able to proceed a little longer, they might have carried on the works to advantage. Some of these mines are unquestionably still very rich. M. Burkart gives detailed tables of the quantity of gold and silver obtained in a series of years from the different mines. The value of the silver coined in Zacatecas from 1811 to 1833, both inclusive, was 66,352,766 piastres; in 1833 it was 5,372,000. The value of the gold and silver produced from the mines of Guanaxuato, from 1766 to 1833 (the amount up to 1800 being given according to Humboldt, from 1801 to 1825 by Mr. Ward, and the remainder by Mr. Burkart) was, In gold, at 136 piastres per mark Piastres. 9,789,416 242,515,472 253,304,888 in sixty-eight years, on an average, 3,713,013 piastres per annum. The amount appears to have increased considerably in the last six years. The value of the silver obtained from the mine of Veta Grande, from the end of April, 1826, when it was taken by the English Bolanos Mining Company, to the end of April, 1834, that is, eight years, was 13,862,609 piastres, about eighteen and a half millions of Prussian dollars, or three millions sterling. In the spring of 1828, after M. Burkart had quitted the service of the Tlalpujahua Mining Company, he resolved to visit some districts which he had not seen. On this journey he visited the hot springs in the village of San Pedro, near Queretaro. "This spring is very abundant all the year through, and, united with another, which rises further up the valley, was probably the cause of the first cultivation of the valley; fruits and culinary vegetables thrive admirably here. The sight of this well-cultivated spot affords no little pleasure to the traveller, for on the dry plateau of Mexico, which produces only here and there a solitary cactus, where the recent (qy. Jura?) limestone predominates, you mostly look in vain for clear spring water, or the shade of a tree, to afford protection for a few moments against the scorching beams of the sun, reflected from the bare white soil. In Europe, where we imagine that the most magnificent vegetation is every where met with in the tropical countries, people have scarcely any notion of those bare deserts of the Mexican plateau. The mould being very shallow, the ground is nearly covered, during the rainy season, with grass, which, as the moisture imbibed speedily evaporates, withers as soon as the rainy season is past. Great tracts of land lie barren and uncultivated; for, from the entire want of rivers, the rapid declivity, and great height of the mountains, and the periodical rains, the country cannot be cultivated in many places on account of the drought. The destruction of the forests in many places has increased the barrenness of the soil; and it almost seems as if the Spanish settlers were fond of such deserts, for they seldom suffered trees to grow near their habitations, and their country houses are exposed and without shade on every side, so that they cannot go out by day, without immediately exposing themselves to the scorching rays of the sun. "Not far from Guanaxuato are the warm springs of Aquasbuenas and Comanjilla: 308 feet below Guanaxuato, or 6361 feet above the level of the sea, a pretty abundant spring of warm water issues from the breccia, the temperature being 41°, and that of the mercury in the open air 23° of the centigrade thermometer. The water is tasteless, very clear, and in cooling has an inconsiderable yellow deposit. In Europe, the powerful hot springs of Comanjilla, both from their medical properties, and the situation of the place in a fine climate, in a fertile country, and in the vicinity of several large towns, would certainly have led to the establishment of a considerable watering-place, provided with every accommodation. But in Mexico the time for such establishments is not yet come. The proportionably scanty population is scattered over too wide a space, and travelling too inconvenient for people to visit a distant place merely for pleasure. The centigrade thermometer in the water of the largest spring indicated a temperature of 96°, that of the air being 23°. "Aquascalientes, a pretty populous town, is situated in the valley of a small river which rises at Tlacotes, near Zacatecas, passes near the town, and, joining the stream of Villa Nueva, flows into the Rio de Santiago. Aquascalientes is in 21° 52′ 50′′ north latitude, and 3° 4' 26" west longitude from Mexico, 5598 feet above the level of the sea, or 1212 feet lower than Mexico. M. von Humboldt's maps, and most of the other maps of Mexico that I have seen, place Aquascalientes in the state of Guadalaxara; it is however in that of Zacatecas, and the boundary line is to the south, between Aquascalientes and La Villita de la Encarnacion. "According to the official registers, Aquascalientes had, in 1826, 35,000 inhabitants, in which number, however, must be included, not only the inhabitants of the town, but those of the country belonging to the same