QUEBEC

Is situated on the left bank of the St. Lawrence river one hundred and eighty miles above Montreal. The city is beautifully situated at the extremity of a narrow table land which forms the bank of the St. Lawrence for about eight miles. The city is actively engaged in commerce. Manufactures are not carried on to any great extent. It contains a large number of elegant public and private buildings. The population in 1861 was about fifty-one thousand. (See views of Quebec.)

TORONTO,

Formerly the capital of Canada West, is situated on a beautiful bay on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario, about three hundred and ninety miles south-west of Montreal. It is one of the most flourishing cities of British America. The harbor, formed by the bay, on which the town is situated, is beautiful and commodious. The city contains many elegant public buildings. The Government and Parliament houses are very plain and unpretending, and have long been in use, but they are soon to be superseded by new buildings. The city was founded in 1794. The population in 1861 was about fortyfour thousand eight hundred.

HALIFAX,

The capital of Nova Scotia, is situated on a deep inlet of the sea on the southern shore of that peninsula. It is actively engaged in commerce with various parts of North America, West Indies and Europe. The population is about thirty thous

and.

ST. JOHNS,

The capital of Newfoundland, and the most eastern seaport of North America, is situated on a peninsula which projects from the eastern coast of the island of Newfoundland. The shortest distance between any two seaports of Europe and America is from this point to Galway, Ireland, being one thousand six hundred and sixty-five miles. The town is situated on an elevation, and consists principally of one street about a mile in length. The population is about twenty-five thousand.

HAMILTON

Is situated at the head of Burlington bay, at the western extremity of Lake Ontario. In the rear of the city is a mountain rising to a considerable hight, and affording a delightful view of the city and surrounding country. The city was laid out in 1813. The population in 1861 was about nineteen thousand.

OTTAWA,

One of the most flourishing towns of Canada West, is situated on the right bank of the Ottawa river. It has recently been selected as the capital of Canada. The necessary public buildings were completed in 1867, and the seat of government removed to this place. The population in 1861 was about fourteen thousand six hundred.

KINGSTON

Is situated on the St. Lawrence river, at the foot of Lake Ontario, about two hundred miles south-west of Montreal. It is a flourishing city and growing rapidly. The population in 1861 was about thirteen thousand seven hundred.

CHAPTER VII.

GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF MEXICO.

Mexico, of the grand divisions of North America the fourth in size, and second in population, lies between latitude 15° 58′ and 33° 5' N., and longitude 86° 43′ and 117° 5' W. This territory is bounded on the north-east and north by the United States-Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California,—and on the east-south-east by Guatemala, a province of Central America. On the east the outline forms a semi-circle, which is washed by the Gulf of Mexico; and on the west, south and south-west is the Pacific Ocean. The general outline of the country is very irregular. The greatest length from north-west to south-east is one thousand nine hundred miles; greatest width on a parallel of latitude is nine hundred and sixty miles; area, six hundred and sixty-eight thousand square miles. The most important indentation in the coast line is the Gulf of California, about six hundred miles long and one hundred miles wide, and lying between the peninsula of California, and Sonora and Sinaloa.

The interior of Mexico consists of a vast table-land, rising from five thousand to nine thousand feet above the sea. The chief divisions of this great Mexican plateau are the Chihuahua and Anahuac table-lands, the former from four thousand to six thousand, and the latter from five thousand to nine thousand feet in hight. The table-land of Chihuahua is north of the twenty-fourth parallel, and is a bleak, barren and desolate region. Directly the reverse is the Anahuac plateau, a healthy, rich and fertile tract, where flourishes vegetation peculiar to the temperate zone. The Sierra Madre mountain chain, a continuation of the Rocky mountains, crosses the plateau from north to south. The loftiest summits of the mountains of Mexico occur in a chain which extends across the southern portion of

the table-lands from east to west. Here are the Smoking Mountain, or volcano of Popocatapetl, seventeen thousand seven hundred and seventeen feet high; Iztaccihuatl, the White Lady, fifteen thousand seven hundred and five feet high; the peak of Orizaba, seventeen thousand three hundred and eighty feet high; Coffre de Perote, thirteen thousand four hundred feet high, and the volcano of Tuxtla, five thousand one hundred and eighteen feet high. About one hundred and seventy-five miles west of the White Lady, is the far-famed volcano of Jurullo, which rose, in September, 1789, from a level plain to the hight of four thousand two hundred and sixty-five feet.

The descents among the valleys of the Mexican plateau are so gradual, that carriages can travel over it without much difficulty. On the contrary, the approach from the sea is steep and precipitous, especially on the eastern side, where the summit can be reached only by two roads. Between the base of the tableland and the Gulf of Mexico, is a considerable interval of low and sandy land.

The rivers of Mexico are generally small, and are frequently obstructed by rapids. The largest of these is the Rio Grande del Norte, marking a portion of the boundary between Mexico and the United States. It has a course of one thousand eight hundred miles, and is navigable for small vessels to Matamoras, forty miles from the Gulf of Mexico, which it enters. The Rio de Tampico, formed by the confluence of the Tula and Panuco, enters the Gulf of Mexico after a course of four hundred miles. The other rivers worthy of note are Rio Grande de Santiago and Tecapan, entering the Pacific, the Sinaloa, entering the Gulf of California, and the Conchas, Sabinas and Salinas, affluents of the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande de Santiago, originating in Guanajuato, drains Lake Chapala, and, after a course of seven hundred miles, enters the Pacific near San Blas. Near Guadalaxara the river has sixty falls in the space of three miles.

Mexico, like all other countries within the tropics, containing high and low lands, exhibits a great variety of climate. The rainy season generally continues from May till October, and the

dry from October till May. From the Gulf of Mexico to the summit of the table land will be found three climatic districts, viz.: the hot, swampy, and pestilential lowlands, the temperate regions, found between the hights of two and five thousand feet, and cold and desolate regions above. Vegetation varies with the climate, the lowlands yielding forests of oak, pine, mahogany, ebony, and palm, and the cooler regions wheat, barley, Indian corn, cotton, tobacco, sugar-cane, fruits and spices.

The wild animals of Mexico are numerous. The jungles of the lowlands are made the retreat of the cougar, or American lion, ocelot, jaguarundi, tiger-cat, and the more formidable jaguar, or American tiger. The American buffalo, known in Mexico as Cibolo, in mid-winter, sweep in immense herds over the lower districts from the plains of the north-west. The most ferocious of the species of grizzly bear inhabits the northern mountain districts. The tapir, wolf, American lynx, stag, deer, sloth, armadillo, and weasel, are also peculiar to Mexico. Various species of the monkey are found, and the cochineal insect is reared with great success. The forests swarm with countless varieties of the feathered family, as the parrot, hummingbird, and various species of wild game birds.

The mineral wealth of Mexico, particularly in gold and silver, is very great. The mines are, however, but imperfectly worked, and are not as productive as in former times. The chief deposits of gold occur north of the twenty-fourth parallel, on the west side of the Sierra Madre. Silver, variously mixed with sulphur, antimony and arsenic, is found in beds from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet thick in the state of Guanajuato. The annual product of gold and silver at the beginning of the present century, amounted to about fifteen millions of dollars, of which by far the greater portion was yielded by the silver. Mexico has also mines of iron, copper, lead, zinc, and other useful metals, which, however, have been but little worked.

The chief manufactures of Mexico are sugar, aloes, wine, earthenware, silk, paper, and glass. In the city of Mexico are fifty mills engaged in the manufacture of olive oil, and also manufactories of silk, producing forty thousand pounds annually.