124 WITH THE FLOWERS AND TREES 



species of yucca that grow especially on our des- 

 erts, and in fact all over the Southwest, including 

 Arizona and New Mexico. You have to grub those 

 roots out with a pick, for they are hig and go so deep 

 for their moisture in that dry land, and it doesn't 

 pay an American to bother with them. Mexicans 

 and Indians make a practise of digging them, cut 

 them in pieces like so many bars of soap, soften 

 them by pounding with a hammer or stone, and then 

 dipping a piece in water they rub it on their hands, 

 and get a fine lather. They call that amole, too." 



