90 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



Maguey plant. The art of metal casting and the manu- 

 facture of cotton cloth was known to the ancient Toltecs 

 and Aztecs. There are numerous examples still preserved, 

 which show that the Aztec was an admirable worker in 

 silver and gold. Cortez, in his hurry to send gold back to 

 his sovereign, caused everything made of this precious 

 metal to be consigned to the melting pot, and thus many 

 fine specimens of the work were destroyed. Were speci- 

 mens of these golden and silver ornaments now existing, 

 they would be worth many times their weight in gold. The 

 art, however, has been handed down from one generation 

 to another, and the modern native can produce silver 

 filigree work superior to anything made elsewhere. The 

 native women also make the most exquisite pictures from 

 colored pieces of straw, representing scenery and buildings 

 with wonderful accuracy. They also make wax figures 

 representing scenes and types of Mexican life. On San 

 Francisco street, these statuettes may be seen reproducing 

 the different types of Mexican life with wonderful fidelity. 

 Another branch of art, which the ancient, as well as the 

 modern Aztec excells in, is the production of feather work. 

 The gorgeous plumage of parrots, humming-birds, trogans, 

 and orioles, are especially adapted for this work. In 

 ancient times the feathers were glued upon cotton-web, and 

 made into dresses to be worn on festal occasions. There is 

 preserved, in the museum, a beautiful robe of this character 

 said to have been worn by Montezuma II. This industry 

 has been inherited by the modern Aztecs, and pictures and 

 small landscapes may be purchased anywhere in the city for 

 a moderate sum. 



Not far from the Academ.y of Fine Arts is the National 

 Conservatory of Music, founded in 1553. Near at hand, 

 also, is the National Library, where there is a collection of 

 nearly two hundred thousand volumes, many of them being 



