SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



247 



they are employed in large droves for convey- 

 ing burthens, but are not so usually met on 

 the great roads as mules. 



Prodigious herds of horned cattle are seen 

 grazing in all the great plains and near the 

 haciendas : — they are so like our black cattle 

 in the southern part of Scotland that I almost 

 hailed them as my country acquaintance ; 

 but the resemblance is chiefly in the exterior. 

 The beef is in general hard and dry, but this 

 may probably arise from the slovenly and in- 

 judicious manner in which the butchers per- 

 form their office, as well as from the mode of 

 cooking. I have only once or twice met with 

 good roast or boiled beef, and that was at the 

 tables of English or American residents. Veal 

 is not allowed, by law, to be killed. 



Early every morning great numbers of cows 

 with their calves are seen in the streets, when 

 the warm milk is sold as wanted ; and the 

 city is also supplied from the haciendas in the 



