No. 1579. 



THE PULQUE OF MEXICO— HOUGH. 



5^5 



When the sack is frill the collector transports it either on his own back 

 or upon a burro to the brewery. (See figs. 7, 12 and 13.) Many hacien- 

 das, however, have lines of tram- 

 ways running through the fields, 

 over which the aguamiel may be 

 brought in more expeditiously. 

 The majority of owners of agave 

 plantations have the sap gathered 

 three times daily, at sunrise, 

 noon, and sunset. The yield 

 continues for three months, when 

 the plant dies and becomes only 

 usefid as fuel. A large plant will 

 yield 4.5 gallons of sap during the 

 season . H u m b o 1 d t says : "A 

 very vigorous plant occasionally 

 yields the quantity of 454 cubic 

 inches in a day for four or five 

 months."'^ This seems to be an 

 overestimate. A single man may 

 attend 300 plants three times 



Fig. 13. — Transportation of aguamiel in-,iars 



SUNG ON THE BACK. TEPEACA, MEXKO. 



daily and receives 15 to 20 

 cents wages, ^nth corn for 

 his siistenance. 



The chief building in 

 which all of the interests of 

 the hacienda center is the 

 tinacal (tina, a vat; liacal 

 Mexican, calli. a house). It 

 Is of one stor}-, with numer- 

 ous windows, and is usually 

 of great extent filled with 

 rows of shallow leather vats 

 formed l)y stretclung the 

 hide of a bullock over a 

 square frame supported on 

 four short posts. L ormerly, 

 small owners laced a bul- 

 lock's skin by its edges to 

 four stout poles forming a 

 frame. These were set up 

 under a shelter in or near 



the fields. A sieve made of horsehair is used to remove insects and 



litter horn. i\ie aguamiel. (See figs. 14-16). ' 



li- — \'AT IlolSH AND W(jI:K.MKX, HACIENDA DE SAN 



Antonio. Ometusco, Mexico. 



o Travels. Edinburgh, p. 330. 



