34 Annals of Horticulture. 



this industry is that all these trees are of very slow growth, 

 requiring from eight to twelve years to come to full bearing, 

 and as the number of trees now under cultivation is small, be- 

 ing confined to the local consumption, it will be many years 

 before there will be any quantity of fruit for exportation. 

 Fruit cultivation as an industry by itself is almost unknown 

 in this country, the fruit trees being found mostly in the gar- 

 dens connected with large haciendas, and 1 know of no fruit 

 farm in the republic. The railroad communications with 

 Texas and Kansas, and the exportation of coast oranges by 

 rail through the central mesa is beginning to open the eyes of 

 the hacendados to the importance of this branch of agricul- 

 ture, and in a number of places trees are being set out, but as 

 I stated before, it will be many years before they are in bear- 

 ing. There are also a number of large vineyards, mostly of 

 California varieties of grapes, being set out with a view to 

 the manufacture of wine for home consumption. Mexico will 

 never be able to export grapes to the United States in my 

 opinion, but I think before many 3'ears the importation of 

 grapes and wine from the States to Mexico will cease. The 

 most serious competition from Mexico will come from the 

 orange trade from the coast states. 



" The haciendas with their orchards are entirely owned by 

 Mexicans and Spaniards. The only American representatives 

 of horticulture in this country that it has been my pleasure to 

 meet, are the drummers for the nurseries, who travel through 

 the country with their picture-books in hand, and specimens 

 of fruit, but even they are not as well received nor doing as 

 good a business as a few years since. Last season about 

 2,500,000 cuttings of California grapes were imported, and 

 from Spain also quite a number. The California grapes have 

 so far given better results here than those imported directly 

 from Spain. American strawberries which I have experi- 

 mented with do not do as well as the native berry, on account 

 of the vines being more susceptible to drouth ; the American 

 berry is finer flavored and larger, but requires constant irriga- 

 tion, whereas the native berry needs less water." 



