Agriculture among the Central American nations was mostly confined to the planting of maiz and beans (_frijoles_), which were staple products and served as a currency in gross, while cacao, which was said to have been first planted by Hunahpu, eighth king of Quiché, served for small change. They cultivated cotton, which furnished their clothing, and tobacco, which they smoked with moderation. Chocolate was not a common drink, but reserved for the nobles and soldiers who had distinguished themselves in battle. The cacao was planted with great ceremony. Seeds of the largest pods were selected and carefully fumigated with copal and other gums; and these seeds were then left in the open air four nights during the time of the full moon, and meanwhile the planters attended assiduously to their marital duties. Onions, plantains, potatoes, yams, chickpease, squashes of various kinds, supplied their table, and many native fruits added to their comfort. The Indios then, as now, were very fond of flowers; but whether they generally cultivated them, or found enough growing spontaneously, we do not know. Certainly there were royal gardens at Utatlan. In manufactures, weaving was of first importance, and the threads were dyed with indigo, cochineal, or purple. Embroidery was also much used. Then from fibrous plants they plaited hammocks and nets, from reeds (_junco_) they wove hats of great durability, and from withes, baskets and sacks. The potter’s work was also of great importance, and the vases, bowls, and jars, often of great size, were colored with certain waters and mineral deposits. I do not know that they had any glaze, other than perhaps salt. They had no iron, but they made tools from an alloy of copper and tin to which they gave an extraordinary hardness, and they also used obsidian for knives and cutting instruments generally. Remains of knife-factories are common enough through the country, and often, too where the raw material is not _in situ_. Gold was found in the streams, and the goldsmiths attained no little skill in making ornaments, which were often enriched with precious stones, especially opals from Honduras. Curious feather work was brought from Tesulutan in Verapaz. They made paper from a bark called _amatl_, and also used parchment. Maps were plotted, and the scribes had books in which were entered all the divisions of the land; and to these, as to a registry of deeds, were referred all disputes about real estate. Chroniclers there were who compiled great books, many of which Las Casas saw; and these, he tells us, were burned by the early missionaries, who have thus earned the curses of succeeding generations. Superhuman must have been their good deeds to counterbalance this destruction!