The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-03-24
THE AGAVE PLANT.
A Source of Sustenance to the
People of Mexico
From 1t Is Made a Kind of Liquor and
PaIatabIe DIsh-It Also Has
scme Medicinal Prop
critics.

That nature has given Mexico very
few blessings to offset its dry, sandy
soil and almost rainless climate must bc
conceded. but the greatest gift she has
bestowed on the poor natives who nave
to get their living off the land IS un-
doubtedlv the agave, or. as it is some
times called, maguey plant Three nun
dred and sixty-five days of ncver-ending
sunshine are great attraction 10 tour
lists and invalids, bat to the farmer they
are fatal and Mexico is still suffering
from a drought that has lasted nearly
four wears. saws the New York Herald.
The maguey. for by that name IL il
generally called IN Mexico, Is what
is commonly known as the century
plant in tins country. The differ
ence is that il is the real century plant.
while ours is not In appearance II II
much the same as the caucus that
adorns many of our northern gardens
and piaZzas in the summer. only II -
larger and coarser. The leaves fire.
quently grow To a length of ten or
twelve feet, or even more, and bear
very sharp thorns.
1t takes the maguey about seven
years TO blossom When ii does bloom
a stalk from ten to twenty feet tall
shoots mp from the center of the cluster
of leaves and puts forth large flowers.
which vary from bright red color to a
deep purple. just as it is about TO
flower the plant has reached the proper
stage for the-use it is most frequently
put to-the making of pulque (pro-
nounced pool-key).
To get the pulque the leaves and
stalk are cut off a little above the
ground, and the trunk formed by the
joining of the roots, which Is often q
foot in diameter, Is followed out. In
this bowl. as IL were, the sap which
was intended to nourish the flower ac-
cumulates and is drawn out every day.
Dipping Is the commOncst way Of get
ting the sap out of the hollow, though
sIction pumps are sometimes used on
the big plantations now, and the prim-
tive way was to draw ii through a
pipe with the mouth and then blow il
into handy receptacle.
After it is taken from the plant the
sap must stand twentyfour hours to
ferment. and twenty-four hours after
the fermentation IL spoils. Both French
and American companies have tried
time and again To find some way OF
preserving pulque 50 it could be ex-
ported, but As yet none have succeeded
PUlquc is shipped from the planta-
tIons in barrels and pigskins. and some
idea of the amount of it that is drunk
can be formed from the fact that forty
car loads of il are taken 10 the City Of
Mexico alone every morning. All Duo
very little of this is consumed the day
it is received, and what Is left over
spoils, and is either thrown away or
Il s
The ''cantisnas," or barrooms, where
n'-'0''e Is sold. ~Dnora1lv supply that
drink alone. Tacy are vcry small.
dirty and i'll smelling, in viii h they re-
semble the crowd that hangs around
them. The Hquor-if II en- be called
such-is brought around in barrels, on
carts drawn by solitary and forlorn
looking donkeys, as soon as the pulquc
train arrives, and is sold by the greasy
pigsl1in.
Its taste is similar to a mixture of cod
liver oil and buttermiiil that has gone
wrong. 1t Is the color Of skim milk
and strings" like molasscs. but is not
so thick. But when one becomes used
to it, as lac does after six or seven
drinks, IL is not half 50 bad.
Pulque has very gentle but effectual
medicinal properties, and physicians
have claimed that il viii cure Bright's
disease If taken in time. At the can
tinas" il is sold in glasses of three
sizes, the largest about the same as
big schooner and costs one, two and
three cents glass.
Excessive pulquc drinking has a stu
pefying effect, and the idea that ii is
wildly Intoxicating is all wrong. In its
distilled form IL Is called tequil;. or mes
cal and is very fiery This liquor is sim
liar in appearance To gin and is violent
ly Intoxicating. 1t has been at the bot
tom of many a so-called ''Greaser up
rising"
The plantations on which maguey is
raised for pulque making are often
many acres in extent. and the plants
are set in rows, like corn. After plant
has been tapped" it dies and is pulled
up, a young plant being put in its
place. The maguey grows best in pc
culiar, sandy soil. and there are several
distinct ''pulque regions
The leaf of the maguey is not only
edible, but makes a very fine dish when
properly treated. The native Mexicans
dig pits and, taking the tendcrest
leaves, bake them in holes over a smol-
dering fire, as charcoal Is roasted. When
they are Just right" they are taken out,
the tough outer covering, which has
hardened into a shell, is peeled off, and
the pith is very tender and tastes a good
deal like roast corn
The last use this cactus is put TO is
the most remarkable one in a climate
such as Mexico, as ice never forms OF it
self except on the uninhabitable tops of
the highest mountains. Mexico City is
supplied by ice factories, but, of course,
in rural districts ice cannot be obtained