MEXICO. 



581 



to Havana, and in the future this may bean important market for these 

 cattle. 



Driving. — They are driven in herds by horsemen, getting food and 

 water en route. Those for the interior are fattened outside and mar- 

 keted in the city of Mexico, San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, &c. 



Those for the United States are used for breeding or fattened and 

 shipped East by rail. The opening of railways in Mexico will cause 

 some shipments to be made by rail. 



Costs, cfce., of driving.— The cost and risk of driving vary greatly with 

 the route, season of the year, grass, handling, and condition of the stock. 

 From the interior of this State to this frontier the country is compara- 

 tively open, very level, and in good seasons has plenty ofs water and 

 grass. My averages show the losses on this route not to exceed 4 per 

 cent. 



In the upper country, where grass and water are scarcer and the road 

 much rougher, the losses have reached 25 per cent, on the route from 

 the place of purchase to the border. The cost per head from San 

 Fernando to this city, not including export dues, has amounted to $1 

 per head. This included going, buying, and returning pay of drivers, 

 losses en route, &c. 



The best routes are more or less direct lines to the nearest American 

 town. 



EXPORTS TO UNITED STATES. 



The total of live animals exported from Mexico to the tJnited States 

 for the year ending June 30, 1881, was $314,272, and for the following 

 year, $455,917, values in United States coin, nearly all of which passed 

 over this border. Of these amounts probably more than one-half were 

 cattle. 



IMPORTS OF AMERICAN CATTLE PRODUCTS. 



In the year ending June 30, 1882. Mexico imported from the United 

 States (values in United States coin) : 



