The American collections of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine / Robin Price.

  • Wellcome Historical Medical Library
Date:
[1986]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: The American collections of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine / Robin Price. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    20/36
    JixtraOioa da. Hi/fiee i/u MagnaffJlcctJ au, miy/m d'r/m' ?*'/igue fald/tutfc C. Linati, Costumes . . . du Mexique, Brussels [1826?], plate 38. The Agave americana or American century plant furnished raw materials for numerous purposes from sewing needles and paper to roofing and firing, and not least for pulque or Mexican beer. Before the stem flowers, it is cut at the base to provide a receptacle whence the risen sap is collected twice a day by suction through a long calabash grown for the purpose, and taken to apulqueria for fermentation. The beer is said to smell of rotten meat, but is known to be rich in nutrients.
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