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60 MAKING PULQUE. 



tation. A good maguey yields from eight to fifteen quartillos or 

 pints, of Aguamiel in a day, the value of which may be taken at 

 about one real, or twelve and a half cents ; — and this supply of 

 sap continues during two, and often three months. The plant, 

 therefore, when about to flower, is worth ten dollars to the farmer ; 

 although, in the transfer of an estate, the Magueyes de corte, ready 

 for cutting, are seldom valued, one with another, at more than five. 

 But, in this estimate, an allowance is made for the failure of some, 

 which is unavoidable, as the operation of cutting the heart of the 

 plant, if performed either too soon, or too late, is equally unsuc- 

 cessful and entirely destroys the plant. The cultivation of the Ma- 

 guey, where a market is at hand, has many advantages, as it is a 

 plant, which, though it succeeds best in a good soil, is not easily 

 affected either by heat or cold, and requires little or no water. It 

 is propagated, too, with great facility; for, although the mo- 

 ther plant withers away as soon as the sap is exhausted, it is re- 

 placed by a multitude of suckers from the old root. There is but 

 one drawback on its culture, and that is the period that must elapse 

 before a new plantation can be rendered productive, and the uncer- 

 tainty with regard to the time of flowering, which varies from eight 

 to eighteen years. But the Maguey grounds, when once estab- 

 lished, are of great value, many producing a revenue of ten and 

 twelve thousand dollars per annum. 



" The natives ascribe to Pulque as many good qualities as whis- 

 key is said to possess in Scotland. They call it stomachic, — a 

 great promoter of digestion and sleep, and an excellent remedy in 

 many diseases. It requires a knowledge of all these good quali- 

 ties to reconcile the stranger to that smell of sour milk or slightly 

 tainted meat, by which the young Pulque drinker is usually dis- 

 gusted ; but if this can be surmounted, the liquor will be found 

 both refreshing and wholesome, for its intoxicating qualities are very 

 slight, and as it is drunk always in a state of fermentation, it pos- 

 sesses, even in the hottest weather, an agreeable coolness. It is 

 found, too, where water is not to be obtained ; and even the most 

 fastidious, when travelling under a vertical sun, are then forced to 

 admit its merits. 



" It is only to be met with in perfection near the places where it 

 is grown ; as it is conveyed to the great towns in hog-skins on 

 mules or asses. During this tedious process the disagreeable odor 

 increases and the freshness of the liquor is lost. A strong sort of 

 brandy, called Mexical, Mescal, or aguardiente, is likewise prepared 

 from the aloe, of which there is a great consumption in the coun- 



