Between the native and acclimated racers there is a great difference in prices. The lowest would be $500, though sometimes sales are made at $1,000, $1,500, and even as high as $2,000.

The price of goats and sheep is $2.40 each, but varies from 80 cents to $2.40, according to the breed and weight.

In regard to the amount that a laborer, a workman, or an employé can earn daily, it would be difficult to make an exact and regular scale for each profession, trade, and category of skilled labor. They vary according to the way of living of the workman or employé-that is to say, in what locality he is settled. The rates depend upon the kind of work or occupation, of the skill, of the competition, of the resources, requirements, and customs of the place, of the prices of necessary articles of daily consumption, etc.; but in no case are the wages less than from 40 cents to $1 per day. They are, therefore, sufficient to provide for a modest living and to enable a sober and economical man to save at least the half of his earnings.

PURCHASE OF UNCULTIVATED OR VACANT LANDS.

The following are the principal articles of the fiscal code concerning the purchase of uncultivated or vacant lands:

ART. 593. The uncultivated or vacant lands are those which the authorities do not reserve for public use and are not legitimately owned by any private individual or corporation.

ART. 594. Guatemalans and foreigners can acquire vacant lands by conforming themselves to the provisions contained in the present code.

ART. 612. The appraisement of vacant lands shall be made by experts, by settling the cash price on the following basis:

First. Two dollars per hectare (2% acres), if the lots of vacant lands are level and covered with natural pastures.

Second. One dollar and a half if they are level and covered with brushes, but from which natural products, such as sarsaparilla, gutta-purcha, etc., can easily be obtained.

Third. One dollar per hectare (2% acres), if there are brushes without the products referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Fourth. Eighty centavos per hectare if the lands are mostly uneven, stony, miry, broken, sterile, etc.

Fifth. The vacant lands which are 60 miles distant from the nearest center of population may be appraised at one-fourth of the price of those belonging to the categories mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

Chapter VII.

COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES.

In his annual report to the Secretary of State, dated January 18, 1891, Mr. Samuel Kimberly, the United States consul-general, submitted much information of value concerning the commercial opportunities for the merchants and manufacturers of the United States in Guatemala, from which a considerable portion of this chapter is compiled.

The merchants throughout the interior of the country are usually dealers in general merchandise, that is, they carry mixed stocks of goods, comprising a little of everything that is wanted by the people, nine-tenths of whom are agriculturists and laborers, and require the cheaper grades of clothing and dress goods, crockery,

etc.

Their capital is usually small and they procure their supplies from the wholesale dealers in the larger cities of the Republic, carrying stocks representing a value of from $5,000 to $15,000, about one-half of which is purchased on credit from six to nine months' time, with interest of 7, 9, and 10 per cent. The goods are transported from Guatemala city and other commercial centers on pack mules, ox carts, and by "cargadores"-men who carry packs on their back-and take loads of 125 pounds. A mule carries 250 pounds, but the load must be divided into two packages of 125 pounds each to be handled conveniently. For this reason manufacturers and exporters in the United States should observe