Colima is a small state, bordering on the Pacific next below Jalisco, with an area of 4,250 square miles, and population of 66,000 inhabitants. Flat near the coast, the land is mountainous in the interior. There are several rivers, the waters of which, after furnishing the means of irrigation, and water-power for various textile factories, flow to the sea. The climate, good in the north, is hot and subject to malaria upon the coast. The principal products of the state are agricultural; rice, corn, sugar-cane, and coffee being foremost among these. The soil is generally fertile; and in the northern parts the woods and canyons favour cattle-raising, in which industry various large _haciendas_ are engaged. There are also great palm plantations, which produce cocoanut oil, whilst timber of valuable kinds exists. Some trade is carried on in the hides and skins of animals and reptiles--cattle, deer, "tigers," crocodiles, &c. Minerals exist--copper, gold, silver, but have been little prospected as yet. The means of communication, like those of the other littoral states, are principally by sea, and the port and harbour of Manzanillo is one of the best upon the coast. But a line of railway connects this seaport with the picturesque capital of the state, Colima, surrounded by tropical vegetation and backed by its volcanoes. This line of railway is being continued to join the main system of the Republic, beyond the mountains, and but a short portion remains to be completed, as described above. [Illustration: THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE: THE PLAZA AND ENVIRONS OF THE CITY OF COLIMA.] With a short littoral zone upon the Pacific, the State of Michoacan stretches far inland towards the Great Plateau. From the burning sun which beats upon its shores to the cold mountain regions on the borders of Queretaro this state has a wide range of climate and temperature, with a _flora_ and agricultural products of corresponding diversity, such as described for its sister states of this zone. The area is about 22,600 square miles, and the population 931,000 inhabitants approximately. The state, in certain portions, is exceedingly well-timbered, and provides material for sleepers for the railways throughout the Republic. Agriculture is the chief industry, among which coffee, wheat, sugar, and rice are prominent, whilst the wild rubber-tree which abounds on the hot zone might be made a source of profit. Mining is not neglected. High-grade silver ores are produced and sent to the smelting works at Aguascalientes, and copper mines are being actively worked, as well as gold ores. Coal beds exist also, and will be of importance to the state.