Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/596

576 of the plant will probably become extensively developed. In the United States frosts necessitate the annual labor and expense of forming new plantations. In the tierra caliente of Mexico, the cotton plant is perennial, and only requires being kept clear of weeds and other vegetation.

Sericulture has made little progress during the present century. About the period from 1830 to 1850 some attention was given to this industry. Treatises were published from time to time, and societies formed for the promotion of it, and establishments were erected in different parts of the country, and by the year 1845 some little progress was perceptible. At the present time, only a small quantity of silk fabrics is manufactured out of the native article, the bulk of them being imported from foreign countries.

The vanilla plant is a parasitic evergreen creeper, indigenous to Vera Cruz, Tabasco, and Oajaca. Its aromatic flavor and perfume were known to the