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This, called the the camburi, ar One single cluster gs from 60 the SI produces 4,000 ely produce more of potatoes. The uitivation of maize ceeds on the sea$400 feet above the 150 to 1. It forms Wheat, rye, barley, where but on the plateau uces at the rate of twentythey cultivate the potato, sculentum, a new species podium quinoa, the seeds of In the temperate and Ds tuberosa;) the sweet Notwithstanding the seasons expose Mexico

cherry-tree, apple, walthe acquisition of the

the torrid zone. ted pulque, The

are used for

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. The sugarcane here is cultivated and manufactured by free people.

In this burning climate are produced the best indigo and the best cacao. It is from the Mexican language that we have derived the term chocolatl, of which, however, we have softened the final syllable. The nuts of the cacao, considered in Mexico as an article of the first necessity, are used instead of small coin; six nuts being equivalent to one sous.

The state of Oaxaca is at present the only province where they cultivate, on a large scale, the Nopal or Cactus coccinellifer, upon which the insect that produces the cochineal delights to feed. Cochineal is annually exported to the value of £500,000 sterling. Among the other useful vegetables, we must notice the Convolvulus jalapa, or true jalap, which grows naturally in the district of Xalapa, to the north-west of Vera Cruz; the Epidendrum vanilla, which, as well as the jalap, loves the shade of the liquid-amber and the amyris; the Copaifera officinalis, and the Toluiferum balsamum, two trees which produce odoriferous resins, known in Commerce by the name of the balsams of Capivi and of Tolu.

The shores of the bays of Honduras and Campeachy have been celerated, since the period of their first discovery, for their rich and immense rests of mahogany and logwood, so useful in manufactures; but the cutg and selling of which has been seized upon by the English. A species acacia affords an excellent black dye. The guaiacum, the sassafras, 1 the tamarind, adorn and enrich these fertile provinces. The pine 'e is found wild in the woods; and all the shallow rocky soils are red with different species of Aloe and Euphorbia.

he gardens of Europe have made various acquisitions of new ornaments the Mexican flora, and, amongst others, the Salvia fulgens, to which inson flowers give so much brilliance, the beautiful dahlia, the elegant nchium striatum, the gigantic Helianthus, and the delicate Mentzelia. pland, M. Humboldt's companion, discovered a species of bombax, produces a cotton, possessing at once the brilliance of silk and the a of wool.

population of Mexico is almost a matter of conjecture, or only an ation to the truth, no census having been taken since 1793, at riod it amounted to 4,483, 529. In 1803 Humboldt, from suffiestimated it at 5,837,100; in 1818 it was stated at 6,500,000, 20, Malte Brun supposed it to amount to 8,000,000. These estir a space of 27 years, and show the following rates of increase:

1793 to 1803.... .10 years......32 per cent., or 3.2 per annum.

1903 to 1808.

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of increase would double the population of Mexico in about consequently in 1829 or 1830 it would have numbered d at the present date, under the same ratio of progress, it ›n 13,465,557. But what is the fact? If we are to trust to nouncements, it appears that a retrogradation has occurred. ted to amount to a little less than 7,000,000. From these

and on the east side are the Tula, Tampico and Tobasco, flowing into the Gulf; but they have bars at their mouths which prevent the entrance of large ships. The other rivers are short, and might more properly be called torrents. The lakes are numerous and extensive, and the principal, besides those in the valley of Mexico, already mentioned, are Chapala, in Xalisco, which, according to Humboldt, covers an area of 1,300 square miles; Pascuara, in Mechoacan-Mextitlan, Cayman, and Parras, the last two being in the tract called the Bolson de Mapimi.

