Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/487

 MEXICO 469 of which three and even four abundant crops are obtained annually in many districts, and which thrives in all parts of the country. The yield is often 500 fold ; and the Indians make it, with beans and chilli, their almost exclusive food. Wheat gives an increase of 60 fold, and rice of about 45. Several varieties of beans are grown ; also barley, rye, lentils, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, cumin and coriander seeds, &c. Cotton, coffee, cacao, the sugar cane, tobacco, indigo, and cochineal are the staple productions of the hot and temperate regions. The cotton crop of 1873 in Sinaloa comprised 550,000 Ibs. at an average price of 20 cents ; the cotton district of San Juan Evan- gelista produced 1,342,104 Ibs. in 1872. The coffee of Colima, with an annual yield of about 30,000 Ibs., is reported equal in quality to the finest Mocha. That of Vera Cruz (Jalapa and Cordova) is likewise much esteemed ; the shipments of it to the United States in 1873 amounted to $299,942. The great cacao cen- tre is Oajaca, where its three yearly crops ren- der its culture the most profitable in the state. Sugar is made in large quantities in Vera Cruz and elsewhere. The tobaccos of Tabasco and Vera Cruz are quite equal to the finest of Cuba. The annual value of the food crops of Mexico may be estimated at about $58,000,000, and of all agricultural productions at $110,- 000,000. The flowers of Mexico are among the richest and most varied in the world ; and several of the streets of the capital on Sunday mornings are literally enamelled with flowers of brilliant hue and fragrant odor. Grapes flourish in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Aguas Calientes, where, as in Sinaloa, wines, brandy, sugar, and raisins are made from them. The manufactures of Mexico are com- paratively unimportant. Except those of tobac- co, cacao, sugar, and indigo, none are exported, and but few can fully meet the home demand. Very good woollen and cotton cloths are woven in Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nue- vo Leon, Mexico, Puebla, and Vera Cruz, and the rebozos (a species of shawl) of silk and linen, and the harness and saddles, are un- equalled in any of the other Spanish-Ameri- can countries. Sugar is manufactured largely and of good quality, the state of Morelos alone frequently furnishing 50,000,000 Ibs. yearly. There are paper mills in Guadalajara and else- where. Glassware, porcelain, and earthen- ware of superior quality are made ; also hats, chocolate, laces, flowers, liquors, gunpowder, &c. ; and there are iron f ounderies and flour mills in many of the states. The silver and goldsmiths excel in the execution of filigree ornaments ; and the Indians of Mexico, Guana- juato, and Guadalajara are skilful in the manu- facture of clay and rag figures, almost worthy to rank with works of sculpture. The figures represent muleteers, water carriers, soldiers, and such like, with perfect accuracy of cos- tume, and sometimes portraits from life, or from photographic pictures. Beer and pale ale of excellent quality are made in several brew- eries in the capital. The dulcea or sweetmeats of Guadalajara are much sought after both in and out of the republic. The fauna includes three species of large felido), the puma or American lion, jaguar, and ocelot; among the smaller is the wild cat. Wolves are com- mon in the northern states, and also the coy oil or coyote ; besides which there are bears, wild boars, and bisons. A species of sloth is found in the southern forests, with five varieties of monkeys. Of the other wild animals the principal are hares, rabbits, squirrels, two or three kinds of deer, beavers, moles, martens, and otters. All the domestic animals intro- duced by the early Spanish settlers have multiplied prodigiously. The horses, though small, retain the spirit and graceful forms of the Andalusian stock from which they mainly sprang. The rivers and lakes abound in ex- cellent fish ; turtles are taken in considerable numbers on the coast, and the carey of Yucatan and Guerrero is the object of a trade valued at $20,000 yearly. The ophidians are represented by a few boas in the southern forests, and sev- eral species of snakes, some extremely venom- ous, as the rattle and coral snakes. The lar- gest lizard is the iguana, whose flesh is by some of the natives considered excellent food. Nox- ious insects infest the hot regions in myriads ; alacranes or scorpions, in two distinct varie- ties, are everywhere feared, and it is said that many children are killed every year by their sting ; and scolopendras, gigantic spiders, ta- rantulas, and mosquitoes abound. Bees are numerous, and their wax is an article of ex- port ; and the silkworm, though comparatively neglected, is said to yield an annual profit of $40,000. The birds of prey are eagles, hawks, and zopilotes or turkey buzzards, the scaven- gers of the coast towns, with three or four species of owls. Domestic fowl are extremely abundant. The parrots, humming birds, tro- gons, &c., vie in richness of plumage with those of Brazil; and the Mexican songsters, the prince of which is the zenzontle or mocking bird, are unequalled by those of any other coun- try. The population comprises about 6,000,- 000 Indians of unmixed blood, nearly one half of whom are nomadic savage tribes of the mountainous districts of the north ; about 500,- 000 whites or Creoles, chiefly descended from the early Spanish colonists; perhaps 25,000 Af- ricans or hybrids possessing some negro blood, whether mixed with the European or the In- dian element ; and mestizos or half-breeds de- rived from the union of the whites and Indians. Of the Indians there are 35 tribes, speaking as many different tongues and nearly 150 dialects. They are indolent and apathetic, but under prudent direction become good workmen, and often attain to excellence in the mechanic arts ; and many of them have been closely con- nected with the leading political events of the country. The mestizos inherit the vices rath- er than the virtues of the parent stocks, are