Evening star., 1912-01-28

scribed as having a circumference Of 1.60O
PAGES, and around 1t there was a stone
pavement wide enough for four persons
to walk abreast Its sides were sculp-
tured with curious designs. and a flight
OF steps led down to the water, which fed
the irrfgatfng bitches and was the source
OF beautiful fountains. So elaborate and
magnificent were the gardens described
by the conquistadores that we might Well
doubt the truth of their assertions were
the evidence not attested by many wit
nesses.
In the capital city itself the emperor
had established the botanical garden Of
Tetzcotzinco, OF which there still remain
a few vestiges. After having gather ed
together all the plants and animals which
could endure the climate. the emperor
caused the pictures of others to be paint
ed upon the walls of his residence, so
that the whole Of the fauna and flora Of
Anahuac might be represented.
"A few leagues south of the City of
Mexico, in the direction of the modern
city Of Cuernavaca, was the wonderful
conquest, and to which Hernandez fire.
quently refers in his great work. Here
were collected trees, shrubs and her
baceous plants, native and exotic, some
selected for their beauty, some for their
fragrance. and others for their med c.nal
virtues. They were systematically ar
ranged in a manner which displayed both
artistic taste and horticultural kno vi
edge, and 1t Is safe to say that 1t w0 Id
not have been easy to find their equal in
that day in any country of Europe or
Asia.
There has come down to us an account
OF the methods by which this remarkable
garden was stocked with some of it's
most precious plants. Tlacaelel. the
brother Of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, the
chronicle states. conceived the idea of
collecting the waters Of the Huaxtepec.
in the mountains south of the valley. into
a great reservoir from which they could
be distributed and governed. The work
was undertaken and, at his suggestion. a
garden was laid out. Messengers were
then sent to various parts Of tro. ical
America for plants to stock 1T. From
Pinotl, viceroy of Cuetlaxtlan. the en-
beautiful plants. the yoloxochitl. or
heart flower" a single blossom of which
was sufficient to fill whole house with
fragrance; the cacaloxOchitl. or ''crOw
their hair, and the xochinacaztli. or ''ea.
flower" the botanical identity Of which
has long remained unknown"
The history OF this last named tropical
flower can scarcely be called common
place. and after discovering its identity
fort in gathering together all facts relat-
ing to il. The first account Of the flower
was written about 1859 by Padre Bernar-
dino de Sahagun, who refers to 1t as
teunacaztli, 1.-The sacred ear flower" AM
states that 1t was much used for the sake
Of its fragrant odor. and for drinking
ground up with chocolate.
1T would be possible and advisable to
cultivate the flower in this country" said
Mr. Stafford, though its home is in the
forests Of northwestern Guatemala and
across the border in the Mexican state OF
Chiapas. The use OF It as a spice gradu-
ally died out throughout the greater part
Of Mexico with the introduction Of emma.
mon from the East Indies, which Is now.
together with vanilla, almost universally
used for fiavoring chocolate. The lsma.l
tree grows in regions where there is a
marked dry and rainy season, usually as
sociated with coffee, and It could In all
probability be cultivated wherever coffee
will thrive.