at an elevation of 2820 feet, and ending at 620; the moun- BOOK tain yew, and the corrugated angular Banisteria.

LXXXIII.

In the cold region, at a height of from 6600 to 14,100 In the cold feet, we meet with the thick stemmed oak, (Quercus cras- region. sipes,) the Mexican rose, the elder, which disappears at the height of 11,100 feet; the wonderful Cheirostemon platanoides, of which we shall speak further on, the Krameria, the Valeriana cornucopiæ, the Datura superba, cardinal sage, dwarf potentilla, Alyssum sinuatum, and the Mexican strawberry. The pines, which commence in the temperate zone at the height of 5700 feet, do not disappear till they reach the cold at 12,300 feet. Thus the coniferous trees, unknown in South America, here terminate, as they do in the Alps and Pyrenees, the standard of vegetation in the larger plants. At the very limit of perpetual snow, we find the Arenaria bryoides, Cnicus nivalis, and the Chelone gentianoides. We shall be able to add a greater degree of interest to this dry nomenclature, when M. de Humboldt has completed the botanical part of his vast and learned work.

Among the Mexican vegetables that furnish abundant Alimentaalimentary substance, the banana occupies the first rank. y plants. The two species, called the Platano.arton, and Dominico,t appear to be indigenous; the camburi, or Musa sapientum, has been brought thither from Africa. One single cluster of bananas often contains from 160 to 180 fruits, and weighs from 60 to 80 pounds. A piece of land of 120 yards of surface, easily produces 4000 pounds weight of fruit, whilst the same extent will scarcely produce more than thirty pounds weight of wheat, or eighty pounds of potatoes. The maniva occupies the same region as the banana. The cultivation of maize is still more extended. This indigenous vegetable‡ succeeds on the sea coast, and in the valleys of Toluca, at the height of 8400 feet above the

* A. de Humboldt, Prolegomena in Nov. Spec. Plant. p. 40, 41. Idem, Mexico, p. 3, chap. ix. Idem, Tab. of the Geog. of Plants.

+ Musa paradisiaca et regia.

‡ Mahis, in the language of Haïti; cara in Quichul; tlaolli, in Aztec.

BOOK ocean. Maize commonly produces in the proportion of 150 LXXXIII. to 1. It forms the principal nourishment both of animals

Fruit trees.

The sugar

cane.

Indigo,

and men. Wheat, barley, and the other grains of Europe, are cultivated nowhere but on the plain which is situated in the temperate region. Wheat commonly produces at the rate of twenty-five or thirty for one. In the coldest region, they cultivate the original potato of south America, the Tropæoleum esculentum a new species of capucine, or Indian cress, and the Chenopodium quinoa, the grain of which is an equally agreeable and healthy aliment. In the temperate and cold regions we also meet with the oca, (Oxalis tuberosa ;)* the potato and the yam are cultivated in the hot region. Notwithstanding the abundant produce of so many alimentary plants, dry seasons expose Mexico to periodical famine.

This country produces indigenous species of the cherrytree, apple, walnut, mulberry, and strawberry. It has likewise made the acquisition of the greater part of the fruits of Europe, as well as those of the torrid zone. The maguey, a variety of the agave,† furnishes a drink denominated pulque, of which the inhabitants of Mexico consume a very great quantity. The fibres of the maguey supply hemp and paper; and the prickles are used for pens and nails.

The cultivation of sugar increases, although, generally speaking, it is confined to the temperate region, and, in consequence of the scanty population, the hot and moist plains of the sea coasts, so well adapted for the growth of this plant, continue in a great measure uncultivated. Ten years ago, the exportation of sugar by the port of Vera Cruz amounted to L.291,666 sterling. The sugar-cane here is cultivated and manufactured by free people.

In the burning climate of Guatimala, are produced the Cocoa. best indigo and the best cocoa. The annual produce of the plantations of indigo amounts to L.500,000, the mere exportation of cocoa is valued at L.1,875,000 sterling. It is from the Mexican language that we have derived

Persoon, Synopsis, I. p. 518.

†A. Americana, ibid. I. p. 379.

the term chocolatl, of which, however, we have softened BOOK the final termination. The nuts of the cocoa, consi- LXXXIII. dered in Mexico as an article of the greatest necessity, are used instead of small money, six nuts being equivalent to

one sous.

&c. &c.

