ts cultivation,
and the yield per acre is high, and as far as natural conditions are
concerned the staple is a very sure one. Mexico, of recent years, has
passed the point of supplying her own demands, and now exports sugar to
a considerable value, although a falling-off in the last year or so has
resulted upon disturbed market conditions abroad. The total production
of cane for 1905 is given as 840,000 tons, at a value 2,650,000 pounds
sterling (see page 293).

_Coffee_ was originally brought to Mexico in 1790. Very good quality is
produced in some regions, and the largest output is made from the State
of Vera Cruz. The industry is subject to fluctuations, due to foreign
markets, but Mexican coffee is in growing favour abroad, and the
production for 1905 is given as 20,000 tons, with a value of 1,500,000
pounds sterling.

_Chocolate_.--An indigenous product, whose cultivation is principally
in the hands of the Indians. The output for 1905 was 1,375 tons, at a
value of 160,000 pounds sterling.

_Maize_.--This furnishes the chief article of food for the working
classes, the _tortillas_. Notwithstanding the generally favourable
conditions for its productions, import is still necessary in times of
drought. The value of maize production for 1905 was nearly 9,000,000
pounds sterling.

_Wheat_.--This is grown entirely upon the cold or temperate lands of
the plateau, but irrigation is necessary, and in times of drought
import from the United States is necessary. In 1905 the production was
132,000 tons, valued at 2,215,000 pounds sterling. The value of
_Barley_ produced is about one-fourth of this.

_Beans or Frijoles_.--A staple article of diet among all classes; were
produced in 1905 to the value of nearly 1,000,000 pounds sterling.

_Fibres_.--_Henequen_ or Sisal hemp is one of the principal of Mexico's
agricultural products, and its producers are among the wealthiest
people in the country, especially in Yucatan. For the year 1905 the
production was 50,250 tons, at a value of nearly 3,000,000 pounds
sterling. The _Ixtle_ fibre production gave a value of about 200,000
pounds sterling.

_Pulque_.--This, the national beverage of Mexico's working class, is
made from _maguey_, and the value of its production for 1905 was about
800,000 pounds sterling.

_India-rubber_.--The _Castilloa elastica_ is indigenous to Mexico, and
there are large areas in the tropical part of the country where it is
encountered, and some consid