ough there is included in it a part of the
great plateau, with its great range of heat and cold from day to night.
It is, however, with reference to the Atlantic and Pacific slopes that
these changes are ascribed, and this fine and enjoyable climate is
encountered from Ameca in Jalisco to Chilpancingo in Guerrero on the
western side; and from Jalapa northwards upon the Gulf--vast belts of
territory of which any country might well be proud. Upwards from this
zone is that of the _tierra fria_, with a mean temperature of 59
degrees or 60 degrees F., which varies little throughout the year,
although the maximum and minimum from day to night is very marked.

[Illustration: THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE: GENERAL VIEW OF THE CITY AND
ENVIRONS OF COLIMA.]

As regards the climate of Mexico generally, it might have been supposed
that it would be oppressively hot, the country lying, as it does,
towards the Equator. But this is far from being the case; and the New
Yorker may well leave the stifling heat of his own city in summer for
the tonic breezes of the Mexican uplands, just as he may winter there
to avoid the bitter winter of New York. And, as to the European, we may
recollect that the northernmost point of Mexico is two degrees nearer
the Equator than the southernmost point of Europe, whilst the mean
annual temperature of the City of Mexico--61 degrees F.--bears
excellent comparison with such places as Algiers, 63 degrees;
Barcelona, 61 degrees; Naples, 61 degrees; Rome, 60 degrees; Bordeaux,
57 degrees F. The diurnal change in the City of Mexico, however, is
very marked, rising to 89 degrees F. during the day and falling to 35
degrees F. at night, when the foreigner gladly dons his overcoat and
the native his _capa_, or _serape_. On the whole, it is natural to
describe the climate of Mexico as pleasing and invigorating, whilst
bearing in mind the variation above described, due to elevation,
latitude, rainfall, and wind agencies. The effects of these changes are
so marked upon the vegetation of the country that all the vegetable
products from the Equator to the Polar Circle can be found among them.

The rainfall throughout the country is mainly confined to the rainy
season, from May or June to October or November. During the middle of
this season the rains are, at times, exceedingly heavy, the dry stream
beds of the plateau filling up in a few hours with a torrential flood
which sweeps everything before it. The desert plains in so