72 
A short distance beyond Tecoman, a lagoon begins, which 
continues to Manzanillo. I had planned to collect along this 
lagoon near the ocean, but, learning from Dr. L. A. Turnbull 
that it was infested with alligators and various fevers, and that 
the accommodations at Manzanillo were of the poorest kind and 
the trains exceedingly slow, I abandoned the idea and determined 
to return to the Gulf Slope, where there was more moisture, 
Accordingly, we left Colima January 5, and reached Mexico 
City January 7, breaking the journey at Guadalajara. On Jan- 
uary 8, being Saturday, I was induced to join an automobile 
excursion to the buried city of San Juan Teotihuacan, thirty-two 
miles northeast of the capital, not only because of the great in- 
terest attached to the ruins, but also because of the opportunity 
it afforded me to observe at close range the extensive mague 
plantations and cactus thickets along the route. 
e most conspicuous objects in the precincts of the sacred 
city are the pyramids of the sun and moon, constructed of basal- 
tic blocks and trachite by some tribe antedating the Toltecs. 
The larger structure is 216 feet high, with a very broad base. 
When the excavation of the city has proceeded further, more 
light will doubtless be cast on this ancient tribe and the history 
of these almost unknown ruins. It is interesting to note that a 
Temple of Agriculture occupies a conspicuous place in this city, 
reminding one of the zealous worship of the goddess Ceres. 
The common maguey, or pulque-plant, reaches its best devel- 
opment at this altitude and is very abundantly cultivated. This 
plant has been the source of a variety of useful products, such as 
paper, twine, parchment, thatching, vinegar, molasses, and even 
néedles and thread; but it is now cultivated almost entirely for 
pulque and ae the former obtained by fermentation of the 
sap stored up for flowering, and the latter by distillation from the 
root and lower leaves after roasting. The plants require little 
attention until old enough to flower, which generally occurs 
when they are from eight to ten years old. When the giant 
flower-clusters are about to be produced, harvesters go through 
the plantations and cut out the incipient stalks, at the same time 
scooping out a sort of basin, into which the sap flows and is col- 
