This article contains a few interesting points on New Mexico chile cultivation, including the observation that there are regionally developed variations within the variety traditionally identified with the state. I myself have noticed that I generally prefer northern-grown pods to the bitterer, more common ones from Hatch, but had always ascribed the difference to chile terroir (which may nevertheless be a factor). I am obliged to disagree, however, with Mr. DeWitt's observation that "[t]he earliest cultivated chiles in New Mexico were . . . considered a spice," and that "'[t]he No. 6 variety [bred in 1950] changed the image of chile from a ball of fire that sent consumers rushing to the water jug to that of a multi-purpose vegetable with a pleasing flavor'" (quoting Roy Nakashima). On the contrary, Josia Gregg observed on page 154 of Commerce of the Prairies, an account of his travels to New Mexico in the 1830s, that "[c]hile verde (green pepper), not as a mere condiment, but as a salad, served up in different ways, is reckoned by [New Mexicans] one of the greatest luxuries." We see then that the purported pungency of the more ancient varieties of chile was no impediment to Spanish colonists' eating it in its entirety; the breeding of milder, more consistent varieties could only have made chile-eating more accessible to wusses. Furthermore, the arid climate in New Mexico is usually prompting enough to rush for the water jug, but in any case add proper hydration to the myriad of other salubrious effects that may be ascribed to eating chile.