Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 1.djvu/78

52, (19 of Reaumur or 75 of Fahrenheit,) to bring it to perfection.

This bread, which is prepared from the root of the Yuca amarga, (jatropha manihot,) is more in use on the Western, than the Eastern coasts of Mexico: on both sides it is peculiar to the Tierra caliente. The root which yields the flour, (which is afterwards made up into thin, brittle cakes,) is a deadly poison in its raw state; but it loses its deleterious qualities when rasped, and pressed in a bag called cĭbŭcān, during which process the juice exudes, until nothing but a farinaceous pulp remains.

The consumption of Cassava bread in Mexico is not considerable, nor at all likely to increase.

Is but little cultivated, and not very generally known.

The first Olive plantation known in Mexico, was that belonging to the Archbishop, at Tăcŭbāya, near the Capital; but, during the Revolution, a great number of Olive trees were planted, both in the Provinces, and immediately about Mexico, all of which are now flourishing. The oil which they yield is as pure as the finest French or Italian oils, and as the climate is particularly favourable to the