HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



179 



arrows ; and in the hi (lory of Herrera, or other authors, 

 that the Cannibals, and other barbarous nations, made 

 ufe of poifoned arrows ; and this was enough for him to 

 fay, that the new continent produces a greater number 

 of poifonous herbs than all the reft of the world. He 

 read that neither corn nor the fruits of Europe grow in 

 very hot countries ; and that was fufficient for him to fay, 

 that peaches and apricots have only borne fruit in the 

 ifland of Juan Fernandez (V), and that corn and barley 

 have not thriven but in a few countries of the North. 

 Such is the logic adopted by Mr. de Paw through all his 

 work. 



But of all that he fays again ft America, nothing holds 

 true with refpecl: to Mexico. There are certainly very 

 lofty mountains in Mexico, eternally covered with fnow : 

 there are large woods, and alfo fome marftiy places in 

 it ; but the fertile and cultivated foil forms beyond com- 

 parifon the far greater part of it, as is well known to all 

 thofe who have vifited that country. In all that immenfe 

 fpace of land, where wheat, barley, maize, and other 

 kind of grain and pulfe with which that country abounds, 

 are fown at prefent ; they formerly fowed maize, pep- 

 per, beans, cacao, chia, cotton, and fuch like plants, 

 which ferved for the fuftenance, clothing, and luxuries 

 of thofe people, who having been fo numerous as we 

 have already mentioned, and fhall elfewhere demon- 



ftrate, 



(#) In order to fhew how extremely diftant Mr. de Paw is from the truth, 

 we muft here obferve, that on the miferable ifland of Juan Fernandez, where 

 he fays that peaches ripen well, they on the contrary are fmal!, and very in- 

 different, according to the information we have had from Abbe D. G. Garcia, 

 who was there feven months, and particularly while the feafon of fruit lafted. 

 On the other hand, in almoft all the temperate and cold countries of Spanilh 

 America, where he imagines peaches do not grow, they thrive furprifingly ; 

 and in many places, particularly of Chili, and in fome of New Spain, they ripen 

 jbetter than in Europe. 



