The examiner., 1882-03-04
A MEXICAN FARM.
Life nt Hacienda In Mexico.

Pacasco proved one of the mos
 agreeable experiences of my whole ton,
 Ine house was approached from tn
 man road by long lane through field
 oI the purple. towering alfalfa, large
 ana nardler clover; past a dark-walle
 corral or cattle e-yard; a very long
 sCeep rooted barracks for laborerl
 quarters; and by pond embowered ii
 Willows. From distance, with it's nu
 merous outbuildings, it had the appear
 ance of ducal residence. It is blaine
 when reached, the space immediatel
 ln 1ront having farm-yard appearance
 and containing in the center 8 yer,
 large stone threshing floor of the kinee
 Tn which it is customary to thresh out
 grain, just as in the patios, by troops O
 running horses. It is of rubble stone
 piastered and neatly whitewashed;
 slngle liberal story in height, the part de
 votod to the residence having large win
 doWs, covered with gratings and belfry
 on top. To this are added, on the
 Hanks, such collection of granaries
 and corrals that facade is made o1
 probably six hundred feet in length.
 Some fonts project from the wall be-
 side & door opening to the family chapel. Over the main entrance-door
 IS an inscription "En oqueste destie-ro
 2 SOted0d disfra1to del tesoro de lo poz."
 tn this retirement and solitude I enjoy
 the treasure of peace.) Each principal
 granary or barn (called troje) is in-
 scribed also with it's title. Tbey are
 built to keep the contents cool and of
 an even temperature, with walls of
 great thickness. Buttressed without,
 and with columns or piers of yard square running down the center of the long, dim interiors, they are more like basilicas of the early Christians than one's preconceived idea of barn.
 The buildings in the central clump, not counting those detached, cover alone between four and five acres of ground. The estate of which they are the focal poin is eighteen miles in one dimension by six in the other, and con- tains not less than forty thousand acres. There are seventeen hundred head of neat cattle, and other things in propor- tion. On the payroll, in the week in which l was privileged to witness the operations, were laborers to the extent of eighteen hundred and fifty, men and boys. I confess to the fondness for country life, and with such a novel domain to explore, one must be difficult indeed not to be pleased. One day we mounted on horseback to go to visit the corrals, where portions of the animals are kept at night according to their changes of pasture; another, to the Oio de Agua, lovely spring, made mention of by Humboldt; again, to examine the different crops; again, to various white bamlets that, like the city of Tulan. ciugo, farther in the distance, dot the plain. At Acatlan is 8 most charming dark old ruined convent, with the green bronze bells yet hanging in the steeple. One day the household ensconced itself in large wagon covered with willow boughs, and we drove to ZupiHan, ruined hacienda, church, and hamlet on the estate itself, and held picnic.
 A high grassy hill, the Cerro, behind 1 the house, affords wide views. We are in the midst of level valley, with l gently sloping mountains on all the boundaries. The leading crops are maize barley and maguey. The l goes around every day, with | its donkey carrying wine skins, col l lecting the sweet sap from the maguey to rake the pulque. He pours it into ment, treats it in his Iraeticed way for B fortnight or more, and then 1t is ready | for sale. We see sometimes forty blow men como in and unyCke their teams of an evening. The agricultural imple- | but blows, spades, picks and Apulco, near by, more cheaply. | made wooden forks and shovels yet re maining. Among the rest the veri- table Egyptian blow of wood, with | but an iron point, is much more in use than the modern sort. And for it's pur- pose of turning shallow furrows and between the rows of maize it appears, to tell the truth, not ill adapt ed. The ground is treated by irriga- tion, no less than eleven large dams, one of them creating lake two miles long, being formed for this purpose. The portions of land used for cultiva- tion are taken irregularly in various parts of the estate, according to their proximity to these. Each has it's name, as Las Animas, San Antonio the Larger, San Antonio the Less.
 But it is grazing country, and the chief industries are the raising of ani-. malls and the making of butter and cheese. The greater part of the cattle | are hornless, which is effected by 8 | simple process of soaring the tender horn when sprouting, after which it does not increase. The idea is worth l attention by American farmers and l those who have to do with the trans portation of cattle. The calf here re- mains with its mother under all circum- stances. It is quaint sight at milking time to see it lassoed fast to it's mother, whose hindlegs are also lassoed. waiting by no means patiently the conclusion of the ceremony. Each of the departments is under the command of it's own chief, and an accurate supervision and record is made of the whole. The bookkeeper, "Don Angel" a taciturn young man, native of old Spain, with talent for minuti@, fills out weekly, ssn 8 blank form, statement going into the closest detail. For keeping the tally of revenues which amount to S20, 900 year his own salary is $4O0 "and found." The administrator, "Don Rafael" is paid $1,OO0, and has, besides, various lands and casitas of his own-a person of substance, in fact. He is steady going man of middle age, with prominent scar on his forehead. I imagined some interesting story. No, he said it was got in breaking vicious horse. A sensible man lets fighting alone; there are enough at that already The Americans have excellent