The Castle of Chapultepec 
AVENUE IN THE PARK OF CHAPULTEPEC 
rated to suit the taste of the unfortunate 
Empress Charlotte. That the Castle was 
capable of being fortified was proved by the 
two days’ siege which it sustained against the 
Americans under General Pillow; a siege 
made memorable by the heroism of the 
cadets, many of whom died in action. A 
monument was erected to the young heroes in 
1880, and in October, 1904, an American 
scientific society paid a graceful tribute to their 
memory by placing a wreath on their grave. 
Ascending the winding road which leads up 
to the Castle, the visi¬ 
tor enters through the 
iron gates guarded by 
a sentry of the cadet 
corps and passes on 
to the broad terrace 
from which a beautiful 
view can be obtained 
of the mountains, with 
the parapet with its 
masses of purple and 
crimson bougainvillea 
as a foreground. A 
fine flight of marble 
steps leads to the up¬ 
per storey of the Cas¬ 
tle, but it is best to 
pass through the gar¬ 
den and admire the 
splendid prospect 
from the terrace 
before ascending to the 
hanging garden and the 
marble terrace above. 
I he gardens are 
small, but there is 
much to interest the 
student. The plain 
on which the City of 
Mexico stands is 
7,473 feet above sea- 
level, which accounts 
for the climate of 
the tierra templada, 
which, although it lies 
within the zone of 
the tropics, is yet so 
far from tropical. In 
this country, latitude 
and longitude count 
for very little, the 
extraordinary difference in altitude making 
every variety of climate and, of course, of 
vegetation. It has been said that every plant 
known to science can be cultivated in Mexico, 
and in Mexico City the medium climate makes 
it possible to grow some of the plants 
belonging by right to the tierra cahente or 
the tierra fria. The elm, the poplar, and the 
ash grow with the banana tree, the pepper, 
the olive, the orange and the lemon and with 
every variety of cactus and aloe. Roses in 
profusion, great bushes of double pink ger- 
THE BIG TREE OF TULE 
