ear 1770, that he went himself a company with the archbishop of Guatemala and the bishop of Angelopoli, to view the ancient and celebrated fir-tree in the valley of Atlixo, known by the Mexican name of aheuheutl: which he found to be so very large, that into a cavity of its trunk, which was occasioned by lightning, he made one hundred young lads enter. This fact must be true, beyond a doubt, when related on the personal testimony of so highly respectable and vene rable a prelate.

The ceibas, Mexican pochetl, or cotton trees, grow the highest of any trees yet known, and their thickness is proportioned to their prodigious elevation; they have a most delightful appearance at the time they are adorned with new leaves and loaded with fruit, enclosing a particular species of white, fine, and most delicate cotton, with which the Mexicans make various kinds of goods for their own consumption.

They have a certain species of wood fig, which grows in the country of Cohuixcas, and in some other places it is a lofty thick tree, similar in leaves and fruit to the common fig. From its branches, which extend horizontally, spring certain filaments, taking their direction towards the earth, and growing till they reach it; they then strike root, and form so many new trunks, that from one single fig a whole wood may be generated. The fruit of this tree is altogether useless, but its timber is good.

The mines of Mexico produce sulphur, alum, vitriol, cinnabar,

ochre, quicksilver, iron, lead, tin, copper, silver, and gold.

With respect to precious stones, diamonds are still to be found, though but few in number. There are amethysts, cats-eyes, turquoises, cornelians, and some green stones which resemble eme ralds, and are not much inferior to them in quality. There are mountains of loadstone; immense quarries of the finest stones for buildings: quarries of various kinds of marble, of alabaster, of jasper; and great abundance of the famous stone called itztli, or piera del galinazzo; it is semitransparent, of a glossy substance, and generally black, but is found also white and blue; the Indians made looking-glasses, &c. of it. There are also infinite quantities of lime-stone, of plaster, and of talc.

The most common diseases in Mexico, in the hottest parts, and on the sea-coasts, are intermit tent fevers, spasins, consumptions, agues, catarrhs, fluxes, pleurisies, and acute fevers. The black vo miting is very common, and fatal in the towns on the sea-coast, as in La Vera Cruz, &c. In the city of Mexico, the diarrhea is very frequent, The small-pox was ori ginally brought to Mexico by the Spaniards from Old Spain: it is not so frequent there as in Europe; but generally appears after an interval of a certain number of years, and then attacking all those who had not been affected by it before, it makes much havoc.

The method which the Mexis cans use to catch ducks, &c. is artful and curious. The lakes of the Mexican vale, as well as all

the other lakes of Mexico, are frequented by prodigious multitudes of wild ducks, wild geese, and other aquatic birds. The Mexicans leave some empty gourds to float upon the water where those birds resort, that they may be accustomed to see and to approach them without fear. The bird-catcher goes into the water so deep as to hide his body, and covers bis head with a gourd; the ducks, &c. come to peck at it, and then he pulls them by the feet under water, and in this manner secures as many as he pleases,

The Mexicans take serpents alive, either by twisting them with great dexterity, or by approaching them intrepidly, and then seizing them with one hand by the neck, and closing their mouths with the other. Every day, in the apothecaries' shops of the capital, and those of other cities, may be seen live serpents which have been taken in this manner.

The lake of Chalco abounds with a great variety of fish, and, from its vicinity to the city of Mexico, affords great amusement to the citizens, who constantly frequent it in boats, in order to enjoy that most pleasing and favourite diversion; they make use of nets, as well as hooks, harpoons, &c. and they are wonderfully dexterous in catching the fish.

Among the eatables, the first place is due to maize, which they call haolli, a grain granted by providence to that part of the world, instead of the corn of Europe, the rice of Asia, and the millet of Africa, over all which it possesses some advantages; as, besides its being wholesome, relishing, and more nutritive, it multiplies more,

thrives equally in different climes, does not require so much culture, is not se delicate as corn; stands not in need, like rice, of a moist soil, nor is it hurtful to the health of the cultivator. They have several species of maize: the large and the small, the white, the yellow, the blue, the purple, the red, and the black. Of maize they make their bread, which is totally different to the bread of Europe in taste, in appearance, and in its preparation. They put the grain to boil in water, with a little lime; when it becomes soft, they rub it in their hands to strip off the skin, then pound it in the metlatl, or stone in which they grind their maize; then they take out a little of the paste, and stretching it by beating with both hands, they form the bread, after which they give it the last preparation in the comalli, which is a round, and rather hollow pan, about an inch thick, and fifteen inches in diame ter. The form of the bread is round and flat, about eight inches in diameter, some less than a quarter of an inch in thickness, and some as thin as strong paper. The making of bread, as well as the preparing and dressing of every kind of meat, is the peculiar occupation of their women. The atolli is a gruel made of maize, after it has been boiled, well ground, dissolved in water, and strained. They give it commonly to sick persons, as a most salutary food, sweetening it with a little sugar, instead of honey, which is used by the Indians. To them it is so grateful, that they cannot live without it; it forms their breakfast, and sus tained by it, they bear the fatigues of agriculture, and other servile

offices

offices in which they are employed.

