THE STATES

OF

THE RIVER PLATE.

w

LOS DOS
PttlSTHD BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO,

KEW-STBEET SQUAnE

V

THE STATES

OF

THE RIVER PLATE:

INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE.

8HEEP-FAKMING, SHEEP-BEEEDnTG, CATTLE-FEEDING, AND MEAT-PEESERVING ;

EMPLOYMENT OF CAPITAL; LAND AND STOCK, AND THEIR VALUES;

LABOUR AND ITS REMUNERATION.

BY

\WILFRID LATHAM.

LONDON :

LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO.
1866.

PREFACE.

The author of this work presents it to the public,
not as the production of a traveller, or with any
pretension to the detail, interesting or amusing,
which usually makes up works descriptive of
foreign countries.

He presents himself as a plain thinker on
subjects of material interest connected with the
country in which he has resided or been in
relation with for, more or less, twenty-four years,
and in which there are settled a very large
number of British subjects and their families,
towards which there is a continuous stream of
emigi-ants from Europe, a large portion of whom
— especially those possessing small or moderate
capitals — entertain most erroneous ideas of the
country, its industries, and the work that is before

VI PREFACE.

them ; between which and Great Britain there
are very important commercial relations, and in
which there is a very large British cajDital
invested.

His object in writing this work has been truth-
Mly and intelligibly to describe the country, its
resources, and climate, with a view to its indus-
tries— pointing out various channels for the advan-
tageous employment of capital, fields for labour,
and its remuneration, and to usher in the dawn of
a more advanced and more sound system of
working those industries, by explaining the prin-
ciples which should regulate the practice of par-
ties engaged, or about to engage, in them ; and
he claims from the ' lettered' public that considera-
tion which they may fairly accord to a writer,
whose daily avocations are the practice of the
industries of which he treats.

BuEXOs Aykes, 18(50.

CONTENTS.

I'AGK

General Observations . . . • 1

Sheep-farming 39

Diseases of Sheep: their Treatment 71

The Science of High-class Sheep-breeding .... 75

Details of Maijaoement 93

Observations on the Utilisation of Kiver Plate Beef . Ill

Proper Conpition of Animals for Killing .... 126

Agriculture 133

The Thistle, Sepo Caballo, Abrojo, and Poisonous Herbs . ICO

The River Plate as a Field for the Employment of

Capital and Labour 175

THE STATES

OF

THE RIVER PLATE.

PAET I.

GENERAL.

The countries of the Eiver Plate or Eio de la Plata are
those of the Banda Oriental or Eepublic of the Uruguay,
a small state on the northern bank of the Estuary or Eio
de la Plata, whose chief city and port is Montevideo ;
and the Argentine Eepublic, on the southern bank,
extending south, west, and north, and comprising four-
teen provinces, viz. Buenos Ay res, Santa F6, Cordoba,
Mendoza, San Juan, Santiago, Tucuman, Salta, Eioja,
Catamarca, San Luis, Jujuy, Entre-Eios, and Corrientes ;
its chief city and port being Buenos Ayres.

The Banda Oriental lies on the southern limits of, and
is bounded by, the Brazilian Empire ; its eastern coast is
washed by the Southern Atlantic, its southern shores by
the Eiver Plate, and its western by the magnificent river
Uruguay — a semicircle of sea-board and navigable rivers.

The Argentine Eepublic extends south to the Indian
territory and Patagonia, north to Bolivia and Paraguay ;

B

2 STATES OP THE RIVEB PLATE.

and is bounded to the west, in its whole length, by the
Cordillera ; the Ocean, the Eiver Plate, and the magnifi-
cent rivers ParanA and Uruguay constituting its other
boundaries ; the Parana separating two of its provinces —
Entre-Eios and Corrientes — from the rest; the Eiver
Uruguay separating the Argentine province of Entre-Eios
from the Banda Oriental. These territories comprise a
range of temperate climate, from that bordering on cold
to the south, to the tropical to the north ; with an exten-
sive sea-board, and an internal and arterial system of
rivers counted among the finest in the world.

A very extensive commerce is carried on between these
countries and the various nations of Europe, North Ame-
rica, and the Brazils ; and a very large and important
interior or coasting trade, extending over hundreds of
miles of river coast in the La Plata, Parana, and Uruguay,
where the great depth of water admits of vessels of consi-
derable burthen and draft, the Parana being navigable
for over a thousand miles. Numerous vessels course these
rivers, carrying passengers and goods ; and their number
is constantly augmented by steamers built here or brought
from England or the United States.

The foreign commerce consists in imports of the staple
productions of the various countries of Europe and Ame-
rica; England, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, United States, Canada, and Brazil ; cotton,
wooUen and silk goods, hardware, iron, wines, spirits, oils
and fruits, lumber, <tar, naval stores, sugar, rice, flour,
furniture, jewellery, &c. &c.

The exports are chiefly of animal products, on which,
in due course, I propose specially to treat. Minerals and
vegetable products are also exported.

The delicious and salubrious climate, the extreme
fertility of the soil, the wide range and capabilities of

GENERAL. 6

production, and the unsurpassed adaptability of these
countries for stock-breeding, as well as the extent of their
river system, constitute them as eminently favourable
per se to receive an European emigration, and offer many
opportunities for the advantageous investment of European
capital.

The natural richness and extent of their resources, the
facilities of v^ater transit, and the paramount desire for
progress which animates the influential portion of the
population, their commercial tendencies, the unfeigned
welcome and protection extended to foreign settlers, and
the full recognition of the advantages derived from immi-
gration and foreign enterprise are in themselves guarantees
both to settlers and individual or Stock Exchange invest-
ments. Moreover, the recognition and thorough com-
prehension on the part of the governing classes, of the
importance and policy of national good faith, is a feature
which necessarily must weigh with capitahsts, and produce
its fruits in the development of the incalculable resources
of the country.

Land and stock are to be had at comparatively low
figures, and constitute advantageous investments for in-
dividuals and companies.

Eailways, steam navigation, canalisation, mining and
other undertakings, worthily claim the attention of the
Stock Exchange.

Wages are high, and employment far in excess of the
supply of labour, which, accompanied, as they are, by
cheap beef, are the greatest inducements that can be
offered to the industrious classes.

Montevideo, the capital of the Banda Oriental (or Ke-
public of the Uruguay), is situated near the mouth of -the
Eiver Plate. It is a well-built city, on a rocky promon-
tory, forming one side of the bay, and offering a safe and

b2

4 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

commodious harbour, capable of containing several hundred
vessels.

The population of the city, which, from the water,
displays a very imposing and handsome view, is estimated
at 60,000 souls, comprising people of almost every
nationality in Europe, the United States, and Brazils, the
foreign element considerably outnumbering the natives,
and among the former, the Itahan portion of it pre-
dominating.

The commerce is large and increasing.

There is a noble hospital, a cathedral and other churches ;
also an English Protestant church. Forts command the
entrance of the bay from the mainland and an island in
the bay ; there are several moles and jetties, a custom-
house, lighthouse, and other public buildings.

The country of the Banda Oriental is undulating, with
spurs of hill ranges here and there. It is well wooded in
some parts, but the timber is of no great size. It is
remarkably well watered : through the heart of the
country flows the Eio Negro, into which innumerable
tributaries empty themselves, as seen on the map. This
river and its affluents stand in relation to the country not
unlike the arterial system in the human frame, a main
trunk with ramifications extending everywhere, vivifying
and fertilising.

The face of the country, as I have said, is of undulating
rocks and boulders, cropping out of the higher parts ;
rich soil, luxuriant herbage, with broad sketches of wood-
land descending to and in parts following the courses of
the rivers and brooks. On the borders of the Eio Negro
and its tributaries, great quantities of sarsaparilla grow,
and the waters are more or less impregnated with it.
Certain points of these rivers are, in consequence, visited
by invalids.

GENERAL. 0

n.

BUENOS AYEES.

A large and handsome city, the streets intersecting each
other at right angles, equidistant, and forming blocks of
houses of about 140 yards square. The extension of tlie
city during the past few years, and the number of magnifi-
cent houses built, many of them meriting the denomina-
tion of palaces, is astonishing. It possesses several large
and handsome theatres, an opera house, concert hall, club
houses, exchange, custom-house, and other public build-
ings ; the cathedral, a large and handsome building, with
a noble composite facade, and many large and solidly built
churches.

The population is estimated at 200,000 souls, and com-
prises representatives of almost every civilised nation in
the world — more or less half its population is foreign —
a perfect babel of tongues ; English, French, German,
Italian, Portuguese, salute the ear at every step : foreign
banks, commercial houses, shops, wholesale and retail
general stores. Every trade and calling is ]5ursued with
perfect liberty by foreigners of every denomination, and
their establishments are eveiywhere. Many ship-build-
ing yards exist, where steamers and other vessels for
the river-trade are built ; and there are an English
church, Scotch Presbyterian, American and German
churches ; an Irish Eoman Catholic chaplain and several
assistants ; the British hospital, a large and well-regulated
establishment ; the Italian liospital, a remarkably hand-
some building ; an Irish hospital ; the convent and schools
of English and Irish sisters of mercy ; British newsroom ;

6 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

library ; English daily newspapers ; a cricket club, and
racecourse.

There are three lines of railways in the province of
Buenos Ayres, gradually extending farther and farther
into the countiy — one to the north, taking the line of the
principal northern traffic, and the others to the west and
south — all opening up the most important trading districts
in their respective directions.

Another railway — the Central Argentine — is in course
of construction, not in the province of Buenos Ayres, but
with its terminus in the province of Santa Fe, at a port
called Eosario, and taking its line through the province of
Cordoba to the city of the same name, the focus of com-
munication with the northern and north-west provinces.
The importance of this line of railway cannot be over-
estimated. At Eosario, several lines of steamers from
Buenos Ayres call, touching en route at several ports on
both banks of the Parana above and below Eosario.
Each of the several ports is a distinct centre of trade,
to which goods are shipped from Buenos Ayres, and
the produce of these districts is forwarded to be shipped
per steam or river craft to Buenos Ayres or Monte-
video.

The port of Buenos Ayres is an open roadstead, with
inner and outer roads, divided by a sand-bank, or bar,
with good anchorage in both. The vessels are discharged
by, and loaded from lighters, which land and receive
cargo at moles or jetties, or are beached, and their cargoes
taken from or to them in high wheeled carts, or at wharfs
on the banks of a small river, the ' Eiachuelo,' in the
vicinity of which are situated the chief '•Saladeros,'kilhng
and salting establishments for hides, tallow melting, &c. ;
also barracas, or warehouses. Eiver craft, with produce
from the several ports of the Elvers Parana and Uruguay,

GEXEEAL. 7

frequently lay alongside or discharge their cargoes at once
on board the foreign vessels in the roadsteads.

The articles of export, both from Montevideo and
Buenos Ayres, are chiefly animal products — hides, dry and
salted, jerked beef, bones, horns, tallow, hair, wool, skins,
ostrich feathers, &c. Tobacco and some other vegetable
^jroducts are also exported, but in comparatively insignifi-
cant quantities ; also copper and other minerals. This
class of products will doubtless form a comparatively
larger proportion of the exports than at present, when the
communication with the interior provinces is established
Dy means of the railway now in course of construction,
and by the canalisation of rivers which flow from there to
the Parana.

The scene at the ' Saladeros,' in the killing season, is
strange in the extreme to European eyes. Herds of fine
semi-wild cattle, consisting of several hundred head, are
driven in from the country by mounted herdsmen, looking
as wnld, if not really so, as the cattle they drive — the
aflrighted animals bellowing and making desperate at-
tempts to break away as they approach the pens — the
mounted herdsmen swinging their lassoes and dashing at
the cattle on flank and rear, to close them into a compact
plialanx, so as to force the foremost on. The slightest
break in the mass, from an inequality of pressure, through
which an animal or two can contrive to turn, and there is
a wheel and a stampede : and then look out ! away go
the gaucho drivers, as if fleeing before the galloping,
maddened herd ; but, with their fleet horses, crossing
and recrossing in front and on the sides, they gradually
close up the ranks, succeed in turning the cattle again,
and so work them till they get them into the pens (corrals)
of tall hard wood posts, six to eight inches in diameter, by
eight or ten feet high, ranged along side each other, and

8 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

bound together by cross bars securely lashed. Occasion-
ally, indeed frequently, a point of two, three, or half-a-
dozen animals will break away from the lot, and then
away go the skirmishers of the party of drovers, lassoes
whirling in the air, at headlong gallop, to come up with
the runaway beasts ; a vain attempt would it be to turn
them, so the lasso is thrown, the noose goes over tlie
animal's horns, the well-trained horse answers to the rein,
he gallops to one side and comes suddenly to a stop ; the
animal is swung round, a second lasso is thrown by another
horseman ; one takes one side, the other the other ; the
enraged animal rushes to and fro, but he is checked by
the lassoes ; and so, by the dragging of the lasso-men and
his own mad rushes, he is worked on to the remainder of
the herd. At other times, he is hamstrung by a third
person, and left until the herd being penned, they return
to kill and skin him.

The process of penning the cattle being in due course
achieved, the slaughter commences, and the operation is
effected as follows :

To the cori'al or pen, there is a narrow neck, eight to
ten feet long, closed with cross bars at the end, the lower
bar being sufficiently high to admit a low truck to be run
under it, in and out, with its burthen ; the top bar consists
of a roller. By this neck there is a stage, on which stands
the lasso-man ; the truck being run in, the lasso-mau
takes the noose and coils of the lasso, swings it and tlirows
it over the horns of one of the animals ; a horseman
outside has the end of the lasso attached to the saddle
(recado) of his horse : the signal is given as soon as the
lasso is cast, the horseman moves rapidly on, the lasso
rimning on the roller bar, drawing the animal into
the neck of the pen and on to the truck, bringing tlie
horns ' taut ' against the roller bar. The slaughterer

GENERAL,. 9

stands on the stage, knife in hand: as soon as the animal
is in the position required, he introduces his knife behind
the horns, and, dividing the spinal marrow at its junction
with the head, the animal instantly collapses ; the lasso is
loosed from it, and the truck is run out on a tramway
which occupies the centre of a flagged platform, under a
shed, along which, on each side, are ranged the flayers.
The dead animals are cast off" the truck to the flayers in
turn. The hide being taken off", it is doubled up and taken
to the salting house, where it is stretched on the pile of
hides, and salt cast over it with shovels ; meanwhile, the
carcase of the animal is cut up and carried to another
salting house, where the meat is sliced into thin flakes and
laid in a pile, with salt. The fat and the bones, with that
portion of the meat wliich is unsuitable or cannot be
conveniently cut into flakes, goes to the vats, and is steamed
to extract grease and tallow.

When the beef has lain in salt a sufficient time, it is
taken out and hung on rails (tendales) in the open air to
dry ; from there it is removed and built into large piles,
square or round (in the open air), and covered with tar-
paulins until ready for shipment. The meat thus prepared
is known as ' jerked beef,' and is chiefly shipped to, and
consumed in, the Brazils or Havannah.

The business of preparing hides, tallow, and beef, is one
of the most important carried on in the province of Buenos
Ayres, Entre-Eios, and Santa Fe, and hi the Republic of
the Uruguay.

The hides of the animals slaughtered for the consump-
tion of the town or country are nearly all staked and
dried.

