Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 1.djvu/82

56 Pūlquĕ 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 a much smaller size, in England. Its growth is slow, but when arrived at maturity, its leaves are usually from five to eight feet in length, although some considerably exceed these dimensions.

In the plantations, the plants are arranged in lines, with an interval of three yards between each. If the soil be good, they require no attention on the part of the proprietor until the period of flowering arrives, at which time the plant first commences to be productive. This period is very uncertain; ten years, however, may be taken as a fair average, for, in a plantation of one thousand Aloes, it is calculated that one hundred are in flower every year. The Indians, acquainted with the plant, know, by certain signs, almost the very hour at which the stem, or central shoot, which is destined to produce the flower, is about to appear, and they anticipate it, by making a deep incision, and extracting the whole heart, or central portion of the stem, (el cŏrăzōn,) as a surgeon would take an arm out of the socket, leaving nothing but the thick outside rind, which forms a natural basin, or well, about two feet in depth, and one-and-a-half in