“ Mérida is the centre of an isolated railway system, connected with the ports of Progreso and Campeche, and having short lines radiating in all directions to Peto, Valladolid and Izamal. It stands on a broad, partly open plain near the northern border of the peninsula, where the thin loose soil covering a limestone foundation permits the rapid percolation and evaporation of the rainfall, and therefore supports a comparatively scanty vegetation. It is highly favourable to maguey cultivation, however, and Mérida is the centre of the henequén, or sisal fibre, industry. ”