Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 2 of 2: A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of that Country from the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.Mayer, Brantz
History
Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 2 of 2: A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of that Country from the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.
Baron Humboldt, whose analytical mind always strives to classify,
systematize and _tabularize_ his investigations, has endeavored to
ascertain and limit the maximum _height_ at which the cane may be
cultivated; but it is probably true that all such attempts, are
altogether visionary, in a country of great inequalities of elevation,
shelter and exposure. Many local causes, altogether independent of
relative elevation may produce the degree of heat requisite to bring
cane to perfection, yet it is generally conceded that the produce of a
plantation in the table land would not equal that of an estate near the
coast. The valley of Cuautla, for instance, is bounded on the north by
the lofty peak of Popocatepetl, against whose _snows_ the fresh verdure
of the cane, and the graceful branches of the palm are constantly
relieved. In an hour or two after leaving the plantation of Santa Iñez,
the traveller who passes thence towards the valley of Mexico, finds
himself obliged to put on his cloak or _serape_, after having suffered
from tropical heat during the preceding day. It might reasonably be
supposed that the vicinity of such immense masses of ice and snow would
naturally affect the temperature of the adjacent valley; but the frosty
peak of Popocatepetl only serves to condense the vapors that drift
inland from the sea and to set them free over the low and warm valleys
which border its southern base, whilst its broad shoulders protect the
plains from the cold blasts of the north wind.
COFFEE.
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