Morelos is a small state lying south of Mexico, with an area somewhat less than 2,000 square miles and a population of 160,000. This state might almost be termed a vast sugar-cane plantation, as the greater part of its cultivable territory is given over to this branch of agriculture--grown under irrigation principally from the rivers which flow from the perpetual snow-caps of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. Correspondingly, the principal industry is that of sugar and rum-making, for which industry there exist numerous _haciendas_, equipped in most cases with modern machinery. The historical and archaeological associations and remains of the state are of much interest. Cuernavaca, the picturesque capital, which is the centre of these, is much of a favourite health resort since it became connected by railway with the City of Mexico. The Franciscan church carries us back to 1539, and the palace of Cortes and the gardens of Maximilian bring into recollection episodes of the history of this romantic region of the Pacific slope. The climate invites to dalliance, and the varied landscape--canyon, forest, and stream--open out in their pleasurable variety as we make our way westward. The small, quaint, Spanish-built towns with their Indian names, such as Tetecala,[39] Tequezquitengo, and others, seem to carry us back to the Middle Ages. This latter village was inundated and lost from the waters employed in the irrigation of the valleys. The various streams which cross the state have their outlet to the great Balsas river, which drains the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre, falling thence into the Pacific Ocean. The Mexican Central and the Interoceanic Railways connect the chief towns of Morelos with the City of Mexico, traversing the interesting and rugged routes of this region. [Footnote 39: Visited by the Author.]