At the Saladeros, mares in large numbers are slaugh-
tered, the hides salted, and the carcases steamed for
grease. The tallow and grease having been drawn off",

iO STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

the refuse matter — bones and beef fibre — are removed ;
the shank, shin, and other large bones are picked out for
shipment ; and the smaller bones and beef fibre are used
as fuel for the furnaces of the steaming apparatus, to the
extent required : the remainder is made into large heaps
and burned. The ash from this and from the furnaces is
the bone-ash of commerce. The manes and tails of mares,
and the tails of cattle, furnish hair, &c., for shipment.
The hoofs and horns are likewise shipped.

The killing grounds for the supply of beef to the towns
present an animated and singular scene : — A large open
space, with lines of pens, or ' corrales,' into which the
cattle of the different dealers are drawn. The butchers
purchase and select the animals they require out of the
pens ; all are mounted on well-trained horses. To take
out the selected animal, a lasso-man enters, throws his
lasso, and darts out of the corral, half dragging, half
chased, by the bellowing animal, while others keep back
the rest of the cattle. Another and another is selected,
lassoed, and drawn out : away they go with the lasso-men,
the animal either rushing after them or on some of the
groups, and followed by other horsemen at full speed, until
within reach to throw the second lasso, which is cast over
the horns or on the hind legs, and the two, taking con-
trary directions, bring the animal to a stand, or throw it
over. One of the men dismounts ; the horse, knowing his
work, keeps the lasso ' taut,' while the man approaches
the animal, and, according to its position, either hamstrings
it as a preliminary, or at once 'piths' it, by introducing
the knife behind the horns. The flaying then commences,
taking care that the carcase remains on the hide, on which
it is cut up, so that the meat is not soiled. The groups of
flayers, three or four to each animal — sometimes as many
as sixty or eighty animals undergoing the operation of

GENERAL. 11

flaying and cutting up at the same time ; — these flayers,
wild-looking fellows, dressed or half-dressed in various
bright colours, scarlet predominating ; the gaily capari-
soned horses of the butchers, many of them glistening
with silver trappings ; rude carts, ruder-looking drivers,
and various coloured horses ; the background of pens,
still half full of cattle, all contributing colour and artistic
grouping, make up, if not a pleasingly picturesque and
gay scene, at least, illuminated by the oblique rays of the
morning sun, a very sparkling and brilliant one, and novel
in the extreme to Europeans.

The ' emissaries' of the sausage-makers, dogs and swine,
serve as the scavengers, aided by clouds of gulls and
hawks ; the snow-white and grey plumage of tlie swoop-
ing whirling thousands of the winged inhabitants of the
Pampas, ever moving in the sunhght, adding not a little
to the brightness and singularity of the effect.

m.

The aspect of the country or 'campo' of Buenos Ayres,
and its geological character, is altogether different from
that of the Republic of the Uruguay, or Banda Oriental.

The province of Buenos Ayres, excepting far away
south, where there is a spur, or high range, is one vast
level plain — a rich alluvial soil without wood — except
here and there, where one or two trees, or a small planta-
tion, mark the site of an ' estancia ' house, or a ' puesto'
or station. A solitary ' ombu ' tree, with its enormous
trunk and great arms, its dark green and dense foliage,
affords, here and there, shade to a group of cattle or
horses, or to the weary traveller : a plain clothed in rich
herbage, watered by sluggish streams,. shallow lakes and

12 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

pools, and covered with vast herds of cattle, horses, and
flocks of sheep.

I cannot conceive anything more exhilarating than a
gallop across the plains of Buenos Ayres on a bright,
clear morning, or in the cool of the afternoon or evening ;
a cloudless sky of deep azure, an atmosphere light and
pure in the extreme, communicating a sense of in-
describable buoyancy and pleasurable existence — a soft
breeze flowing, as it were, over the vast plain, boundless
as an ocean, contributes to engender an irresistible feeling
of joyous freedom.

One of the effects of the climacteric influences on resi-
dents in the plain is to render them comparatively inde-
pendent of what in England are called comforts; men
seem to revel in mere existence ; life is pleasurable to
them for itself, and this frequently renders them careless
of accessories and prone to take things easily, often too
much so. It being easy to live, and wants few, there is a
disposition to eschew exertion. The sense of the expanse
doubtless contributes to this ; there is no obstacle, all is
open and wide ; resistance stimulates to exertion, some-
thing to grapple with ; something within reach is needed
to excite action and develop energy. When the plain
fades away in the far distance, and the long vista pi'esents
no objects but such as are insignificant in relation to the
expanse, a consciousness of impotence is engendered,
reacting to produce a disinclination to effort. Who has
not stood on a rock overhanging the sea, and looked forth
on the wide surface, and not felt something of this ? In
the plain there is a similarity of cause and effect.

In the ' campo,' the horse is man's companion and re-
source, the one thing that leads him to motion, which
carries him through space and shortens it. No one is a-foot
in the plain ; from comparative infancy to old age, every

GENERAL. 13

one rides ; all work is done on horseback, and only with
the stimulant of the movement of the horse is energy
awakened.

The ' campo' — a plain — has its own peculiar beauties
and aspects, varying with the season. The unbroken carpet
of short green herbage of the winter is changed to vast
sheets of colour in the spring. Luxuriant grasses, tangled
clover (spotted medick), with its broad leaf of rich green
and black spot, intermixed over vast tracks with the young
variegated-leaved thistle, remarkable by its large green
and white foliage ; a little later on, the wild flowers min-
gle with the tall grasses — rj'e-grass and many spreading
panacled grasses — or overtop them, forming immense
sheets of colour. Acres upon acres of the brilliant scarlet
vervain, gorgeous in the light, or purple or white verbena.
Leagues of a rich purple flower, the ' flor morada' (a
plantain), changing to bright rosa as the setting sun casts
its warm oblique light upon it. The tall ' biznaga,' with
its head of clustered white florets ; the branching many-
flowered camomile, and numberless others, white, pink,
yellow, &c.

From these broad lines or sheets of colour, we enter on
the great thistle camps. There are two varieties of thistle,
the one annual, tall, variegated, broad leaved, known in
the garden in England, and growing in this country to the
height of eight or ten feet, in dense array, impenetrable
except in the cattle track. These beds of thistle extend
leagues and leagues, and at the time of flowering, as far
as the eye can reach, they present an almost unbroken
sheet of rose purple flowers ; and in some districts, a day's
ride along a road or track, on either side of which stretches
this forest of thistles, leaves the traveller still with the
same stretching to the horizon. Thousands of cattle
browse unseen amongst the thistles, working tracks through

14 STATES OF THE KIVER PLATE.

them, feeding on them and the grasses which gi-ow up with
them. On the lower lands and edges of pools, the thistles
do not grow. About midsummer they seed, wither, and
fall, a heavy rain and a stiff" breeze quickly knocking them
down, the soft stem breaking up under the action of the
sun and rain. The cattle and sheep feed on the oleagi-
nous seed and withering leaves and grow fat. In the
autumn, other grasses, distinct in variety, which spring up
and cover the ground, obliterate almost all trace of the
fallen thistles. In the autumn and winter the thistle seed
germinates, and the tender leaves of the plants, with the
various grasses, are fed on by the cattle and sheep.

The other variety of thistle has a life of several years ;
this variety is in fact the wild artichoke, and has the same
colour and foliage as the cultivated plant : the stem is
stout and hard, and makes excellent fuel. This also occu-
pies large tracts of country ; the cattle, horses and sheep
feed on the young leaves, and, by breaking down the plant
with their hoofs, reach the heart, which is palatable ; they
also bite off" the thistle head and feed upon the seed.

There are other tracts of country which, lying low,
produce a coarse reedy herbage and Pampa grass, which,
growing tall and spreading, affords shelter for whole herds
of deer, numberless partridges, large and small ; and in
the marshy ground and pools, myriads of wild ducks in
great variety, plovers, cranes, spoonbills, flamengos, geese,
swans, wild turkeys, and snipe in the season.

The tracts of land covered by the tall sodgy Pampa-
grasses are called 'pajanales;' such portions of them as
do not lay too low are converted into excellent pasture
lands by burning ; on a clear dry winter's day they can
be fired witii ease, and without danger. On the land,
sweetened by the burning and enriched by the ashes, a
fine palatable grass springs up, much relished by the sheep.

GENERAL. ISf

I have seen a ' pajanal' fired, and aided in firing it ia
fifty different parts, of a winter's morning — the flames
rising to a considerable height, and travelling with the
course of tlie wind until some break is reached or some
green patch restrained them ; these fires will sometimes
continue through the night, producing a singular efiect.

In the summer time, on the great thistle beds, when
the light dry stems are hke so much touchwood, there
is great danger of fire ; from time to time much damage
is done by the accidental igniting of the dry annual
thistles.

The best lands for sheep in the Argentine Eepublic are
those of the ^Jrovince of Buenos Ayres, within a radius of
fifty or sixty leagues of the city. They are likewise
superior to those of the Banda Oriental : the grasses are
less coarse, more tender and shorter. They have been
more fed over, and to this may be attributed the finer
character of the herbage. An improvident practice of
over-stocking has, however, very much deteriorated some
of these otherwise ' superior camps,' which will require
some years, or a year or two, of comparative rest to resus-
citate them : many of the best grasses have almost
disappeared, a natural consequence of over-stocking,
especially as most of the grasses are annual, and having
had no opportunity of seeding, they have become extinct,
or only grow to a limited extent. The consequence of
this is that their place has been almost entirely usurped
by the clover (spotted medick) which, from its luxuriant
trailing growth, and the great abundance of its seed, pro-
tected by prickly spiral pods, propagates itself readily,
aided by the thistle and strong weeds. The result is, that
when the annual clover dies down and dries in the sun,
all is brown and parched, and strong winds sweeping over
the higher grounds roll up the withered stems and carry

16 STATES OP THE EIVER PLATE.

them away, leaving the bare soil, into the dust of which
the seed is shaken, and out of which it sprouts with the
autumn rains. On such lands the sheep and cattle pick a
scanty subsistence from the roots and seeds in summer.
In a season of continued drought they no longer find this
food, and die in numbers.

The aspect of the country or camp in the summer and
commencement of autumn presents a marked contrast to
the other seasons. All is parched and brown ; the thistle
has dried and disappeared ; the trifolium, in like manner ;
in the lands where there are tall grasses, they too, are
brown and fallen : under the shelter of these, however,
if there have been a few summer showers, young grasses
spring up, and this tender herbage and the dry grasses
intermingled, constitute good food ; and when there is
water, the animals do well. In great droughts, on the
other hand, all lakes and most of the brooks and streams
are dried up, so that if there is no means on an esta-
blishment (which through improvidence there sometimes
is not) to draw water from wells sunk for the purpose,
immense loss is sustained ; cattle die by thousands, and
others stray away to great distances in search of water ;
the majority of those which have not perished returning
to the land on which they were bred, on the reappearance
of a better state of things. Sheep farmers have occasion,
in districts visited by drought in an unusual degree, to
travel their sheep to other lands, taking them many
leagues. It is, however, only in an extreme case when
this has to be done, and generally this necessity arises
on those estabhshments where over-stocking has been
practised.

The seed-pods of the trifolium (medick clover) are a
great detriment to the wool of tlie sheep of Buenos Ayres
when the shearing is delayed to the season of the ripening,

GENERAL. 17

and is known to the wool buyers as ' carretilla,' or small
burr.

In the Banda Oriental, Entre-Eios, and Santa Fe, there
are very good sheep lands, some few of which can be com-
pared to those of Buenos Ayres ; the coarser lands, however,
will improve under judicious stocking. In the province
of Buenos Ayres, without the radius spoken of, there are
lands which have the same disadvantages as those of Entre-
Eios, &c. The grasses are somewhat coarse and strong,
and in many parts of all the above-mentioned provinces
they are so much so as to be quite unfit in their present
state for sheep, and will be so until they have been well
stocked with cattle or fired ; the seed-sheaths and stems
of the grass, known as the ' flechilla,' or arrow-grass, which
abound in certain districts, adhering to the wool and mat-
ting it, also working their way through the skin of the
sheep into the very flesh. This ' flechilla ' is well known
in Australia.

Around the large towns there is generally a radius
dedicated to agricultural purposes ; outside this, for a
number of leagues, say forty or fifty, in the province of
Buenos Ayres, the lands for the most part are devoted to
sheep pastures ; beyond them again, the cattle estabhsh-
ments predominate, the advance of sheep-farming gra-
dually and steadily driving back the cattle to greater
distances, and on to the coarser grasses. The latter, eating
down the coarser herbage, fit the land for the reception of
sheep, and I have little doubt that, in due course, many
tracts of country, at present unsuitable for sheep, will
become equal to those now esteemed as the best.

The soil in the province of Buenos Ayres, parts of
Entre-Eios, and Santa Fe, is a deep rich alluvium, that
rests on a subsoil of siliceous clay, as the rule, without so
much as a single stone or pebble. In the lower lands,

c

18 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

those more recently freed from surface-water by tlie
rising of the land or the receding of the waters, the layer
of vegetable loam is less deep, .and the soil retains some-
what of the character of mud deposits, with more or less
sand, clay, or shell lime. In the Banda Oriental and parts
of Entre-Eios a rich loam rests on rock formation, more
or less near the surface, or on a subsoil of compact sandy
shale and clay ; rock crops out from the soil, and the
debris of rock mingle with it. There is a considerable
extent of woodland, furnishing everywhere abundance of
fuel and materials for ' pens ' and hut building ; also
affording shelter, but diminishing the available space for
grazing purposes.

IV.

As the exports and the nature of the country, its
climate and special adaptability for the purpose, and
the foregoing indicate, the chief industry of the Eio de la
Plata is pastoral. Within a radius of a few miles or
leagues round the cities or towns, the lands are occupied
by agricultural farms, where grain, wheat, barley, and
maize are grown ; also lucerne, for soiling and hay-
making ; likewise potatoes, pumpkins, and other items of
agricultural produce. And there are a few establishments
in which this is combined with the breeding of fine stock
and fine sheep — for ram-breeding of the Negretti and
EambouiUet breeds, shorthorned cattle, and where English
blood sires, Cleveland bays, and cart stallions are kept for
breeding purposes. The land within the radius is all
fenced in with wire fence or hedges of the napondy, a
prickly plant of the mimosa order, closing its leaves at
sundown and in rain. There are also large plantations

GENERAL. 1 9

of peaches, apricots, and nectarines sown for fruit, but
the majority for faggots, and are cut for this purpose every
third or fourth year. Other plantations are of paraiso and
acacia, and supply posts for fencing purposes ; also willow
groves and Lombard poplars. In the Banda Oriental,
Entre-Eios, and in the islands of the rivers, there are,
besides these, woods of tala, espinilla, goiava, and an
exceedingly hard wood known as nandubay, valuable for
fences, cattle pens (corrales), &c. This wood is durable
in the extreme, so much so that posts that have stood in
the SOU for a hundred years have been taken up from the
corrales perfectly sound. In the villas and gardens, in the
outskirts of the cities, there are vineyards, orange groves,
pomegranates, apple and pear trees in great variety. The
vegetables and flowers are of the sorts cultivated in the
flower-gardens, and green-houses, and in the kitchen-
gardens of England. Many of the hedges of gardens and
villas are of the varieties of aloe, cactus, prickly pear,
elder and blackberry.

Outside the agricultural farms of Buenos Ayres, the
great sheep-walks almost monopolise the campo. The
development of this interest has been rapid and important
in the extreme during the past thirty years. Estancia after
estancia, district after district, has passed into the hands of
the sheep farmer, or the estancias have been dedicated to
this by the owners. To the British settler, the country is
mainly indebted for this, and it has grown year by year
into greater importance under their auspices, while they
have become some of the largest landowners in the country.

