48 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



of their juices; but feveral of thefe plants are already- 

 known in Europe, and the others we fliall have occafion 

 to treat of elfewhere. 



The fmall part of the vegetable kingdom of Ana- 

 huac which we have here communicated, revives our 

 regret that the accurate knowledge, which the ancient 

 Mexicans acquired of natural hiflory, has almofh total- 

 ly difappeared. We know its woods, mountains, and 

 vallies are fcattered with innumerable plants, valuable 

 and ufeful, yet hardly one naturalifl has ever fixed his 

 attention on them. Who can help lamenting, that of 

 the immenfe treafures which the period of two centu- 

 ries and an half has difcovered in its rich mines, no 

 part fliould have been deftined to the foundarion of an 

 academy of Naturalifls, who might have purfued the 

 ftcps of the celebrated Hernandez, and imparted to 

 focicty the knowledge of thefe precious gifts which the 

 Creator has there fo liberally difpenfed ! 



The animal kingdom of Anahuac is not better known, 

 although it was attended to with equal diligence by 

 Do6lor Hernandez. The difficulty of diftinguifhing the 

 fpecies, and the impropriety of appellations taken from 

 analogy, have rendered the hiflory of animals perplex- 

 ed and indiftindl:. The firft Spaniards who gave them 

 names, were more ildlful in the art of war than in the 

 ftudy of nature. Inflead of retaining the terms which 

 the Mexicans ufed, which would have been the mofl 

 proper, they denominated many animals, tygers, wolves, 

 bears, dogs, fquirrels. See. although they were very dif- 

 ferent in kind, merely from fome refemblance in the 

 colour of their fkin, or figure, or fome fimilarity in 

 their habits and difpofition. I do not pretend to correal 

 their errors, and ftill lefs to illuftrate the natural hiflory 



of 



