Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
July,  1900. 
Cultivation  of  Agaves. 
333 
The  plants  do  not  arrive  at  maturity  until  eight  years  old,  the 
expense  of  cultivation  to  this  time  being  usually  calculated  at  about 
$2,  while  the  return  is  from  $y  to  $io,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
plant.  The  young  plants  used  in  planting  a  pulque  field  are  the 
suckers,  which  are  thrown  out  from  the  mature  plant  on  all  sides 
and  which  must  be  removed  before  the  flower-bud  is  cut  out. 
They  are  placed  in  rows  about  9  feet  apart,  and  require  very  little 
attention  until  the  period  of  flowering  commences.  This  period  is 
very  uncertain,  but  in  a  plantation  of  1,0 do  agaves  an  average  of 
IOO  plants  are  ready  to  bloom  every  year. 
Experience  is  necessary  to  know  when  to  cut  out  the  flower-bud, 
and  if  this  operation  be  performed  either  too  early  or  too  late,  it  is 
unsuccessful  and  destroys  the  plant.  The  flow  of  sap  continues  for 
about  five  months,  and  in  that  time  each  plant  is  supposed  to  yield 
from  125  to  160  gallons  of  liquid. 
The  chief  drawback  to  the  cultivation  of  the  pulque  maguey  is 
the  long  period  that  must  elapse  before  a  new  plantation  can  be 
rendered  productive  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  time  of  flowering. 
However,  the  plantations,  when  once  established,  are  of  great  value 
and  are  a  continual  source  of  income. 
Except  in  the  State  of  Yucatan,  the  fibre  magueys  are  seldom 
cultivated,  the  natives  obtaining  their  supply  of  fibre  from  the  wild 
species. 
In  Yucatan,  near  Merida,  there  are  several  plantations  of  large 
size  where  Henequen  fibre  is  produced  from  agaves  scientifically 
cultivated. 
More  than  three-fourths  of  the  agave  fibre  exported  from  Mexico 
comes  to  the  United  States,  and  only  a  small  amount  of  such  fibre 
is  imported  by  the  United  States  from  outside  of  Mexico. 
The  following  tables  show  the  amounts  exported  and  imported  : 
TOTAL  AMOUNT  OF  AGAVE  FIBRES  EXPORTED  FROM  MEXICO, 

1897. 
1898. 
Kilos.          j  Value  in  Pesos. 
Kilos. 
Value  in  Pesos. 
Ixtle  or  Tampico  .  .  .  . 
Henequen,  Sisal  .... 
9,165,477  812,974 
71,091,697  7,433,806 
6-959-5I1 
75,244,863 
616,650 
11,588,572 
