Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 1.djvu/98

72 my own, that I have made them here the subject of particular consideration.

Coffee is another of the Tropical productions, for which the soil of Mexico is admirably adapted, and which is likely to be cultivated, almost immediately, to a great extent, because the capital required to establish a plantation is comparatively small.

Coffee has, however, never formed an article of exportation in New Spain, nor has the use of it been very general in the interior of the country, until within the last few years, when the large returns derived by the merchants of the Havanna from their Cafetales, or coffee grounds, induced some of the Mexican proprietors to turn their attention to this branch of colonial agriculture.

In 1818 and 1819, extensive plantations of coffee were laid out near Cōrdŏvă and Ŏrĭzāvă, to which constant additions have been made during the last three years.

The tree has likewise been introduced into the valley of Cūāūtlă, by Don Antonio Velasco, and into that of Cuĕrnăvācă by the Agent of the Duke of Monteleone; who possesses, as representative of the family of Cortes, the large estate of Ātlăjŏmūlcŏ, in the immediate vicinity of the town. The two estates of Velasco, at Cŏcŏyōc and Pāntĭtlān, contain about five hundred thousand coffee plants, fifty