Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 75.djvu/445

Rh The isolation of these places is intense. The light of midday dazzles the eyes as it is reflected from the walls of the houses, the dust of the road, or the whitish soil of hill or valley. Heat is a liberal accompaniment of the fierce glare of light, as blistered lips may abundantly testify after a few hours riding across the desert. The Mexican knows the value of his broad-brimmed sombrero and is seldom to be found without it, if indeed we may induce him to leave the shade of the tree or the dark interior of his adobe dwelling at the middle of the day. But the shade, even the thin shade of the mesquite, is a place of comfort, affording some shelter from the direct rays of the sun. Even alongside a thermometer registering over 100° in the shade, no discomfort may be felt in the thin and relatively dry air of this climate.

The most suggestive feature of the desert is its vegetation and the variety of the plants which it supports. The great number of species which by some peculiar fitness of their own are able to maintain themselves in the midst of seemingly impossible conditions, must certainly impress one accustomed to the abundant vegetation of the green fields and woodlands of the better-watered sections of the country, though the number of individuals of a race may be considerably less. This is not true of all species, but the fact is quite patent to any one who has seen even a little of desert vegetation, having in mind the almost impenetrable vegetation of some of our northern woodlands. Across the desert of Zacatecas one may ride in any direction, limited only by the perpendicular banks of arroyos, or mountain barriers. The floor of the desert here also is bare and clean for the most part, which means a paucity of herbaceous plants. Such herbaceous forms as do exist are found usually in shaded situations, under the shelter of woody perennials.

The vegetation of this region as it appears to one at a casual glance seems to be composed of Yuccas, shrubs and small trees, Agaves and cacti and these constitute the predominant features of the plant life in varied arrangements and conditions.

The most conspicuous element in this vegetation is the palma, so called, which may be seen on every hand. Two kinds are usually met with; one a straight-stemmed plant, six to ten feet in height, with a crown of stiff radiating sword-like leaves, much prized for the fiber or ixtli which it yields. This plant, Samuela carnerosana, which the native calls palma zamandoca, grows in great abundance on the higher lands, from the upper footslopes a thousand feet up the mountainside. On the high rolling land south of Saltillo, from Carneros to Fraile and beyond, thousands of acres are covered with this splendid plant. In March and April they are in full bloom and one may go far to find a more pleasing picture than these tall plants with their erect panicles of creamy-white flowers, two or three feet in height. This plant grows so