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Show H' I S T 0 R Y . 0 F . M E X I C 0. DISSERT. · which, fpeaking in general, is certainly greater than , that. Q~ E1.1rope, ~ and with lefs cultivation, as is well known to European fuperint~p ·daRts of agriculture who have 'been in that part of Ameri«a· , \iVhaF we fay of wheat we can alfo f:t.y of barley, although .this· is not fown but in prop0rtio'h to the ,confumption there is, made of, it, •jn the fup:' port of horfes, m ulcs, and hogs. We might fay f\i\1 ,A.lore, ·?f mai~F, which is the grain peculiarly native to Arperi~a., , ., ,t M r: de Paw 'prcte'nds that all the p'ants ·of Emope hare degenerated in America, except aquatic and j nicy plants ; ;md to prove this abfurd notion, he ii1ys that peaches and apric9ts haye borne £ruit - , I in the i(}a.nd of. Juan Fernandez only. A~though we lhou!g g~ant that thofe fruits gi·ow in no country of Ame~ica, it wo~ld not avail pim to prove what he intends to prove, but even this p~rticular is as fal(e as his general propofition. Acofta, treating of thofc fruits, i1i particular, , f:tys, " Peaches, quinces, and apricots grow well it,l · .Am~rica, but bell: in New Spain (g)." In all New; Spain, ~xcept the hot countries, thofe fruits, and all othe~s ~ranfpl~nted, .frqn Europ~~ ha:ve lthr.ivc;n and grow in abundance (h). " Lafi:ly," fays Acofta, [peaking of America in general_, "Almofl: every thing gqpd which ' is " prodbced in Spain grows there, fomctimes better, and fomet' mes I I " nat; whea.t,, barley, fallads, ki ~chen --herbs., pulffl, , &c:"( ') lf ,lie had fpoke only of New Spain, · he would l~ave omitted that lalmojL · 1 ·• " There is alfo another advantage," fays ~cofta, "which is, that " the things of Europe are better in Ameriq than thofe of America '.' are in Europe." But this may a;ppear but a frpaJ! rd vantage t.o Mr. de, Paw. It alone would be fufficient however to demonfirate !that, ·if thete is _any preference,, it i., to be given to America. In New Spain, many European authors atteft, and . all who have · been the Abbe Molina in his Hi !lory of Chili, fays, that the land of that kingdom ufually yields an hundred and fifty for one. The ylcnty of grain is .ro ~reat, that it is fold at five, paoli , ~he /oMgn, and_cv~ry year about thirty vclfcls loaded w11h It come to Peru. (g) A~ofra, hb. 1v. cap. 3 r. Peaches arc fo plentiful i1\ New Spain, that they arc fold by twen~1c~; and for ~~c fmallcn currency th.crc, two, th.rec, or four twenties arc giv,cp. In the ,kmgdom of Chtb, they count twelve ddfcreut fpcctes of peaches, li1mc of which :1rc fo large as to weigh a pound Spanifl1, or fixteen ounces. Molin:t Stor del Chili. {b) Pears are alfo fold jn twcotics ~~~ Mexico; m1d there nrc \lpwards of fifty fpecics of them. , (i) Acona, lib, iv. cap. 31~ there H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X 'I C 0. there know, that wheat, barley, and every grain of Europe; peas, beans, and every other pu'1fc; lettuces, cabbages, turnips, afparagus, and other fallads and root~ , and every fort of kitchen herbs i peaches, npp!es, pears, quinces, ~nd othe~ fruits; carnat~ons, rofes, viol9ts, jcC. fanuncs, fweet-bafil, mmt, matJOl",':'lm, balm gentle, and other flowers and odorous plants brought from Europe all profp~r there: but it\ Europe the plants of America do not, nor cannot in general come to perfeCtion. Wheat grows in the lands of Europe, but much ftnall er, and not fo good as that of America. Of the many del icious fruits of the new world, fome, fuch as the mufa and ananas, have thriven in the gardens of the princes of Europe, by means of hothoufes, and great care ~nd attention, but not fo well flavoured, or in fuch abur1dance, as in their native cli1nes. Others fhll more valuable than thefe, fuch as the chirimoya, the mamcy, and chicoz.lpote have not yet, iiS far as we know, been m::tde to grow, notwirhfianding the ftudied efforts of European induflry for that purpofe. The caufe of this great difference between An1erica and Europe is that which Acoil:a me'ntions : that in Amet·ica there is a greater variety .of .climate than in Europe; from whence it is more eafy to give each plant a temperature proper for it. As ~t is not an argument of the fierility of Europe, that the plants proper to America do not thrive in it, neither is it an argument of the il:erility of (orne countries of America, that fame plants of Europe do not thrive in them; becaufe non omnia fert omuia tel/us. Hie flgetes ibi provenizmt fi!licius uvr.e. ~On the contrary, the hot counp·ics ·in which whea:t .~d European fruits do not ripen, are yet the moll: pkafant and fruitful. We do not ooubt that if a comparifon is made o'f America with · the old continent, they will be found equal in their produCtions: for Afia and.Africa have lands and climes fu ited to all the plants of America, which, on atl:ount of the differences of their nature, co'ula nat fucceed in Europe. But what advantage is it to Europeans that Afia has abundan e while it is at fo great a dil1:ance? On the contrary, · the Mexicaqs being furrounded by countries of every fort of climate, enjoy all their different fruits. The market of Mexico, like that pf many other cities of America, is the emporium of all the gifts of nature. There we find apples, peaches, apncots, pears, grapes~ cher- • J., , ' . nc~, 271 DISSERT. III. '--v'--1 • |