186 
VEGETABLE PKODUCTIONS. 
on the south the broad plains of the Pacific, otherwise dry and 
heated, are dotted with frequent milpas, which relieve and refresh 
the eye. The cultivation there, however, is rendered somewhat 
more laborious by the necessity for irrigation, which is done by 
ditches from the neighboring streams. The ground is sometimes 
broken with a rude plough, and the maize hoed, in the absence 
of more perfect implements, with the bones of cattle. 
The fecundity of the Mexican variety of maize is astonishing. 
Fertile lands usually afford a return of three or four hundred 
fold ; even when the soil is sterile, the produce varies from sixty 
to eighty. 
The general estimate for the Isthmus may be considered as 
one hundred and fifty fold. Of all the gramina cultivated by 
man, none is so unequal in its produce as this, varying so much 
according to season ; and it is owing to this fact that famine so 
frequently arises. A proper rotation, and less dependence for 
food upon any one plant, obviate this unforeseen occurrence. 
Owing to its excessive yield, it is capable of becoming an arti- 
cle of great export. 
The sugar-cane, though cultivated to a limited extent, except 
on one or two plantations (where there are mills for extracting 
the juice), is nevertheless of astonishing magnitude and rich- 
ness ; the stalks not unfrequently exhibiting twenty-eight joints, 
with a diameter ranging from two to three inches. It is even 
found growing wild in the valleys md potreros, and of a quality 
and luxuriance (according to Tadeo Ortiz) superior to that of 
the Antilles. 
In the hands of an efficient planter, and with other care than 
the mere bounty of nature, it is not difficult to conceive the per- 
fection and value to which the sugar-cane of the Isthmus might 
be brought, especially when we consider the adaptation of the 
soil and climate to its cultivation, the facilities of transporting it 
across the plains to the ports of the Pacific, and the close prox- 
imity of the markets of California. At Santa Cruz is an exten- 
sive mill, under the supervision of Don Antonio Mass, whose 
manufacture of sugar during the last year exceeded 160,000 
lbs. There are also one or two horse-power presses near Guichi- 
covi, which yield a considerable quantity of juice annually. 
