Since the accession of General Menocal to the Presidency, and especially since his appointment of General Sanchez Agramonte as Secretary of Agriculture, rapid strides have been made in the introduction of fine thoroughbred stallions, most of them gaited saddle animals that have been imported from Kentucky, and brought to Cuba for breeding purposes. These animals have been distributed by the Department of Agriculture throughout the different provinces, and improvement in resulting colts is already beginning to be apparent. Probably one half of the native horses of Cuba in 1895 were killed or rendered useless during the War of Independence, which began in that year. This, of course, was a great loss to the Island, but so rapid is the rate of increase in this balmy climate that horses have again become quite plentiful and consequently cheap. Registered in the Department of Agriculture, in the year 1918, for the Province of Oriente, were 218,876 horses; in Santa Clara were 212,985; in Camaguey 129,023; in Matanzas, 108,900; in Havana, 94,214, and in Pinar del Rio, 63,021; making a total of 827,019 registered in the Island. The small, pony-built, light stepping, sure-footed horses, of the original or native stock of the Island, especially in the interior, are quite cheap; mares selling in some places at from $10 to $20, while geldings of the same grade will bring from $20 to $40, and stallions from $25 to $50. Nevertheless, a well gaited and spirited native saddle horse, in the City of Havana, will find a ready market at anywhere from $75 to $200. Imported saddle animals, well gaited, and from good stables, bring in Cuba prices varying from $300 to $2,000; the price varying with the merit of the animal and the fancy of the purchaser. With splendid grasses, balmy climate, and excellent water, there is no reason why the breeding of horses in Cuba, especially those types suited for fancy saddle animals, military remounts and polo ponies, should not be profitable and successful in every sense of the word. Good mules are always in demand in Cuba, although not many are bred in the Island, and most of them up to the present have been imported from Missouri, Texas and other sections of the United States. Under normal conditions a pair of good mules in Havana will bring from $250 to $500. Scattered throughout the country in 1918 were approximately 61,000 mules, and about 3,250 asses. When the first Spanish settlers, most of whom were lured to Cuba through the hope of finding gold in quantities never realized, saw the great, broad and rich grass covered savannas of Camaguey, dreams of riches from cattle raising with far more promise than the fortunes expected from easily found gold tempered their disappointment, and laid the foundation for future prosperity.