30 MEXICAN RESOURCES. 



Africa. A thousand years before our country acquired a name, the Indians of 

 Mexico cultivated this precious cereal. At the present day, even, it is almost their 

 sole support. 



On the discovery of America by Europeans, says Humboldt, the zea maiz [tlaolli 

 in the Aztec, niahiz in the Haytian) was cultivated from the most southern part of 

 Chili to Pennsylvania (much farther north even than that). 



Maize, or Indian corn, is certainly of tropical birth. Its broad, clinging leaves, 

 its tall, tassel-crowned form, and luxuriant growth, all proclaim it as a native of the 

 tropics. The home of the maize is undoubtedly the Mexican plateau. Either there 

 or on the equally elevated plains of Peru, Indian corn had its birth. There it finds 

 the necessary union of hot "growing " days with cool, moist nights. 



In a journey through the Indian hill-towns of Southern Mexico, the writer has 

 ridden for days through successive valleys filled with maize, where the villages were 

 entirely hidden in vast fields, and where the great stalks with their waving tassels, 

 like the feathered crests of warriors of old, reached the height of fifteen feet. 

 Humboldt esteemed the cerealia of Mexico far ahead of that of Europe in point of 

 productiveness, and Mr. Ward, British minister to Mexico, sixty years ago, wrote : 

 " There are few parts, either of the tierra caliente or of the table-land, in which 

 maize is not cultivated with success. In the low hot grounds upon the coast, and 

 on the slope of the cordillera, its growth is more colossal than on the table-land ; 

 but even there, at 7,000 and 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, its fecundity is 

 such as will hardly be credited in Europe." 



The estimated product of maize in Mexico for the year ending 1S80 was 5,309,- 

 563,939 kilograms ; in value, $112,164,424. 



The first wheat in Mexico was accidentally introduced, it is believed, in some 

 rice brought with the stores of the Spanish army, and was first planted before 

 1530. From that humble beginning, the wheat crop of Mexico has steadily in- 

 creased, until at the present day, this cereal finds congenial surroundings every- 

 where on the plateaus. The Mexican wheat, according to Humboldt, " is of the 

 very best quality, and may be compared with the finest Andalusian grain." Regard- 

 ing the yield, he further says, speaking of the principal great valleys of Mexico, 

 " At Cholula, the common harvest is from 30 to 40, but frequently exceeds 70 to 80, 

 for one. In the Valley of Mexico maize yields 200, and wheat 18 or 20 fold. In 

 the northern part of Mexico, he estimated the return as lower; yet where irrigation 

 is practised, as in California and Arizona, former provinces of New Spain, or 

 Mexico, the result has been astonishing. 



The estimated production for 1880, throughout Mexico, was 338,704,093 kilo- 

 grams, valued at $17,436,345. Fine flour is ground in Mexico, but not equal to the 

 American, which sells largely, notwithstanding an almost prohibitory duty. 



The straw of the various grains was worth, it is said, above $1,500,000. 



The wheat is threshed in the primitive manner of the ancient Egyptians, with 

 horses to tread it out, on a floor of pounded earth. 



Rice, sarsaparilla, and vanilla. — The rice product of Mexico amounted to above 

 $1,200,000 in 1S80; yet the extent to which it is cultivated is not great, owing to the 

 unhealthiness of localities where it flourishes. 



Two wild vines, both of which are indigenous to Mexico, the sarsaparilla and 

 the vanilla, contribute to the enrichment of the natives of the hot country. The 

 vanilla, with the rich, aromatic fruitage, and spicy blossoms, is found growing in 



