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272 may be found in the shops at the City of Mexico. There are several woolen and cotton manufactories in Guadalajara.

Opinions are divided as to whether this city or Puebla should rank next to Mexico in wealth and commercial importance.

Guadalajara lies in a fertile region. The cereals, fruits, and vegetables grow in abundance. Some farms are said to yield as much as forty bushels of Indian corn to the acre.

The following table of distances will be found useful;

An excursion may be made to the Lake of Chapala, about 40 miles distant. This lake is the largest in Mexico, having an area of 415 square miles. (See p. 30.) There are several islands in it, on one of which ruins have been found. A small American steamboat makes a tour round the lake daily. The depth of Lake Chapala has not yet been ascertained.

Diligences run fromGuadalajara to San Blas, 300 miles distant, via the villages of Amatitan, Tequila, Ixtlan, Tetitan, Zapotlan, and Tepic. The latter place is a manufacturing town of 20,000 inhabitants. It is noted for producing a fine quality of cigars. The elevation of Tepic is 3,050 feet. The Mexican Central Railway Company will build a branch line from Guadalajara toward San Blas, which will run parallel to the stage route, or nearly so. It is expected that this branch will be finished in 1886.

San Blas has a population of 3,500. The Pacific Mail steamers touch at this port once a month. The distance to San Francisco is 1,519 miles, and the fare is $85.