The San Francisco call., 1901-10-06

as are required for the day are prrchas seq
The butcher, in cutting up his meat, never
uses knife or saw, but relies entirely
upon his cleaver, with which he. sewers a.
shin bone slices off a tenderloin with
equal facility. Moreover, he never wraps
his wares in paper but deposits them side
by side with the other edibles in his GUS
TONER'S basket.
A Mexican meal is always served in
courses, usually including two kinds of
soup and several varieties of meat sell
dom more than one vegetable and never
but one dessert. Bread is placed uuon the
table in the loaf and is broken instead of
sliced, while butter is noticeable through
its absence, being used only in the
preparation of the meal. Knives and forks
are rarely employed excepting by the
upper classes, the food being conveyed to
the mouth by means OF thin bits of corn
cake, known as tortillas. So adroit are
the people in this quaint custom that it
seldom happens their fingers come in di-
rect contact with their victuals
The Mexican people are devout lovers
of hc.ne life, and hence comparatively
few of them get beyond their national
boundaries. They are likewise fond of
entertaining their friends, and the hospi-
tality of a Mexican host or hostess is
a world wide proyerb. To such an extent
is this true that in, many of the towns
hotels are unknown institutions, even
strangers being assured of entertainment
in almost any household.
Of corresponding uniqueness to the
urban homes of Mexico is the life that
obtains on the great haciendas of the rural
districts
While engaged in securing material for
this sketch the writer recently made a.
visit to Aranjuez, one of Mexico's most
beautiful country places, situated near
Guaymas, in the State of Sonora. Here
the most idealistic phases of life on a rep
resentative hacienda were experienced
The place had been named after the coun-
try seat of the King near Madrid; and the
fact that with all it's present Ioveliness,
it was originally redeemed from the des-
ert in the midst of which, like a veritable
oasis, it lies, renders it's regal title all the
more appropriate.
Notwithstanding the air Of Incidence
which to a greater or less extent pervades
the Mexican hacienda, there is combined
with it a counter atmosphere of luxurious
ease that is deliciously infectious. The
country dwelling, or casa de campo as it
is commonly designated, is invariably
built on a plan best calculated for the
comfort of it's inmates, it's chief charac-
teristics being the broad. cool verandas
and graceful arcades surrounding it's ex-
terror, the deepset windows and delect-
able courtyards. The surrounding planta-
ton, which is usually measured by the
square league, is inclosed by walls of loose
stone or hedges of the maguey plant. The
sharp, bayonet-like leaves of the latter
render it quite as impossible as, and far
more attractive than, the barbed-wire
fences of the north. The greater portion
of the rich land, however. serves only for
pasturage purposes, cultivation being re-
stricted to occasional spots and patches.
The implements used in tilling the soil
are generally of the most primitive sort.
the plow being fashioned entirely out of
wood, with but one handle; and to this is
yoked, by means of a board bound across
their horns, pair of domesticated Mexf-
can steers or numbering oxen. The peon
who follows this novel equipage or goes
TO sleep under convenient banana tree
Is generally attired in broad palm-leaf
sombrero, with an inordinately high