Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-19

This IL called the Plain of Apam-an
almost level mesa or tabieland over 5000
feet above the sea, walled In by ranges
OF mountains. This entire area is given
up to the mAguey, the American aloe. or
century plant which Is surrounded with
mystery In the conservatories of northern
som but once In q century. Down here II
Is not allowed to blossom at all IT Is too
valuable. II left alone and not MIXED for
puIque the botanists say, It will grow for
or seven years old. Occasionally the flower
may be seen In some plantations or In
hedge by the roadside in the Interior. The
Indians utilise its fber to make hats. ham
mocks. nets, rope. gunny- sacks, lariats ana
other needful things, but until recently 1t
has not been grown for commercial pur-
poses. It Is an air plant, like other cacti,
and receives very little nourfshment
through its roots. which are short and
small. When taken out OF the ground It
win live for months. After the sap is ex-
hausted the plant Is taken entirely out OF
the earth and allowed to lie in the sun
without water or attention with the roots
exposed to the air for several months. It
Will not grow again unless this Is done. IL
II then planted in rows sixteen or twenty
feet apart. and allowed six years to reach
maturity Pulque Is the fermented Juice or
the maguey. Mescal. sort Of brandy. Is
obtained by a distillation OF the Juice OF
the roots, and the lower leaves.
The sap Is gathered In peculiar manner.
When the plant Is about six years old and
has reached its maturity a peon and
burro laden with empty pigskin bags, go
Of the plant with a long, slender gourd or
a metallic pipe and sucks the sap into the
gourd until 1t Is full. Then he blows it's
contents into one Of the hogskins: This
every plant until the entire field Is milk
ed" When the hogsklns are filled the
burro Is driven to q rendezvous where the
sap Is emptied into casks, fermented over
night and Skinned To market In the morn
ing. PulQue must be used within forty
eight hours. After twenty-four hours II
begins to deteriora.e and chemist has
ever been able to devise treatment which
will preserve it longer.
An ordinary plant Will produce half a
gallon of milk daily for seven to ten
life is exhausted its destiny Is fulfilled
and the poems pull it UP and burn 1t. The
fiber Is worthless after 1t has been MIXED.
The natives use the species of cactus
burros and other stock. 1t is first care
fully picked leaf by leaf and then passed
through a fire Of straw or rubbish, which
burns off the thorns.
Consumption Of Pulque.
The consumption of pulque in the City of
Mexico and the surrounding country Is
enormous. Three solid special trains run
from the pulque fields to the capital every
day of the week carrying an average OF
$4,000 lltres, the equivalent of a quart
And. In addition to this. about $4,000 litres
are brought in by carts, by ordinary trains,
and by other means. As the liquor must
be consumed the day it arrives you can
imagine the consequences The City of
Mexico has about 425, 900 inhabitants The
boomers claim 10000 so that the con-
sumption average is about one and one
fourth quarts daily for every man. woman
and child. According to the latest reports
there are .8 QulQuerbas. or saloons, at
which 1t is sold.
Puique growing is a profitable business
1t pays an average of 81 plant and 500
plants can be produced on an acre of
ground, but the land is practically idle six
years out of every seven, although corn and
beans are usually planted between the rows
for the first four years. The average cost
OF cultivation Is about $40 an acre. and that
can easily be derived from the side crops,
leaving the pulque clear profit.
Pulque is a prehistoric drink. It was used
as far back as the Tolteo period and, nc
cording to the legends, was discovered by a
fair maiden named Xochitl, which, in the
language Of the Toltecs, signifies white
flower. This young woman, according to the
story somehow or other accidentally OBJ
tained a. taste of the sap of the maguey
plant and was SO pleased that she sucked a
quantity out with a gourd, as the poems do
nowadays, which she offered to the king
His name was Tepancaltzin, and when he
took the beaker from his lips it Is said that
be lifted the blushing dansel TO a seat upon
the throne, eXclaiming:
Tell me, maiden, the secret of the
honey drink"
The young woman replied: TT is honey,
indeed o king, and the gods have created it
for our enjoyment"
A stranger from the north who tastes
pulque for the first time will not admire the
taste OF the Toltec monarch, for to the un-
accustomed 1T is a disgusting drink. The
doctors, however, say that 1t has high
medicinal qualities and is wholesome and
stimulating 10 weak stomachs.
AS we came out Of the pulque fields we
saw from the car windows to the right the
famous pyramids Of Teotehuanan, dedicated
to the sun and moon, They are not 60
large as those in Egypt and We're erected
for the same purpose. Professor Batres, the
chief archaeologist of the Mexican govern
ment, has been making excavations In the
neighborhood for several years and has re-
ported some very interesting discoveries.
Historic Lake Texcoco
A little farther beyond Is the historic lake
Texcoco, where Cortez hoated his army on
a fleet Of brigantines These waters are
the heritage of the aborigines who were
found here when the Spamards came and
still live around the shores fishing, hunting,
cultivating little patches of corn and beans
and retaining many of their peculiar Gus
toms. The lake swarms with fish and ducks,
but white men are not allowed to indulge in
the sport The Indians have monopoly by
lmmemorial rights. They formerly used to
catch the ducks with their hands by wad-
Ing out into the water and hiding under UNI
brellas OF brush, but nowadays they load
sections of ordinary twO-inch gaSptpe with
powder and small shot, place them upright
in the water and explode the charge by
electricity when a flock OF birds flies over
The muzzle. Sometimes they bring down
500 ducks at shot.