FOREIGN NOTICES. 



529 



feaved from a stable during the winter. Wiien 

 this had sunk in, the l)eds were raked, stones 

 picked ofl", and a neat appearance given them. 

 If you have no liquid manure, make some by di- 

 luting good stable dung with soapsuds, &e. As 

 the roots will soon begin to move, the soil will 

 be furnished with those materials which will en- 

 sure a quick and strong growth, and, if the beds 

 were healthy last year, you may depend on a 

 crop. 



As I have been able by this treatment to make 

 old beds of a.spar&gus to produce fine crops, I can 

 recommend it^ and I hope amateurs will them- 

 selves study the rationale of the practice. It is 

 to be regretted that so twanj gardeners are con- 

 tented with the " light of other days,'" and fail to 

 use modern improvements and scientific princi- 

 ples. Although the Chronicle has so large a 

 sale, and has for years been endeavoring to en- 

 lighten the public mind on these matters, the 

 greater number by far of those who take an inte- 

 rest in gardens never see it- I endeavored lately 

 to explain to a friend the reason of the success of 

 my asparagus beds, and i could see I was listened 

 to almost as an expounder of magic. Digging 

 and manuring are the specifics with most persons, 

 while science is neglected, and the result is, an 

 accidental and occasional success, but at the same 

 time repeated and provoking failures, H. B. 

 Gardeners^ Chronicle. 



Proditcts 0f New Mexico — Maize Sugar. — 

 *' Here I witnessed the fabrication oi' sugar from 

 corn-stalks. The alcalde owns the mill and boil- 

 ing house, and the use of these is paid in syrup. 

 The owner of the corn-stalks assembles his neigh- 

 bors, and, proceeding to the mill, jjlaccs the stalks, 

 cut into short pieces, into a large wooden trough; 

 and each man, arming himself with a heavy mal- 

 let, soon breaks the stalks into small fragments. 

 Boiling water is poured upon them, and then the 

 mass is put into a hollow tree set upright in a 

 trough; into this a plug is loosely fitted, across 

 which a long pole fixed at one end is laid, and all 

 the young people getting upon this lever, the 

 juice is soon pressed out and poured into earthen 

 pots built into the top of a large furnace, kept 

 burning night and day; women continually stir- 

 ring the liquor, until it is thick, when it is run 

 into small clay moulds, (unless it should be want- 

 ed for molasses.) The workmen are repaid by 

 an invitation to the house of the owner of the 

 sugar, where they are regaled with molasses 

 and tortillas." 



The Soap Weed. — " We first met, on this part 

 of the road, with the species of palm called by us 

 soap- weed, from the fact that the Mexicans use 

 its root as a substitute for soap, for which it an- 

 swers very well. Indeed, it is considered supe- 

 rior to it for the washing of woolens. I be- 

 lieve it is rightly named the Leehuguilla. This 

 singular shrub, which is to be also met with on 

 the prairies, but where it never grows to any con- 



You III. 34 



siderable size, consists of a trunk, very pithy, sur- 

 mounted by a fine head of stiff leaves, each of 

 which is about 2^ feet in length, and armed at the 

 end with a long thorn. Tiie leaves project from 

 the stalk on all sides, and set as close as possible, 

 and are of a dark green color. The flower is 

 white and very pretty. As each year's foliage 

 decays, it drojis down against the trunk, of a 

 light brown color. These dry leaves, when fire 

 is applied, flash up like gunpowder, and burn with 

 a bright light. Our night marches could be mark- 

 ed by their flames, which, as the nights were 

 cold, (although the days were comfortable,) were 

 cheering. I have been thus particular in describ- 

 ing this plant for several reasons : — one is its 

 many uses — of the leaves the natives make their 

 hats; also, when dressed like hemp, it is formed 

 into ropes and sacks, looking like the materia! 

 known as Manilla hemp, though coarser. These 

 plants have a singularly provoking quality; being 

 from two to eight feet in height, they will assume 

 to the eye, in the twilight, the most deceptive 

 forms. To the sentinel they will appear as forms 

 of men ; and many an unconscious soap- weed has 

 run the chance of a sentry's shot, from not an- 

 swering to the challenge of ' Who goes there?' " 



American Aloe at Santa Cruz — '•' In order to 

 obtain the liquor from this Aloe, the leaves are cut 

 off level with the ground, and the root is dug up. 

 The latter is about the size and shape of a quart 

 bowl, and is of a dry, wood}^ texture; but on 

 being piled in large heaps and roasted, it becomes 

 very juicy and tender, and of a sweet taste. The 

 roots are then pressed, and the liquor allowed to 

 ferment; after fermentation it resembles beer in 

 appearance, and somewhat in taste, but a little 

 smoky, and is called pulque. It is drunk very 

 extensively by the lower classes. From the pulque 

 there is distilled a clear, colorless liquor, of a 

 most acrid and burning taste, which is the mes- 

 cal. It is only fit for a Mexican to drink — he can 

 do it without winking; but I shall never forget a 

 glass of it which I swallowed at San Rosalia, and 

 which was considered of an extra good quality. 

 It appeared to draw my tongue half way down 

 my throat, and took ray breath away for an in- 

 stant. It was the first and last glass of mescal I 

 ever drank." 



Agricultural Condition. — " The general ap- 

 pearance of the country has not been previously 

 mentioned. The whole extent of what we had 

 travelled through, except just along the banks of 

 streams, is of the most barren description, being 

 principally composed of a hard yellow clay, so 

 poor that, in most places, grass cannot be raised. 

 I have travelled more than a hundred miles at a 

 time without seeing sufficient grass to furnish my 

 horse with a meal, and without meeting with a 

 stone as large as a pebble. The roads, except in 

 a few places where they happen to cross moun- 

 tains, are excellent, being as hard and level as a 

 floor. The land can only be cultivated just along 

 the banks of the streams ; and there the fertility 



