LETTER 



FROM 



THE SECEETAEY OF STATE, 



TRANSMITTING TO 



The Speaker of the House of Representatives reports, in reply to a Depart- 

 ment circular, from the consuls of the United States, on cattle and dairy 

 farming and the markets for cattle, beef, and dairy products in their 

 several districts. 



JANUARY 28, 1886. -Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and ordered to be 



printed. 



DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 



Washington, January 26, 1886. 



SIR: At the request of some of our leading stockmen, a circular, 

 dated July 18, 1883, covering the question of cattle and cattle products 

 in foreign countries, was transmitted to our consuls, with the view of 

 receiving therefrom such information as might be useful to the stock- 

 breeders and dairy farmers of the United States in their efforts to im- 

 prove our native stock, and to develop a foreign market for our surplus 

 cattle and cattle products. I have now the honor to submit herewith 

 the reports received in answer to this circular. 



The forms presented by the stockmen, and which were incorporated 

 into the circular, were so contracted in scope and so technical in arrange- 

 ment as to satisfy the Department that the consular responses thereto 

 would not cover the many interests involved ; hence some memoranda, 

 in the form of suggestions and directions, were added. The principal 

 points covered by these memoranda were as follows : 



(1) The best methods of exporting cattle to the United States ; the best animals to 

 export ; the best routes of export and the estimated cost for freight ; the purchasing 

 prices of the animals and the estimated expenses for attendance and food while en 

 route. 



(2) The total number of cattle in each district or country and the percentage of 

 the several breeds ; the percentage for the dairy and the butcher ; the increase or de- 

 crease of stock, and the causes thereof. 



(3) Whether the stock of each country is sufficient for home demands ; if in excess 

 of home demands, the countries to which the excess is exported; if insufficient for home 

 demands, the countries from which the needed supplies are drawn. 



(4) How much of these supplies, and their nature, is drawn from the United States; 

 the best means for increasing the exports to each country from the United States. 



In regard to that part of the general subject under consideration 

 which deals with the breeds of cattle, their feeding, housing, and hand- 



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