The Borda Garden 
red-tiled roofs; out of which rise several 
domes and towers. The landscape is one of 
the world’s lordliest: the vast and fertile val¬ 
ley, rich with tropical cultivations, is sur¬ 
rounded by magnificent mountain ranges, 
among them the snowy peaks of some of the 
loftiest heights in North America. Cuerna¬ 
vaca is on the verge of the hot country, but 
really lies within the limits of the tierra tem- 
plada, the temperate belt. The climate 
makes near approach to perfection. Some 
idea of it may be had by imagining a suc- 
hurries valeward, pausing to make gardens 
and orchards perennially verdant on the way 
to its greater task of watering the vast fields 
below. 
Such surroundings make the location an 
ideal one for a garden as beautiful as the 
hands of man can make it. When we think 
of Italy and its villas we appreciate that their 
standards are far from reached in the finest 
that Mexico has to show us. But the beauty 
of the Borda garden, even in its present state 
of neglect, is such that no comparisons that 
THE GREAT BASIN, WITH BOAT HOUSE AND TERRACE STEPS, LOOKING NORTH 
cession of ideal days in a Northern June, 
prolonged indefinitely through the year. 
In the clear, dry air the heat is seldom op¬ 
pressive; the nights bring cooling breezes 
that flow gently down the mountain sides, 
but there is never a chill in their breath. 
Clear water from great springs that gush 
from the slopes above sparkles in brooks 
and irrigating channels on every hand. Its 
friendly babble is heard everywhere as it 
might be made could diminish its charm. 
In view of its urban vicinage the Borda 
villa could hardly be called a country home. 
But, like many of the villas of Rome, its 
qualities have the restfulness that rural 
scenery imparts. In the presence of the 
glorious landscape that encloses it upon three 
sides it seems like a vestibule built by man 
for Nature’s temple. The villa is well within 
the city, but seems not of it. The entrance 
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