"The natives ascribe to Pulque as many good qualities as whiskey is said to possess in Scotland. They call it stomachie,--a great promoter of digestion and sleep, and an excellent remedy in many diseases. It requires a knowledge of all these good qualities to reconcile the stranger to that smell of sour milk or slightly tainted meat, by which the young Pulque drinker is usually disgusted; but if this can be surmounted, the liquor will be found both refreshing and wholesome, for its intoxicating qualities are very slight, and as it is drunk always in a state of fermentation, it possesses, even in the hottest weather, an agreeable coolness. It is found, too, where water is not to be obtained; and even the most fastidious, when travelling under a vertical sun, are then forced to admit its merits. "It is only to be met with _in perfection_ near the places where it is grown; as it is conveyed to the great towns in hog-skins on mules or asses. During this tedious process the disagreeable odor increases and the freshness of the liquor is lost. A strong sort of brandy, called _Mexical_, _Mescal_, or _aguardiente_, is likewise prepared from the aloe, of which there is a great consumption in the country. Nor is the utility of the plant confined to this; the Aztecs prepared from its leaves the paper on which their hieroglyphics were written, pieces of which, of various thickness, may be found at the present day. The more fibrous parts supply the country with _pita_, a strong thread or twine, which is made up into ropes and used not only in the interior, but on the western coast as cordage for vessels. It is not so pliable as hemp, and is more liable to be affected by the weather; but it is extremely tough and durable, and consequently of very general utility. The preceding plate contains an aloe in full produce, with the leaves cut, the central cup displayed, and the skin, gourd, and scraper used in extracting the sap."[10] Mexico is filled with varieties of Aloes and Cacti. A species known as the Organos--whose tall, erect and fluted columns shoot up to a height of ten, fifteen or twenty feet, is used in many parts of the table land for fences. Planted in close rows, its fine spines and firm limbs afford an impervious wall against intruders, whilst the tops of these evergreen and growing barriers are almost always covered with the most beautiful blossoms. In many districts of Mexico these _cacti_ form one of the most picturesque as well as useful features in the landscape. CHAPTER V. COLONIAL PRODUCTS.