The Wichita daily eagle., 1896-11-26
PRODUCTS OF MEXICO.
Pineapplee, Wine, Cloth. Chewing
Gum. Licorice and Ramia
Remunerative Returns from tho Cultl-
vation Of the Native PlAnts-The
Only Source Of Supply Of
Some Products.

Sir Henry Dering has sent to the
foreign Office some practical notes on
tho cultivation in Mexico of the "yuca." !"
or cassava plant, pineapple, ginger.
"chicle." or chewing gum. sarsaparilla,
ialap, icorice, canaigre and ramie.
These, together with the plants dealt
with in a previous report, form the
principal products which may be
proftably cultivated, together or
singly, either on a large or small scale,
by persons possessed of some small cap
ital and desirous Of obtaining satfsfac-
tory returns therefrom by investing in
land in that republic. "The fault gener-
ally committed by Mexican planters, |"
says Sir Henry. ''is the confning their
attention to one kind of cultivation on
their land. If several different crops
were taken off alternately, as in sys-
tenn of rotation, or grown in different
parts of the land where soil and climate
prove suitable, the planter would End
himself in even a better financial posi-
tion than he generally does DOW. There
is scarcely a spot on any estate, whether
large or small, in Mexico that Is not ca
pable Of giving remunerative returns
from some plant or another" In ad-
dition to government lands there are
innumerabls tracts held throughout
the country by private individuals
which it is probable could be purchased
at comparatively low prices. inasmuch
as they can never be utilized by their
present owners. And contracts might
be made with the government by which
immigrants settling on such lands
might receive the same exceptional
treatment accorded to those settling on
government lands.
Sir Henry Dering states the yuca is to
the peon in the tropical section of the
republic what potatoes are to the poor
and working peopls Of Ireland. Yuca
is native OF the country and its rise
dates back before the conquest by Her
nan Cortes, and it has always formed
a portion Of the food Of the ancientand
present Mexicans, especially those liv-
ing in Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas.
Tabasco and Yucatan. The returns of
yuca cultivation are immense; the yield
of an acre contains more nutritive mat
ter than six times the same area under
wheat. The writer planted last Janu-
ary in Allan, Pueblo, two rows $50 feet
long, and was told by an old cultivator
that there was enough food in that plot
to feed more than 100 people for six
months. The Toltecs and Aztecs knew
how to cultivate the pineapple, and when
the Spaniards conquered Mexico they
found the fruit in the markets Of the
towns on their way from Vera Cruz to
the great Tenochtitlan. From time i'm
memorial the pineapple has been cul.
tivated in Amatlan, q town two leagues
south OF Cordoba, from where the an
cient Mexicans used to get their main
supply. Now it is grown in tropical
Hidalgo, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Tabasco,
Chiapas, Oaxaca, Morelos. Guerrero
Milchoacan, Colima, Jalisco and Tepic
Besides the fruit being very delicious
and wholesome, Sir Henry Dering says
a fine wine and vinegar are made Of ths
juice. The leaf furnishes fiber Of ex'
traordinary strength and fineness
making it even more valuable than the
fruit The fiber is made into ropes
cables, binding twine. thread. mats
bagging, hammoclss and paper.
A pineapple rope sH inches thicl
can support nearly three tons. 4 tex
tie fabric as fine and beautiful as silk i;
made Of this fiber, too. It is believed
that the fnc cloths Of various color:
used by the upper classes among ths
Aztecs was made of the pineapple fiber
The moderns Mexicans do not manu-
facture it much now, except in tht
isthmus, where the Zapotec Indian.
stil make cloth from it and from wilt
silk. One cause Of its disuse is the slow
and wasteful manner in which 1t is sep
arated. Ginger is found growing wilt
in various parts Of Mexico. The returns
from an acre of land vary considerably
but when cultivated under favorabl,
conditions the crop ought to be 400
pounds and upward. A man having ;
ten-acre patch ought to have an annua
income Of $4,000 to $1,000. Though fo
| years canaigre has been used by th'
Mexicans, both for medical and tannin.
| purposes, it has but recently attracte,
the attention of the outside commercial
world as a valuable source Of tanni
acid. The result OF Investigations ha
been to create a demand for canaigr
In the tanning business of European
countries and more recently in tn
leather-making centers of the Unite,
States The only supply now to be oh
tained of this plant is from the will
growth along the rivers and valleys o
western Texas, New Mexico and tfii
republic. and Sir Il. Dering says fea
has been felt for some time that wit
the constantly increasing demand tn
present sources of supply must soon be
come exhausted.-London Standard.