The value of sheep has increased tenfold within the
past twenty years, and land has improved in value in the
same ratio, though at first more slowly. I remember
the time when flocks of sheep were offered and sold at
7^ or 10,^ per head ; and a few years prior to this, Creole

c2

20 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

sheep were of so little value that they were killed that
the carcases might be cast into furnaces to serve as
fuel.

The improvement in the sheep, and their increased
value, is due to the introduction of Spanish Merino and
Saxony breeds, with which the Creole and Pampa sheep
were crossed and continually refined. The flocks were
reduced in numbers and better tended, the increase in
consequence facilitated, the animals more domesticated,
the flesh as well as the wool improved, and the yield of
grease augmented.

So important was the improvement of the sheep in all
points that, with the course of refining, the value year by
year rose until good cross-bred sheep reached the prices
of 40)^ and 50,^ each, and the wool of the best flocks
could be compared at no great disadvantage, in point of
fineness, with the Merino ; but in consequence of the
dirty condition and large quantity of ' carretilla ' or burr,
had a market value in no Avay commensurate with its
degree of fineness.

As may readily be supposed, with the rapid increase in
numbers, equivalent to a compound interest of 25 to 35 per
cent, per annum, and augmentation in value both of sheep
and lands, considerable fortunes were made from very
small beginnings, and with little or no trouble or outlay
in the management. In lieu of payment in cash to
shepherds, the owners of the land and sheep freely gave
flocks on halves, say half the increase and half the wool,
and these men, many of them of the poorest classes of
English and Irish immigrants, participating in the benefits
of this rapid augmentation in value of the stock, throve
with their employers ; and on the expiration of their
contracts, and the division of the increase, moved with
their flocks on to lands rented at a mere nominal figure.

GENERAL. 21

and finally became purchasers of land, half a league or
one or two square leagues in extent, and owners of many
thousands of sheep.

This phase of sheep farm management in due course
reached its climax, and, passing the interest or share
given in lieu of wages, soon became much more than
an equivalent to a good wage ; and the interest given was
reduced in the new contracts to one-third, and then to
one-fourth, and ultimately, according to situation of
the land and the quahty of the sheep, to one-third and
one-fourth of the increase, without wool ; and the
majority now pay their shepherds' wages in money.
From the first, many flock-masters, resident on their pro-
perty, have pursued this latter course, and consequently
have had a more rapid augmentation of wealth.

Sheep-farming practice is again entering upon a new
phase. The comparatively higher value of land, and the
fact of the land witliin forty or sixty leagues of, and in one
or more directions considerably more distant from, the
city of Buenos Ayres, being fully stocked, is forcing the
tide of sheep-farming extension into other provinces and
other States, into the Banda Oriental (or Uruguay), Entre-
Eios, and Santa Fe, as well as to more distant parts of
Buenos Ayres, where lands, if not quite equal to those of
the accredited sheep lands of the latter, are lower in
price, more easily obtained, and are capable of being
much improved by stocking ; also the maximum of im-
provement attainable on the old system of management,
and from the Merino cross, under such system, has been
attained, and the lands are found to bear a value fully up
to that of the sheep and the yield of wool therefrom. The
fleeces are very liglit, the wool short, fine, and deficient
in strength, the result of slovenly breeding, management,
and overstocking of the land. lu view of these things I

22 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

am convinced that the ' actual ' position of sheep-farming
in the Kio de la Plata offers a brilliant opportunity to the
pioneers of an improved system of management and
breeding, with the object of producing a more robust
animal, one of larger carcase, yielding much more grease,
a fleece double the weight, and wool as long again in
staple ; at the same time more sound and elastic than the
average of the present stock — the means to attain which
end wiU be suggested in another part of this work.

Sheep estancias are of various extents from half a
square league to four and five or more square leagues.
There are combined cattle and sheep ' estancias' of very
much greater extent ; many proprietors count from 20,000
to 100,000, and in some instances a still greater num-
ber, of sheep in their possessions.

An establishment of this class consists of an estancia
house of more or less pretensions in size, round about
which there generally are plantations of paraiso, acacia,
poplar, willow, mulberry, and some few sturdy ' ombu '
trees ; also in some cases peach plantations, out-offices,
sheds or ' galpones,' horse ' corrales ' or pens, and sheep
' corrales.' These ' poblaciones,' habitations, with their
foliaged surroundings, stand out clear in the plain, and are
seen for considerable distances. Travelhng farther and
farther out into the plain they become fewer and further
apart. On different parts of an estancia there are erected
the huts of the shepherds, with their ' corrales,' called
' puestos ' or stations, which, with a certain extent of
ground, are allotted to the different shepherds or 'pues-
teros ' for the run of the flock under his care. For the

GENERAL. 23

maintenance of the ' puesteros,' the meat of a wether
(capon) is allowed between three or four of them, the skin,
tallow, and grease being set apart for the proprietor, and
collected periodically. The ' puestero' provides his own
' yerba' (Paraguay tea) and sugar, and, if he indulges in
the luxury, his own biscuit and salt.

Fuel he provides himself with from the stems of the
hard thistle, 'bisnaga,' or the excrement of the sheep,
cut out of the corrales in soUd cakes and dried, dried
cattle droppings, and animals' bones. He makes his fire
either in the open air, in the centre of his hut, or under a
shed outside ; he runs a long spit, ' asador,' through the
meat, and sticks it in the ground with an inclination over
the fire. There are many, however, chiefly foreigners,
who show more refinement, and possess a table and chairs,
fryingpan and saucepans, plates, knives and forks, and
will set a benighted traveller, seeking their hospitality,
down to a good stew, with rice and eggs, in addition to the
customary exceedingly sweet roast or ' asado,' laid out on
a clean table cloth, a cup of genuine Congou or Souchong,
with ewe's milk, and the never faihng ' drop ' of spirit to
drive the cold or keep the heat out ; and last, and best
of all, a hearty English, Irish, or Scottish welcome. If
there is a tidy ' wife ' in the cabin, a clean pair of sheets
and a blanket, and a gay quilt to sleep under. In some rare
instances, a ' beautiful Jither bed,' brought all the way
from the ' Ould Conthry,' will be produced for highly
honoured guests, in which, if the temperature happens to
range at about 80° Fahr., the perspiring guest is fairly
smothered, and overwhelmed with the intended kindness.

The life of a shepherd in the camp is solitary enough :
a rnan who does his duty should never leave his flock,
until, at least, they are shut up at night ; and then not for
long. It is not always that a flock is shut up in the

24 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

' corral ; ' in fine weather they are left on the ' rodeo,' a
bare piece of ground near the house, to which they are
driven to pass the night, where they have more space, are
kept cleaner, and can rest perfectly quiet ; in wet and dirty
weather it becomes impossible, without serious prejudice,
to put them into ' corral,' on account of the accumulation
of excrements and mud. Under these circumstances, on
stormy nights, the shepherd is required to be up with his
flock, riding or walking round them (' rodeando ' them),
to prevent their driving before the wind and rain ; in heavy
gales there have been instances of large numbers being
swept away, running before the blast, and, encountering a
swollen brook, plunging head foremost into it, under the
influence of the hindermost, and perishing to the last.

In the daytime, in a storm, they are very apt to drive,
and especially in a dust storm, by which, occasionally,
great losses and considerable inconvenience through the
mixing of the flocks is incurred.

The ordinary routine of the shepherd's duties is to take
out his flock of a morning, as early as possible in the
summer time, while the dew is on the thirsty grasses, and
return with them at sundown, taking them to the natural
drinking places, when there are any ; and in droughts,
on those estabhshments where wells are sunk for the pur-
pose, to drinking troughs supplied by drawing water with
what is called a ' manga ' (or sleeve), a long canvas bag,
with a hoop at the upper end, and a rope at each ex-
tremity, so arranged that the ' manga ' fills (in part) and
comes up doubled until out of the well, when the upper
end or mouth is elevated, and the lower drawn out, shoot-
ing the water into the trough or drinking pool. The
drawing of the water is done by a horse.

In the winter time, and especially while hoarfrosts and
cold dews are on the tender grasses, the sheep are not

GENERAL. 25

taken to the pasture until the sun is well up and the frost
dispelled.

The events of the sheep-farmer's year are those of
' seiialando,' or the marking, the cutting of male lambs,
and the shearing.

All the men and women of the district are put in re-
quisition for the shearing, for which they are paid per 100
head the usual price of 40;^, making, with the tying of the
fleeces, a cost of about 1$ or 2d. per sheep.

All districts possess their musical geniuses, 'paisanos,'
or country folk, who ' strike the light guitar,' and sing
impromptu ditties. These gentlemen bring their guitars
to the shearing, and, the work of the day over, a fire is
lit in the open, the ' asado ' is put down to cook, and the
' ting-ting ' commences ; laughing, chaffing, singing, and
dancing are the order of the night, until the fires go out,
and the parties stretch themselves out to sleep.

In the majority of flocks, there is no separation of
young or old, and the rams run all the year round with
the flocks exposed to the same vicissitudes ; there are, in
consequence, lambs the progeny of under-aged half-grown
ewes, and aged and toothless ones ; and though the lambing
falls chiefly in the spring and autumn, there are more or
less lambs di'opped throughout the year : the rams, too,
are put into the flocks at, or left in them from, an early age.
These various practices are very great stumbhng-blocks to
the improvement of the sheep, prejudicing the weight of
fleece, the soundness of the wool development of the
animals ; a marked tendency — indeed a positive dege-
neracy— to delicacy, is the consequence, which a modi-
fication of system, practice, and the use of stronger and
healthier rams will alone correct.

The true principles of breeding are little known, and
less practised. On many establishments of some preten-

26 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

sions there is a flock of finer sheep kept at the estancia
house for the purpose of furnishing rams to the other
flocks. These sheep are of Merino origin, and certainly
are as fine in wool as the average of Spanish Merino
fleeces. These, though having a little extra attention, and
in some instances sheds for protection, have been treated
as breeding flocks in the same way as the others, all ages
procreating and lambing, and all seasons of lambing.
These fine- wool flocks have almost everywhere diminished
in the weight of wool yielded, in some instances not
averaging over 2^ lbs. per fleece. From such flocks the
rams for the cross-bred flocks (Mestiza flocks) have been
drawn ; hence it is easy to account for the general cha-
racter and deficiencies of the wools of these countries ;
and it accounts for the still (compared with other wool-
producing countries) small value of the individual sheep.

There are other estancias, on which a much higher class
of sheep are bred, for the sale of rams. A considerable
number of fine Saxony and Negretti and Eambouillet rams
and ewes have been imported, the rams of which in most
instances have been put into the Merino flocks with great
advantage, though by no means as the rule, with all the
benefits that would have been attained on a better system
of management. The same practice, as described, as
that with the Merino fiocks has been followed with
these higher classes in the majority of cases.

There are other establishments again where the pure
breed of these imported varieties is maintained, and
where there are large, and in some cases, costly sheep-
houses and sheds, ' galpones,' and paddocks fenced in.
On these ' cabaiias,' pure-bred and various grades of
crosses are produced for sale of rams. Pure Negretti or
Eambouillet, and crosses of the two : crosses of one or the
other with the Merino, and with cross-breeds to meet the

GENERAL. 27

fancy of the buyers. I do not hesitate to pronounce
this intermixture of breeds as very bad practice, tending
to obhterate anything like a definite type. The sheep-
farmers are inconstant ; one year they will put into their
flocks rams of Eambouillet cross, another year they will
supplement these with Negretti, and another Merinos,
in the same flock.

It is true that, with the rapid extension of sheep-farm-
ing, and the comparatively small proportion of high cast
rams at present bred, and, moreover, the comparatively
recent introduction of the Negretti and Eambouillet
breeds, something of this was inevitable. The rams and
ewes imported from Germany and France possess various
degrees of merit, and, sold by auction, fetch prices
accordingly. Sums equivalent to from 15/. to 150/., even
200/., have been paid for rams.

Some few of the British breeds have been likewise
introduced, Leicester, Southdown, and Shropshire, and
there are cross-bred flocks from these.

VI.

CATTLE.

The great cattle establishments, 'estancias,' as before
said, occupy lands for the most part farther distant than
those devoted to sheep-farming in the province of Buenos
Ayres ; but there are many estancias within the sheep-
farming districts stiU occupied by cattle, or on which both
sheep and cattle are bred.

There are many tracts of land on a large estancia, say of
[ten to twenty-five square leagues, as well as certain dis-
; tricts or lines of country, which are unsuitable for sheep :

28 STATES OF THE RIVEK PLATE.

for instance, low strong land, with rank reedy grasses, often
flooded, and on some of which the ' leech ' is generated ;
there horses and cattle hold their own.

In the Uruguay and Eutre-Eios cattle prevail almost
everywhere, and there are comparatively few estancias
whereon sheep alone are reared ; but the same process of
gradual encroachment of sheep on to the previously pure
cattle lands is going on there as in Buenos Ayres.

The distribution of a cattle estancia ' plant ' is similar
to that of a sheep farm : — the estancia house, with horse
corrales and cattle corrales, and puestos in different parts
of the ground for the herdsmen. Each puestero has
his herd (rodeo) of cattle and tract of land appointed
to him.

There is a ' capataz ' (overlooker) to a certain number
of puestos, and a mayordomo, or manager, over all : also
there are immense troops of wild mares and horses. A
' rodeo,' or herd, is various in size, consisting of a few
hundreds or a few thousands semi- wild cattle. The pues-
tero tends the cattle and keeps them within certain hmits,
and prevents them mixing with other herds. On some
establishments they are brought up to what is called
' el rodeo,' a bare piece of ground near the station or
puesto, at sundown, or they are only thus gathered up
occasionally. They are settled to rest on the rodeo by
' peones ' riding round them ; it is from this practice of
herding them — 'rodeando,' surrounding or riding round
— that both the ground and the herd take the name of
' rodeo.'

In these estancias we see the true type of the gaucho
of the Pampas — a type now-a-days rarely found in tlie
sheep districts — men familiar only with the plain on which
they were born and have lived, without ever having known
or seen anything beyond it.

GENERAL. 29

Their faces are blackened by exposure, their long black
and matted hair reaching the shoulders and mingUng
with the beard. They are rarely off horseback. They are
dressed in long wide cotton drawers, and a garment called
' chiripa,' in lieu of trousers, girdled round the waist with
a long woven belt (faja), a leather pouch-belt, into which
is thrust, across the loins, a long knife, a shirt and poncho,
a coloured handkerchief over the head, and felt hat.
The skin of a colt's hind legs, freed from the hair, and
dried and softened by rubbing, serves for boots, the point
of the 'hock' forming the heel, and the big and second toes
protruding. They wear huge iron spurs, with rowels three
inches in diameter, and have rarely known other bed
than their ' recado ' (saddle) stretched on the ground, their
' ponchos,' or cloaks, with the saddle-cloths, forming their
covering. Their horse-gear is their sole furniture. The
lasso, when not in use, is coiled and fastened behind the
recado, and lays over the rump of the horse, and with balls
(' bolas ') for balUng wild horses slung iu the belts, a
powerful bit in the horse's mouth, and hide reins, the
man and his outfit are complete. He rarely knows any
other food than beef, ' asado,' with or without salt ; his
luxuries are ' mate,' Paraguay tea, sucked through a tube
from a gourd, and cigarettes. Born to the horse, as it
were, the gaucho is a splendid horseman, dexterous with
the lasso. In full career after a wild bull or cow, he swings
the lasso and throws it unerringly over the animal's horns ;
then checking the horse, the lasso, which is fastened to a
ring in the broad hide girth of the saddle, 'recado,' is
drawn taut, and the animal swung down or thrown.

