OLD BELLS WHICH WERE MELTED AND CAST INTO CANNON BY THE FORCES OF 

 GENERAL MANUEL CHAO AT PARRAL, CHIHUAHUA, IN 1913 



The sketch of the figure to be repro- 

 duced is first made, and each artist takes 

 charge of one particular part of the figure 

 or drapery. When each has finished his 

 share all of the different parts are re- 

 united and the picture formed. Then 

 the whole feather picture is placed on 

 a plate of copper and gently pressed to- 

 gether with a sort of paste until the sur- 

 face became even. Because of the splen- 

 dor and liveliness of the colors, they ap- 

 pear even more beautiful than the paint- 

 ings which they imitate. 



MEXICAN DYES 



The fine and fast colors made by the 

 Indians of Mexico and their mastery of 

 art of hand-weaving has excited the won- 

 der of travelers for many generations. 

 Their multi-colored serapes, in which all 

 of the tints of the rainbow are blended 

 with a rare harmony and a keen apprecia- 

 tion of color values, are perfect speci- 

 mens of the weaver's art. 



Many of the Indian colors are made 

 from Mexican insects, the best known of 

 which is the cochineal. At a time beyond 

 recorded history the Zapotec Indians dis- 



covered that the dry bodies of the female 

 cochineal was superior even to the scarlet 

 grain used to impart rich and lasting color 

 to their clothes. Until 1703 it was be- 

 lieved that the cochineal was a seed or 

 bloom of the plant. The insects feed on 

 the leaves of the cochineal fig and other 

 closely allied cacti. They remain attached 

 to the spot on the leaf where they were 

 hatched, and their bodies grow rapidly 

 as they absorb the juice of the cacti, until 

 all of their extremities are indistinguish- 

 able to the naked eye. It takes about 

 70,000 of them, when dried, to weigh a 

 pound. Some are killed in ovens, which 

 causes them to develop a grayish red 

 color, and they are then known as the 

 silver cochineal. The insect bears a close 

 resemblance to the American wood-louse. 



TORCHES AND LANTERNS MADE OE 

 EIREELIES 



A remarkable insect found in Mexico 

 is the Elater firefly. Seen by day, it is a 

 large beetle, of a greenish-black color 

 and about an inch long. Behind the eyes 

 are two round transparent nodules about 

 as large as a pin-head and filled with a 



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