74 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



composed of two cars, one for passengers, and one for bag- 

 gage. We crossed a sandy plain in which grew a few 

 scrubby bushes; here and there rose huge volcanic cones, 

 rising to a height of two or three hundred feet. As we en- 

 tered the town, we noted its similarity to Merida. Here 

 were the same stone houses and barred windows. We were 

 now 7973 feet above the sea, and the air was deliciously 

 cool. We engaged a room at the Hotel de Novedad, and 

 secured very good accommodations. It had an aspect 

 which was very pleasing, after our sojourn in the sub- 

 tropics. 



The quaint town of San Andres Chalchicomula con- 

 tains some four thousand inhabitants, mostly natives. It is 

 situated at the base of a small plateau, to the southwest of 

 the Peak of Orizaba; the streets are hilly and narrow, with 

 wide roads and narrow sidewalks. The principal building 

 of interest is the Church, situated about the center of the 

 town. It is built upon a broad terrace, and is quite an im- 

 posing structure. Back of the town the hills rise gradually, 

 finally culminating in the Peak of Orizaba, probably the 

 highest mountain in North America. 



Here I may say that Mexico has three well-defined 

 climates; hot in the iierra caliente, or hot lands of the coast; 

 temperate in the tierra templada, or region lying at an ele- 

 vation of between three and six thousand feet above the 

 level of the sea; cold in the iierra fria, or regions lying at 

 an elevation of more than six thousand feet above the level 

 of the sea. The mean temperatures are as follows: 



Tierra caliente Ho^ . 

 *' templada 70°. 

 *« fria do"". 



