The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-07-29


The broad plains Of Mexico and Central
America of Venezuela and Colombia, the ANA
zon region of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Ecua-
dor rival If they do not excel the famed PAM
pas of Argentine and Uruguay cheap meat
producing districts.
In the country of the Oronoco alone, Vene-
zuela and eastern Colombia, there is an area
of territory than equal to France, Ger
many, the Netherlands Belgium and Denmark,
or ten times the size of the state of New York,
which has its superior as a cattle country In
no part of the world, if indeed it has anywhere
its equal.
Mexico offers many advantages to the stock
raiser The conditions there are those with
which stockmen from the United States are
more or less familiar which last fact, In part
accounts for the large investments OF Amer1
can capital made in this industry within the
last few years In Mexico. Cattlemen own the
land in large tracts of from 100000 to 100000
acres, acquired from the government by grant
and at very low figure. This prevents the
shutting of from water, which has done so
much to destroy the range industry In the
United States. The winters are mild and there
is no danger of loss from blizzards-in fact,
the grazing Is good all the year round.
The character Of the ranges on the Pacific
coast side in Jalisco, Michoacan, Guerrero,
southern Oaxaca and Topic are similar in
character to the northern ranges but not so
we'll watered. and the grass is scantier.
On the gulf side there are entirely differ
ent conditions. On the slope of the eastern
Cordilleras in the states of San Luis Potosi,
Tamaulipas and northern Vera Cruz is the re-
e1on known ts the Huasteca Potosina, the
country of the Tamesi, Panuco, Temporal and
Tamasunchale rivers. This is an almost ideal
grass country. 1t is succession of valleys
forro hills
increasing in height from the low plains near
the coast to the borders of the central plateau
5000 feet This slope receives the moist
breezes from the Gulf of Mexico in the form
of rain during the summer months and dew
in winter and is always free from frost,
drought and excessive heat. The natural pas
turage of this country is as fine as any in the
world, except on the Oronoco and In the up
per Amazon country. Cattle in good condition
can be sent to market at a cost of less than
SO gold a head. On the northern and west
ern ranges lean cattle cost to produce from
50 to SIS head and can be fattened for mar
ket to cost in all about $40 head
The latest Mexican statistics show about
5,25OOOO beef cattle in the whole country, OF
all estimated value of about So gold per head.
Chihuahua and Vera Cruz lead with about
400 900 head for each state. AS compared
with Argentina with it's 30,O00,000 beef cattle
it can be seen that Mexico is but at the begin
ming of the industry; in fact, as present the
country produces but little meat above its own
needs, yet it could on natural pasture alone,
carry twice the number of cattle now grazing
in Argentina, and could easily supply to the
European markets from it's surplus an amount
of meat twice what the United States has
even been able to supply from its surplus
South of Mexico in Central America and
IN If 0t fhoro
is yet another cattle country, where the cli-
| mate is more tropical. On the Pacific side the
area suitable for cattle is limited. 1t is SINH
| lar to the Pacific slope of Mexico, but the
| country is more thickly settled, larger pro-
portion of the land is devoted to agriculture,