NOTES ON USEFUL PLANTS OF MEXICO. 



By J. N. Rosk. 



" INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 



In presenting these notes upon the plants which are employed in one 

 way or another by the Mexicans I wish them to be understood as chieily 

 a record of my own observations. A more formal and complete treatise 

 is already in preparation by the Mexican Government, by whom it nat- 

 urally should be done, but it is hoped that this paper may be of assist- 

 ance in supplementing that work. My observations, in many cases 

 meager and incomplete, were made while traveling in Mexico in 1807. 

 I have drawn little upon published statements, contenting myself with 

 facts personally observed or with well-authenticated reports obtained 

 from the Mexicans themselves. Many of my observations may, doubt- 

 less, have been previously made, but I was especially fortunate in 

 obtaining and determining botanically a number of plants which here- 

 tofore have been incorrectly named, or have been known only by their 

 local names. An attempt was made in the case of each species to 

 obtain both good botanical specimens and examples of the parts or 

 products of the plant useful to man. That the results are not entirely 

 satisfactory is partly owing to the shortness of my stay in any one 

 place, which was usually but for a day or two, often only for the night. 



To obtain the fullest information from the natives, and especially 

 from the Indians of the Sierra Madre, one ought to spend considerable 

 time among them. Naturally suspicious and shy, it is not surprising 

 that one can not readily obtain information from them. But if one 

 could live with them for a short time, treat them kindly, and gain their 

 confidence, he could, with a free use of coppers and small silver change, 

 soon have the contents of their homes and their knowledge at his dis- 

 posal. One other hindrance to my work was a lack of equipment for a 

 long inland journey. In one case I traveled nearly 000 miles on horse- 

 back, and of course could not carry many fleshy fruits, berries, or 

 other bulky things. 



Among some of the interesting enterprises suggested by my obser- 

 vations which might be taken up by our Government the following 

 may be mentioned : 



(1) The introduction of the best Mexican tunas into the subarid 

 parts of our [Southwestern States and the encouragement of the impor- 



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