El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-12
Fortunes in
Desert Products.
Possibilities of Immense Wealth in the Almost Neglected
Growths of the Sand Wastes of the southwest.

understandable grade of paper. such as
is popularity utilized in the printing of
bonds and other instruments requir-
ing extreme durability. Several years
since an English company made ex-
tensive preparations for the manufac-
ture of yucca paper in southern Cali
fornia, to be exported to the British
isles, but it was finally decided that
the transportation and duties on the
commodity, added to the cost of pro-
ducing. was excessive. and the enter
prise was abandoned. Had the ven
ture been dominated with the spirit
of American perseverance, and the pro-
duct intended for home consumption,
there is every reason to believe the
undertaking would have proved a sue
cess. In justification of this belief,
local company of only limited capacity
is at present actively engaged in pro-
ducing from yucca wood tough, NIB
rous material which is utilized for
such purposes as book binding, as
substitute for felt and for certain sc-
cessories peculiar to the surgical
science. The product when subjected to
special treatment, is also extensively
used as an artificial roofing, its flexi-
BILE character admitting of its confor-
nifty to the antique thing effects so
popular in architecture.
The method employed in producing
this species Oh yucca paper is unique III
is very simplicity, and consists merely
in placing the log in a rotary veneer
lathe, where. by means of a keen hori-
zontal blade, it is literally drawn out
into a single continuous sheet, which
may readily be cut with shears. but,
singularly enough. will neither break
nor tear.
Of he n,N,,
cactus in the sterile foothill districts.
where it vegetables most profusely. Of
fers a novel inducement in the reStor
alton to this continent of the valuable
cochineal industry for which our eli
mate is peculiarly adapted. The native
country fthe cochineal is Mexico. put
through sheer neglect the industry has
been largely absorbed by South Ameri
ca and the Canary islands. whence
comes the greater portion of the sup
ply. In rearing the cochineal insect
immense plantations of the tuna cac-
tus, frequently representing $4,000
plants each, are maintained. In adj
dition to the revenue derived from the
insects it nurtures. the fruit of the
tuna, which is borne in great profusion
yields rich crimson pigment of con-
siderable value, commercially. This
fruit, which is commonly known IS
the Indian fig or prickly pear, is high
ly esteemed as an edible in southern
Europe. the Canaries and northern AT
RIGA. in which countries it constitutes
an important product. The fruit is al
SO possessed of certain medicinal viz
tues, being freely administered as n
cooling dring in the case of fever, and
regarded as a valuable remedy for The
cure of ulcers.
The hardihood of the tuna cactus IS
quite as remarkable as that of its ele-
phantine cousin previously referred 10.
In the countries where its commercial
status is the highest. its cultivation is
often successfully carried on in dis
trictS that have previously been abso-
lutely inoinerated by volcanic action.
In such regions the planting of the
shrub is frequently accomplished by
merely thrusting one of the thorny
sprouts into a CLEFT of lava rock, from
which position it speedily develops in
to thriving tree On it's native Amer
lean heaths the tuna. by reason of its
more congenial environments. attains
to much larger proportions than any
where else in the world. yet its value in
these parts has. up to the present time.
been almost entirely overlooked.
Probably the most valuable product
indigenous to the American desert is
the Maguey or Agave, a plant partak-
ing of identically the same nature and
tendencies as the cactus. In appear
ance, however, it is of an altogether
different order and represents a series
of flat. armored blades radiating from
central bulb. In numerous arid dis
tricts of Mexico the Maguey is extern
sively cultivated. it's leaves and bulls
yielding variety of product such as
spirits, cordage and textiles. Some idea
as to the immense profits derived from
the culture of the plant in our neign-
boring republic may be had from tue
fact that its combined products often
yield the grower upwards of $500 in
gold to the acre.
1t is well known that this desert
shrub will thrive with equal redundant
cy north of the Mexican line, and al
though the beverage it yields so CO.
piously might well be dispensed with
in this country, its other products. if
sufficiently developed. could be rem
dered important adjuncts to our pres
emf resources lose To OIiyaraS