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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



not uncommon in southern Ari- 

 zona, where Agave Palmeri was 

 much eaten; and they are to be 

 seen in the Grand Canyon, in 

 northern Arizona, where A. U ta- 

 li ensis is abundant. 



The most important economic 

 agaves are not the source of alco- 

 bol, but those which yield ' hene- 

 quen,' — a native name introduced 

 by Oviedo only a few years after 

 Yucatan was discovered. This, so 



Fig. 12. White Plants. 



far as Mexico is concerned, is prac- 

 tically a product of Yucatan, though 

 some of the other tropical states 

 yield a small quota, and it has a 

 yearly value of some $30,000,000 

 gold. A large part of it comes to 

 the United States for use in cord- 

 age, etc., under the name ' sisal 

 hemp ' or ' sisal grass,' which is 

 derived from a port of shipment. 

 Our imports for the past three 

 years average about $15,000,000 

 annually. 



Most of the agaves have a 

 strong fiber in their leaves, the use 

 of which is prehistoric. That of 

 the century plant is particularly 

 white and fine, and, as I have said, 

 is considerably used. The fiber of 

 the pulque species, from the man- 

 ner in which the sap is gathered, 

 is little used; the very fleshy-leaved 



Fig. 13. Half-naked Laborers. 



Fig. 14. Sotol. 



species are also hard to clean. 

 The Tequila mezcal is said to pro- 

 duce a good quality of fiber, which 

 — its harvesting not interfering 

 with the main use of the plants — 

 is coming to be regarded as a 

 valuable by-product of this species ; 

 and several other agaves are either 

 cultivated on a smaller scale for 



their fiber or exploited as they occur spontaneously. 



