HISTORY OF MEXICO. 179 



plants, and to reap ; to the women it belonged to ftrip 

 off the leaves from the ears, and to clear the grain ; to 

 weed and to flieil it was the employment of both. 



They had places like farm yards, where they drip- 

 ped off the leaves from the ears, and {helled them, and 

 granaries to preferve the grain. Their granaries were 

 built in a fquare form, and generally of wood. They 

 made ufe of the ojametl for this purpofe, which is a very 

 lofty tree, with but a few flender branches, and a thin 

 fmooth bark; the wood of it is extremely pliant, and 

 difficult to break or rot. Thefe granaries were formed 

 by placing the round and equal trunks of the ojametl in 

 a fquare, one upon the other, without any labour ex- 

 cept that of a fmall nitch towards their extremities, to 

 adjuft and unite them fo perfectly as not to fuffer any 

 pafifage to the light. When the ftructure was raifed 

 to a fufficient height, they covered it with another fet 

 of crofs-beams, and over thefe the roof was laid to de- 

 fend the grain from rains. Thofe granaries had no 

 other door or outlet than two windows, one below 

 which was fmall, and another fomewhat wider above. 

 Some of them were fo large as to contain five or fix 

 thoufand, or fometimes more fanegas (o) of maize. 

 There are fome of this fort of granaries to be met with 

 in a few places at a diftance from the capital, and 

 amongfl: them fome fo very ancient, that they appear 

 to have been built before the conqueft ; and, according 

 to the information we have had from perfons of intelli- 

 gence, they preferve the grain better than thofe which 

 are conftru&ed by the Europeans. 



Clofe to fields which were Town they commonly erect- 

 ed a little tower of wood, branches and mats, in which 



a man 



(o) A Caftilian meafure of dry goods, formerly mentioned by us. 



