ver
braid; the poorest, though otherwise but half clad, and with bare limbs,
have a substitute for the sombrero in straw or some cheap material. The
broader the brim and the taller the crown, the more they are admired. It
is a busy, ever-shifting scene presented by the Plaza Mayor of Leon,
such as one may look upon only south of the Rio Grande.

The paseo is a remarkably fine, tree-embowered avenue, a sort of
miniature Champs Elysees, flanked by well-cultivated fields and gardens,
forming the beginning of the road which leads to Silao. Besides the
Plaza Mayor and the paseo, there are a dozen minor plazas (plazuelas) in
Leon, all more or less attractive. On the road leading to Lagos, not far
from the city, there are hot mineral springs much esteemed and much used
for bathing. One can go anywhere in and about Leon by tramway as easily
as in Boston or New York. The specialty of the city is its various
manufactories of leather goods, but particularly saddles, boots, and
shoes, together with leather sandals, such as are worn by the common
people who do not go barefooted,--though the fact is nine tenths of them
do go barefooted. Another special product of Leon is blue and striped
rebosas, so universally worn by the women of the humbler class.

It is a peculiarity in Mexico that a certain branch of manufacture is
confined in a great measure to one place, other business localities
respecting this partial monopoly by devoting themselves to other
productions. Thus the industry of Leon is developed in tanning leather,
and the making of boots, shoes, saddlery, and rebosas; Salamanca is
noted for its buckskin garments and gloves; Irapuato is devoted to
raising strawberries, and supplies half the republic with this delicious
fruit; Queretaro is famous for the opals it ships from its unique mines;
Lerdo enriches itself by the cotton which it sends to market; Celaya, in
the valley of the Laja, is known all over Mexico for the production of
fine dulces (sweets, or confectionery) made from milk and sugar; from
Puebla come the elegant and profitable onyx ornaments so much prized at
home and abroad; Aguas Calientes is famous as an agricultural centre,
supplying the markets of the country with corn and beans; from Orizaba
and Cordova come coffee, sugar, and delicious tropical fruits; Chihuahua
raises horses and cattle for the home market and for exportation;
Guadalajara is unrivaled for the production of pottery and crockery
ware, Zacateca