Then came a short ride, which brought us to the Casa Grande, where Mrs.
Bowring received us with overflowing hospitality.

We went off presently into the town, to see the glassworks.

In a country where all things imported have to be carried in rough waggons, or on mules' backs, and over bad roads, it would be hard if it did not pay to make glass; and, accordingly, we found the works in full operation.

The soda is produced at Mr.Bowling's works close by, the fuel is charcoal from the mountains, and for sand they have a substitute, which I never heard of or saw anywhere else.

It seems that a short distance from Tezcuco there is a deposit of hydrated silica, which is brought down in great blocks by the Indians; and this, when calcined, answers the purpose perfectly, as there is scarcely any iron in it.