The West Indies have between 1,200 and 1,400 miles of railway, of which more than 1,000 are in Cuba. The first road upon this island, 179 miles long and extending from Habana to Guanajay, was opened as early as 1837. The next ten years developed almost the whole of the railroad system of the western half of Cuba. A number of important roads have since been opened in the central and eastern portions of the island, whose railroad mileage is at present larger per capita than that of any other political division of the Western Hemisphere save that of Canada and the United States. The second of the West India islands to construct a railroad was Jamaica. A line connecting Kingston and Spanishtown was opened on the 21st of November, 1845. Two branch lines have since been added, making the total number of miles of road on this island seventy-six at the present time. About twenty-five miles more are now in the process of construction. San Domingo and Hayti have also recently commenced to build railroads. In the former republic a line from Sanchez to LaVega, sixty-two and one-half miles long, is now open to traffic, and Hayti is constructing a line from Gonaives, on the western coast, to Porte de Paix, on the eastern coast of the island. The Spanish government in 1888 also granted a charter for the construction of a railroad on the island of Porto Rica. Of our neighbors on the North American continent, Mexico and Canada, the former has been by far the slower to avail herself of the advantages of railroad communication. The slow growth of the railroad system of Mexico must be ascribed chiefly to the frequent political disturbances of the country as well as to the many topographical obstacles which presented themselves to the railroad engineer. The first Mexican railway, excepting tramways, was the one which connects the capital with the city of Vera Cruz. It was constructed by an English company and was opened on the first day of January, 1873. In 1875 the total number of miles of road in Mexico was 327, and five years later somewhat less than 700. Since then the development of the system has been much more rapid. In 1880 several companies were formed for the purpose of building a system of roads which would connect the Mexican capital with the United States as well as with the most important harbors of the gulfs of Mexico and California. The projectors of these lines, who were citizens of the United States, received the hearty coöperation of the Mexican government, and the work was at once pushed very vigorously. At the end of the year 1885 more than 2,500 miles of new road were open for traffic, and a thousand miles more at the end of the following year. In 1889 Mexico had 5,332 miles of road. The principal one of the newly constructed roads is the Mexican Central, which connects Paso del Norte with the City of Mexico. This line will also, when its branches are completed, form a through route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.