18 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



supply of bread for the great mass of the 

 people. It is made into thin cakes, by soak- 

 ing in water, and grinding it into paste be- 

 tween stones. It is then baked on a stone 

 over a fire, and makes an excellent and nu- 

 tricious bread. 



Small black beans called fricollis are in 

 general demand all over New Spain : they 

 form a part of every meal, and even strangers 

 think them excellent. Immense fields of these 

 are cultivated for the supply of the great 

 cities. 



Potatoes are not in common use, and are 

 small and not well tasted; nor does the cul- 

 tivation of these, or of other culinary ve- 

 getables, seem to be well understood; for, 

 although all sorts are grown here, and are to 

 be procured in the markets, yet most of them 

 are inferior to the same species in the kitchen- 

 gardens of Europe. I should except the 

 onions (which are as white as turnips and 



