582 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. XXXIII. 



aguamiel. The sugar-secreting quality of the agave, greatest at the 

 time of flowering, renders the sap at once available for fermentation. 



Fig. 6. — Hu(iE agave showinc; bandera impaled on i>oint of a leaf. Collector at wokk with 



SIPHON and .skin sack. 



The reason for the flow of sap is that the plant juices secreted in 

 order to build up the large flower stalk (sometimes 25 feet in height 



Fig. 7. — Collector of aguamiel at work with siphon. In this case transportation is 



BY BURRO. 



and 6 inches in diameter) are diverted into the cavity excavated in 

 the heart. Wherever in Mexico the agave is grown for the produc- 



