58 TOMATO FRIJOL MAGUEY. 



men have become so fond of the food, that they have brought the 

 bean with them upon their return to the United States, and now 

 supply their table with it instead of hominy. From the frijol, the 

 tortilla, and the Chile pepper we pass to the great national liquor, 

 which requires generally longer time to win the favor of foreigners. 



The Maguey — Metl, or Agave Americana, is a species of 

 Ananas, or Aloe, from which is made octli or pulque, the favorite 

 beverage of the lower and middle classes of Mexicans, especially 

 in the central parts of the table land. 



This plant grows wild in almost every part of Mexico, yet the 

 people do not extract a liquid from it, except in the neighborhood 

 of Puebla and the capital, where its consumption is enormous. 

 The principal plantations are in the States of Puebla, Mexico, 

 Guanajuato, and a small portion of Valladolid. The districts 

 most celebrated for the excellence of their liquor, are in the vicinity 

 of Cholula and the Plains of Apam. So great was the consump- 

 tion of this favorite national drink, that the small municipal tax 

 upon it, at the gates of the cities, amounted, before the revolution, 

 to $600,000 — and, in the year 1793, to upwards of $800,000. 



Pulque is so little known in Europe, or in the United States, 

 that some account of the process, by which it is made, may be ac- 

 ceptable. 



MAKING PULQUE. 



