1026 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



situated below i,ooo feet, but it is a rec- 

 ognized fact that coffee grown at such 

 low elevations is inferior in quality. The 

 only redeeming feature is that the quan- 

 tity produced is so much greater, which 

 compensates the planter for the lacking 

 flavor and consequent lower price. 



Under the present conditions of the 

 world's coffee market, it is not very likely 

 that the area under coffee in Mexico will 

 be greatly increased. One of the most 

 important factors in coffee culture is the 

 supply and price of labor. A coffee 

 planter needs his laborers only during a 

 certain part of the year, and he then re- 

 quires cheap labor for the picking of his 

 crop. Labor in Mexico is becoming ex- 

 pensive, and it is, moreover, very scarce. 

 By expensive labor on plantations is 

 meant labor that is paid 50 cents per day, 

 which generally is considered too high 

 for crops such as coffee. 



CACAO, the: food of THE GODS 



In olden times much more cacao was 

 grown in Mexico than at present. The 

 Aztecs prized cacao very highly, and 

 beans of this tree were used as money 

 until the time of the conquest, when gold 

 became the means of exchange. 



Cacao has been grown in Mexico, 

 especially in the State of Tabasco and 

 in the Soconusco district in Chiapas. So 

 well known were the productions of these 

 parts of Mexico that two kinds of cacao 

 became world renowned under the names 

 of tabasco and soconusco. In Chile arid 

 Peru cacao is still named soconusco, and 

 it is a mark of honor to be invited to a 

 cup of ''soconusco." This Soconusco 

 cacao was sent to the King of Spain 

 among the contributions from the vice- 

 royalty of Mexico. Until some 30 years 

 ago Soconusco cacao retained its name 

 for superiority and regularly occurred in 

 the market. Today a very small quan- 

 tity only is grown in that district, and 

 the total production is consumed locally. 



The reason for the discontinuance of 

 cacao cultivation in Soconusco was 

 mainly the indifference and indolence of 

 the natives. The district was opened up 

 and opportunities for making a living be- 



came more varied. The native does not 

 care to bother when he can make suffi- 

 cient for himself and family by working 

 two or three days of the seven in the 

 week. 



In recent years the culture of cacao 

 has been stimulated by the high prices of 

 this product. Several foreign companies 

 and individual planters have begun to 

 devote attention to this crop, which prom- 

 ises to become one of the most profitable 

 products of the soil, although it takes 

 some six or seven years until a full crop 

 is obtained after planting. 



TEA-GROWING 



This industry has as yet made no head- 

 way in Mexico. One or two American 

 companies have gone into this kind of 

 planting, but their example has not been 

 followed. The main reason of this in- 

 difference is probably the general pre- 

 vailing ignorance of the subject of tea- 

 planting. 



Experiments and investigations of the 

 conditions for tea-growing in Mexico 

 have shown that an excellent quality of 

 tea can be grown in many districts. The 

 planters in Ceylon, India, and Java, as 

 well as the native farmers of Japan, For- 

 mosa, and China, are making a good 

 thing of their tea gardens, and there is 

 no reason why considerable areas in Mex- 

 ico should not be put under this crop. 



The consumption of tea in America is 

 considerable, and with an open and good 

 market at their very doors, Mexican 

 planters should realize their opportunity 

 in this regard. 



SUGAR-CANE 



The sugar industry in Mexico dates 

 back to prehistoric times. Different 

 sweetmeats have always been in great 

 favor with the natives of the country, and 

 they were made from the home-made 

 ''panela" sugar, which is still being man- 

 ufactured in the tropics of Mexico in the 

 old primitive way, by grinding the cane 

 between upright wooden cylinders drawn 

 by a team of oxen, and boiling the sugar 

 in large open pans. 



Very few improvements are applied by 