A single man will thus catch and kill his meat in the
plain ; the animal being thrown, the trained horse will
stand or move onwards in such a way as to keep the lasso
tight, and prevent the animal from rising, while the

30 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

gaucho dismounts, hamstrings, and kills it with his long
knife. Swinging the ' balls,' he will pursue the wild horse,
and when within range cast them, striking the legs or
the ground within the horse's stride ; they wind round the
fleeing animal's hind legs, and cause it to fall. His horse
falhng with him, even at full gallop, the gaucho rarely
comes to grief, for loosing his knee hold, he is impelled
forward on his legs, and catches his horse before he is up.
As an instance of the extraordinary sagacity and clever-
ness of a horse perfectly trained to work among cattle, I
will relate an encounter which took place only two or three
days ago, on the town kilUng-grounds, at the southern
extremity of the city of Buenos Ayres, and witnessed by
my son. An unusually large and powerful bull was loosed
from one of the corrales ; he was approached in the usual
way by the lasso-men, whom he charged, freeing himself
from the lassoes ; he became infuriated, and charged and
charged again with such velocity that none of them could
succeed in throwing him ; he unhorsed two of the men,
disembowelhng one of the horses, and injuring the rider ;
he gored another horse in the leg, and finally beat his
antagonists out of the ground. There was a moment of
suspense, for none seemed willing to try their chances
against him, when from the far side of the killing-ground
an old man was seen to approach cautiously on a somewhat
lean and ancient-looking roan horse ; a cry was raised by
the beaten lasso-men to warn the old man, and induce him
to return and avoid what appeared to be certain death ;
but the old man heeded not, and availing himself of the
diversion of the bull's attention to the cries in the front,
ran his horse, breast on, against the infuriated animal's
flanks, which staggered and then instantly charged. The
old man dexterously avoided the onslaught, cast his lasso
over the horns, and, at the same moment, drew a rug

GENERAL. 31

(pellon) from off his saddle (' recado '), shook it in front
of the bull, and threw it forward, and at the same instant
slipped from his saddle unperceived by the beast, whose
attention was drawn off by the rug, and away went the
horse, the bull charging him. The horse, having no weight
on his back, headed and turned with great rapidity, got a
strain on the lasso, and continued to ' work ' the bull until
he finally threw him, and then keeping the lasso ' taut,'
moving with every struggle of the bellowing animal, pre-
vented him rising, till the old man approached on foot and
gave him the coup de grdce.

The ' events ' in cattle estancia life are those of the
' branding,' with the owner's ' mark,' the yoimg cattle, and
cutting the young bulls ; also parting out cattle sold for
the markets or saladeros.

The marking or branding is a great time ; the mayor-
domos and capatazes of the neighbouring estancias have
notice to attend, if they wish, so as to part out the cattle
of their employers' brands should any have strayed or
mixed. The ' peones ' of the estancia are mounted on
their cleverest horses ; the cattle are driven into the
estancia corrales ; a large fire is made of cattle bones out-
side the corral, wherein to heat the ' brands.' Girths and
saddles are looked to, and rearranged, if not quite in order,
a matter of the greatest importance, as on the girth
(cincha) and recado the whole strain of the work falls.
Lassoes are buckled on and held in coils in the hand.
The group is picturesque. The cattle in the corrales, the
large fires outside, the dense smoke curling and rolhng
along the plain, the groups of boys and men at the fires,
the ' stokers ' and the brandsmen half enveloped in the
smoke, and on the alert to chmb the posts of the corrales
in case of danger ; add to that twenty-five or thirty horse-
men, freed from all superfluous garments, with coloured

32 STATES OF THE RIVEB PLATE.

handkerchiefs tied tight round the head, many and bright
coloured shirts, ' chiripaes,' of all colours, scarlet, drab and
scarlet, blue, green, and white, mayordomos and capatazes
overlooking, and distinguished by their gay horse trap-
pings and their huge silver spurs.

The work commenced, the animals are drawn out of
the corral as required, lassoes cast over the horns and
round the hind legs, the young bull thrown to the ground
and kept stretched, so as to be unable to rise. One of the
brandsmen darts from the fires, steadies himself by placing
one foot on the prostrate animal, and plants the brand.
The castrators perform their operation. The lassoes are
slackened and cast off, the animal rises ; some trot quietly
off, downcast and surly ; others glare around and charge
the nearest men, horses, or group, furiously. Away
gallop the horsemen, with loud wild shouts and laughter,
— the pursued to escape, others to draw off the maddened
animal from those that are hard pressed, edging him away
further into the open, where he is left. The day winds
up with the ' asado ' (roast) in the usual way, and the men
' yarn ' over the feats of the day, as hunting men are
wont to do, of the ' run ' and its incidents. The guitar
and the ditty are, as usual, in requisition, and the younger
men frohc and spar with their knives.

The parting out of cattle sold for the ' saladeros ' is
another busy time, A certain number, hundreds or
thousands, are sold of a specified age and condition. The
purchaser picks from the herds such as correspond with
the definition in the contract ; these are parted out from
the herd, and for this purpose there are trained oxen
termed ' senaleros' or decoys, which are^ placed at a certain
distance. The selected animals are parted out and chased
by the peones until they join the group of 'senaleros;'
when the number is complete they are driven off for their

GENERAL. 33

destination. The ' tropas ' (droves) are accompanied by a
chief drover and peones, corresponding to the number of
head of cattle, usually one man to every hundred head.
They travel with their change horses (' tropilla '), headed
by a mare with a bell, which go in front of the cattle. Be-
hind these, driving them, and keeping the cattle from rush-
ing forward, rides one or more peones ; others are on the
flanks of and behind the ' tropa.' At night time the cattle
are stopped, and the peones ride round them until they
settle and lie down. Horses are changed, fires ht of
thistles, bones, or what can be picked up, and the ' asado'
puts down to roast, an animal having been killed to
furnish it.

The cattle are long-horned, generally of from small
to medium size, and of varied quahty, according to the
locality and nature of pasturage on which they are reared
and bred. In some ' partidos ' (districts), consequent on
the nature of the pasture, the cattle vary, yielding larger
carcase and heavier hide, lighter hide and more grease,
and of smaller or larger size. On some of the Banda
Oriental campos, and in parts of Entre-Hios, they are
fully as large as those of Buenos Ayres, and the hides
exported are heavier, partly, it is true, owing to the bul-
locks, or neats, being as a rule killed when somewhat
older, but hkewise owing to the stronger nature of the
pasture, greater shelter of trees, &c. The oxen, when
fully matured (five or six years of age), are powerful and
weighty, carrying enormous horns, and make very good
draught animals. Except on the lines of railways, nearly
all the transport of goods and produce from and to the
country is effected in large, ungainly carts, with huge, hard
Avood, and untired wheels, to which six oxen are yoked
by the horns. The cows are but scanty milkers as a
rule ; there are, however, some marked exceptions.

D

34 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

The dairies for supplying the town with milk are of the
most primitive fashion, consisting of a hut and a corral, a
greater or less number of cows, and a tract of campo to
graze them on. The cows are milked once in twenty -four
hours — at dawn of day — and the milk at once transferred
to a number of small, round tin cans, which fit into hide-
lashings on each side of the saddle, or pad, of the milk-
man's horse, on which he mounts half-sitting, half-kneel-
ing, and trots off to the city to supply his customers.
The calves are allowed to run with the cows during the
day, but parted from them and shut up in the pen or
corral in the evening, the cows being left at liberty to
graze. There are a few establishments better regulated,
where good cross-bred (shorthorn cross) cows are kept,
and a little -lucerne soiling and hay suppUed them when
grass is scanty ; and in some of these are milk-rooms, or
dairies. Excellent butter is made in such establishments,
which commands a high price, especially in the winter
time. In the spring, when milk is abundant, some of the
milkmen make an inferior kind of cheese, as also butter.

During the past dozen years, many English-bred cattle
have been imported for the purpose of crossing with and
improving the native breed. The majority of those im-
ported, both bulls and cows, have been of the shorthorn
variety.

The value and importance of this movement can hardly
be over-estimated. Nevertheless, it has not found general
favour, as few have hitherto derived that direct pecuniary
benefit which is needful to give it wide-spread acceptation.

To understand this, it is requisite to take into considera-
tion the uses made of the great bulk of the cattle of the
country, and from which they take their value, as also the
position and management of the cattle estabhshments.

The chief value of our cattle at present is in the hide ;

GENERAL. 35

aud, secondly, in the tallow and grease. The cross of the
shorthorn does not, to any very great extent, raise the
weight of the hide, and in this particular, apparently, does
not augment the value of the cattle in a degree com-
mensurate with the cost of introducing high blood into
the herds. The introduction of these higher class animals,
whose good qualities have been perfected under domesti-
cation, high breeding, selection, and feeding, into the semi-
wild herds of the plain, subjecting them to similar treatment
and obliging them to seek their food as best they can,
and exposing them to all the vicissitudes which the
common herds are, as it were, born to, is not likely to
lead to immediate appreciable advantage in any other
particular. Subject to the same treatment, as I have said,
and acquiring the habits of the half-wild cattle of the
country, the cross-breeds after a few generations, where
cross-bred bulls only are used, make little more fat and
not much more beef than the common stock. The often
precarious and unequal feeding or pasture, the long driving
of the animals to the slaughter, unfit the cattle for any
purpose other than the common one of hide-salting and
steaming for grease. Ninety-nine out of a hundred of
the estancieros know no other use for their cattle, and
have no conception of any other principle of breeding
than that oi a state of nature ; and immediate and
palpable benefit alone would induce them to step out of
the accustomed course, and in many cases not even this
would induce them to take the trouble. It is not likely,
therefore, that cattle-refining will, for some time to come,
attain any wide-spread development. The spirited
pioneers of the attempt find themselves without the
support which they anticipated ; they find no sufficient
sale for the bulls which they breed, so that the improve-
ment is limited to their own herds. On these establish-

d2

36 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

ments the ultimate result cannot be doubtful, as the
principle of greater domestication is applied, and the best
pasture lands are dedicated to the cross-bred herds, by
which the tolerably even growth of the young animals is
secured, and the breeding stock not allowed to fall into
absolute low condition. A decidedly improved stock will,
therefore, be created on these estancias, and in the course
of time, a not very far distant time, their superior qualities
as beef makers and fat producers will be recognised, and
a profitable use will be found for them. The cities and
large towns cannot long continue indifferent to the
existence in their vicinity of animals that will yield a
superior meat, in much larger proportion per head, under
a system of at least 'half-fatting,' and the call from
Europe for meat supplies, must sooner or later induce
the possessors of well-bred herds to take steps to put
their neats (steers) into a condition that will give beef
of a quality more or less ' up to the mark ' of European
requirements. The problem of ways and means of putting
cattle into at least a fair condition, has yet to be solved.
As it is totally new ground, men hesitate to take the
initiative. 'The growing necessity, however, must compel
it, and a company of breeders and others might very well
make the venture ; they could do so with small individual
risk, and with every prospect of a highly satisfactory result.

Such an undertaking, an initiatory and experimental
one, would have necessarily to be placed under the direc-
tion of a party, or parties, having a good practical and
theoretical knowledge of cattle-feeding, and also of the
country, its climate, products, and agricultural capabilities,
accompanied by perseverance and zeal.

The locality should be well chosen, and within a rea-
sonable distance from, and easy reach of, the city. The
cattle with which the experiment should be made should

GENERAL. 37

be domesticated, well-formed cross-breeds, calculated to
lay on flesh of a superior veined quality on moderate feed.
The system probably most feasible would be one of a
combination of yard and paddock (potrero) feeding ; to
maintain which a succession of forage crops would have
to be grown. It is noticeable that the cattle of the
country, even when on the best pastures, do not vein the
meat with fat, and the flesh, by consequence, is wanting
in flavour, richness, and delicacy, and they are compa-
ratively unprofitable feeding for beef.

The unchecked development of young stock, the pro-
duce of crosses of shorthorned and Hereford bulls with
selected native cows, when somewhat extra care is
taken to secure the even growth, is, as I have seen and
proved, highly satisfactory, especially so in the second
and more advanced crosses. Exceedingly neat, level, and
square animals are produced of fair size and ' good hair,'
manifesting really good fatting and beef-making qualities,
so much so that on the same feed they will make nearly
double the beef and fat that can be obtained from the
native breed ; as also excellent milking ones when this
object has been sought after. I have cows of this class
which give me in the height of their milk as much as
sixteen and eighteen quarts per day.

The power of transmitting type and colour resident in
pure-bred (Herd Book) bulls is manifest in a high degree
in tlie crosses with the cows of the country. All the esta-
blished and accredited colours of the shorthorn, from pure
white through all the grades of roan to red, prevail in a
carefully managed shorthorn cross herd ; and I have
seen a herd, the only one that I know of in the country,
the produce of three Hereford bulls (of Mr. Naylor's stock)
and cows of this country, in which every animal got by
these bulls, from the first cross upwards, was ' true ' in

38 STATES OF THE RIVEE PLATE.

colour, and possessed, in a marked degree, the form and
features characteristic of the Hereford blood. There were,
by the way, four young animals which formed a singular
exception, but an exception which proved the rule ; they
were the produce of two calvings of two black cows,
which by accident got into the herd, and were allowed
to remain in it. These young cattle had the 'white'
markings of the Herefords well and truly defined, as also
the form and features ; the one exception was in the
' colour,' which was black instead of red.

It must appear strange, indeed, to those who know the
value of the shorthorn and Hereford blood, to learn that
the owners of very valuable stock of these breeds are
compelled to 'cut' the whole of the young bulls which
they do not require for their own herds, in every grade of
cross — first, second, third, and fourth.

I know several gentlemen who have very fine herds,
including the party whose well-bred cattle I have alluded
to above, who have not sold a single bull out of them.
The loss that is sustained by the country at large from the
' cutting ' of these young bulls is, unquestionably, very
great ; as these bulls put into the more domesticated herds,
and into dairy kinds would, in a brief time, materially
improve such stock ; and, in course of time, furnish ani-
mals admirably adapted for the meat supply of the city,
as being profitable to feed, making, with equal food, much
deeper and more meat than the ' habit ' of the indigenous
cattle admits of.

39

PART IL

SHEEP FARMING.
I

In considering the adaptability of this country and climate
to the various pursuits which constitute its national wealth,
and the advance made in them respectively, we cannot
fail to be struck with the predominance which sheep-
farming is assuming. Equally as all must be struck with
this, must they be impressed with the fact of the very low
standing of its products, as compared with those of other
countries (many of them much less favoured in soil and
climate) in the markets of Europe.

It is imperative for the future prosperity of this im-
portant interest, that some well-defined principles should
be laid down : some sound and sure method be adopted,
to save us from further decline, and, as far as possible, to
raise the standard of our products. To this end it is
necessary that we should consider the source — the original
stock — fr-om which our flocks have been derived, the
course of refining adopted, and the class of animals with
which the crosses have been effected ; as also the manner
in which the flocks have been treated : moreover, examine
into the breeds, crosses, and practice of other countries
resembling this in climate, and compare the results in the
different countries. Also, enquire into the proposed and
actual practice of these things, at the present day, as bear-
ing upon the wants of the great markets.

