Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 1.djvu/88

62 of Cuĕrnăvācă and Cūāūtlă Āmīlpăs, (within twenty leagues of the Capital,) as the seat of the principal sugar plantations of the country; and the fact, that these plantations have maintained themselves during the whole of the revolutionary war, while those of Orizava and Cōrdŏvă, on the slope of the Cordillera, which depended more upon the foreign market, fell into decay, as soon as the progress of the Insurgents put an end to all freedom of communication with the coast.

In the course of time, the increasing intercourse with foreign countries will, probably, create a change in this respect, and render the value of a sugar estate upon the coast at least equal to that of one in the interior. The number of vessels that now return in ballast from Veracruz insures a ready market, and although the rate of wages upon the coast is higher, the superior fertility of the soil will more than compensate this disadvantage.

Humboldt gives 2800 kilogrammes, or 224 Arrobas (of 25lbs) of raw sugar, as the produce of a hectare of the best land in the province of Veracruz, in situations favourable to irrigation.

That of Cuba does not exceed 1400 kilogrammes; so that the balance is as two to one in favour of Veracruz.

The immense amount of the capitals which have been withdrawn from the country since 1822, and the distrust which a recollection of the Revolution