ESTATES IN THE VALLEYS OF CUERNAVACA AND CUAUTLA—MEXICAN HACIENDAS.—SUGAR REGIONS—COFFEE—ITS YIELD.—TOBACCO—ORIZABA—CHIAPAS, ETC.—INDIGO—COTTON.—MANUFACTURES ENCOURAGED IN MEXICO.—NO NEW AGRICULTURAL POPULATION—NEW MANUFACTURING POPULATION.—PRODUCTION OF COTTON—VAINILLA—JALAP—CACAO—COCHINEAL—ITS PRODUCTION AND QUANTITY.—SILK—FRUITS—AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.—GRAZING, AND NOT AN AGRICULTURAL COUNTRY.
Agricultural Products continued.—Colonial Products.
Sugar.
It is generally admitted that the cultivation of Sugar commenced in China. The cane became first known, through Marco Polo, in the middle of the thirteenth century; and it was soon after introduced into Nubia, Egypt and Ethiopia; whence, about the 15th century, it reached Europe. It was first planted in Sicily, and carried to Spain, Madeira, and the Canary Isles; and, twenty-eight years after the discovery by Columbus, it was introduced into Hayti, by Pedro Atienza, and speedily spread over the West Indies and other parts of America.
The Sugar Cane is one of the most valuable agricultural products of Mexico, and we are convinced from personal observation that the estates in the tierra caliente, where it is chiefly raised, are the richest, as well as most beautiful, in the republic. There is scarcely a lovelier prospect in Mexico