Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/65

 MEXICO. 35 contend : wherever the ground affords any facility for irri- gation, his crops are sure to succeed ; but where this is not the case, the natural fertility of the soil becomes almost a secondary consideration, as the success or failure of the crop depends, entirely, upon the timely commencement of the rainy season. In Mexico, our division of the year into four separate periods, is unknown. They have no distinction but the Rainy season (Estacion de las aguas), which commences about the end of May, and lasts four months ; and the Dry season (el EstTo), which comprises all the rest of the year. The rain begins on the Veracruz coast, and spreads gra- dually from East to West, in the direction of the trades ; but its commencement is very uncertain, and whenever the dry season is prolonged beyond the middle of June, the Cerealia, and the maize, suffer severely, unless artificial means are employed to counteract the effects of the drought. Irri- gation is, therefore, the great object of the Mexican farmer, and to attain it immense sums are expended on the principal estates, in the construction of acequias (canals of irrigation), presas (dams, or reservoirs), and norias (waterwheels, roues a godet), by the aid of which a sort of balance is established between the dry and the rainy season, and the soil refreshed, when burnt up by the rays of a vertical sun. There have been instances of the dry season continuing for three whole months beyond the usual period, as in 1802, when the crops throughout the country failed. In 1826, the rains did not commence till quite the end of July, and the maize was lost in consequence ; but these irregularities are, fortunately, rare. Wherever a system of irrigation is established, the corn lands, (Haciendas de trigo,) are watered twice; once in January,, when the young shoot appears above ground, and again in the beginning or March, when the ear is about to form ; and so well is the importance of this process known, that a situation is seldom chosen for a Hacienda de trigo, where a supply of water cannot be obtained. D 2