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MEXICO. 417 MEXICO. ilexiqiie et de I'Amcriqiid ccntrale (4 vols., Paris, 1857-59) ; Garcia, Canicler de la con- quista espauola en America y en Mexico (Mexico, lilOl); Prcscott, History of the Conquest of Mexico (Xcw York, 1855) ; Folsom, The Dc- spulehes uf Hernando Corlcn (ib., 1843) ; Bcrnal Diaz del Castillo, The True Hialory of the Con- quest of Mexico, translati'd by Koatiiige (London, ( 1800) ; ,Salia<;un, IJistoria de laconquisla de Mcx- iVo(iI['xico, 182'J) : .Solis y Kibadeneyra, Uistoria de la conquista de Mexico (Barcelona, 1789) ; C'urnwallis, The Conquest of Mexico and Peru (London, 189.3); Alanian, Historia de Mcjico, IfiOS-^il (Mexico, 1849-50); Rivera, I'rincipios criticos sobre el vireynato de la ifiiera ICspai'ia y sobre el revolucion de imlependencia (San Juan de los Lagos, 1884) ; Bustamante, Cuadro his- torico de la rerolucion de la Am/rica mexicana I Mexico. 18'23) : Torronte. Hi.slori^i r/eneral de la rerolucion modrrna Hispano- Americana (5 vols., Madrid, 1829-30) ; Fvia.s, Episodios militares mexicanos ; gueira de independencia (Paris, 1901): Ward, Mexico in 1S27 (London, 1829); Hidalgo, Apuntes para escribir la historia de los proi/ectos de monarquia en Mexico (Mexico, 18G8) ; Kf'ratry, The Rise and Fall of the Em- peror Maximilian, translated by Venables (Lon- don. 18G8) ; Alvensleben, With Maximilian in Mexico (London. 18(37): Basch, Erinnerungen aus Mexiko (Leipzig, 1808) ; Elton, With the French in Mexico (Philadelphia, 1867) : Steven- son, Maximilian in Mexico (New York, 1899) ; Oibas. Mexico J»i 1876 (Mexico, 1876) ; Castro, The Republic of Mexico in 18S2 (New Y'ork, 1882) ; Butler, Mexico in Transition (ib.. 1892) ; Lumniis, The Aical-ening of a Nation (ib., 1898). MEXICO. An inland State of Mexico, bounded liy the State of Hidalgo on the north, Tlaxcala and Puebla on the east, Morelos and (Hicrrero on the south, and Michoacan and Quere- taro on the west (Map: Mexico. ,18). A part of this territory, adjacent to the State of Morelos and bounded on tliree sides by the State of Mexico, is occupied l)y the Federal District, which is outside the jurisdiction of the State. The area of the .State is 9247 square miles. The surface is very diversified. In the north it is generally flat, Mith a few low hills and a niiniber of lakes. The eastern part is taken ip by the Popocatepetl range with its two great volcanoes rising to an altitude of 17,000 feet. In the south rises the Ajusgo range with its highest peak of over 13.500 feet, while the centre is occupied by the Sierra de las Cruces, exceeding 14.000 feet in its higlicst peak. The rivers are few in number, the chief among them being the Serma, which rises in this State. There are a numlier of lakes in the eastern portion, the largest of which is Lake Texeoco. The climate' is generally cold, owing to the mountainous character of the surface. In the valleys, however, it is temperate and health- ful and even favorable to the cultivation of tropi- cal fruits. The cliief products are cereals, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and spices. Stock-raising is also an inipiu-tant industry. The mineral wealth of the State is very consideralile. but only slightly exploited. The manufactured products include cotton and woolen goods, glassware, potterv, wines, and flour. The State is traversed by sev- eral railway lines, all centring in Mexico City. Population." in 189,5, 841,618. The capital is Tnluca (q.v.). MEXICO. The largest and finest city in Latin North America. It is situateil in llic Federal District (area, 463 square miles) on the west side of the Valley of Mexico on the Ana- huae plateau, 7350 feet above the sea, in latitude 19° 26' N. and longitude 90° 8' V. (Map: Mexico. J 8). Its area is about 20 .square miles. The city is 263 miles by rail "from Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Jlexico, 290 miles from Acapulco on the Pacific, 839 miles from Nuevo Laredo, the nearest railroad town on the United States frontier, and 1224 miles from El Paso, Tex. Its population by the census of 1900 was 368,898, of which num- ber 12,064 were of foreign birth. It is one of the most ancient cities of the continent, and has been successively the capital of the Aztecs, of the Spanish colony of New Spain, and of the Re- public of Mexico. The valley in which it stands is an inunense basin, approximately circular in shape, embrac- ing some 2220 squ.are miles, and completely en- circled by high mountains, through which only two or tliree quite elevated passes afford an en- trance. The view of the valley and of its girdling mountains and snow-capped volcanoes from eleva- tions such as the towers of the Cathedra! or Chapultepec Hill, three miles west of the city, is superlatively beautiful. There is no natural exit for the waters which pour down the inner sides of the mountains and they collect in six lakes scattered over the surface of the plain — Chalco and Xochimilco (fresh water), and Tex- eoco, Xaltocan, San Cristobal, and Zumpango (salt water). In an early age nearly the entire surface of the valley was a lake bed, but for many centuries desiccation has been very gradu- ally progressing until the waters are collected entirely in the si.x shallow basins whose extent has been still further reduced by the drainage work recently completed. The waters of Xochi- milco, however, were practically absorbed by the network of canals that irrigate the surrounding region. Owing to the inadequate drainage and sewage systems and .a soil permeated with the refuse of centuries, the city long had an annual death-rate of 40 to every 1000 inhabitants, a larger propor- tion of mortality than in any other civilized city of the world. The conditions which promoted this high death-rate have now largely been reme- died, and the city compares favorably with others in salubrity, and is decreasing its death-rate, though the unhygienic manner of life of the poorer classes swells the mortality. The city is naturally healthful, and in its climatic conditions is a delightful place of residence. The tempera- ture is extremely equable, with an annual range of only 12° to 15°. The mean temperature of the summer months is 60° to 65°, and the mean temperature in mid winter is about 53°. The prevailing winds, coming from the northwest, are damp, while the south winds, which blow only a sixth of the time, are very dry. The total rain- fall is about 20 inches, or about half of that at New York. From its three centuries of Spanish domination Mexico still preser'es many characteristics of the great cities of Spain, and from a certain Oriental suggestion in its appearance, far sur- passes them in novelty and interest. Along with the wonderful commercial development that has characterized the last quarter of a century are to be found evidences of an artistic plan to