The Chinampas. tj 



THE CHINAMPAS. 



The West American Scientist for the month of June, ii 

 has just fallen into my hands, and therein I read the leading ar- 

 ticle by Mr. M. Buysman on 'Artificial Floating Islands.' I am 

 somewhat surprised to find it there stated that artificial floating 

 islands .* * * are only found in some lakes in Mex- 

 ico, where they are used for agricultural purposes, and in these 

 floating gardens all vegetables grow very luxuriently. It is to 

 the use of the present tense throughout the reference to the fam- 

 ous floating islands of Mexico, that I desire to call attention,with- 

 out wishing to criticise Mr. Buysman. 



The fact is; the floating islands no longer exist in Mexico. 

 They have become fixtures. The waters of the lake in which 

 they once floated like islands of enchantment, have receded for 

 several miles from the city whose walls they once washed A 

 canal runs from the city of Mexico to the present lake Xochimilco, 

 and along the banks of this canal (La Viga it is called), the float- 

 ing gardens were permanently moved many years since. They 

 still retain, however, the name they possessed in the times of the 

 Aztec Empire, Chinampas. 



I have often visited the Chinampas, and perhaps a brief paper 

 on that subject will not come amiss to the readers of The West 

 American Scientist. 



The manner in which the Chinampas were originally contracted 

 differed little from the plan proposed by Mr. Buysman. The idea 

 was derived from nature. Mosses of thickly interwoven roots of 

 trees and vegetables often become detached from banks where the 

 soil has no very great specific gravity, and float sufficient quantity 

 of such soil for the growth of vegetables . Seizing this idea, and 

 acting upon it, the Aztecs made rafts of wicker work, nearly water 

 tight, and filled them with silt or sediment from the bottom of the 

 lake. In such soil plants grew luxuriantly. It was perhaps with 

 some difficulty that the largest of these gardens were moved from 

 place to place, and in time the wicker raft would naturally give 

 way, precipitating a part of the soil, at the same time sediment 

 would collect under an island, whereupon its pereginations would 

 cease perforce. A number of Chinampas thus gathered together 

 and permanently anchored, filling in took place about them, and 

 finally narrow canals were opened through them to furnish high- 

 ways where the soil was not strong enough to have wagon roads. 

 So that the Chinampas exist to-day at various places along the 

 canal from the city of Mexico to Lake Xochimilco, in the form of 

 large gardens with soil rather boggy, but rich and capable of pro- 

 ducing, with slight effort, the most beautiful flowers and finest 

 vegetables imaginable. These gardens are separated by narrow 

 canals. 



The principle Chinampas are found at Santa Anita and at 

 Ixtacalco. It is a delightful excursion down the Viga to Santa 

 Anita, excursionists rarely go beyond that point. The trip is 



