following is a list of the Mexican States, classified according to superficial area:
| Square kilometres. | Square kilometres. | |||
| Chihuahua | 227,716 | Michoacan de Ocampo | 55,693 | |
| Sonora | 209,694 | Chiapas | 43,930 | |
| Lower California (Territory) | 152,847 | Nuevo Leon | 38,156 | |
| Coahuila de Zaragoza | 152,517 | Tabasco | 32,935 | |
| Jalisco | 114,896 | Puebla | 31,120 | |
| Durango | 110,463 | Mexico | 25,972 | |
| Yucatan | 84,585 | Hidalgo | 21,693 | |
| Tamaulipas | 75,191 | Guanajuato | 20,276 | |
| San Luis Potosi | 71,210 | Querétaro de Orteaga | 8,300 | |
| Vera Cruz-Llave | 71,116 | Colima | 7,136 | |
| Oaxaca | 70,838 | Aguascalientes | 5,776 | |
| Sinaloa | 69,211 | Morelos | 4,536 | |
| Zacatecas | 68,596 | Tlaxcala | 3,898 | |
| Guerrero | 68,568 | Federal District | 231 | |
| Campeche | 67,539 | ————— | ||
| Total | 1,958,912 | |||
IV.
Literature.
Up to the present time Mexican literature has occupied a subordinate position compared to that of Europe and the United States. The people of Mexico are acquainted more extensively with French literature than with that of any other country. Prieto is the great national poet; while Cuello, Mateos, Contreras, Paz, Peza, Payno, Altimirano, Justo Sierra, Carpio, and Riva Palacio are the best-known novelists. The latter author is also a dramatic writer.
The prevailing style of books that are read in the Republic are Spanish translations of French and English volumes. Books are admitted free of duty, and many of the works used in the country are printed in the Spanish language at Paris.
