_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 considerable planting has taken place of recent years. Some thirty or more companies are engaged in this industry, and some millions of trees have been planted, and whilst success has crowned their efforts in many cases, and the industry seems a safe one under proper conditions, it must be regarded as yet in a preliminary stage. Moreover, the industry's reputation has had to contend against frauds which have been perpetrated upon the investing public of America and Great Britain. The _guayule_ shrub is now a further source of Mexican rubber. It is a wild shrub occupying the area of the northern plains, and was unconsidered until recently, but now a thriving industry has been established through the discovery of its rubber-bearing property by a German chemist. In this connection I may say that I sent a sample of the _guayule_ to London from Mexico ten years ago, believing it to be of value, but my friends failed to investigate it and so lost a fortune. It is doubtful if Mexico will ever compete with the Amazonian basin of Peru and Brazil as a rubber-producing country. The output for 1905, not including _guayule_, was valued at 44,300 pounds sterling. It came principally from Vera Cruz and Tabasco. Other main articles of Mexican produce are given in the following _resume_, which serves to show the extent of the country's agricultural resources, in their variety and order of value. _Resume_ OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE: LAST AVAILABLE RETURNS.[35] (Fractions omitted).