The State of Mexico comprises a rich and interesting region. It is the seat of the capital, the famous City of Mexico. With the little adjoining State of Tlaxcala it was the home of the Aztec and other republics or oligarchies of prehispanic days. Here is the classic lake of Texcoco, and on the south of the valley the famous peaks which rise beyond the perpetual snow-line--Popocatepetl, Ixtaccihuatl, and the Nevado of Toluca--rear their gleaming crests. In this region Nature has been profuse with her resources--a rich and varied _flora_ and astonishing wealth of gold and silver. Here the mines of El Oro give up a stream of gold to foreign pockets--principally British--the result of Anglo-Saxon enterprise of recent years. The state is mountainous, with the great culminating peaks before mentioned; but extensive plains and fertile valleys occupy much of its area, with grassy uplands in the higher regions. The Lerma river is the chief watercourse, born near the snows of Toluca, and after long winding over several states it traverses the Western Sierra and falls into the Pacific Ocean. The cold plains and temperate zone produce abundant supplies of _maguey_ and cereals; oak and pine and cedar grow freely in the mountain timber belts, whilst the list of agricultural products and fruits, from sugar-cane and tobacco upwards, almost exhausts the _flora_ of the country. Water-power is a valuable asset of the state, the numerous streams furnishing power for the plant of numerous manufactories--woollen, cotton, electric light, flour mills, and others. The area of the state is 8,950 square miles, with a population of nearly a million inhabitants. The fine _haciendas_ which dot the state, and the important industries and cities, form a rich and important centre of Mexican civilisation. All the main lines of railway connect this state with the rest of the Republic. The little State of Tlaxcala, which bounds that of Mexico on the east, has an area of 1,700 square miles and population of 173,000--the smallest of the political divisions of the Republic. Above the clay and sand plains of this state rises the beautiful Malinche peak to a height of 14,720 feet above sea-level, crowned generally with snow, which fancy has pictured in the form of a woman. The principal agricultural products are _maguey_ and cereals, from which a large revenue is derived by the _haciendas_ devoted to the industry. The city of Tlaxcala was the site of memorable scenes of the conquest of Mexico, and its brave inhabitants were the fierce foes first, and the faithful allies afterwards, of Cortes and his Spaniards, as has been described in the historical portion of these pages. The ancient ramparts, built by the Tlaxcalans, existed up to the seventeenth century.