FLORA OF NOHTH-'UTISTEKN MEXICO. 265 
Cucumbers, Melons, Chilis, etc., are the principal sorts to be procured, and that chiefly at 
Acapulco and San Bias ; Mazatlan is, if possible, supplied still worse. In the settlements of 
the Sierra IMadre, situated on the roads from Mazatlan to Durango, and from that of the 
latter place to Tepic, the vegetable food to be obtained consists chiefly of Indian Corn, Beans, 
and Chili, which however cannot be pointed out as a peculiarity of those districts, as the 
three last-named articles must be considered as the national food of Mexico generally. 
The Indian corn, reduced to a mash by boiling it in water and beating it between stones, is 
made into thin cakes, baked in earthen pans, and then termed tortillas de maiz or Jordan 
de maiz: they are eaten with chili at every meal. The same remark applies to the beans, 
which, in the house of the rich as well as of the poor, are never wanting, whether at break- 
fast, dinner, or supper. These beans, termed by the Aztecs " Yctl," by the modern ^Mcxi- 
cans "Frijoles," and by botanists Phaseolus Hernandezii, are brown, and of a peculiarly 
agreeable flavour, recommending them to the notice of the European cultivator. 
The highlands of the State of Durango yield Wheat, Potatoes, Maize, and Cotton to some 
extent ; indeed some years before the Author's visit a cotton-mill had been established near 
the city of Durango, solely supplied with native produce, as is the case in various other 
parts of Mexico ; besides these a considerable number of so-called European vegetables and 
fruits are grown — it cannot be said cultivated, — for all the attention devoted to them consists 
almost solely in planting and irrigating them. Under such circumstances many refuse to 
yield any satisfactory returns, and hence their cultivation is discontinued, whilst again others 
produce surprising harvests. At the city of Durango the White and Red Cabbage, the 
Scotch Kale, Savoy, and most other sorts of cabbage, succeed extremely well, but none of 
them equal in excellence the Cauliflower, which often attains such a size that a single head, 
measuring one and a half to two feet in diameter, makes a donkey load. This gigantic 
Cauliflower is not distinct from the sort grown in Europe, but solely produced by a peculiar 
method of cultivation, — a method, it must be added, dictated by necessity. Being one of 
those northern vegetables that degenerate, or bear no seed, if not annually reintroduced 
from Europe, it is propagated in a different way to what it is in our gardens. After the 
heads have been gathered, the old stubs are aUowed to throw out lateral shoots ; these are 
employed for cuttings, and they have to grow two years, producing in the second year the 
enormously large heads. Turnips, Lettuces, Kohlrabi, Steckriiben, Cucumbers, and Melons, 
succeed well. Green Peas may be had throughout the year. Of Asparagus only the youug 
branches and leaves are eaten ; the stem, when just emerging from the soil, is rejected by 
the Mexicans, and only consumed by the German and other foreign residents ; hence it 
has received, when in that state, the name of "Asparago de los Alamanes," or " Asparago 
de los Estranjeros." Apples, though yielding abundant harvests, are without the agreeable 
flavour they possess in northern countries. Pears are rather superior in the latter respect, 
and the same may be said of the Quince, a fruit very extensively used for the preparation 
of sweetmeats. Peaches succeed extremely weU. Plums yield very good returns : the same 
2 L 
