and written
about the resources of Mexico. and so
little has been made out of them that =
shadow of distrust overclouds the glow
ing eulories of all the travellers: but the
testimony "a Uniform. and at the risk Of
being discredIted as new addition to
the long list of Mulberry Sellerses who
swarm here. / can only join in the gen.
eral voice which proclaims Mexico the
worlds wonder. and the richest of all
the lands of the earth in the production
of nature. It's mining wealth has hardly
been scratched. While we have reached
adepth OF nearly !. 1000 feet on the Com
stock and hand up ore by the ton in
hotel elevator the Mexican miner in the
Pachuca district climbs down zoo feet
on poles with pegs stuck in them. WITH
an empty BAG on his back, and climbs
back with his bag full of ore-say eighty
pounds-and his labor is less effective
at fifty cents day than that OF the
Comstocker At four dollars. Yet. with
this rude labor Mexico has managed TO
produce nearly half of the whole worlds
supply of gold and silver since the days
of Iubal Cain. There is not blast
JIN t4AI "A lAA A24SAAsaS-
ain of Durango could furnish all the
world with ore for q generation. anu
there are goo, 100000 tons Iylng aooye
the surface in Michoacan. Coal has
never been mined, but now there is
hardly week that some new coal dis
coyeFy is not located or denounced,
as they call il here. There Is copper
enough in Mexico 10 bring down the
price one-half. There is quicksilver,
and lead. nickel, antimony, tin. zlne-
As for sulphur and chemicals the great
laboratories OF nature are still at wo.'k
producing them.
But none of these things ale good 20
eat, and, after all, the basis of perma-
nent prosperity and equally diIfased
wealth consists not in mines, but IN the
agricultural products of the soil. Unless
there Is large and wealthy population
of cultivatols TO consume the product
of the mines and manufactures, the
country viii be at a great disadvantage
How does Mexico stand in this respect
The resources of her soil are simply
more marvellous than her mineral
wealth. The marvellous feature OF it is
that the ranges OF mountains, by their
varying elevation. bring all the climates
of the world side by side, and a days
journey up from the coast on either
side takes one from the tropics 20 the
temperate zones. The chief commercial
export of Mexico is Sofiee, and the Mex
lean coffee is cheaper to grow and more
nutritious to drink than that of any 9TH
er country; the sugar cane here grows
to height of twenty feet without cult
walton, and excellent. pure sugar IS
everywhere abundant. Cotton Is but
little cultivated, bat il grows well. The
Mexican tobacco is good enough to ex-
port TO Cuba and to come back as Ha-
vana tobacco, and | am very sure that
under better cultivation its plantations
viii rival those of the Vuelta Abaio. Rice,
indigo, cocoa, dTestuffs and ali tropical
products flourish in the TERRA Caliente.
or low lands, while hundred miles of,
amid the ranges, the fields are green with
wheat and barley and the waving leaves
of the graceful Indian corn. The fruits
of Mexico, like everything else here,
attest how much nature does for the
country and how little is done by man.
/ took dinner last Sunday at the hospit-
able house of an American resident, and
as a matter Of course we had strawber-
ries and strawberry short-cake. When
| asked how long the strawberry season
lasted Twas told ii lasted eleven months.
We had our choice also of watermelons
and muskmelOns. and the pyramid of
fruit passed around included bananas,
grenadines, mameys, chirimoyas, aqua
Gates and other more or less sweet and
juicy natural fruits of the country. OF
these the grenadina is the fruit of the
passion flower, its interior looking and
tasting like a magnitied and sweetened
go0seberry; the chirimova is called the
king of fruits, and looks and tastes very
much ike good vanilla ice-creaIn; the
aquacute or alligator pear, the NANCY
and the saporte taste like nothing out
side of Mexico. Pears and peaches are
poor and dear; Strawberries dear but
very fine; but all the tropical fruits are
good and cheap and plentiful. and are
in universal use among rich and poor
They are eaten raw, they are made into
salads, they are stewed into sweetmeats.
every meal having its duice as one of
the courses; they are candied with the
pure sugar of the country, their sweet
ened Juices are drunk with water, they
are invaluable aids to good health and
good living. AS for the vegetables,
peas and string beans, tomatoes, arti-
ohokes, eabbages, caulifowers, brussels
sprouts, broccoli. onions, lettuce aud ev-
erything known TO the American palate,
seem to be plentiful and perennial. =
Cor. So. Louts GSbe- Democrat.
.