In regard of climate, the country is divided into three regions, named respectively-the Tierras Calientes, or Hot Regions; the Tierras Templadas, or Temperate Regions; and the Tierras Frias, or Cold Regions. The first include the low grounds of the coasts, under the elevation of 2,000 feet; the mean temperature is about 770, and the country is especially suited to the growth of sugar, indigo, cotton and bananas, which all flourish luxuriantly; but this district is almost inaccessible by sea for one-half the year, owing to the prevalence of north winds and boisterous gales, and during the other half are extremely unhealthy from the oppressive heat, and the great quantity of rain that falls. The coast then becomes the seat of pestilence, and the stranger, from more northern regions, arriving for the first time at Vera Cruz, or any other part of the coast within the tropics, in Aug., Sept. or Oct., has little chance of escaping the yellow fever, and fluxes, peculiar to these regions. But at the height of 2,000 to 2,500 feet, these scourges are quite unknown. The temperate regions, which are of comparatively small extent, occupy the slopes of the great plateau, and range from 2,500 to 5,000 feet in elevation above the sea. The mean annual temperature is from 68° to 70°, and the extremes of heat and cold are alike unknown. The Mexican oak, and most of the fruits and cereals of Europe, flourish in this genial climate. Fogs, however, are frequent, occasioning excessive humidity, but producing great beauty and strength of vegetation. The cold regions include the high table-lands, and mountains of upwards of 5,000 feet in elevation. The mean temperature of this plateau is generally about 620, but in the city of Mexico it sometimes, though rarely, falls below the freezing point. In the cold season the mean heat of the day varies from 55° to 70°; while in the summer, it seldom rises in the shade above 75°. At a greater elevation than 8,000 feet, the climate is severe and disagreeable, and under the parallel of Mexico the snow-line varies from 12,000 to 15,000 feet above the level of the sea. The climate of the table-lands, on the whole, is favorable to human life, and the prevalent diseases are believed to be more owing to the bad habits of the people, than to the qualities of the soil and climate. Indeed, owing to the improvidence of the people, famine, and its concomitant privations, have thinned the population more than epidemic complaints.

The zoology of Mexico is but little 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 coendue, a species of porcupine; the apaxa, or Mexican stag; the conepatl, of the weasel tribe; the Mexican squirrel, and another striated species, the cayopollin, and the Mexican wolf, inhabit the forests and mountains. Among the four animals classed as dogs by the Mexican Pliny, Hernandez, one, denominated zolo itzcuintli, is the wolf, distinguished by its total want of hair. The 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. Linnæus confounds the dumb dog with the itzcuinte-potzoli, a species of dog very 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 Northern Mexico. The elks, according to the testimony of Clavigero, are sufficiently strong to have been employed in dragging a heavy carriage. We still know very little of the great wild sheep, or of the berendos, which, it would appear, resemble antelopes. The jaguar, and the cougar, which, in the New World, represent the tiger and lion of the old continent, are met with in the lower and hot part of Mexico; but they have been little observed by scientific naturalists. Hernandez says, that the miztli resembles the lion without a mane, but that it is of greater size. The Mexican bear is the same as that of the United States and Canada.

The domestic animals of Europe conveyed to Mexico, have prospered there, and multiplied in a remarkable degree. The wild horses, which gallop in immense herds over the plains of Mexico, are descended from those brought thither by the Spaniards. The breed is equally beautiful and vigorous. 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 cattle is of great importance on the eastern coast, and in the state of Durango, &c. Families are sometimes met with who possess herds of 40 or 50,000 head of cattle and horses. Former accounts speak of herds two or three times more numerous. Carnivorous animals are not numerous.

The bird and insect tribes of Mexico are of beautiful colors, and in immense variety and number, and some are common to all latitudes, from the equatorial to the higher regions of the north. Parrots and parroquets, and other tropical birds, inhabit the groves of the tierras callientes, which are also infested with venomous insects, as centipedes, mosquitoes, &c., and a great variety of serpents, which, however, are not generally very formidable. Here, in some shape, is found all the birds, insects, and creeping things, of tropical climates. Higher up, in the more elevated regions, the character changes; and still more elevated, class on class of animated nature, each different from the other, is successively developed. The nature and variety differs with the elevation, which, in its effect on the living machine, acts in a known ratio with variety in latitude. Hence the animal indigenous to the polar regions, is not unfrequently met with in the elevated regions of Mexico.