40 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

The original stock from which, with few exceptions,
our flocks have proceeded, was the Creole sheep ; a leggy,
small-carcassed animal, with an open fleece, small and of
light weight, coarse and without elasticity ; possessing, in
fact, no qualification to recommend it as a basis to breed
from ; the exception is that of the Pampa sheep, which is
an animal much superior to the Creole in all points for the
breeder's purpose. So small, however, is the proportion
of the Pampa blood in our flocks, that it is not of import-
ance to consider it ; at the same time, it may be observed,
that wherever that blood has been adopted as the basis, and
its influence not obliterated by subsequent intermixture
with sheep of the Creole origin, a marked superiority in
weight of fleece and length of staple is observable.

The choice of the breed with which to refine our Creole
flocks very naturally fell on the Merino, through which
so general an improvement has been obtahied in almost
every country, in point of fineness, and with various results
in other points, according to the basis employed and the
influence of soil and climate.

The prevailing idea, but a comparatively few years back,
w^as fineness of staple, and that was sought to be grafted
on an infinite variety of sheep ; with some it has been a
success ; in other cases it has been abandoned, and breeds
adopted more suited to the necessities of climate and
general requirements. The Merino itself has been modi-
fied and improved in different countries under different
treatment and special selection. The Saxon, Merino,
Negrette, and Silesian, are far superior to the original
Spanish breed. The French Merino, or Kambouillet, is
another example, and is a perfectly distinct type in almost
every point, bidding fair to eclipse all other brandies of
the same family in general usefulness. The English
Merino, of Saxon origin, introduced by George III.,

SHEEP-FABMING. 41

resembles in general and particular type, the best of the
French Merino, i. e., those of the ' Cabana Imperial,' the
Eambouillets, par excellence, which are truer in shape and
finer than any other French Cabaiias.

The characteristics of the Merino, with which our flocks
have been ' mestizado,' are small carcass, fine and not very
long wool, and rather open in fleece. This openness of
fleece has been considerably increased through the cross
with the Creole ; and the progressive tendency of the ex-
isting breed, coupled with the method of breeding pursued,
and the maintenance of the sheep, has been, and is, to
reduce, step by step, the weight of the fleece, as well as
the length and strength of the staple.

There are many causes which contribute to this.
Amongst them I will name the inequality of maintenance,
whereby the development of the young animal is impeded
or curtailed, and the wool rendered short, brittle, and false
in staple- — the use of small cross-bred rams of remarkably
light fleeces — the putting of these rams into the flock
at too early an age, and allowing them to run with the
flock all the year round, whence they are often reduced to
the lowest degree of wretchedness, debility, and disease-
permitting old ewes to remain in the flock to breed poor
weedy lambs, which in turn transmit their hereditary de-
bility and weedyness to their progeny ; also allowing
' borregas ' (immature ewes) to take the ram at too early
an age, thereby producing the same results as breeding
from old ewes.

The consequences of these causes combined are marked
in the extreme, even in the finest flocks of those extensive
estancieros who have been the pioneers of sheep-farming,
and from whose stock, directly or indirectly, nine-tenths
of the Mestizo flocks in the country have sprung. I be-
lieve that I am correct in stating that the Merino flocks

42 STATES OF THE HIVEE PLATE.

of the greater part of these extensive estancieros do not
average over three pounds per fleece, and many not even
that. Notwithstanding the general fineness of the Eiver
Plate Merino and Mestizo wools, they are ranked among
the lowest in the estimation of the great home markets ;
and this is directly attributable to the quality of the wool
in point of length and soundness of staple — points in which
it is markedly deficient, owing to the causes which I have
named.

We have, in fact, no redeeming quality in our sheep ; for
the one point which has been aimed at, and attained at
the cost of all other qualities, viz., fineness,\s proving one
of our greatest banes. Fineness without length, elasticity,
and softness, is the reverse of desirable and does not pay.

The great consumption of the world at large is of long-
stapled wools : long and coarse have their especial value,
and long and fine (fine without prejudice to strength) have
theirs. So imperative has this qualification of length
become, that we see the highest authorities of Spain con-
templating the modification of the Spanish Merino breed,
with a view to obtain length of wool and larger develop-
ment of form. In England the fine-woolled sheep are at
a discount, as such sheep, as a rule, do not combine the
various qualities which render sheep-breeding profitable.
I have a recent report from England of the returns yielded
by three varieties of Leicester, and one of Coteswold sheep,
— the long-wooUed sheep of England — and I find that the
value of the fleeces of these breeds are 145. to 16s. each ;
the fleece of one of these sheep in England being worth
more than two ' good Mestizo ' sheep here.

These sheep, or ' capones,' at the age of eighteen months,
under high feeding, attain the weight of 150 to 180 lbs.
each, as they stand, and are worth for the butcher 3/. lOs".
to 4/. lO*. Mature capones attain a weight of 260 to

I

SHEEP-FARMING. 43

350 lbs. The policy of introducing such sheep into this
country is, however, doubtful under the present circum-
stances of our flocks ; there being so great a disparity in
type and wool, nothing would be gained in the matter of
wool, as no cross that could be effected with our fine-
woolled breeds would result in anything but shortening
and weakening the wool of the English blood, and vice
versa, destroying the characteristics which give it value ;
and it would be a long time before any distinct class of
wool could be produced in sufficient quantity to assert
its claims in the markets ; but where a vein of the English
blood already exists it will form an excellent basis to
refine on with English or French Merino ; and with a
few years of refining, a very useful and valuable class of
wool, and a valuable animal, will be the result. At an
earlier date in the formation of the types of our breeding
stock, a strain of these English breeds would have been
of the greatest value, but the opportunity has passed for
the generality of our fiocks. There are, however, certain
native coarse-wooUed breeds — instance the Cordova and
the Pampa (which, if steadily crossed with the English
long-woolled rams — Coteswold, Leicester, and Lincoln)
would, in a few generations, produce a wool of special
value, and a breed, perhaps, the most suitable for certain
localities — in the locaHties in which the native long- wools
still exist, and in others more or less similar, such as in
and about the Sierras, Bahia Blanca, &c. In the case,
too, of Creole sheep, or ordinary Mestizo, a couple of
crosses of some of the English long-wools, and subsequent
persistent crossing with tlie Eambouillet, would establish
a very useful class.

The strongest analogy in circumstance and climate, with
the most marked difference in results, exists between this
country and Australia and Tasmania. Both countries

44 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

have sprung out of the colonization of the Old World.
In both, the climate is similar, and in a high degree
favourable for sheep -farming ; though the preference
must be given to this country for general advantages of
climate and soil. In both, the breeding of sheep has
become the most important rural interest, and, by con-
sequence, commercial interest. But here the similarity
ceases, and the contrast commences. The wools of Aus-
tralia and Tasmania stand unrivalled in their class ; as a
national product they are preeminent for length of staple
and softness of texture. The Australian wool sales in the
home markets are more important than, perhaps, all others
put together ; and the prices obtained mark the esti-
mation in which they are held. Australian wools are
attaining greater and greater perfection ; so much so that,
even in their own speciality, the great flock-masters of
Spain consider it requisite to modify their famed Merinos
to compete with the Australian and Tasmanian wools.

As we have traced the origin of the Buenos Ayrean
sheep, and the causes of their degeneracy, so let us now
trace the rise and progress of the Australian : —

As it was natural in a colony deriving its origin from
Spain to select its animals from the famed ones of the
old countiy, so also was it in an English colony ; and the
Enghsh breeds of sheep — Leicester, Coteswold, Lincoln,
Southdown, Merino, and others — were naturally taken
there, as were also the Spanish Merino and Saxony. In the
forming of the flocks the English breeds took their part,
and imparted size, weight of fleece, and length of wool ;
giving a useful and weU-developed animal as tlie basis of
the colonial flocks, placing them in a most advantageous
condition for refining. Long and persistent refining on
this sound basis with the best English Merino rams
(Cabana George III., the term Cabaiia with the French

SHEEP-rABMING. 45

Imperial Cabana Eambouillet : see the work of the Marquis
Perales) and the best French Merino rams, procured re-
gardless of cost, has done all that could be done in point
of blood and quality. Thus the colonists, having from
the first made their flocks of such value that it would pay
to take care of them, as flocks from which progression is
expected should be taken care of, they have zealously
taken care of them, and dedicated themselves to their
improvement. Physiological laws have not been neglected
there as they have been here ; the debilitated or diseased
ram was not looked to as the sire of the coming genera-
tion, but well selected, well-cared-for, and vigorous rams
were put to their ewes ; old ewes went to the butcher,
and the tender ewe lambs (borrequitas) were not allowed
to be dams of a weakly ofispriug. Thus have they attained
their present perfection, and they are still drawing first-
class rams, at first-class prices, from England and France ;
and, as I have been informed, the Cabana Imperial sup-
plies them with not a few of its luisurpassed Eambouillet
Merinos.

H.

In the foregoing brief sketch we have traced the
origin, course, and causes of the comparatively inferior
quality and value of the wools of this country in the
midst of the vast extension of sheep-breeding interests ;
and I read in this httle short of an impending national
calamity — the work of half a century, as it were, lost, and
a new start to be made to enable us to hold our way at
all with other wool-producing countries. We have also
traced the rise and progress of another young country,
following a different line of treatment and selection.

It now remains, knowing the causes, and knowing the

46 STATES OF THE lUVEE PLATE.

effects, to determine on the requisite remedies, and to at
once check the decadence, and raise the type of our flocks.

It will be recognised that the primary cause of all the
existing and impending evils, has been the absence of the
employment of a sufficient capital to form our flocks on
the higher types, and of the labour and care needful to
develop to the utmost all the good qualities calculated to
give solid and enduring value to this most important
branch of national industry. The principle hitherto (I
speak generally) has been to look for profit in increase
of numbers rather than in the increase of intrinsic value
in the individuals ; and under this aspect, people have
considered their flocks as not worth taking care of (or
expending money on), as care and attention is understood
in other countries.

There is a limit, however, even to the profitable increase
of numbers, without regard to intrinsic merit. Vast tracts
of camp have already more stock than they can carry,
and a great evil is imminent therefrom.* Allied with
this erroneous principle, and being part of it, is what is
known as the Mediauero system as hitherto carried out.
So long as flock-masters were content with mere increase
of numbers as the source of jjrofit, and sought to obtain
this profit without direct outlay of capital, it answered
well for both parties ; but it has been, and ever must be,
fatal to any great improvement in class and quaUty of
sheep. The estanciero could not afford to employ the
requisite capital in the improvement of flocks, as in such
case the medianero would have reaped an undue advan-
tage ; and on the other hand, tJie mediaueros had not the

* To such a point has this reached, that I have little doubt, ere long,
sheep ' al corte ' (all round) will not find purchasers at 15;^ and 20;$' each ;
they will be only worth the skin and fat. When capitals are brought into
play to stock more distant lands there will be a reaction.

SUEEP-FAEMING. 47

means to meet the estancieros' outlay, by the employment
of corresponding labour, to bestow upon the flocks that
care which material improvement rendered absolutely
necessary ; and very few ' medianeros ' had the know-
ledge of the business essential for the suitable management
of an improving flock. Again, under the ' Medianero '
system, the estanciero ceases to be the sole master of his
property, and cannot dispose of his sheep as is desirable ;
that is, he cannot, year by year, throw out the old or in-
ferior ewes, or separate the ' borregas ; ' it being the
' medianero's ' supposed interest to breed from everything
young and old, in order to acquire the greatest possible
number during his term of contract.

Under existing circumstances, I see but one course,
which is, tliat flock-masters (estancieros) should make up
their minds to a present sacrifice — an apparent sacrifice
to lead to an ultimate benefit to themselves and the
nation ; let them get rid of a considerable portion of
their stock, all the old and inferior, if only for the vat-^
and the vat is unquestionably the best place for them — so
that they may not mar in their progeny the future of
slieep-breeding ; then, with the capital realised, secure
suitable rams, and take increased care of the remainder
of the sheep.

m.

We now pass on to consider the individual defects of
the sheep, and the best means of correcting them.

First, the diminutive size of the sheep is noticeable.
It is clearly a great defect, as it offers no porvenir
(future) of general usefulness and value ; moreover, a
small- carcassed sheep cannot, ceteris paribus, produce so
weighty a fleece as a large-carcassed one.

48 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

The first thing, therefore, to be done, is to increase the
size of the sheep by crossing with large true-shaped rams ;
and on this subject I will quote the high authority of
Mr. Carrol, inspector of cattle exhibitions and veterinary,
Dubhn. Mr. Carrol writes (Agricultural Gazette, Oc-
tober 29, 1864) : ' I know well all the different breeds of
sheep ; the native Cotthonge, the Shrimonghs, the Scotch
Highland Stornico, the Cheviots, the different Downs, the
large Eoscommons, the Coteswolds, the Lincolns, the pure
Leicesters, Border Leicesters, et hoc genus omne, and
the best crosses I have ever had, or have known to be
had by anyone else, were those from the large, strong,
sound, well-bred rams on every description of ewe, large
or small ; and the very worst from small rams.' This is
directly to the point, and should be pasted up on the wall
of every flock-master's house. Then we have the un-
natural, unhealthy fineness of wool, coupled with light
fleece, short and unsound staple. The remedy for this is
equally clear — the large, sound, well-bred ram, with heavy
close fleece, of long sound and strong staple. Now I will
lay down as a rule that no flock-master should admit into
his flock, any ram that is not of a given weight and size
of carcase, and that does not yield a given weight of close
fleece, of long and sound staple, and that is not sound in
constitution, strong and vigorous, for ' hke beget like.' I
must leave it to each individual to determine, according
to his requirements and means, the minimum weight of
carcase and fleece admissible into his flock ; it being
understood that the greater the weight and size, con-
sistent with true form and type, and the size of the ewe,
the better. I may suggest, that in no case should any-
thing under a 121b. fleece be admitted. Breed of ewe,
degree of fineness of wool ; its class to be considered also
in reference to the selection of rams.

SHEEP-FARMING. 49

IV.

Next, as to the treatment : It is essential that the rams
should not run with the flock. Nothing is so fatal to the
sheep-breeder, as to turn his young rams into his flock.
Degeneracy is the inevitable result ; and in no country
in the world, where sheep-breeding is in a state of pro-
gression, is it practised. No ram should be put to ewes
imtil he is between twenty months and two years old ;
and then, only when he is sound and vigorous. All rams
must be kept apart and well fed, and only put with the
flock for a certain number of weeks at a certain season of
the year. I have no hesitation in stating, from experience,
that he will get more lambs under this system, as well as
infinitely better ones.

Every estanciero should keep his rams at the estancia
under his own care, or that of his mayordomo ; have them
well fed, classified, and distributed among his ' puestos '
at the proper season ; and the ' puesteros ' should be
bound to feed them while in the flock. Eams that are not
worth this expense and trouble, are not worth having.
' Borregas,' under eighteen months old, should be parted
out from the flock before the rams are put in — 'corraled'
apart, and 'pastoreada' apart — under care of a shepherd.
As to old ewes, get rid of them at any price. The
rams should be put with the ewes at the season of the
year when the camps are good ; and no efibrt should be
spared to keep the flocks in good, even condition. These
are the only means which will make a flock of sheep
' worth taking care of,' and give it progressive value.

50 STATES OF THE RIVEE PLATE.

V.