parish, who are pretty numerous. The town is of considerable extent, regularly built, and surrounded with a great number of gardens, the constantly fresh verdure of which is a real comfort to the eye, such a sight being rare on the plateau of Mexico, where, with the exception of a few cactus plants and palms, vegetation seems to be dead, till the rainy season calls it to life again. The facility of watering the gardens, and the fineness of the climate, promote the cultivation of most culinary vegetables and fruit, of which artichokes, figs, and grapes are remarkable for their excellent quality. The productions of the gardens of Aquascalientes are sent to considerable distances for sale; they are in great request at the market of Zacatecas, twenty-five leagues distant, where they fetch pretty high prices. "During the Spanish dominion in Mexico, Aquascalientes was frequented by the landowners in the neighbourhood, a great number of whom had houses in the town, where they passed some time, and attended to the sale of their produce. The town was prosperous, but it suffered during the revolution, and was nearly without trade when I first saw it in 1828. Many commercial houses, however, had already resolved to transfer to Aquascalientes the establishments which they had formed at San Luis Potosi, for the purpose of trading with the northern states. Many merchants removed thither, and the town enjoyed for some years a brisk trade. The houses that were going to decay were repaired and new ones built, a large bazaar established in the middle of the town, several streets paved, a new public walk laid out, &c. In short, everything indicated increasing prosperity; but it was of short duration; there was not sufficient trade for the too great number of mercantile houses, and most of them gave up their establishments. The town is now again confined to the profits of the extensive agriculture of the environs, and some other minor branches of industry. There are numerous hot springs in the valley, and the place is much resorted to for the benefit of the waters. But it is only to those whose health really requires the use of the waters that a visit to Aquascalientes can be recommended, for a person who should go thither for pleasure, in the hope of finding even the similitude of a European watering-place, would be wofully disappointed. At the baths, half a league from the town, there is no accommodation for either those who are not or those who are well; they must, therefore, live in the town, and, if they have not an acquaintance there, must take up their abode in one of the two mesones (or inns) which are both equally wretched and disgustingly filthy; neither bed, table, nor chair is to be expected there; the guest must take care to provide all these beforehand. There is indeed an ordinary at Aquascalientes, which you do not find everywhere; but the visiter will do well to send for his dinner, for if he were to go himself to take his meal at the ordinary he might lose his appetite sooner than he intended." At Zacatecas M. Burkart saw the celebrated block of meteoric iron, mentioned by Sonnenschmidt and others. It is in the house of Don Angel Abille, in the Tucuba street, opposite to the inn. After many fruitless attempts, he succeeded, by boring, in detaching some pieces, one of which he sent to the Geological Society of London, one to the Museum of the University of Bonn, and a third is in his own collection. The mass is four and a half (Rhein.) feet long, one foot nine inches broad, and in the middle nine inches thick. The specific gravity M. Burkart found to be 7.5, so that the whole mass must be heavier than M. Sonnenschmidt states it, he estimating it at twenty hundred weight. At Charcas M. Burkart saw another piece of meteoric iron, likewise mentioned by Sonnenschmidt. He found it at the northwest corner of the church, fixed in the ground, a third part being buried. "In shape it resembles a three-sided, truncated, double pyramid, if we may assume that the part buried is like that above ground. This latter part is two feet eight inches high; the sides, at the base of the pyramid, measure one foot six inches, and at the upper truncated end one foot two inches. The whole may therefore contain 2944 cubic inches, or one and three quarters cubic feet; and consequently weigh at least between eight and nine hundred weight. The surface has lost its natural colour by constant exposure to the rain and the air. On the surface are many roundish holes, and a considerable depression on one side. I could not examine the texture, not being able with all my efforts to detach a piece from the mass. It is said that it was brought from the farm of El Sitio, and that some smaller pieces of meteoric iron have been subsequently found near the same place." M. Von Humboldt, in the introduction to his admirable work on New Spain, remarks how desirable it would be to become better acquainted with the road from Mazatlan to