THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ.
The State of Vera Cruz lies under the burning sky of the tropics between 17° 85´ and 22° 17´ of north latitude; and 96° 46´ and 101° 21´ west longitude from Paris. It is comprised within a long but somewhat narrow strip of territory along the Gulf of Mexico, running from the mouth of the Tampico river, in the north, to the Guasacualco and the boundaries of Tabasco, on the south. Its length is 166 leagues; its breadth, from 25 to 28; and it is estimated to contain an area of 5,000 square leagues. It is bounded eastwardly by the Gulf; south by Tabasco; north by Tamaulipas; and west and south-west by Oajaca, Puebla, Mexico, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi. The eastern part of the State is generally level, low and sandy; but, further inland, it gradually rises as the traveller leaves the arid and burning wastes of the coast, until the country is