ibed by their main agricultural products as--the
sugar- and rubber-bearing zone, the coffee-bearing zone, and the
cereal-producing zone, the last being the great plateau.

It is to be recollected that, rich and varied as Mexico's vegetable
products are, some of the most useful to mankind were not indigenous,
but were introduced by Europeans. Among these are sugar-cane, oranges,
the cereals, as wheat, &c. (except maize), olives, the grape-vine, and
coffee.

Cotton, of course, was native, and if Europe gave Mexico great benefits
of staple plants, Mexico also gave of hers to Europe, as the
_chocolatl_--our well-known chocolate--the banana, and other fruits.

Beginning with the tropical region, the main natural and cultivated
products are: sugar-cane, rubber, coffee, oranges, bananas, limes,
_cacao_ or chocolate, tobacco, pepper, vanilla, _henequen_ or hemp,
rice, cocoanuts, _ahuacates_ or "alligator-pears," yucca, indigo,
maize, _alfalfa_.

Mahogany and other cabinet woods, and timber for constructional
purposes, abound in the various zones, and some seventy-five kinds are
enumerated, as shown on another page. The enormous _tepehuajes_, or
cypresses, are famous--one near Oaxaca has a trunk of a diameter of 50
feet, 6 feet from the ground.

The temperate zone, into which the former merges insensibly, is less
fertile, less well-watered, but much healthier, and produces matters of
equal value to the foregoing, among them the grape-vine, maize, coffee,
and various of those above enumerated.

Timber for constructional purposes is found freely in this zone,
reaching far up to the higher region of the cold lands. Ranging from
8,000 to 14,000 feet above sea-level, the coniferous forests are one of
the most characteristic features of Mexico.

This third climatic zone, embracing parts of the tableland, is capable
of producing all the varieties of wheat, and does actually produce
some, and the cultivation of this cereal is being extended. The
_maguey_, or agave, is a staple product, yielding the famous _pulque_
beverage, and indeed the lands which produce this intoxicant might well
be, in the national interests, applied to the growing of wheat. The
growing of the grape-vine, potatoes, beans, and other valuable products
are sources of industry upon the plateau. Cotton leads in importance.

As regards the natural conditions of vegetation throughout the country,
it is estimated that there exist some 5,700 square miles of dense