cribed--lend
much interest to the diversified and beautiful State of Puebla.

* * * * *

We have now to consider the Atlantic, or Mexican Gulf littoral States.

Tamaulipas is one of the frontier states bordering upon the United
States; its northern frontier adjoining Texas, from which it is divided
by the Rio Grande or Bravo. On its eastern side it is washed by the
Gulf of Mexico, its littoral extending along the Gulf for more than 260
miles--from the estuary of the Rio Grande or Bravo, to that of the
Panuco river at Tampico. Topographically, the state consists of the
coast plains, occupying about two-thirds of its area, and the
mountainous or hilly region of the eastern slope of the Eastern Sierra
Madre, of the remainder. The area is 29,340 square miles, and the
population 190,000. The rivers of the state are numerous, notably the
Conchas, the Soto la Marina, and the Tamesi, all falling into the Gulf
of Mexico; and great lagoons--as the Laguna Madre, 125 miles
long--border upon the coast, separated from the sea, in some places
only by a ridge of narrow sand-dunes. The Laguna Madre has become dried
up, however, due to the silting up of its channels.

The climate varies much, the coast being hot and in places unhealthy,
subject to the diseases peculiar to those regions, although it has been
found that drainage and sanitary measures have worked a remarkable
change at the formerly unhealthy port of Tampico. The mountainous
regions of the Sierra Madre bound the state on the west, with a cool
climate and temperate uplands, and the climate as a whole is considered
superior to that of Coahuila.

The development of this state has not kept pace with that of its
neighbours, due to lack of railways, capital, and labour. But it is a
region of rich and varied natural resources, whether in minerals or
agriculture. The beautiful valleys of the temperate region are capable
of a greatly extended agricultural development, and valuable forests
extend over both mountains and plain-land. The vegetation of the region
is very varied. All the tropical and some of the temperate zone fruits
are raised, as well as corn, coffee, and chocolate, whilst india-rubber
is a product of the state. Of timber a great variety exists, including
oak, cedar, mahogany, pine, beech, ebony, &c. An important industry is
the growing of fibre-producing plants, especially the _henequen_ and
_ixtle_, and there are many _haciendas_ en