Vegetation varies also with the elevation and temperature, from the burning shores of the ocean, to the icy summits of the Cordilleras. In the hot region, as high as 1,200 feet, the fan-leaved palms, the miraguama and pumos palms, the white Oreodoxa, the Tournefortia velutina, the Cordia gerascanthus, the willow-leaved Cephelanthus, the Hyptis bursata, Salpianthus arenarius, Gomphrena globosa, pinnated calabash tree, or Crescentia pinnata, the Podopterus Mexicanus, willow-leaved bignonia, Salvia occidentalis, Perdicium Havanense, Gyrocarpus, Leucophyllum ambiguum, Gomphia Mexicana, Panicum divaricatum, Bauhinia aculeata, Hematoxylon radiatum, Hymenea courbaril, foliis retusis, Swietenia Mexicana, and the sumac-leaved Malpighia, predominate in the spontaneous vegetation. On the confines of the temperate and torrid zone are cultivated the sugarcane, and the cotton, cacao, and indigo plants; but they rarely ascend above the elevation of 1,800 or 2,400 feet. The sugar-cane, however,

prospers well in the sheltered valleys, at an elevation of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. The banana tree extends from the shores of the sea, to a height of 4,350 feet. The region, from 1,200 to 6,600 feet of elevation, presents the Liquidamber Styraciflua, Erythroxylon Mexicanum, Aralia digitata, Chicus pazcuarensis, Guardiola Mexicana, Tagetes tenuifolia, Psychotria pauciflora, Ipome cholulensis, Convolvulus arborescens, Veronica xalapensis, Globularia Mexicana, stachys of Actopan, Salvia Mexicana, Viter mollis, thick-flowered arbutus, Eryngium protaflorum, Laurus Cervantesi, willow-leaved daphne, Fritillaria barbata, Yucca spinosa, Cobaa scandens, yellow sage; four varieties of Mexican oaks, (commencing at an elevation of 2,820 feet, and ending at 9,720 feet;) the mountain-yew, and the corrugated angular Banisteria. In the cold region, at a height of from 6,600 to 14,100 feet, we meet with the thick-stemmed oak, (Quercus crassipes,) the Mexican rose, the alder, which disappears at the height of 11,100 feet; the wonderful Cheirostemon platanoides, the Krameria, the Valeriana ceratophylla, the Datura superba, the cardinal sage, the dwarf potentilla, the myrtle-leaved arbutus, the Cotoneaster denticulata, and the Mexican strawberry. The pines, which commence in the temperate zone at the height of 5,700 feet, disappear in the cold region at 12,300 feet. Thus the coniferous trees, unknown in South America, here terminate, as they do in the Alps and Pyrenees, the scale of vegetation in the larger plants. At the very limit of perpetual snow, we find the Arenaria bryoides, the Cnicus nivalis, and the Chelone gentianoides.

Among the Mexican vegetables, that furnish abundant alimentary supplies, the banana occupies the first rank. The two species, called the Platano-arton, and Dominico, appear to be indigenous; the camburi, or Nusa 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 4,000 pounds weight of fruit, whilst the same extent will scarcely produce more than thirty pounds weight of wheat, or eighty pounds of potatoes. The manioc occupies the same region as the banana. The cultivation of maize is still more extended. This indigenous vegetable succeeds on the seacoast, and in the valley of Toluca, at the height of 8,400 feet above the ocean. Maize commonly produces in the proportion of 150 to 1. It forms the principal nourishment both of men and animals. Wheat, rye, barley, and the other cerealia of Europe, are cultivated nowhere but on the plateau in the temperate region. Wheat commonly produces at the rate of twentyfive or thirty for one. In the coldest region, they cultivate the potato, originally from South America, the Tropaolum esculentum, a new species of nasturtium, or Indian cress, and the Chenopodium quinoa, the seeds of which are an equally agreeable and healthy aliment. In the temperate and cold regions we also meet with the oca, (Oxalis tuberosa;) the sweet 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 cherry-tree, 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 pins and nails.

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