We will now pass under review some of the breeds
from which to select rams suitable, in greater or less
degree, for elevating the type of our flocks.

In doing this, it will be necessary to keep in view the
existing prevailing blood, size, and form of the sheep, and
the characteristics of the wool.

I have pointed out the great benefit that has accrued to
the Austrahan breed of sheep through early crosses with
the English large-carcassed and long-woolled sheep. At the
same time I stated, that I considered the course taken by
the sheep-farmers in this country, during the past thirty
years, and the type resulting from it, has placed them in a
position which prevents them availing themselves of the
advantages which, at an earlier period, would have arisen
out of the introduction of strains of the various British in-
digenous breeds. This of course refers to the flocks Avhich
have been long 'refined' — Mestiza — dowith Merino blood,
to cross which with British long-wools, would bring them
back in the matter of texture of wool to a near approach
to the original Creole or Pampa wool; and it would
require a long time, and very careful selection of the
progeny, on which to refine, to produce a valuable and
distinctive type.

Having an estabhshed variety, however inferior many
of its characteristics may be in degree, we must be par-
ticularly careful not to mongrelize it; and the shortest,
easiest, and best course, is to improve and raise the
existing type.

Nine- tenths of our flocks may be said to be Merino in
blood, a little finer or coarser in wool, according to the
higher or lower strains of this blood. I am, therefore,

SUEEP-FAEMING. 51

decidedly of opinion that, under circumstances, we may
expect the best results, and the speediest, from a persistent
use of rams, of such special type of the Merino family as
will most effectually correct the defects of the majority of
the flocks.

Of the Merino there are several distinct types created
from one parent stock, by selection and treatment, and
many subdivisions of the same.

The principal are the Spanish (original), the various
German, French, and English branches.

The exquisite Prussian Silesian Merino. — A perfect
animal in its class, with a wool marvellously fine, long,
and soft, a something to see to comprehend its full beauty ;
but, alas ! unsuited to us for general pvu-poses. Destroy
its purity of blood, ' Mestizar it,' and you have relatively
nothing. Only under the highest degree of breeding,
intelligence, and minute care, could such a breed hold its
way.

The Saxon Electoral Negretti, the Ramhouillet, and the
half-breed between the Ramhouillet and Negretti. — This
last let us at once discard. The one has spoiled the dis-
tinctive qualities, or type, respectively, of the parent
breeds. As rams they are mere mongrels. In all cases, the
rams used must have a fixity of type, and persistence of
the same blood through several generations. Thus, while
the half-bred ram between pure EambouiUet and pure
Negretti is not admissible in good practice, on the other
hand, if you take Negretti ewes, cross them with imperials,
and continue to breed out of the ewe progeny, using
always Eambouillct rams- — in the course of three or four
generations there will be established the requisite fixity of
type and blood to render the rams so produced desirable
stock.

The Saxon Electoral Negretti.' — Beautifully true in

e2

52 STATES OF THE ElVEE PLATE.

shape, fine and soft in -wool, and a fair weight of fleece in
the higher strains of blood.

Bearing in mind, however, that size, yield of fat, weight
of fleece, and strength of staple, are the points that are
needed in the highest degree, I cannot see that, as a
general rule, these breeds fulfil our most urgent require-
ments. There can be no doubt, however, of the desirability
and value of this blood in its higher grades, (nine-tenths
of those imported are almost worse than useless, they
have neither purity nor quality,) when parties have flocks
unusually well-suited to an union with this blood ; but,
as a rule, the animal is too small to produce, in its cross,
the first essential improvement, viz. considerable increase
of fat and fleece, and can never be so profitable as the
larger varieties.

Again, our wools have already a degree of fineness —
an imhealthy fineness — which is its defect — so that it
could hardly be expected that the graft of the Negretti
fineness would effect an improvement in this respect, or
give us a more sound basis for development.

Besides, the weiglit of the Negretti fleece* is not, as a
rule, so great, nor the wool so long, as to sufl5ce, in a few
crosses, to raise the standard of fleece in the ' Mestizos '
to an extent that would make the Mestizo rams the most
desirable to put into our flocks. We urgently require an
immediate, material augmentation in the length of wool,
weight of fleece and carcass, as the sine qua non for the
present position of our flocks. This breed, nevertheless,

* In the highest grades of the Ncgretti there are weighty fleeces,
when, as they are usually, heavy in grease. This condition of greasiness in
the wool is remarkable in the Negrettis; and, as the loss is very gi'eat in
washing, it will always be taken into consideration in the price paid,
especially as the fleeces have a decided tendency to collect dirt. These
animals are procurable only at great cost, and, like the highest types of
other varieties, are only suitable for the high-caste breeder's purpose.

SIIKEP-FAEMIiVG. 53

should be carefully preserved and fostered in the country
by those parties who have attained a considerably advanced
stage by means of this blood. These parties, however,
would do well to put their ' Cabaiias ' through a severe
course of purification and classification, rejecting every-
thing that does not come up to a given mark in size, form,
and fleece, and rigidly adhering to the general principles
of management laid down in this work.

The liambouillet (French Merino). — This breed is de-
rived from several 'Cabanas :' the Cabaiia Imperial stand-
ing far in advance of all others for trueness of shape, and
fineness and texture of wool ; but the high price of the
Imperial stock has prevented its introduction into this
country ; and there are, perhaps, not more than two
' Cabanas ' in the province, where the blood exists in its
])urity. The majority of the so-called Eambouillets intro-
duced here are from other and inferior Cabaiias, and many
of them, judging from their quahty, cannot be considered
pure French Merino. I say ' so-called Eambouillet,' be-
cause this term, properly speaking, belongs only to the
Cabana Imperial.

The ' Cabana Gilbert ' produces an animal distinct, in
many points, from the Cabaiia Imperial. The rams of high
class from this Cabana are large (larger than the Imperial)
imposing-looking animals, with large head, shoulders, and
chest ; but the wool is not so fine nor so close, nor is their
shape so true as the Imperials. English Merino (George
III.) more nearly resembles in type the Eambouillet Im-
perial than any other branch of the same family.

I believe that it is to this blood (Eambouillet — French
Merino and George III. Merino) that we must look for
the regeneration of our flocks. I am confirmed in this by
observation here, by the knowledge of the wants of the
great manufacturing interest in Europe, and by the practice

54 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

of the Australian breeders. The beautiful little Negretti,
with its fine silky fleece, may be a more attractive object ;
but it cannot fulfil the requirements of our flocks so well
as the solid, imposing Kambouillet and English Merino ;
from whose progeny, in a few crosses only, a size of car-
cass, a tnieness of shape, a weight of fleece, length, fineness,
and texture of wool, can be obtained (as I can testify from
actual observation) equal, if not superior, under proper
management, to nine-tenths of the sheep of the French
Merino Cabanas.

Like all other high-bred animals, they require to be
well kept to retain their good quaUties, and in this they in
nowise differ from any other fine breed. The effects of
bad keep and bad treatment may be more manifest in this,
but not more real, than in other fine breeds of smaller
size ; for their very grandness makes bad condition more
visible. It is worthy of note that these are much less
subject to scab (sama) than the Negretti breed. In, this
particular they have a decided advantage, and the wool
being longer and stronger, it is not so much injured by
carretilla, burr, or impurities, nor does it accumulate so
much dirt.

At all cost, we must bring up our sheep in size, yield of
grease, weight of fleece, and length and strength of staple.
That done, it may be an after consideration what distinctive
characteristics we may give to the sheep in different loca-
lities, according to the nature of soil, pasture, tempera-
ture, or chmate, markets, and other matters.

Distinctive characteristics can be created by a course of
selection without departing from the blood or breed, or
they can be grafted by means of a cross and subsequent
selection. The nicest judgment is required to adopt such
cross and selection to the locality, soil, and climate. I
believe I should be borne out by facts in the assertion, that

SHEEP-FARMING. 55

for general purposes home-bred, i.e. acclimatised rams are
infinitely preferable to imported. For the high-caste
breeder it is another thing. It is his province to introduce
the best and highest blood, acclimatise it, and modify it
to suit general purposes.

VI.

Let it not be supposed that I am ignorant of the enter-
prise and great cost at which many gentlemen have,
during the last few years, endeavoured to work out im-
provement in their flocks with both the Negretti, and in
a few cases, the Eambouillet breeds. I could name a
score who have spared neither expense nor efforts within
their compass and knowledge ; yet, in nine cases out often,
failure and disappointment has been the result. One is
disgusted with Negretti, another with Eambouillet, and
each with apparent reason. But this is a fault which
does not depend on the breed, for both strains of blood,
within certain Umits, are capable of improving our stock
in one or other direction. The fault in both cases lies in
the management, and in many, if not in most instances,
in addition to erroneous management, the parties have
made their trials with inferior ' blood ' and small rams,
and have, moreover, used the half-bred rams of their own
breeding to put into their flocks. To succeed, the man-
agement must be a complete system. One point omitted
will mar half a dozen practised — will mar, in fact, the
whole. I have seen costly ' galpones,' — the most costly, —
but in no single one have I noticed a thermometer. I
liave experienced a sense of oppression on entering them,
and breathed an air redolent of accumulations of foulness,
owing to their insufficient ventilation ; and I have seen in

56 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

these costly ' galpones,' costly ' Negrettis ' wheezing and
looking wretched — costly ' Gilberts ' ' tisicos ' and mi-
serable, without texture in the wool or firmness in the
skin ; and I have seen the decrepid progeny of these
unhealthy animals running or hobbling with the 'majada'
from year's end to year's end, and yet expected to beget
improved stock out of ' borregas ' and ewes of all ages !
I need no one to tell me of disappointment and failure — it
was patent and palpable everywhere. Only in one
' Cabana ' that I have had a report of, or seen — a small
unpretending establishment belonging to, ^nd under the
immediate direction of, a native gentleman — have I recog-
nised the practice of a thorough system, more or less
perfect in all points as adapted to the climate, &c. and
there success is as marked as failure is in other establish-
ments of much greater pretensions, as far as extent and
costly appliances are concerned. It suffices that success
has been attained by one or two to demonstrate that
it is attainable by others : and one instance of complete
success should animate us with a hope that, despite our
present backward position, a great future is open to us, if
we know how to avail ourselves of the natural advantages
at our command.

There is a great ' want ' felt in the absence of a bond
of union amongst the intelligent sheep-estancieros, which
would be supphed by social club-meetings for the inter-
change of om- respective experiences, agitating questions of
interest, and for the promotion of exhibitions, ferias (fairs),
and the Hke, which, as in all enhghtened communities,
should have the moral and direct support of the govern-
ments, both national and provincial; and medals and
other prizes awarded for successful breeding of improved
stock. Distinction is gratifying to all men ; and many a
persevering effort would be made, were there a hope of

SIIEEP-FARMING. 57

its being duly appreciated and rewarded with some
lionourable distinction, such as a national gold medal, &c.

vn.

Before concluding this brief review, I will quote from
the highest Spanish authority, that of his Excellency the
Marquis of Perales, President of the ' Asociacion General
de Ganaderos.' ^ He says (speaking of the AustraUan
sheep-farmers and their flocks) : ' The extraordinary de-
velopment which the sheep attain ; the zeal with which
the sheep-farmers attend to their improvement, importing,
I'egardless of price, the best breeding stock from England
(George III. Merinos) and France (Eambouillet), adopting
the best methods of breeding and caring, and the best
system of feeding, puts it beyond doubt that the Austra-
lian wools must hold the foremost rank for general pur-
poses and manufacture.' Then, after referring to the
extraordinary length and softness attained by many
Australian breeders, he says : ' It is undoubted that their
wools must successfully compete with, and lower the
prices of European fine wools, and that, therefore, it
would be very desirable {muy conveniente) that the
Spanish flock-masters should, in imitation of the Englisli
breeders, modify their breed with a view to increase the
weight of the fleece, lengthen the staple, and increase the
size, so as to be more productive of meat and fat'

I apprehend, that with such an authority confirming
the opinions I have emitted in this paper, there will be
little doubt left on the minds of its readers, that herein
are laid down the principles which should guide the great
sheep-farming interest of the Eio de la Plata.

58 STATES OF THE BIVEE PLATE.

I may observe also that the Germans are now recogni-
sing the same fact, and are actually getting rid of their
small class of sheep to introduce the French (Eambouillet)
and English breeds. Entire flocks of numerous German
Cabanas are offered for sale as unprofitable stock.

The property of meat and fat producing, is one wholly
lost sight of in this country, and a greater mistake could
hardly be made. The sheep-farmers are placed by it at a
disadvantage of a most serious character, as by reason of
the small size of the sheep, and small yield of fat, they
are at best of times unprofitable to kill, whether it be
for the meat or for rendering for grease ; but on over-
stocked or even fuUy-stocked camps, owing to the scant
food, the little they would otherwise yield is often reduced
to 7iil ; so that unless purchasers for stocking purposes
come forward to purchase by the million (the augmenta-
tion annually is now rated at from ten to fifteen millions) —
a demand httle likely to take place — the sheep-farmers
must remain with their sheep destroying their camps —
that is, virtually eating up their capital — or they must
throw them away, sell them for little or nothing — the
value of the skins — or they will die by the thousand.

Now, it must be clear on reflection, that this evil would
be avoided by having a class of sheep whose yield of meat
and grease would bear a fair relation to their yield of wool.
There would then be a double outlet for the increase at a
remunerative price. Tliere can be no doubt that it would
pay to grow grease in the shape of slieep, and there are
breeds of sheep which would yield 8, 10, or 12 lbs. of grease
for every pound yielded by the existing breed as at present
managed. Let us look a little closely into this. What is the
annual yield of wool per head from the average class of
sheep ? Certainly not 3 lbs. Its average value is not
3;^ per lb. ; but take it at that, and we have 9^. The

SIIEEP-FARMING. 59

same animals would probably not give over bS in grease.
Sheep of a fat-producing description, would yield, say, on
good average camps, fairly stocked and managed, 1^
or 2 arrobas of grease (I went through a flock the other
day, flock maintained on camps, estimated by one of the
best of judges to yield 2i arrobas, some of which would
yield 5 arrobas : sheep were weighed to arrive at this
estimate, and among them some young ewes weighing
7^ arrobas, shorn) worth about 50,^ per arroba, which
would be 76$ for sheep at an arroba and a half, and 100;^
at two arrobas yield. Add to this the value of the skin,
and I think it will be seen at a glance, that such a class
of sheep would be a better paying stock than that which
only yields 9$ per annum gross product in wool, and which
are not worth over 5$ per head for the grease and 10 to
12,^ for the skin. Moreover, it must be taken into con-
sideration, that a class of sheep that yields 16$ in grease
would yield 26S in wool per annum, and probably more.

It will be understood that, in throwing out these
figures, I do not refer in either case to 'capones' (wethers)
for the markets.

Taking a glance back at these few figures, we see that
the estimated yield of wool in one case is 9$ against 6$
of grease, or nearly double. Let us, however, assume
that the grease, under more favourable circumstances,
may yield 8 to 10^ — say 9$ — or equal to one year's wool.

A class of sheep that under a fair system would yield
50,^ in grease, would probably yield 15 to 16^^ in wool ;
and a class that would yield 65, 70 to 75,^ in grease,
20 to 24;^" in wool.

