MEXICO. 



493 



with the American line, having been extended 

 two years. The message dwelt upon the de- 

 velopment of railways and telegraphs, coloniza- 

 tion, and harbor improvements, winding up 

 with announcing that a new tariff would soon 

 be submitted to Congress. 



Relations with the United States, The President 

 of the United States, in his annual message to 

 Congress, Dec. 1, 1884, said : 



During the past year the increasing good- will be- 

 tween our own Government and that of Mexico has 

 been variously manifested. The treaty of commercial 

 reciprocity concluded Jan. 20, 1883, has been ratified, 

 and awaits the necessary tariff legislation of Congress 

 to become effective. A full treaty of commerce, navi- 

 gation, and consular rights is much to be desired, and 

 such a treaty I have reason to believe that the Mexi- 

 can Government stands ready to conclude. Some 

 embarrassment has been occasioned by the failure of 

 Congress at its last session to provide means for the 

 due execution of the treaty of July 29, 1882, for the 

 resurvey of the Mexican boundary and the relocation 

 of boundary monuments. 



Relations with England and Canada. On Aug. 

 11, 1884, Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice. Under 

 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, an- 

 nounced in the British House of Commons that 

 diplomatic relations had been resumed with 

 Mexico, and that an agreement had been signed 

 with that country, placing England upon the 

 " most-favored-nation footing." The opening 

 of negotiations for a commercial treaty be- 

 tween the two countries was viewed with par- 

 ticular satisfaction in Canadian mercantile cir- 

 cles, believing as the merchants did that a large 

 and profitable trade between the Dominion and 

 Mexico would follow closely upon the success- 

 ful consummation of the treaty. On October 

 30 news reached Ottawa that the Mexican Sen- 

 ate on the previous day had ratified the agree- 

 ment, and that the President approved it. 



Orchilla-Weed. This has become a very inter- 

 esting product, exported from the ports of 

 Magdalena Bay, Lower California. The weed 

 is collected on the lands bordering on the north- 

 ern portion of the Pacific side of this Territory. 

 Although the article is taxed at the rate of $10 

 a ton, and the collecting, packing, and ship- 

 ping expenses are excessive, the returns for the 

 sales in Europe show a handsome profit. 



Coal. Two discoveries of large bodies of 

 anthracite coal were reported, during the latter 

 part of 1884, in northern Mexico. The ac- 

 counts from these coal-beds are extraordinary, 

 and if the experts who are going to examine 

 them should find them as represented, the re- 

 sults on manufacturing in San Francisco and 

 vicinity are expected to be very important. 



Zapote-Wood. It is asserted on eminent engi- 

 neering authority that the best wood yet dis- 

 covered for rail way-ties is zapote, used "for this 

 purpose in Mexico. It is essentially a tropical 

 timber, and is exceedingly durable for out-door 

 or in-door work, above or below ground. Sam- 

 ples of this wood, taken out of buildings 

 said to have been erected more than two cent- 

 uries ago, did not show the slightest indica- 

 tions of decay. This wood is nearly as dark 



as logwood. It is very heavy, and sinks in 

 water, and so hard that the boring of the holes 

 for the spikes and forming the grooves for the 

 rails is very laborious work. It appears to be 

 almost impervious to decay, but has a tend- 

 ency to split if exposed to the heat of a tropi- 

 cal sun for a few months ; for this reason 

 the zapote ties have to be kept covered with 

 ballast. 



Need of a Paper-Mill. A premium of $30,000 

 has been offered by the Mexican Government 

 to any one who will establish in that country 

 a paper-mill at a cost of $150,000. The Gov- 

 ernment will also concede a right to all cactus- 

 plants on the State la'nds. There are very few 

 such manufactures in the country, and none at 

 all on the Pacific coast. Nearly all the paper 

 used in Mexico is imported from Europe (Ger- 

 many in particular), except cigarette-paper and 

 coarse wrapping-paper, which is made in Gua- 

 dalajara. The raw materials, in the shape of 

 the natural fiber of the banana, the cacao, and 

 the maguey, are very plentiful, and rags and 

 cotton waste are cheap and near at hand. State 

 governments also promise aid to those willing 

 to go into the business of paper-making, de- 

 claring that they will release the property from 

 all taxation for ten years. 



Replanting of Trees. A contract was con- 

 cluded in 1884 by the Mexican Government 

 with Oscar Droege, of Tampico, to plant 2,000,- 

 000 trees in the valley of Mexico within four 

 ^vears. The trees specified are chiefly ash, 

 poplar, acacia, and mountain cedar, with a suffi- 

 cient margin for miscellaneous kinds, accord- 

 ing to special conditions of site and climate, 

 and the arrangements contemplate the forma- 

 tion of national nurseries in which scientific 

 forestry may be pursued on a footing in some 

 degree commensurate with its importance. 



Peat. The peat of Mexico was used in 1884 

 on a considerable scale as fuel for locomotives, 

 stationary engines, smelting purposes, smiths' 

 firas, and household use. The peat is mixed 

 with bitumen, and is said not only to burn 

 freely, and without smoke in much quantity, 

 but to give a higher dynamic equivalent of heat 

 than the same amount of wood. 



Pearl-Fishing. In February, 1884, the Mexi- 

 can Government granted to a native company 

 a concession, for sixteen years, to fish for 

 pearls from Cape St. Lucas to Colorado river. 

 This concession was transferred in July to a 

 San Francisco company. They pay a royalty 

 of $10 a ton on pearl-shells for three years, 

 and $15 for the remainder of the time. From 

 pearls alone the revenue is estimated at $250,- 

 000 per annum, and from shells at $150,000. 

 One pearl obtained in December, 1884, is worth 

 $17,000. 



A Large Ranch. An enormous ranch in Mexi- 

 co was purchased in 1884 for 200,000 by a 

 syndicate of English and Scotch speculators, of 

 whom Lord Tweedmouth is one. It extends 

 over 1,600 square miles. 



Contracts for Arms. In February, 1884, the 



