Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/72

 42 MEXICO. abundance on every part of the 1' able-land ; the yam, which is confined to Tierra caliente ; Tomates, (Tomatl,) with every variety of garden plants and vegetables ; apples, peaches and pears, and most European fruits; together with pines, guavas, chirimoyas, oranges and lemons, pistachio-nuts, melons, and all the usual productions of the Tropics. It likewise has the Maguey — {Met I — Agave Americana.) A species of Ananas, or Aloe, from which is drawn the favourite beverage of the lower classes in the central part of the Table-land, a spirituous liquor called Octli, or Pulque. It is in the States of La Puebla, Mexico, Guanajuato, and a small portion of Valladolid, that the principal plant- ations of Maguey are found: the most celebrated are those in the vicinity of Cholula, and in the Llanos de Apam, between the towns of Huamantla, Tlascala, Āpăn, and the Capital : the valley of Toluca is likewise famous for its Pulque ; which is drawn from the extensive Maguey grounds in the vicinity of Lērmǎ : but in general, although the plant is found wild in every part of Mexico, no attempt to extract Pulque from it, is made, except in the districts which are within reach of the two great towns of La Puebla, and Mexico ; where, amongst the lower classes of the in- habitants, the consumption is enormous. Before the Revo- lution, the revenue derived from a very small municipal duty exacted on the Pulque, at the gates of these towns, averaged 600,000 dollars, and amounted, in 1793, to 817,739 dollars, about 170,000/. sterling. Pulque is so little known in Europe, that some account of the process, by which it is made, may be acceptable. The Maguey, or Aloe, from which it is extracted, differs but little, (if at all) in appearance, from those which abound in the South of Spain, and which are known, though of