In these, though the yield for wool is put down at
double, more than double, the average return from the
prevailing breed, the yield estimated from grease is equal
to three years' wool, more or less. This may be taken as

60 STATES OF THE KIVEB PLATE.

a fair relation of value between the yield of wool and
yield of grease, and so long as a sheep-farmer can get
anything approaching this relation of value, it will pay
him better to steam than to keep anything in excess of
the breeding ewes, even under favourable circumstances ;
and he need never have his camps over-stocked, and need
never be hard up for dollars, as so many must be when
the wool market is dull. Inline, one of the main sources
of profit in sheep-farming consists, — after the accumulative
increase has reached a certain point in relation to the extent
of land, — m a marketable increase, in being able to realise
in one form or another the increase year by year ; faihng
that, the business ceases to give a fair return for the
cattle represented by land and stock. It is a mere truism,
that meat and fat-producing quahties constitute marketable
stock, and the breeders' sheet-anchor.

Some few years ago the Hocks were larger — double
what they now are in general. The reduction of the
numbers in the flocks was found to be advantageous, and
was a move in the riglit direction. To the end that an
improvement in the class of sheep may be effected, that
they may yield a better class of and more wool, and
much larger quantity of grease, and that the increase may
be larger and of stronger and better lambs, it is desirable
that the flocks should be still smaller — half what they
now are — and consist of breeding-ewes only. This sugges-
tion is the reverse of unimportant, and, coupled witli the
hio-hly important aim of fat produce, merits the earnest
consideration of the sheep-farming body.

It results from a careful consideration of the all-im-
portant matter of selection and development of breeds
(as adapted to the country, in its extent and variety of
soil and climate), and of the existing stock, that there are
four types which stand prominently out : —

SHEEP-FARMING. 61

First, — The fii'st, and most important, by reason of the
circumstances and position of the sheep-farming interest,
is that which is and can be produced by the persistent use
of large vigorous rams of the French and Enghsh Merino
blood, which will give length, strength, and abundance of
wool of a high value — the highest value in the European
markets — with good carcass and fat value.

Second, — A breed or type suited to certain localities
would result from the cross of the English, long, lustrous-
wooUed sheep with the Pampa, Creole, Cordova, and other
long and coarse-wooUed races of the country persistently
followed out, which would, in a few generations, produce
a most valuable and useful wool, and sheep that would be
very valuable in carcass and fat.

Third, — Is a somewhat longer process, but would produce
a very desirable sort ; viz., the Creole or common Mes-
tizo crossed with the long or medium wools of England,
and then refined persistently with French or English
Merinos. Tliis wool would assume a special type, and in
the course of time, good length and considerable fineness
would be the characteristics, and the sheep would be an
excellent carcass and fat-producer.

Fourth, — The German Mestizo type, on a more limited
scale — when great attention is paid, and the largest
animals only selected to breed from, as possessing the
longest and most elastic staple — is a desirable variety to
retain, having its special 'destination' or use. It is no-
torious that this variety, like the Spanish variety, its parent,
is declining in importance, and, as it were, going out of
date everywhere. It is, however, so valuable as the
prolific nursery of improved types, and for crossing with
certain inferior breeds, that it is desirable to retain it in
the higher grades, and under a system consistent with its
delicacy.

62 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

Addenda I.

A good and simple practice in refining for parties
■whose means are limited — one perfectly feasible on the
smallest establishment- — is to commence with a good,
useful class of acchmatised rams, and pursue the follow-
ing course, say : —

Select from the flocks a given number of the very best
ewes, uniform in size and class of wool. Take, for ex-
ample, four hundred. Purchase for these ewes, six fine
large suitable Mestizo rams * of more or less advanced
type ; each ram being calculated to give, say 11 to 12 lbs.
of wool, or upwards.

The product in ewe-lambs from these 400 will be,
say 170, which should be separated when weaned from
the dams, and formed to a flock by themselves. When
eighteen months old, put into these three rams procured
from the same ' Cabana ' as the six, but of a higher strain
of the same blood, and of a weightier fleece. In the
following year there will be, from the four hundred ewe
flocks another 170 'Borregas' of eighteen months old,
which should be added to the first lot, and two or three
more rams, of the same type and family as the other three,
would be required. The next year the same process must
be repeated, and so on. Meanwhile this ' Borrega ' flock
will have produced lambs of a higher quality than them-
selves ; and for these a still higher type of acclimatised

* In using the term 'Mestizo rams,' I may observe that after a few
generations, when one type of Merino has been crossed with another, the
progeny is, to all intents and purposes, ;)«rc in blood, and in some instances
B type is produced superior to the sires themselves. The tei-m, therefore,
must only be accepted as conventional when the crossing and refining has
been effected persistently with one and the same blood and type.

SHEEP-FAKMING. 63

rams of the same blood would be advisable ; and thus
ascend the ladder.

I believe that few ' estancieros ' can advantageously
breed their own rams. According to the law of division
of labour, perfection is attained by special dedication to
the separate parts of a whole ; and sheep-farming is not
an exception to the general law. Such minute and
detailed care is required in the management of a ram-
breeding establishment, that it is incompatible with the
direction of a large estancia, unless a perfectly distinct
staff of great intelligence is appointed to the work.

Addenda II.

I have counselled the selling off a portion, i.e. the
reduction, of the stock on all sheep-farms, when the
number of sheep approaches the limit of the capability
of the land for carrying stock with safety to the Avell-
being of the sheep and their progeny. Despite ordinary
care, large flocks have a tendency to degenerate relatively,
rendering necessary a constant dependence on the high-
caste breeder, whose business it is, by extra care, to pre-
serve elevated types and quality, and supply new blood.
This reduction should be on such a scale as would leave
ample room for future increase of better stock and, at the
same time, furnish funds for organising and effecting
requisite improvements.

When there is ample room for a flock of sheep, increase
is so rapid (supposing the stock to consist of animals that
have not passed the age of vigour) tliat we may estimate
them to have doubled themselves in three years ; and they
may do much more or less, according to the system fol-
lowed, and the composition of the flock, i.e. the proportion

64 STATES OF THE ElVER PLATE.

of breeding-ewes in it. A party who has 15,000 sheep
will, therefore, have an increase of 5000 yearly, for
which number he has to provide camp each year, or
they will die on his hands if not otherwise disposed of.
This is a self-evident proposition.

All sheep or ewes cease to be ' profitable stock ' after
they reach a certain age ; after a certain age too, they
rapidly die off in inclement weather. The life of a sheep
may be set down as eight to nine years (many will live
and lamb tiU ten). The profitable life of an ewe is con-
sidered six lambings ; as any subsequent progeny, as a
rule, is deficient in all desirable qualities. Infinnities, or
bad seasons, will destroy numbers, before they reach that
age or term of profitable existence.

The sheep-farmer, therefore, who has a lambing of any
given number, say in 1860, will have few of those animals
living in 1868 ; consequently, if he has not previously
disposed of them, they will have died on his hands. He
will probably complain of his annual losses as something
extraordinary, whereas they are merely a natural con-
sequence of the termination of the 'span of hfe' of the
animals. He will obtain more than a negative advantage
by selling (for the vat), and will also avoid this loss. The
risk of loss by deaths increases after the fourth lambing, as
the ' cold waves ' or the ' hot blasts ' tell with more or less
effect on declining vitality. The direct advantages of
employing the capital realised by the sale of unproductive
stock, in the improvement of the quahty and yield of wool
of the remainder, will be clear from the following explan-
ation : —

A party who has any given number of sheep, sells, say,
one-half of his stock, retaining only the ' borregas ' and
ewes that have lambed their first, second, and third lambs.
Let us assume that the sheep-farmer at the time of taking

SHEEP-FARMING. 65

this step, valued his stock, as they stood, at 3bS or 40;^
per head ; and that he sells all the ewes that have passed
their third lambing at 20;^ or 2b$ each ; then those which
he retains will certainly represent a value to the flock-
master of 458 to 50$ each.

The 20;^ or 26$ per head realised for these elder sheep,
will represent the probable nett product of their yield of
wool during the remainder of the natural period of their
profitable lives. Moreover, this sale is cash, and the yield
of wool to give that amount would extend over a period
of, say, three years ; this cash, therefore, is worth an
interest of 25 per cent., more or less. This 25 per cent,
interest on the capital realised, in addition to setting free
the camp for future and improved increase, is manifestly
more than an equivalent to anything the flock-master
could possibly have got out of the sheep sold, irrespective
of the wool.

The employment of the capital realised in the improve-
ment of the sheep, i. e. in the purchase of large, heavy-
fleeced rams, and in the requisite care, feeding, &c. (as
suggested in the foregoing paper on sheep-farming), may
be fairly calculated to give the following results : —

At the end of three years the stock will have consider-
ably more than doubled itself This increase of improved
or higher-bred animals will represent a value per animal
of, more or less, double that of the previous stock ; the
yield of wool from them will be, more or less, double in
quantity and much superior in quality, fetching, too, a
higher relative price.

The ' value ' of sheep to the wool-grower is determined
by the probable money-product of the wool. This value
is rated as the nett product of three years' (or at most four
years') cUp. The product of three or four years' wool,
therefore, represents the capital in, or value of, the sheep ;

P

66 STATES OF THE EIVEE PLATE.

and all product of wool, over and above three or four
years' clips, stands as profit or ' interest ' on that capital,
and against contingencies. If, therefore, tlie sheep- farmer
improves his sheep, and augments the weight and quality
of their fleeces during that period, that ' profit ' or ' interest'
will be proportionately greater.

The increase of numbers represents the charges of care
and management, and the interest on the money value of
the land,* plant, improvements, and the rams ; therefore,
according to the value of the stock, will the interest of
profit on this money value, or capital, be greater or smaller.

Thus, a party has a league of land, and on it, say, 8,000
sheep, which double themselves in three years ; this in-
crease of 8,000 sheep represents, as just said, expenses,
interest on value of land, &c.; the annual increase there-
fore averages 2,666, from which he may deduct a fourth
for expenses, say 666 sheep, leaving the 2,000 remainder
as interest. Assuming that the land and plant are valued
at 1,000,000^ currency, and the 2,000 sheep at bOS each,
this interest or profit would be 100,000^, or 10 per cent,
per annum. If the value of the increase is only 5b$ per
head for sheep, then the interest or profit is 2 per cent. ;
if, on the other hand, 100^ per head be the value of this
increase, the interest or profit is 20 per cent. ; or, this
profit is divided, as it were, with the land, augmenting the
value of that land, until an equilibrium is attained with the
current interest of landed securities.

The calculation is difierent on establishments for the
breeding of high-class sheep for the sale of rams. In these
the value of the male lamb at the time of weaning, repre-
sents the value of the ewes and the rams. Assuming that
two ewes lamb three male lambs in three years, the value

• The stock the land will carry fairly represents ita value.

SHEEP-FARMING. 67

of these three lambs represents the value of the two ewes,
and the proportion of the value of the ram ; the ewe
lambs represent the interest or profit on the land, plant,
&c. after paying all expenses of management, feeding, &c.
After weaning, the ram-lamb is chargeable with his own
expenses ; and he augments in value according to these
expenses, until he is ready for service ; his proportion
of galpon, potrero, corn, hay, cut-grass, bedding, care,
and labour, risk and interest, all must go to his account,
and the breeder must get back these expenses or he
loses money.

Addenda III.

I have before me the ' Journal of the Eoyal Agricul-
tural Society of Scotland' of July 1865, and in it I find
a direct corroboration of what I have written on the sub-
ject of the Australian sheep and wools. In a paper from
the pen of the renowned ' Old Norfolk Farmer,' there is
a brief history of the origin of sheep in Austraha, which
is as follows : —

In 1788 Captain McArthur introduced into that colony
a small number of Bengal coarse-wooUed sheep. Nine
years later three rams and six ewes of German Merino
arrived at the colony unexpectedly — they had been des-
tined for the Cape of Good Hope, for which they had been
shipped by the Dutch Government. Captain McArthur
purchased them, and continued systematically to cross and
refine his Bengal stock with them. Ten years later he
returned to England, and purchased from His Majesty
George HI. eight English Merino sheep, which he took
out with him to Australia to continue the refining of his
flock. Subsequently and continuously, as I have said in
my paper, the Austrahans have bred from the best blood

r 2

68 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

of English and French (Eambouillet) Merinos, as well as
German, with crosses of Leicester, Southdown, and other
British long and medium-woolled sheep.

The result, as stated by the ' Old Norfolk Farmer,' is,
that the Australian wool is of greater value than any
other, ' being as fine as the Merino, at the same time that
it is longer and stronger in staple, and, as he says, ' its
value in the market bespeaks its merits ; for, while the
finest (European) Merino is worth only 2s. 3c?. per lb., the
best Austrahan wool is worth 2s. 9c?. per lb.'

The facts and results related by the ' Old Norfolk
Farmer,' of the commencement and success of Australian
sheep-breeding, bear so marked an analogy to an indivi-
dual case of breeding and equal success in this country,
that I give the facts : A gentleman of this country, possess-
ing a number of pure Pampa long-woolled sheep, crossed
and refined them for a series of years (20 to 25) with the
Merino (Saxony). From the total of this refined flock he
then selected 180 ewes — the flower of tlie flock. These
he crossed with pure Cabana Imperial Eambouillet rams,
and for nine or ten years has continuously refined them
with pure rams of the same blood. The result of his
system of management and breeding is the success which
I report. His breed now surpasses in weight of fleece,
length and strength of staple, any and all of the imported
European sheep, and possesses a degree of fineness, soft-
ness, and elasticity of wool, very remarkable, and sufiicing
for any purpose whatever. The result of the sale of his
last year's cHp in the ' Plaza Constitucion ' (despite 'sarna'
caught from a neighbour's flock), as per broker's account
sales, was, for the ' borrega' and ewe flock, hW ""/,, per
sheep, equal to 7s. l^\d. per head in wool on the spot.
This same parcel of wool was re-sold at an equivalent to
60|f per fleece — equal to nearly 9s.

SHEEP-FAEMING. 69

This gentleman is Don Manuel Benavente, of whose
stock, my own flock (in association with Mr. Benavente)
is composed ; so that I write with a perfect certainty of
facts, which any person may verify by a visit to the
establishment.

I unhesitatingly add that these sheep have assumed a
type of their own which will vie with any other for
general usefulness, and for refining and improving the
breeds of this country, are unequalled. They surpass in
length and weight of fleece those of the Cabanas ' Imperial'
and ' Gilbert,' are finer than the latter, and as fine as the
average of the ' Imperials.' Many of the higher types —
the picked sheep — surpass the best I have seen of the
' Imperials ' in all points.

These sheep, like the Australian high-caste, must take
rank as an established special variety, — a variety the result
of the climate-influences of the country and a treatment
suited to it.

Addenda IV.

There are several establishments dedicated to the breed-
ing of Negretti rams, the stock of which is highly credit-
able and equal to the majority imported. At these estab-
lishments the aim has been to transfer and perpetuate in
this country, the identical type and qualities of the sheep
of the European Cabanas from which they were derived,
subjecting the sheep to the same treatment. But they
have not produced — have not aimed at producing —
an improvement of type or a modification of it, to render
them better suited to this country. It must be borne in
mind that we cannot transfer the German climate to the
Eiver Plate, but we have a climate admirably adapted to
the development of improved types.

70 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

The proprietors of these estabhshments will not need
me to apologise for this suggestion as indicating a higher
sphere of action on a field worthy of their labours, viz.
the reproduction of the German Merino blood under a
special and more generally useful type by the influence
of selection, perhaps, a judicious cross and treatment, in
all respects suited to our chmate, as has been done by the
gentleman above referred to, with the Trench Imperial
Merino, and as has been done by the high-class Austrahan
breeders.

