snow, storms and thunder, and whatever else takes place in the
air, are represented with suitable figures and little verses. The
inhabitants even have the art of representing in stone all the
phenomena of the air, such as the wind, rain, thunder, the rain-
bow, etc.

On the interior of the third circuit all the different families
of trees and herbs are depicted, and there is a live specimen of
each plant in earthenware vessels placed upon the outer parti-
tion of the arches. With the specimens there are explanations
as to where they were first found, what are their powers and
natures, and resemblances to celestial things and to metals, to
parts of the human body and to things in the sea, and also as
to their uses in medicine, etc. On the exterior wall are all the
races of fish found in rivers, lakes, and seas, and their habits
and values, and ways of breeding, training, and living, the pur-
poses for which they exist in the world, and their uses to man.
Further, their resemblances to celestial and terrestrial things,
produced both by nature and art, are so given that I was as-
tonished when I saw a fish which was like a bishop, one like a
chain, another like a garment, a fourth like a nail, a fifth like
a star, and others like images of those things existing among
us, the relation in each case being completely manifest. There
are sea-urchins to be seen, and the purple shell-fish and mus-
sels; and whatever the watery world possesses worthy of being
known is there fully shown in marvellous characters of paint-
ing and drawing.

On the fourth interior wall all the different kinds of birds are
painted, with their natures, sizes, customs, colors, manner of