The maguei, called by the Mexicans metl, by the Spaniards pita, is one of the most common and most useful plants of Mexico. From it is made a kind of wine, which is called octli by the Mexicans, and by the Spaniards pulque. Pulque is neither a Spanish nor a Mexican word, but is taken from the Araucan language, which iş spoken in Chili, in which the pulcu is the general name for the beverages these Indians use to intoxicate themselves: it is difficult to say how the term has passed into Mexico. The method of making it this when the maguei, or Mexican aloe, arrives at a certain height and maturity, they cut the stem, or rather the leaves, while tender, of which the stem is formed, after which there remains a certain cavity. They shave the internal surface of the large leaves which surround the cavity, and collect the sweet juice which distils from them in such abundance, that one single plant generally yields in the space of six months, six hundred, and in the whole time of its fruitfulness, more than two thousand pounds weight. They gather the juice from the cavity with a long narrow gourd, and pour it into a vessel where it ferments in less than twenty-four hours. To assist the fermentation, and make the beverage stronger, they infuse a certain herb, which they name ocpatli, or remedy of wine. The colour of this wine is white; the taste is a little rough, and its strength sufficient to intoxicate, though not so much as wise of the grape. In other respects it is

a wholesome liquor, and valuable ou many accounts, as it is an excellent diuretic, and a powerful_renedy against the diarrhoea. The consumption made of pulque is most surprising, as well as profitable, for the Spaniards become rich by it. The revenue produced by the pulque alone, which is consumed in the capital city of Mexico, amounts annually to three hundred thousand dollars, one Mexican rial only being paid as duty for every twenty-five Castilian pounds weight. The quantity of pulque which was consumed in the capital, in the year 1774, was 2,214,294 arrobas. Every day are brought into the city of Mexico upwards of six thousand arrobas of pulque; but in this computation we do not comprehend what is introduced by smuggling, nor that which the Indians, who are privileged, sell in the principal square of the city. Pulque will not keep above one day, and therefore what is made is daily consumed.

The daily consumption of tobacco for smoking, in the capital, is reckoned at one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, or thereabouts, which in one year makes the sum of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But it is necessary to be understood, that among the Indians very few use tobacco; among the Europeans, Creoles, Mulattoes, and negroes, great numbers also do not use it.

Tobacco is a name taken from the Cubean language. The Mexicans had two species of it very different in the size of the plant, leaves, and in the figure of the flower, as well as in the colour of the seed. The smallest plant,

which is the common one, was called by them picietl, and the largest quaujetl. The quanjetl grows as high as a moderate tree. Its flower is not divided into five parts, like that of the piciet, but only cut into six or seven

angles. These plants vary much, according to clime, not only in the quality of the tobacco, but also in the size of the leaves and other circumstances, on which account several authors have multipled the species,

NATURAL

Directions for taking care of growing Plants at Sea, by Dr. W. Roxburgh, of Calcutta.

[From Transactions of the Society of Arts, Vol. XXVII]

PAR

ARTICULAR care, if not placed in a cabin, must be taken, that they are kept covered during stormy weather, or such as raises the least saline spray into the air; for the chief danger, plants are liable to at sea, is occasioned by the saline particles with which the air is then charged. These, falling on the plants, quickly evaporate, but leave the deadly salt behind every care must therefore be taken, to guard against salt water, and the spray at sea. During moderate weather, it will be proper to keep the boxes open, for plants cannot long exist without air and light; also during moderate rain, which is much better for plants than water from the cask; but too much moisture is more dangerous than drought. When the weather is dry, it will be necessary to give them a little fresh water now and then; the periods and quantity cannot be pointed out in any in

structions, as the state of the weather must be the guide.

Directions where to place the chests, cannot be well given; as that will, in a great measure, depend on the size, structure, &c. of the ship. In our Indiamen, round the capstan, on the quarterdeck, seems the best, on many accounts. The greatest danger in such a situation is, while the deck is washing in the mornings, the boxes must then be shut, and covered with a piece of canvas, or something to prevent the salt water getting in between vices.

cre

When plants from a cold climate get into a warm one, they shoot most luxuriantly, and often kill or choke one another: the larger shoots must therefore be frequently shortened, and as many of the leaves thinned as will give the rest air and room. Insects, particularly caterpillars, often make their appearance about the same time; they must be carefully picked off.

Baskets with roots, (such as potatoes, &c.) or succulent plants, may be hung up in any cool, airy place; such, for example, as the projecting