Dairy farming especially in the vicinity of the cities yields large dividends. The cattle are largely three-quarters or half-bred natives and Holsteins and Durhams. The pure native cows give much richer milk than the imported stock, but they yield a very small quantity. The milk of the thoroughbred imported cows is thin, owing probably to the unsuitable nature of the fodder, and thus the half-bred cows are the most profitable.
The highlands of the interior afford very fair grazing for cattle throughout the year. The climate is mild and equable and the stock can remain in the pastures from January till December, while no losses are suffered from severe weather in winter. Most of the country is well watered. The native mules are superior to the horses for long journeys or heavy loads and as a rule they command higher prices. Pigs are raised with little difficulty and fetch a high price, since pork is one of the favorite foods on many of the plantations and in the villages inhabited by Indians. The hogs are allowed to run loose and feed on nourishing roots, acorns and maize. The sheep industry is capable of development at the hands of experienced sheep-raisers. There are many flocks and the quality of both the mutton and the wool is capable of improvement.
Mines and Mining.
The mineral riches of Guatemala, while not unknown, may be said to be unexploited. Owing to the varied geological formations the belief both of geologists and of practical miners is that they offer a promising field for development. The minerals include quartz and gold, silver and galenas, copper, coal and lignite, manganese, asbestos, graphite, kaolin, opals, slate, alum, marble, silver, mica, iron, sulphur, lead.
The mining archives of colonial days show that between the years 1627 and 1820 more than 1,300 mines of gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, iron, and one of quicksilver, were discovered and worked, and were a source of great revenue both to the Church and the State. History records that during the earliest Spanish occupancy of that country enormous quantities of gold and silver were taken from those mines. At one time more than one hundred and fifty very rich mines were worked there. From one group the mint of Guatemala coined silver to the amount of $43,000,000, besides what was shipped directly to Europe.
BRIDGE OVER MOTAGUA RIVER.
In an official report made by the Director of the chemical laboratory to the Minister of Finance these statements are made, based on samples that had been submitted for analysis and which were obtained for the most part in the eastern region of the country.