58 <$eo$rapbical Betes on flDejico. 



to Mexican ports have trouble in even securing ballast to get out of 

 those ports, and have to traverse the Gulf and United States coasts to 

 secure loads for the return trip. Their owners are willing and ready 

 to supply facilities for the exportation of live stock and frozen meats if 

 assured of a sufficient traffic to justify them in the expense, for they pre- 

 fer reloading direct for Europe to going elsewhere for freight. The 

 time required to return direct from Mexican ports is but little more 

 than from New York and Baltimore, and is sufficiently short to warrant 

 good service in transportation of live stock, and the cost would prac- 

 tically be the same as from United States ports. The United States is 

 beginning to export beef and stock from Galveston to Europe, which 

 is practically the same distance as from the Gulf ports of Mexico. 



Mexico could export annually and easily after the next ten years 

 400,000 of fattened cattle, which would increase considerably the 

 amount of our exports, and this trade would greatly assist the develop- 

 ment of many other industries. 



The desired result in question could be hastened by mixing good 

 foreign labor with the native labor. The latter would be better fed, 

 clothed, and educated, as well as encouraged, taught, and compelled 

 to do better work, and thus the country's physical and mental welfare 

 would be greatly promoted. 



Sheep. The same conditions apply to the sheep and wool industry. 

 It is a great mistake for the Mexican sheep-owners to raise a class of 

 sheep that yield each only from one to two and one-half pounds of 

 very coarse and inferior wool, annually, while they themselves wear 

 goods manufactured from foreign wools, and the domestic-cloth manu- 

 facturers are also under the necessity of importing largely of fine wools. 

 Mexico possesses natural resources for producing all the wools of every 

 grade that she needs, with a large quantity over for export, not to speak 

 of choice grain -fed mutton for domestic and foreign consumption. 



The custom of killing so much poor stock is a terrible waste of re- 

 sources, as one well-fattened animal will render twice as much as a thin 

 or poor one. 



Products of Cold and Temperate Regions. I will not speak of the 

 products of the cold and temperate regions of Mexico, such as Indian 

 corn, wheat, oats, barley, and others, because their cultivation is well 

 understood in the United States, and I could say here nothing new to 

 the American reader, but will only state that they all grow very well in 

 the proper regions of Mexico. 



FRUITS. 



We produce in Mexico a great many tropical fruits that are not 

 sent to the United States because there is no market for them for 

 the reason that they are not known here. Some of them are delicious, 



