flora* 57 



meat dark, and militates against its selling value to some extent, and 

 the corn can be easily and profitably supplied. The total cost of fat- 

 tening a steer should not reach $15 silver. There is an unlimited de- 

 mand in Europe for choice meats at about i2c., gold, per pound, and no 

 import duties have to be paid. Poor classes of meat are a drug in all 

 markets of the world. With these great advantages placed within easy 

 reach, the producers in Mexico of grain and stock have a guarantee of 

 ready sale at good prices for all they can produce. 



Inquiry was made in Liverpool about the possibilities of the Mexi- 

 can live-animal trade with England, and it was found that the initial 

 difficulty is the small size of the Mexican cattle, as cattle weighing 

 1200 pounds are considered small by the trade there, and from 900 to 

 1000 pounds is therefore extremely small. The smallest Texan cattle 

 ever imported in Liverpool averaged 1226 pounds. 



The best Mexican steers can be made to weigh 1200 pounds if well 

 fattened. The difference in cost of transportation on account of 

 lighter weight is but small in proportion to the cheapness of Mexican 

 cattle. Cattle breeders in Mexico, on the whole, have not advanced 

 much in developing good breeds of cattle. They do not appreciate 

 their value, nor would they pay one-half their actual cost, though they 

 can be had from the United States at half of what they would cost 

 from Europe. Herefords are the best breed. I am sure that the rail- 

 roads will do all they can to encourage that industry by charging as 

 low rates as possible, as they would thus develop an industry which in 

 the course of time would become very profitable to them. 



A great need of Mexico is a reliable supply of good and healthy 

 water through artificial means, well distributed over the stock ranges 

 to prevent the great loss by death through lack of water, as well 

 as the heavy shrinkage of meat and tallow, by so much unnecessary 

 travelling of stock to water. They cannot grow fairly, much less fat- 

 ten, and over one-half the annual increase die of exhaustion, while the 

 value of the stock lost in one year would supply permanent water at 

 convenient distances and prevent three-fourths of the loss and shrink- 

 age now sustained. It has been amply proved that stock water can be 

 secured under the most unfavorable conditions. 



It would be to the advantage of the breeder to import some Eng- 

 lish short-horn bulls, with the object of breeding larger cattle, so as to 

 make profitable the export of cattle to England, as animals should 

 weigh from 1200 to 1300 pounds. This has been done in Texas and 

 in the Argentine with beneficial results, and the improvement in the 

 cattle from the latter place has been most marked during the last five 

 years. With the proper attention, the same good results could be 

 achieved in Mexico. 



The English steamers that bring a large quantity of merchandise 



