.
The oldest cotton-factories are to be found in the city of Texcoco.
The Aztecs were familiar with the art of reducing silver, lead, copper, and tin. The process was, however, easy and simple. They formed an alloy of the two last-named metals, and wrought tools of bronze. With these implements they were able to cut not only metals, but, with the aid of fine sand, the hardest substances—as basalt, porphyry, amethysts, and emeralds (vide Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, pp. 138, 139).
Besides making textile fabrics, working in metals, and hewing stone, the ancient Mexicans molded pottery on a large scale, and manufactured from the maguey (Agave Americana) a variety of articles, such as paper, thread, and cords from the leaves (which were also used to thatch roofs), pins and needles from the thorns, and pulque from the fermented juice of the stem.
Owing to the restrictions imposed by the Government, manufactures did not thrive during the rule of the viceroys. Still, the cotton and woolen factories were preserved, the metals were reduced from the ores, and soap, wax, sugar, pottery, pulque, and a few other articles were produced. The frequent revolutions and the instability of the Federal Government since the War of Independence have greatly retarded manufacturing industry. Fuel being exceedingly scarce, steam is even now rarely used in the factories and reducing- works; but water-, mule-, and man-power are generally employed. In his long tour through the Republic in the winter and spring of 1883, the author noticed only one sugar-mill, one silver-reducing-mill, two cotton-factories, and a flour-mill, that were run by steam. In the latter case an aqueduct was in course of construction to conduct water to the mill as a motive power. On account of the configuration of Mexico, there is abundant water-power just below the border of the tierra fria and in some parts of the great