Altamira, and to determine the geographical position of the principal points on that road. M. Burkart did not travel the road precisely as indicated by M. Von Humboldt; but in 1829 he had the pleasure of being called by business to Guajicoria, and, his road bringing him to the vicinity of the Southern Ocean, he did not fail to embrace the opportunity of visiting San Blas. He thus had an opportunity to examine a section of the Cordilleras from the coast to Zacatecas, rather more to the south than that from Mazatlan to Sombrerete. Some years later, namely in 1834, he travelled from Zacatecas, by way of San Luis Potosi, to Altamira and Tampico, and thus completed the section of the Cordilleras of Mexico, which he had begun in 1829, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, a little to the south of the tropic of Cancer. He has represented this section of the Cordillera in his eleventh plate. In giving an account of the mode in which he determined the geographical positions of the several points, M. Burkart enters into long details respecting the precautions to be observed in making barometrical observations, and the construction of the instrument best adapted to that country. These observations, filling several pages, appear to us to deserve the attention of travellers in these countries, but it is not easy to detach any extract to suit our purpose; we, however, take the following as applicable to all hot climates. "I frequently saw travellers in Mexico, who, in their barometrical measurements, neglected to observe the temperature of the column of mercury, and took it for granted that, when the barometer had stood a quarter of an hour in the shade, the temperature of the mercury was the same as that of the atmosphere. This, however, is by no means the case; and I have frequently remarked that, even after the expiration of half an hour, the temperature of the mercury was still considerably higher, when the barometer had been long carried in the sun, and its beams had considerably increased the temperature of the mercury; the wood or brass in which the glass tube is inclosed delay for a considerable time the restoration of the equality of the temperature of the mercury and of the atmosphere. In my observations, therefore, I always noted the temperature of the mercury.' M. Burkart now proceeds to the account, first, of his journey from Zacatecas to San Blas, and then of that from Zacatecas to Tampico. He, however, confines himself almost exclusively to very minute details of the geology and mineralogy of the country, which he appears to have studied with great care. "The plain about San Blas, being very low, is extremely swampy; for the sea, when the tide rises, overflows the country to a great distance, and, on the ebb, leaves large ponds or lakes. This town, which was formerly very populous, and animated by the commerce with the Philippine islands and Asia, is now quite desolate in consequence of the cessation of that trade. I saw only a single ship at anchor in the port, and I was assured that months often pass without the arrival of a large vessel. After a short stay at San Blas, I went along the banks of the river Santiago to the town of that name, and was not a little surprised at being able, now in the dry season, to ride through this river at the distance of only eight leagues from the place where it falls into the ocean, though, (with the exception of the Rio Bravo del Norte) it is the largest of the Mexican rivers, and had flowed through at least 200 leagues. This, however, is easily accounted for by the rapid fall, and the long-continued drought." On the 18th of March, 1834, M. Burkart had arranged all his affairs preparatory to his return to his own country, after an absence of more than nine years. Notwithstanding the pleasure with which he naturally looked forward to a meeting with his family, and though there was not much attraction in the desert barren mountains of Zacatecas,-though the political troubles and constant civil wars rendered it a disagreeable abode to a foreigner, -he could not leave it, after six years' residence, during which he had become acquainted with many worthy men, without much regret, and the account of his parting with his friends does honour to his feelings. Three weeks after leaving Zacatecas, M. Burkart arrived at Tampico, and was much struck with the change that had taken place in it. When he landed there in 1824, only a few houses stood on the spot, and now, in 1834, a handsome town had been built. Many merchants, among whom was a great number of Germans, had settled there. M. Burkart was hospitably received by M. E. Franke, the Dutch consul, in whose house he remained till he had an opportunity of going to New Orleans. Then he went up the Mississippi to Pittsburg, crossed the country to New York, embarked for Liverpool, proceeded to London, and arrived in July on the banks of the Rhine. M. Burkart's two last chapters are, first, on the working of |