The intendency of Oaxaca, is at present the only pro- Cochineal, vince where they cultivate on a large scale the Nopal, or Cactus cochinilifer, upon which the insect that produces the cochineal, delights to feed. Cochineal is annually exported to the amount of L.500,000 sterling.* Among the other useful vegetables, we must notice the Convolvulus jalapa, or true jalap, which grows naturally in the Canton of Xalapa, to the north west of Vera Cruz; the Epidendrum vanilla, which, as well as the jalap, loves the shade of the liquidambars and the amyris; the Copaifera officinalis, and the Toluifera balsamum, two trees which produce odoriferous resins, known in commerce by the name of the balsam of capivi and of tolu.

woods.

The shores and bays of Honduras and of Campeachy have Dyebeen celebrated, since the period of their first discovery, for their rich and immense forests of mahogany and logwood, so useful in manufactures; but the cutting and selling of which has been seized upon by the English. A species of acacia affords an excellent black dye. Guaiacum, sassafras, and the tamarind, adorn and enrich these fertile provinces. In the woods is found the wild ananas; and all the low and rocky land is covered with different species of Aloe and Euphorbia.

The gardens of Europe have made various acquisitions of new ornaments from the Mexican flora, and, amongst others, the Salvia fulgens, to which its scarlet flowers give so much brilliance; the beautiful dahlia, the elegant Sisyrinchium striatum, the gigantic Helianthus and the delicate Mentzelia. M. Bonpland, M. Humboldt's companion, dis

A. de Humboldt, Mexico, t. iii. p. 260.

+ Letter of Don Alzate, in the account of the Voyage of Chappe d'Anteroche, p. 64.

Sciurus variegatus.

BOOK covered a species of bombax, which produces a cotton, LXXXIII. possessing at once the brilliance of silk, and the strength

Animals.

dog.

of wool.

The zoology of Mexico is imperfectly known. Many species analogous to those with which we are acquainted, differ from them, nevertheless, in important characters. Among the species that are decidedly new and indigenous, are the coëndou, a kind of porcupine; the apaxa, or Mexican stag; the conepalt, of the weasel tribe; the Mexican squirrel, and another species of striped squirrel, the caiopolin and the Mexican wolf, inhabit the forests and mountains. Among the four animals classed as dogs by the Mexican Pliny, Hernandez, one, denominated colo-itzcuintli, is the wolf, distinguished by its total want of hair. The The dumb techichi, is a species of dog without voice, which was eaten by the ancient Mexicans. This kind of food was so necessary to the Spaniards themselves, before the introduction of cattle, that in process of time, the whole race was destroyed. Linnaeus confounds the dumb dog with the itzcuinte-potzoli, a species of dog still imperfectly described, and distinguished by a short tail, a very small head, and a large hump on its back. The bison and the musk ox wander in immense herds in New Mexico and New California. The rein-deer of this latter province, according to the testimony of Clavigero, are sufficiently strong to have been employed in dragging a heavy carriage to Zacatecas. We still know very little of the great wild sheep of California, or of the berendos of the same country, which, it would appear, resemble Antelopes. The jaguar, and the cougouar, which, in the New World, bear a close analogy to the tiger and lion of the old continent, are met with in all the kingdom of Guatimala, and in the lower and hot part of Mexico, properly so called; but they have been

* Clavigero, Storia di Messico, t. I. p. 73.

+ Hernandez, Hist. Quadrup. Nov. Hisp. c. 20, 23.

A. de Humboldt, Mexico, t. II. p. 423.

Mr. Bullock has added thirty-one species to this list of which fifteen are entirely new. Vide his Six Months in Mexico. Lond. 1824, p. 186.

little observed by scientific naturalists. Hernandez says BOOK that the mixtli resembles the lion without mane, but that it LXXXIII. is of greater size.* The Mexican bear is the same as that of Louisiana and Canada.

Animals.

The domestic animals of Europe conveyed to Mexico, Domestic have prospered there, and multiplied in a remarkable degree. The wild horses, which gallop in herds over the immense plains of New Mexico, are descended from those brought thither by the Spaniards. The breed is equally beautiful and strong. That of the mule is not less so. The transportation of goods between Mexico and Vera Cruz occupies 70,000 mules. The sheep are a coarse and neglected breed. The feeding of oxen is of great importance on the eastern coast, and in the intendency of Durango. Families are sometimes met with who possess herds composed of 40 or 50,000 head of oxen and horses. Former accounts speak of herds two or three times more numerous.†