COFFEE AND COTTON. 2/ 



Cotton. — Spanish Algodon, from Arabic Alqoton, indigenous plant of Mexico, 

 found there by the Spaniards. Indians clothed with cotton garments were first seen 

 by Columbus, near the mainland, off the east coast of Yucatan, in 1502, nearly two 

 thousand years after the first mention of cotton fibre by Herodotus. Traditions are 

 not lacking as to the ancient use of cotton by the Toltecs and the Aztecs, the date 

 even of the adoption by the latter tribe of cotton garments in place of those of skin, 

 being entered in their annals. As to the Toltecs, it was entered in^heir sacred book 

 that Quetzalcoatl, god of the air, grew cotton of all colors in his gardens, and 

 taught them its many uses. Cotton garments, quilted armor of cotton, and beauti- 

 ful mantles were woven by the Indians of the plateaux from this fibre. The breast- 

 plates of cotton were proof against Indian arrows, and were finally adopted by the 

 conquerors themselves, while many articles of apparel were often woven of a fine- 

 ness and almost lustre of silk. In cotton and cacao seeds the inhabitants of the 

 lowlands, such as had not gold and precious stones, paid their tribute to the Aztec 

 rulers. Throughout the Republic of Mexico, there were, even as at the present day, 

 primitive looms, and the manufacture of cotton goods was among the first industries, 

 in point of time, as it is now in importance, in that country. 



The original home of cotton being in the tropical zone, no one can say that this 

 is not another plant native to the soil of Mexico, and which, like maize, may have 

 started from this point, and have been carried north and south. Although it is 

 within the century past that cotton has acquired importance in the manufactures of 

 the world, yet we know that the aboriginal inhabitants of tropical America, the more 

 civilized of them, were acquainted with its uses at least five hundred years ago. 



It is one of those plants, says Humboldt, of which the cultivation was as an- 

 cient among the Aztecs as that of the maize and the maguey. Cotton thrives only 

 where the winter months are without rain, says Sartorius. The districts of Tlacotal- 

 pam, Cuzamalopan, and Tustla, in the State of Vera Cruz, and the coast of Yucatan, 

 ])roduce the best cotton on the east side. It is cultivated in only twelve States of the 

 Republic, and the amount produced is not sufficient for home consumption, large 

 quantities being imported from the United States. There is little doubt that vast 

 tracts of uncultivated land exist which could be made to yield bountiful crops of 

 cotton, such as the extensive plains of the south of Michoacan, the district of Mina, 

 in Guerrero, the savannas of Vera Cruz, the extraordinarily fertile country about the 

 laguna of Tlahualila, and the so-called desert region of Chihuahua. Every year in- 

 creases the importance of cotton-raising in Mexico, especially in view of the fact 

 that vast tracts of land hitherto inaccessible, and rendered unsafe through tte 

 presence of hostile Indians, are being opened to immigration by the railroads. 

 Regarding the prospect of profitable results from engaging in cotton-raising, it 

 would be difficult to advise, since skill, experience, and capital are required in this 

 industry ; but there is certainly a large demand for cotton, which it will take our 

 railroads yet some years to satisfy. 



Yucatan, Tabasco, Chiapas, Vera Cruz, and Durango are the principal cotton- 

 growing states. To these Consul-General Strother, in his official report, adds Guer- 

 rero, Colima, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Coahuila. 



The annual production of Coahuila he estimates at 3,000,000 pounds. " In the 

 'Laguna Country' cotton is perennial, and does not require to be planted oftener 

 than once in ten years." This district, containing about 1,200,000 acres, lies partly 

 in Coahuila and partly in Durango, is of extraordinary fertility, and well adapted to 



