THE MEXICAN PLATEAU 119 



by occasional groves of low trees. The countless 

 lava sheets, which are strewn over the plateau, are 

 marked by thickets of thorny cacti, yuccas, agaves, 

 opuntias, and acacia bushes. In the moister valleys, 

 which are not infrequent, pastures become quite 

 luxuriant ; woodlands and groves of tall trees, deciduous 

 and evergreen alike, thrive and increase; and maize 

 and wheat are extensively cultivated. A notable feature 

 of the upper part of the plateau is the cultivation of the 

 agave whose fermented juice is a popular drink; other 

 agaves are also grown for their fibres. The rural in- 

 dustries of the Mexican plateau depend almost exclusively 

 on the capacity of the soil for retaining the moisture, 

 and on the underground water-supply. Fertile agri- 

 cultural valleys are not lacking, but over the larger part 

 of the high plain only a modified kind of nomadic life, 

 viz. cattle-ranching, is possible ; irrigation, however, will 

 in course of time open up vast territories. 



Of the temperate conditions and immense resources 

 of the plateau of Anahuac, its ancient inhabitants, 

 the Nahua, took full advantage : pastoral industries 

 were unknown for lack of cattle, but they practised 

 an intensive form of agriculture and gardening, superior 

 to what was known in Europe at the same period of 

 history ; vestiges of it are still to be seen in the ' Valley 

 of Mexico '. The scientific works of irrigation, drainage, 

 and water-supply which these populations carried out 

 brought large areas under prosperous settlement and 

 cultivation, so that when the European Conquistadores, 

 who had not reached the same level of culture, wiped 

 out the native civilization, they were unable to equal or 

 replace those gigantic works. 



Atlantic Lowlands of Mexico and Southern Mexico. 

 The Atlantic or Gulf slopes of the plateau are more 



