MEXICO. • 577 



enougli to encourage mo to take a second taste. In general it may be 

 said that while there are thousands of cattle within sight, a glass of 

 milk is a difficult thing to obtain, and butter and cheese are unknown. 

 Variations of breed. — On the lowlands the cattle grow larger. The 

 hoofs spread out, the limbs are thicker, the horns are longer, and the 

 animals generally adapt themselves to their surroundings. In the high 

 regions the hoofs are smaller and tougher ; the animals are agile, sure 

 footed, and very hardy. 



Colors. — In all this region the colors are numerous. Perhaps red is 

 the most prevalent color, with black next. Besides the plain colors, 

 are the spotted or "paint" cattle. Some cream-colored cattle have very 

 beautiful glossy hair. 



Grasses, &c. — All these cattle run wild, and feed the year round on 

 the wild grasses and bushes. The grasses are very numerous. In this 

 State the most common is the uiezquite grass. Besides this are the 

 gama grass, buffalo grass, bunch grass, zacahuizte grass, Bermuda grass, 

 and a large number of others. After a rain, fifteen or twenty varie- 

 ties are often found aloug the road within a short distance. 



Other foods. — Besides the grasses, cattle feed upon the leaves and 

 beans of the mezquite bush or 'tree {AlgaroMa glandulosa of Gray). 

 These beans are very fattening. The nopal and other varieties of the 

 cactus are also utilized in certain seasons as food for cattle. In some 

 cases these are gathered in piles, and most of the thorns burned off, so 

 that the cattle can eat them more readily. 



Water. — Water is afforded by the various lakes, rivers, and pools. 

 The value of a pasturage is largely dependent upon the amount, loca- 

 tion, quality, and permanence of the water supply. In this State, par- 

 ticularly near the Gulf or river, are in the rainy season large lagunas of 

 fresh water. Some of these remain through the longest drought. In 

 the higher country water is scarcer, and in dry seasons many cattle die 

 from lack of water. Elvers in Northern Mexico are comparativ«y 

 scarce, and the lakes are still scarcer. This is a condition which obtains 

 all over Mexico, and, as the rainfall is not evenly distributed through 

 the year, Tenders irrigation necessary for agriculture. Sufficient moist- 

 ure for grass and water for stock is often unattainable and renders stock- 

 raising on many .otherwise fine pastures very hazardous. 



Tanlcs. — In some sections, dams have been constructed across arroyos 

 and other depressions in the soil where the water is held in reserve. 

 To some of these the cattle come long distances to drink. It is thought 

 that this system of tanks would, if properly carried out, bring much 

 idle land into use. In Texas, Oapt. Eichard King, of Santa Gertrudes, 

 Nueces County, who has one of the largest stock "ranches" in the world, 

 has made a large number of these tanks with excellent results. Either 

 from their effect, or from other causes. Captain King thinks that.in his 

 section, between the Nueces and the Eio Grande, the rainfall is increas- 

 ing and becoming more evenly distributed. With this change ho also 

 notes the advance of the mezquite bush, which now partially covcr.s 

 hundreds of thousands of acres which, ten or fffteen years ago, wcr(! 

 open plains. The same changes, though less marked, are noticed ih the 

 lowlands of this State. 



IMPORTS OF IMPROVED STOCK. 



In this State I learn of one importation of some twenty head, mostly 

 Durhams, with a few Jerseys. The importer informs me that he cannot 

 as yet give any reliable statement of the results. A very few improved 

 H. Ex. 51 37 



