18 
[ Eep. No" 564. ] 
tages ? We shall have the tea-plant, the olive, and the vine; but we trust 
that many, many years will elapse before Ave are obliged to compete with 
the French, and the Italians, and the Chinese, in making their culture a 
means of subsistence for a crowded and necessitous population. From 
the planting of the Sisal hemp to the cutting of its leaves, how trifling is 
the amount of labor bestowed ! hoAV equable its division through the 
year ! how abundant the reproduction ! how long the duration ! Indeed, 
it scarcely needs more care and cost than the trees of our forests. The 
principal capital and labor devoted to it (which we may estimate at three- 
fourths of the whole) commence only Avith the extraction of the fibres 
from the fresh leaves, to furnish the raAV material for the manufacturing 
market; and this preparation may be called the semi-manufacture of the 
planter, Ayhich begins Avhere pure cultivation ends. The cut leaves are 
in the same relative condition to the planter as the plucked cotton. The 
labor of separating the seeds, before the invention of Whitney’s gin, ren¬ 
dered it a comparatively worthless object of cultivation. Can we believe 
that the Agave Sisalana will be long a citizen of the United States, without 
the iiwention of a corresponding machine to extract its fibres ? If the 
Sisal hemp be a profitable article to the inhabitants of Yucatan at one 
hundred dollars the ton, without any labor-saving machinery; how much 
more profitable Avill it be to the inhabitants of Florida at two hundred 
dollars, Avhen aided by American intelligence, industry, and ingenuity ? 
No. 8. 
Circular to a portion of the Consuls of the United States. 
Treasury Department, September 6, 1827. 
Sir : The President is desirous of causing to be introduced into the 
United States all such trees and plants from other countries, not heretofore 
known in the United States, as may give promise, under proper cultiva¬ 
tion, of flourishing and becoming useful, as well as superior varieties of 
such as are already cultivated here. To this end, I have his directions to 
address myself to you, invoking your aid to give effect to the plan that he 
has in vie\v. Forest trees useful for timber; grain of any description; 
fruit trees; vegetables for the table; esculent roots; and, in short, plants 
of whatever nature, whether useful as food for man or the domestic ani¬ 
mals, or for purposes connected Avith manufactures or any of the useful 
arts, fall within the scope of the plan proposed. A specification of some 
of them to be had in the country Avhere you reside, and believed to fall 
under one or other of the above heads, is given at the foot of this letter, 
as samples merely; it not being intended to exclude others of Avhich you 
may yourself have knoAvledge, or be able, on inquiry, to obtain knowl¬ 
edge. With any that you may have it in your power to send, it will be 
desirable to send such notices of their cultivation and natural history as 
may be attainable in the country to which they are indigenous; and the 
following questions are amongst those that will indicate the particulars 
concerning Avhich information may be sought: 
1. ‘The latitude and soil in which the .plant most flourishes ? 
2. What are the seasons of its bloom and maturity, and what the terra 
of its duration ? ' 
