SOME SPECIAL PRODUCTS. 23 



ancient of all grains, and the most hardy, which has been found in the lake-dwellings 

 of Switzerland, in deposits belonging to the stone-period, was not in cultivation 

 (so far as is known), among the Aztecs. 



'Beans and CIi lie. — Mexico has not a monopoly of these products, though their 

 consumption is enormous, the first {frijoles) constituting the chief aliment of the 

 poorer classes, next to corn, and the latter, chile {Capsiami amnnn), an invariable 

 accompaniment. Of the first, Mexico is estimated to have produced, in iSSo, over 

 200 kilograms, worth $8,406,211; and of chile, $4,196,482. 



Cacao, Theobroma cacao. — The tree producing the cacao, or chocolate-bean, flour- 

 ishes in the humid climate of the tierra caliente, especially in the State of Tabasco, 

 and produces an important article of e.xport. The production in 1879, based on 

 information received by the bureau of statistics in Mexico, was of the value of over 

 a million dollars. The tree, which requires shade as well as moisture, in its early 

 years, yields fruit at about the same age as the orange. Its cultivation is simple, 

 and the preparation of the seed for export, requires little labor, though watchful 

 care is necessary. 



CactacecE. — As Mexico belongs to the botanical region of the cacti and peppers, 

 it is not strange that we find here the cactus family flourishing in greatest vigor. 

 Of the five hundred species found in America, Mexico has her full share, and they 

 form, sometimes, the only vegetation of certain vast plains, which without them 

 would be level wastes, without an object to relieve the eye. Some of them, as the 

 Cerei, rise to the height of sixty feet, their straight, rigid, and spiny trunks support- 

 ing great branches like candelabra, whence their name, candelabra cacti; others 

 creep along the ground. The great, globular echinocacti frequently attain to a 

 weight of two hundred pounds. All produce brilliant flowers ; all are covered with 

 spines, and are strangely grotesque in shape. The cochineal cactus (described in 

 "Travels in Mexico," p. 529) was formerly of great value; but, since the discovery 

 of analine dyes, the culture of cochineal has almost entirely ceased. Besides the 

 edible fruits yielded by several species, as the opuntia, the nopal, etc., the cactacece 

 minister to man in many indirect ways. The nopal figures prominently in Mexican 

 history, for it was upon a cactus (nopal), that the Aztecs beheld their traditional 

 eagle perched, when they at last reached Tenochtitlan, and it may be seen emblazoned 

 on the national banner of the Mexicans, and stamped on all their coins. The giant 

 Betahaya supplies in the north the place of the orgaiio, or organ cactus in the south. 



Cassava {yatropha mauihot z.\\A yatropha janipha), mandioca, or manioc, a plant of 

 tropical America long in use by the native inhabitants. Of these two species one, 

 yatropha manihot, is a deadly poison if eaten in the green state, but if the juice is 

 evaporated by exposure to the sun, or artificial heat, may be eaten with impunity. 

 The tubers require a dry soil not much elevated, and ripen in about eight months 

 from time of planting, which is done by cuttings. The cassava, or native bread, is 

 prepared by peeling off the dark outer rind, grinding the roots after a thorough 

 washing, and baking the " farine " in thin cakes over a hot fire. Tapioca is prepared 

 from it ; the tuber is rich in starch. 



Chirimoya (A nana tripetala), an American fruit, said to surpass in flavor any 

 grown in Europe. A native of Peru, but grown in Mexico, attaining to large size. 

 This fruit is heart-shaped, the rind green, covered with small tubercles, and inclos- 

 ing a snow-white, juicy pulp, filled with black kernels. One writer calls it a "mas- 

 terpiece of nature ; " another declares that its taste is quite incomparable. Both 

 fruit and blossoms exhale a most delightful odor. 



