CHAPTER V. 



CLIMATE, EVIL BEASTS, SCENERY. 



NOTHING is more absurd than the classifica- 

 tion of Southern New Mexico among tropical 

 climes. Yet I can bear actual witness to 

 such mental aberrations. Perhaps the worst 

 slip of the kind is perpetrated in an elaborate 

 pamphlet issued by a Michigan sanatorium of 

 high repute, whose duty it is to avoid mis- 

 leading statements. 



The fact is that no fruit, flower, nut, or 

 vegetable exists with us if requiring for 

 that existence unbroken mildness of climate. 

 Sunshine at an altitude of 3,800 feet above 

 sea-level, and even if perpetual, does not 

 imply perpetual warmth. Stinging winter 

 nights, during which the thermometer is 

 occasionally reduced to a few degrees above 

 zero, prohibit all dreams of the tropics ; and 



