ra and fauna--Soil--
Singular cactus forms--The desert flora--The tropical flora--Forest
regions--Wild animals--Serpents, monkeys, and felidae--Sporting
conditions--Birds.

We have traced the evolution of the Mexican people through the phases
of their chequered history: let us now examine more closely their
habitat, the country and its physical structure, and natural clothing;
its mountains and plains and accompanying vegetation, no less
interesting and picturesque in their respective fields.

The geographical conditions of Mexico and its geology and accompanying
topography are peculiar, and indeed in some respects unique. Mexico has
been termed "the bridge of the world's commerce,"[24] and, in fact, its
geographical position between the two great oceans of the world--the
Atlantic and the Pacific, and between, or joining, two great
continents, North and South America--would seem to warrant such a
description, especially having regard to the coming development of that
part of the world and the rise of the Pacific Ocean in commercial
importance. It is indeed a favourite theory of some writers that the
commercial and civilised centre of the world is destined to shift from
the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This theory, which must be
characterised, however, as open to much conjecture, has been lightly
discussed elsewhere in these pages. But be it as it may, the situation
of the cornucopia-shaped land of Mexico is of great and growing
importance. Among the geographical features of almost international
importance is the remarkable isthmus of Tehuantepec--now traversed by a
railway--which separates by only 120 miles the deep waters of the
Atlantic and Pacific Ocean systems. It is an isthmus of Panama of
greater width, and certainly may form a "bridge of commerce."

[Footnote 24: Humboldt.]

Mexico--apart from the Yucatan peninsula--consists of a great
triangular-shaped area, forming the tapering end of the North American
Continent. It is bounded on the north and north-east by the United
States; on the east by the Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf
of Campeche, and Caribbean Sea; on the west and south by the Pacific
Ocean; and on the south-east by Guatemala and British Honduras. Mexico
is, therefore, a close neighbour of a part of the British Empire! The
greatest length of the country is 2,000 miles nearly, its greatest
width 760 miles, and its area 767,000 square miles. Thus it is nearly
nine times the size of