140 
REVENUE AND INCOME. 
In order to get at an approximate estimate of what this in- 
land traffic would be, it is necessary to refer to the extent oi 
territory embraced within the Mexican grant to the company ; 
and secondly, to the indigenous products of the soil of the 
Isthmus and the neighboring States, and the demand for them 
at home and abroad. The grant of land of which mention is 
made is mfee simple, and embraces an extent of fifty-six Mexi- 
can leagues in length by twenty in width ; that is, 1120 square 
leagues, each containing 4340 acres ; thus making a total 
amount of nearly five millions of acres of tillable land, an area 
greater than that of the State of Massachusetts. This, with the 
right of making settlements within fifty leagues on either hand 
of the communication (also comprised in the grant of Don Jose 
de Garay), presents an opportunity for establishing one of the 
noblest colonies that ever existed. 
Among the produce of the country, there are salt-pits ex- 
tremely abundant, which might be turned to profitable account 
without any other outlay than the bare expenses of conveyance. 
California receives at present her supply from the United States 
by way of Cape Horn. Salt might be supplied to the countries 
in the neighborhood of the line of communication, such as 
Chiapas and Guatimala, as well as the Havana and New Or- 
leans, where the price generally averages eight or ten dollars 
per ton. 
The other natural products of the Isthmus, such as wax, honey, 
silk, india-rubber, cocoa, pepper, saisaparilla, corn, rice, sugar, 
tobacco, cotton, indigo, hemp, vanilla, gums and resins, furs, 
tortoise-shell, coral and pearls, are abundant in the greatest de- 
gree. But among all these productions, the timber of its im- 
mense forests deserves particular mention. Its abundance is 
such, that the only limit which can be assigned to the supply it 
may yield, is the demand for centuries to come. From the fir, 
the oak, the cedar, and every description of building timber, to 
the dye and fine woods, their profusion is absolutely incred- 
ible. None of the countries which at present supply these spe- 
cies of woods could compete with the Isthmus, where they 
are found on the very banks of the river, which facilitate their 
carriage. 
