Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/110

86 endless abundance: beds of hardened land, covered with layers of soil and rubbish, and miles of undulating upland and valley, which ought to be duly ploughed and sown with wheat and Indian corn, are all waste and useless. Indeed, it is seldom that the eye can rest upon a spot where the evidences of care and cultivation are visible. The most magnificent and entrancing prospects are to be found occasionally; but they owe everything to nature, and nothing to man. We gaze with wonder and untiring admiration upon the beauteous works of God; but when we view the rich landscapes in connection with the prosperity and advancement of mankind, our thoughts find no response, and we turn from the prospect with a feeling of unmingled sadness.

The spots most resembling the old familiar scenes in England, are to be found surrounding; the better class of haciendas, or plantation and agave farms, in some of the mere rural neighbourhoods.

Agriculture is in a lamentably backward state, at present, in Mexico. Many portions of the country require to be irrigated from time to time, the rainy season not continuing long enough to produce sufficient moisture beneath