14 
[ Eep. No. 564. ] 
No. 6. 
PLANTS QF MEXICO. 
Extract of a letter from Henry Perrine, Esq., United States consul 
for Campeachy, to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated 
New York, November S, 1831. 
“ Sir : The Treasury circular of the 6th of September, 1827, relative to 
the introduction of useful exotics into the United States, addressed to a 
portion of the American consuls, directed the inquiries of the subscriber 
(United States consul for Campeachy) particularly to the log-wood tree, 
Avhich abounds in the peninsula of Yucatan. His first communication to 
the Department, dated 1st January, 1829, contained a brief sketch of the 
information then obtained, and endeavored to attract its attention tOAvards 
the fibrous plants of that region, as subjects of much greater and more 
immediate utility. Belonging to the natural family Liliacea, the species of 
the genus Agave appeared to him of "transcendent importance. In his 
communication of January 1, 1830, he again expressed that opinion, which 
has been confirmed by his subsequent observations in Tabasco, and sus¬ 
tained by ail the intelligence acquired since his arrival in this city, on the 
13th August last. The utility of these plants has been noticed in almost 
every work on Mexico, from the conquest to the present day. Accord¬ 
ing to Clavigero, the name of Mexico, “ quiere decir en el centro del Ma¬ 
guey, 6 Pita, 6 Aloe Americano.” (Agave Americana of Humboldt.) A 
reference to the same author shows the manifold utility of these plants to 
the ancient Mexicans. Some species furnish themselves protecting en¬ 
closures, and afi’ord impassable hedges to other objects of cultivation. 
From the juice of others are extracted honey, sugar, vinegar, and 
ardent spirits. The Pulque de Maguey is the celebrated substitute for 
beer, cider, and wine—preferred, even by foreigners, to every other liquor. 
From the trunk and thickest portion of the leaves, roasted in the earth, 
an agreeable food is obtained. The sap is applied externally to indo¬ 
lent sores and tumors, and a preparation is used internally for urinary 
and other diseases. The stalks serve for the beams, and the leaves 
for the roofs of huts. The thorns answer for lancets, aAvls, needles, ar¬ 
row-heads, and other cutting and penetrating instruments. The fibrous 
substance of the leaves is, however, the most important gift of the Agave 
genus to Mexico. According to the species, the fibre varies in quality 
from the coarsest hemp to the finest flax, and maybe employed as a supe¬ 
rior substitute for both. From it the Mexicans fabricated their thread 
and cordage, mats and bagging, shoes and clothing, and Avebs, equivalent 
to cambric and canvass; the hammocks in Avhich they are born, repose, 
and die ; and the paper on which they painted their histories, and with 
which they adorned and adored their gods. The value of all the agaves 
is enhanced by their indifference to soil, climate, and season; by the sim¬ 
plicity of their cultivation; and by the facility of extracting and preparing 
-their products. It is not, therefore, surprising that the ancient Mexicans 
used some part or preparation of these plants in their civil, military, and 
religious ceremonies, at marriages and deaths ; nor that they perpetuated 
an allusion to their properties in the name of their capital. 
« Humboldt, Poinsett, Warden, and other foreigners, seem to consider 
ihefine fibres, called pita, a product of the same plant that produces the 
pulque. But the maguey from which the drink is obtained, is a totally 
-different species, and furnishes fibres of the coarsest text'ire. The pita 
