Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-08-28

$1S when old enough to cut. In its
fifteenth year there are certain appear-
ances, known only to the initiated, which
indicate that the central stem, or hampe,
which sustains the flower, is about to
form in the center Of the plant If the
owner is not watching to cut out the
heart at the proper time the hampe
shoots up with the rapidity Of Jacks
historic beanstaik, absorbing all the sap
which would otherwise make pulque-
The sproutlng of the stalk takes place IN
November or December, but the mag
nifcent cluster Of flowers does not form
on its top till late in February. In this
last month the monster leaf that envel-
opes the hampe gradually unfolds d
slender stalk the height of a telegraph
pole (which it exactly resemblesJ and
its crowning flowers are far beyond the
reach Of a man on horseback.
The juice Of the maguey in its un-
fermented state is called aqua miel-
honey-water. Is is gathered from the
central basin-formed, as above men
toned, by looping of the side leaves
and cutting into the heartily curious
process. Into the end Of a long gourd
cows horn is inserted, bored at the
point.
Through this horn and into the gourd
the juice is reached by applying the
mouth to hole on the opposite side Of
the gourd. The basin yields from four to
eight quarts day according to the size
and thriftiness of the plant, for a period
of three months, after which the plant
dies and is replaced by new one, which
the provident owner has been raising
from shoots. But even in death its use
fulness is not over, for then its valuable
fibers may be utilized and its leaves
pounded into paper pulp. From the
gourd-shell the juice is emptied into a
pig-skin, which still retains the perfect
form Of the animal-legs, tail, all intact
but the head. When this unique bottle
holds the honey-water, all that now re-
mains to make first-class pulque of it
is to put it into bottle of the same ma
terial that has already been soured and
which acts like yeast. In two or three
hours fermentation has taken place and
then the fayorite beverage is ready for
drinking. Every Mexican estate culti-
Yates more or less maguey. The mighty
plants answer for hedges and mark the
boundaries of lots and lands, two rows
with their enormous leaves and bayonet-
like thorns-making an impenetrable
| fence
Not only are the hedge rows thus pro
itably utilized, but rocky, dry lands,
which even the rattlesnake disdains to
inhabit, will grow maguey, yielding an
abundance Of juice, the more astonishing
since none can tell whence it derives any
moisture. Frequently out of bed of a
bed of bare rock, scarcely covered by a
semblance of vegetable earth, the impo-
sing plant is seen lifting its cimetar-
shaped leaves. rich and green, from tif-
teen to twenty feet high. Neither heat
nor cold, drought nor foundations affect
it, but like the unfailing fountains in the
desert, it furnishes the poorest Indian
with the beverage most pleasing to his
taste, without money and without price.
Very little pulque is sold at wholesale,
as all Mexican estates which make bust
ness of cultivating maguey maintain
shops in towns, from which the liquid
product is sold by glass or gallon. Y
certain aristocrat of this city who ~ #
in his carriage, and is reckonedf
the magnates of the land
these pulque shops, fromA
to derive revenue q
annum- On a tb
(Which is consl
ers of Holl|
earnestness
was in future
than those Of
joicing, indeed.