364 
GUATEMALA. 
earthenware [or iron] pan. The cakes so made are 
called tortillas , and are very nutritious. When trav¬ 
elling, I preferred them myself to bread made from 
wheaten flour. When well made and eaten warm, they 
are very palatable.” 
Besides the importance of this grain for human food, 
it is necessary for the horses, who could not well endure 
the hard steep roads on sacate alone. Much might be 
exported to the neighboring republics. 
Wheat .— Throughout the uplands much wheat is grown. 
The straw is generally small, but the grain heavy and 
good. In the grain centres, such as Solola, the wheat 
is inspected and weighed by Government officials. The 
seed is sown in drills rather than broadcast. I found the 
bread made from this home wheat of a uniformly good 
quality, though sometimes dark colored, — indeed it is 
superior to the bread found in the country throughout 
the United States. 
Potatoes , and other Food-Plants. — However the philos¬ 
opher may try to confine his attention to those products 
of a country which may have a commercial value, be he 
cynic or epicurean he will be interested in those fruits 
and vegetables not necessary to the support of life, but 
none the less very important factors in human comfort. 
I have briefly noticed the principal fruits that may be 
exported from Guatemala, and have passed unnoticed 
the scores of valuable woods, because I can add nothing 
to the general knowledge of these. For the same reason 
I have omitted the hundred and one drugs or medicinal 
plants; but I should fail in my duty to this pleasant 
country if I did not tell of some of those fruits and 
vegetables that add to the pleasure of life. 
