9 
f Hep. No. 564. ] 
to form new plantations. The hardiness of the shoots may be inferred 
from the fact that they are exposed to the sun fifteen or twenty days ^ to 
-cicatrize their wounds,’ as a necessary preparation for replanting. The 
simplicity of their cultivation may be conceived from the statement that 
there is not a hoe, nor a spade, nor a harrow, nor a plough, employed in ' 
the agriculture of all Yucatan. . The facility of extracting the fibres from 
their leaves is shown by the rudeness of the instruments which are used 
by natives for that purpose : a triangular stick of hard wood, with sharp 
edges, from 24 to 27 inches long, and from one to two inches thick, 
is with them an equivalent to the shaving-knive of the curriers, by which 
they scrape away from each side of the leaf, on a board resting against 
the breast, the cuticle and pulp}?" substance that covers the fibres. 
Another mode of ^accomplishing the same object is, by pressing the sharp 
semilunar extremity of a long flat stick against any fixed surface upon a- 
narrow longitudinal strip of the leaf, which is then drawn through by the 
unemployed hand. The length, weight, strength, and other qualities of 
the fibres, as well as the labor of separating them, vary with the magni¬ 
tude, age, and position of the leaves; but, when extracted, a few hours’ 
exposure to the sun completes the preparation of the Sisal hemp for man¬ 
ufactures and commerce. 
“ The above brief sketch will show that the bales of exported Sisal hemp 
may contain materials of very different qualities; and that hence the opin¬ 
ions of its merits expressed by our merchants, our manufacturers, and our 
scientific men, must vary with the parcels that fall into their hands. The 
fibres of a single cultivated variety of the Agave Sisalana might be assorted 
like cotton for the foreign market, with denominations and prices corre¬ 
sponding to their relative value ; but the collectors for exportation, uncon- ' 
scious of the true interests of themselves or their country, not merely 
mingle the whole products of both the Sacqui and the Yaxqui,but add in¬ 
ferior qualities, obtained from wild varieties of the same, and even of dif¬ 
ferent species; and injure still further the reputation of this sample abroad, 
by including the worst proceeds of its imperfect dressings.” 
Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, the cultivation of Sisal hemp 
is of the highest importance to the people of Yucatan, as it is the only ar¬ 
ticle of agriculture which supplies them with raw materials and domes¬ 
tic manufactures for foreign trade : it has long formed a principal portion 
of the exports from Sisal to Havana, in the shape of twine, cordage, bag- 
, ging, &c., for the planters of Cuba. Its ropes and cables have been used 
in the shipping of various nations j and entire cargoes of the raw material 
have been transported to the ports, and wrought in the factories, of Eu¬ 
rope and of the United States. 
As the Agave Sisalana is so important an object of cultivation in the 
peninsula of Yucatan, how much more important would it be to the pe¬ 
ninsula of Florida ? 
Ignorance, and indolence, and ineptitude exist on one side of the Amer¬ 
ican Mediterranean ; intelligence, and industry, and ingenuity on the oth¬ 
er. Insuperable are the obstacles to enterprise in the nominal republic of 
the United States of Mexico; multiplied are the encouragements to im¬ 
provement in the genuine republic of the United States of America ! 
