The ordinary expenses of the management of his property amount to more than 5000l. per annum. Several governors of the marquesado have however become extremely wealthy. If the descendants of the great conquistador would only live in Mexico, their revenue would immediately rise to more than 60,000%.

As a further proof of the immense wealth centred in the hands of a few individuals in New Spain, which may compete with any thing in Great Britain, or the European possessions in Hindostan, I must mention the pecuniary sacrifices annually made by the body of Miners (Cuerpo de mineria) for the improvement of mining. This body, formed by a union of the proprietors of mines, and represented by deputies who sit in the Tribunal de Mineria, advanced in three years, between 1784 and 1787, more than 160,000l. to individuals who were in want of the necessary funds to carry on great works. It is believed in the country that this money has not been very usefully employed (para habilitar); but its distribution proves the generosity and ориlence of those who are able to make such donations. A European reader will be still more astonished when I inform him of the extraordinary fact, that the respectable family of Fagoagas lent, a few years ago, without interest, nearly 150,000l. to a friend, whose fortune they believed would be permanently secured by it. This sum was irrevocably lost in an unsuccessful new mining undertaking. The archi

WEALTH OF PROPRIETORS OF MINES.

41

tectural works which are carried on in the capital of Mexico for the embellishment of the city are so expensive, that, notwithstanding the low rate of wages, the superb edifice constructed by order of the Tribunal de Mineria for the School of Mines will cost at least 125,000l., of which 80,000%. were in readiness before the foundation was laid. To hasten the construction, and particularly to furnish the students immediately with a proper laboratory for metallic experiments on the amalgamation of great masses of minerals (beneficio de patio), the body of Mexican Miners contributed monthly, in the year 1803 alone, the sum of 2000/ Such is the facility with which vast projects are executed in a country where wealth is divided among a small number of individuals.

G

CHAPTER III.

Climate variety under the same latitude-rains-general salubrity—fertility of the soil—corn, fruits—cattle -general improvement in agriculture—influence of mines on agriculture-habits of Indian cultivators.

HAVING traced the physical outline of the country, and described the inequalities of its surface, we shall proceed to point out the effect of these inequalities upon its climate, and to give some account of the state of cultivation. We shall confine ourselves to a few general and important facts. Details of na-. tural history do not fall within the compass or the purpose of this work; but it is impossible to form an exact idea of the territorial riches of a country without knowing the form of the mountains, the height of the great plains of the interior, and the temperature of the regions in which there are we may so express ourselves) successive strata of climate.

If we take a general view of the whole surface of the kingdom of Mexico, we shall see that two-thirds are situated under the temperate, and one under the torrid zone. The former part contains 738,000 square miles, and includes the Provincias Internas de la Commendancia-general, a district thinly

peopled. The latter, containing 324,000 square miles, enjoys a climate which is cool or temperate, rather than sultry. It is well known that the climate of a country depends, not only on its distance from the pole, but also on its elevation above the level of the sea, proximity to the ocean, configuration, and many other local circumstances. The interior of the viceroyalty of Mexico forms an immense plain, elevated from 6000 to 8200 feet above the level of the sea. The country lying between the capital of Mexico and the port. of Vera Cruz may be divided into three districts or zones, the climate of which depends on their elevation. The first of these, called by the natives terras calientes, comprehends all the country on the coast, nearly the whole intendancy of Vera Cruz, the southern regions of the intendancies of Mexico, Valladolid, and La Puebla. It is all flat country, intersected by inconsiderable hills. The mean temperature of these plains is about 77° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, that is to say, 15° or 16° higher than the temperature of Naples. They produce sugar, indigo, cotton, and bananas, in abundance, but are extremely unhealthy. They are liable to great and sudden changes of temperature, and are frequently visited by yellow fever..

The next region, called terras templadas, lies on the declivity of the Cordilleras, at the height of from 4000 to 5000 feet, and enjoys a perpetual spring. The temperature is soft and equal, never varying

more than 4° or 5°: the mean heat of the whole year is from 68° to 70°. This region is, however, extremely liable to fogs from the sea.

The third zone, the terras frias, comprehends the table-lands, which are elevated more than 7200 feet above the level of the sea. Although they are known under the name of terras frias, the thermometer has very rarely been known to be down to the freezing point: in the coldest season the mean heat of the day is from 55° to 60°. In summer the thermometer in the shade does not rise above 75°. The general mean temperature of the whole vast table-land of Mexico is 62°. It is equal to the temperature of Rome. This is a sufficient proof that the words hot and cold have no positive value. The table-lands higher than that of Mexico have a very rough and disagreeable climate, even to the feelings of a native of a northern latitude. The winters are not severe, but there is a total absence of that transient summer which has a peculiar beauty in high latitudes.

These general considerations on the physical division of New Spain are extremely interesting in a political point of view. In France, and even in the greatest part of Europe, the cultivation of the soil depends almost entirely on geographical latitude; but in the equinoctial regions of Peru, New Grenada, and Mexico, the climate, productions, and aspect of the country, are solely modified by the elevation of the soil above the level