We have only to refer to the opinion of the high
Spanish authority I have quoted in the foregoing paper,
and the present recently adopted practice of the North
German Cabanas to guide us to the direction in which
modification should be sought, i. e. a general usefulness
and consequent profitable return, length, strength, and
abundance of wool, and large size in the animal,_with
good fattening properties.

71

PAET III.

DISEASES OF SHEEP.
THEIK TREATMENT.

The scab. — This is one of the most severe scourges of our
flocks, and from its contagious character, there is scarcely
a hmit to its ravages. ' Prevention is better than cure ; '
therefore, every precaution should be taken against mix-
ture with contaminated flocks, or feeding over ground on
which such a flock has been pastured. Dirt, damp, ill-
ventilated ' galpones,' and over-crowding, as also insufii-
cient and injudicious feeding, are direct causes of the
disease, and should, therefore, be carefully avoided. Salt
as a purifier — rock-salt — should be disposed in the ' cor-
rals,' or in shade, where the sheep can have free access
to it.

There are many remedies, but I consider none more
effectual than preparations of tobacco and sulphur ; and
as soon as the disease appears it should be attacked.

The Southdown wash is a preparation of this class ; and
there are agents in the city for the sale of the paste, each
tin being labelled with instructions for use.

Demarchi's preparation of tobacco and sulphurous gas
I have found efficient and convenient. It is sold at
Demarchi's estabhshment in the CaUe de la Defensa, in
pint bottles. I have adopted two modes of using this
preparation ; one, when the wool is on the sheep, is as
follows : To a demijohn of five gallons (five frascos) of
water, put one pint bottle of the mixture, and keep it
corked. Take such a tin as is generally used for filHng

72 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

lamps with kerosene, and having filled it from the demi-
john, open the wool of the affected sheep the whole length
of the back from head to tail, and pour in the liquid ;
that done, open the wool on the sides, and down the fore
and hind-quarter, pouring in the liquid. A demijohn
[i.e. one pint bottle of the preparation) of five frascos will
probably suffice for thirty-five or forty sheep, or for fifty
or sixty lambs.

After shearing I use it as a bath. I use an octave cask
of water to six pint bottles of the preparation, keeping it
closely covered. From this I put into a large tub suffi-
cient to make a bath. As the sheep are shorn, I dip
them thoroughly, covering the bath the moment the
animal is taken out. I then place the sheep in another
tub, with a platform in it, to drain for a few minutes,
untie, and loose the animal. If there is any hard scab on
the sheep, it should be well rubbed in the bath. This
treatment I have never known to fail, if done efficiently.
The bath costs about 1$ ""/„ per head. An excellent dip
can be made on the farm by simply boiling tobacco and
mixing the decoction with a given quantity of water.
The dip should contain, in nine to ten gallons of water, the
juice of forty to forty-five ounces of tobacco. Sulphur
may be added to the decoction.

Foot Rot. — Another great scourge, and likewise con-
tagious. This is produced by treading in soft, wet ground,
and watery herbage.

Treatment. — Cleanse the foot, and pare away the hoof
wherever it is detached ; wash the affected parts clean
with chloride of hme water, or Demarchi's sheep-wash,
or tobacco water and dry ; then apply with a feather the
butter of antimony (a very efficient caustic) ; after a few
minutes for the caustic effect to be complete, a pinch or
two of Cordova Ume may be ' patted ' over the foot, or

DISEASES OF SHEEP. 73

coal oil, or tar and grease, with or without a mixture of
lime, or a small quantity of spirits of tar — as the rule, I
use Swedish tar or lime.

Leech in the Liver — Flucke. — ^No cure. The jfree use
of salt is a preventive.

Hove. — Salt is a preventive ; it is also a cure. A
dessert-spoonful dissolved in water is often eifectual ; or
still more effectual is half a drachm of chloride of lime ;
and in extreme cases ' tapping ' between the last rib and
the point of the hip. I have, however, foxmd that in
ordinary cases, taken in time, a good hard rubbing on
the distended parts, or even running the animals about,
suffices to give rehef.

Costiveness and Fulness of Blood, with dulness and gid-
diness.— In these cases the following purgatives may be
administered, say — 2 oz. Epsom salts, with a little ginger,
or 2 oz. linseed oil in linseed gruel. When the giddiness
is considerable, and the animal evidently much oppressed,
bleeding is desirable in the neck or leg, if the party un-
derstand it ; if not, cut a joint off the tail, and if that fails
to bleed (which in a far gone case it may), I have found
a cut across the nose have the desired effect. This fulness
of blood and vertigo arises from too luxuriant pasture in
the spring of the year.

spasmodic Colic.

Ginger 1 drachm

Epsom salts 3 «

Opixmi 2 or 3 grs.

(Repeat if required.)

Dysentery.

Linseed oil 2 oz.

Opium (powder) 2 grs.

(Repeat with less quantity of the oil.)

Inflammation of the Lungs. — Bleeding, purgatives,

74 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

Epsom salts, or linseed oil. A similar treatment may be
followed in all cases of inflammation.

In acute inflammation with spasmodic symptoms, the
use of opium or laudanum, in addition to bleeding and
purgatives, is desirable — one drachm to two drachms of
laudanum in linseed gruel, and one ounce of linseed oil, is
a suitable dose. In cases of inflammation of the bladder
and spasmodic contraction, it is the usual course. In ex-
treme cases I have used tobacco water with success, no
other remedy being at hand.

Maggots. — There are several remedies for these. The
first thing to be done is to clear them out of the wound,
and wash well with tobacco water or chloride of hme
water. Train oil and sulphur will kill maggots ; also
pepper. The remedy I most commonly use is strong de-
coction of tobacco, or the pure preparation of Demarchi
(tobacco and sulphur) poured into the wound, and then
' dust in ' Cordova hme, and work the two up to form a
paste ; dress daily until cured. After a time the simple
dusting with lime will suffice.

The foregoing appear to me to be the simplest and most
available medicines and treatment ; and, consequently, the
most desirable for those who have to be their own farriers
in the camp.

75

PAET IV.

THE SCIENCE OF HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING; WITH
DETAILS OF MANAGEMENT.

I.

Sheep-Breeding must be divided into two distinct
branches. One we denominate ' Sheep-Farming,' which
is the rearing of sheep for the different purposes of wool-
growing and meat-producing ; the other is the rearing or
breeding of fine stock, with which to supply the wants of
those who devote themselves to the other branch, or
department. These branches are essentially distinct ; at
the same time that they are mutually dependent, in ac-
cordance with the law of the division of labour ; a law
demonstrated by pohtical economists to be inseparable
from rapid development, and the attainment of perfec-
tion in the great industrial pursuits of the world.

It is reqmsite to start at once from this point, and
accept the law. It must be manifest to aU practical men,
on reflection, that these two departments of sheep-breed-
ing, as a rule, must, in this as well as in other countries,
be a separate business ; indeed it is probably more neces-
sary in this than in any other, for the almost impossibility
of procuring the means, or commanding the hands and
intelligence requisite to carry out and do justice to the
two branches, cannot fail to be recognised. Of course I
speak generally ; for there may be, and probably are, a

76 STATES OP THE EIVER PLATE.

few who, from unusually favourable circumstances in
point of establishment, facilities, and large means, will
succeed ; and who, from combining energy, knowledge,
and resources, need not be daunted, even by the great
difficulties presented by such an undertaking ; but these,
I say, are the exceptions.

The object of the ' sheep-farmer ' in this country is to
rear a large number — tens of thousands — of sheep, of a
good, thrifty class, to yield as large a quantity as possible
of a generally useful wool, of ready sale at a good price.
To bestow on his flock the requisite attention to secure
their progressive improvement and well-being, will afford
him ample work, ample thought, and ample employment
for his capital. His occupation is on a large scale, and
the distraction that would inevitably result from his
dedicating himself to the minute details attendant on
the other branch, would be extremely prejudicial to his
main interest. For the higher blood he must look to the
high-caste breeder, and from him procure the rams best
suited to the condition of his flocks, and of his purse.

In a previous paper I have enumerated the paramount
requirements of the flocks of Buenos Ayres, and sketched
the main principles which should guide the flock-master
in the selection of his rams, and the method of treating
them, and of disposing them in his flocks to the best
advantage ; and there only remains for me to urge all
' sheep-farmers ' to keep within compass of the capabiU-
ties of their lands for carrying stock, and to make a
provision against scarcity for the maintenance of their
flocks, as well as for the higher feeding of their rams.
The sheep-farmer should cut and stack some natural
grass as hay, if he should not have ' alfalfares.' He can-
not go wrong in this, for the natural grass and trefoil, even
though mixed with stray thistles, dock, ' flor morada,' and

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BEEEDIJfG. 77

the like, make excellent food for sheep or other animals,
provided they be ' got ' with the sap in them. Good,
elastic, sound-stapled wool is not compatible with ill-kept
sheep ; for the part of the wool that is grown during the
period of low condition is ' false ' or unsound, and it will
inevitably break at that point in the working, thus
rendering the short shorter. This is one of the causes
contributing, in a very marked degree, to the discredit of
Buenos Ayrean wools, lowering their value by a very large
percentage. The sheep-farmer, too, should not fail to
grow a moderate quantity of maize, for it is essential that
having invested in good, large, vigorous rams, they should
be corn-fed, and have the protection of a ' galpon,' or
shed. No matter what breed of rams he may purchase,
he will surely be disappointed in their progeny if the
treatment of the sires is not generous and well-regulated.
The tendency to degenerate of this or that breed is de-
claimed against by hundreds ; and this tendency is an
undoubted fact, when man or animal rarely, or only by
fits and starts, gets enough to eat. Believe it, my friend,
you would not long be the happy possessor of those
" brawny arms, bright eyes, and that portly appearance,
did you get aU ' farina ' and no ' asado,' and those half-
dozen magnificent 151b. fleece rams, that you have paid
5000^ or 6000,^ apiece for, will not long look as they
now look, and their next fleece wiU fall very far short of
the 151bs., if you stop their corn, hay, and cut grass, and
turn them out on cold wintry nights.

The rearing of ' high-caste breeding stock ' is, un-
doubtedly, the ' life-spring ' of successM sheep-farming
in all countries, and from this department of the business
must flow all that is good, and all that is to determine the
value of the products (and their standing in the eyes of
the great consumers) of a wool-growing country. No

78

STATES OP THE BIVER PLATE.

great national product can long depend on foreign coun-
tries for its means of reproduction. The best and most
suitable blood that the world can produce should be
sought out and introduced into a country proposing to
elevate itself in the production of an inexhaustible source
of wealth ; and with this ' blood ' — this breeding stock —
enterprising and intelligent men must work, to create for
their country an equal, or superior race, to disseminate, to
percolate, as it were, through the whole land. In this
way have all nations, by means of crossing their own
breeds, or improving and acclimatising those of others,
created for themselves breeds suited to the chmate, and
possessing, each in its way, special quahties and value.

In nations possessing the highest degree of civiHsation,
many individuals have earned for themselves an ever-
enduring fame by their labours in this field ; and crowned
heads have wrought in the same field with enthusiasm
and constancy, achieving great results ; and this too, in
many instances, from very small beginnings acquired with
difliculty : sometimes by national treaty, at great cost,
and even by smuggling.

For Buenos Ayres, ' high-caste ' breeding establishments
for sheep are a desideratum. To this branch it is essential
that men of special aptitudes should dedicate themselves,
and work with the very best materials, regardless "of cost.
Men of considerable intelligence and good knowledge of
the subject, great powers of observation, concentration of
will, patience of detail, and enthusiasm in the pursuit, can
alone hope to obtain marked success.

Perfection in the vegetable and animal kingdoms is
obtained by skilful cultivation, by the judicious application
of natural laws in the treatment, the laws of nutrition,
thermal laws, the principles of selection, and climatic
influences.

Everything that is superior in class, or quality, is essen-

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING. 79

tially artificial, and the infinite variety of type in animals
is due to the special application or accidental concurrence
of conditions favourable to this production. Once a
type, quality, or habit, is established or ' fixed ' in any
animal, it becomes hereditary so long as the progeny of
such animal continues to exist under the same conditions
as those under which it was created ; but, if subjected
accidentally or systematically to different treatment, and
different influences, such type, quahty, or habit, will ne-
cessarily become modified for better or worse ; and there
is, unquestionably, an art in adapting treatment to the
surrounding natural conditions of soil, climate, &c. so
as to produce advantageous modifications in the direction
most congenial to those conditions. The perfections or
good qualities attained by individuals, or nations, in breed-
ing sheep, under the law of hereditary transmission, are
available to others for pushing still further the course of
refining and adaptation of breeds.

To avoid a toilsome course, chequered by many failures,
in the work of improving and perfecting our sheep, the
' high-caste ' breeder should have at least a fair knowledge
of scientific principles, and the various ' cosmic ' influences
regulating and affecting the development of animals, their
nutrition, and well-being. I will endeavour to condense
a few of these principles, and give them a practical appli-
cation. I need hardly apologise for here referring to
'primary natural laws,' Avith a view to trace their connec-
tion with the matter in hand.

In the whole universe no atom is lost. Force is ever
existing — always equal — but ever changing, and passing
from one form to another. All things are mutually de-
pendent. Decay is the end of production — production
the result of decay — life of death — and death of life.
All life is the result of certain combinations and influences ;
and all growing and living forms are composed of the same

80 STATES OF THE EIVEE PLATE.

elements. Vegetable substances spring from tbe earth,
and inhale from the atmosphere. They contain within
themselves mineral constituents, non-combustible elements
drawn from the soil by their roots, and gaseous elements ;
the combustible elements, drawn from the atmosphere by
their leaves, &c. elaborated into an ' organism ' under
certain ' cosmic ' conditions — ^hght, heat, the sun's rays,
moisture, &c. When these vegetable substances decay,
their non-combustible elements return to the soil, and
their combustible or gaseous elements to the atmosphere
(the result of combustion), available to be transformed
into other substances, or other forms. Wlien taken as
food, they enter into the ' organism ' of the animal feeding
on them.

Animal forms are composed of identical elements, or
constituents, with the vegetable. These constituents are
derived from the vegetable substances on which the animal
feeds, and are elaborated into the higher organism of the
animal under the action of the so-called ' vital force,' the
circulation of the blood, and its oxidation by means of
the respiration of the oxygen of the atmosphere, and are
ultimately returned to the air and the soil in the exhala-
tions and excrements, and the decomposition of the body
after death.

All alimentary substances, vegetable or animal, are
composed of mineral substances, nitrogenous or albumi-
nous compounds (strength-giving), and heat-giving and
fat-forming compounds ; also water.

In vegetables, the heat-giving, or respiratory compounds
are in the form of starch, gum, sugar, and in many seeds,
as oil — instance, linseed, rape, cotton, &c. In the animal
structure the albuminous compounds and minerals are
the flesh, blood, juices, and bones ; and the heat-giving
compounds, which are as starch, &c. in the vegetable,
appear as fat and fatty tissue. Albuminous (or nitrogenous)

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING.

81

compounds and minerals exist in large proportion in the
tair or wool of animals, also in liorn and hoof ; these are
nitrogen compounds.

For the more facile elucidation of these matters, and to
render more clear the propositions and indications, I wiU
give some tables of analysis, made by the most eminent
chemists of the age.

MlNBEAL COKSTITUENTS OF THE AsHES OF FeEDINO SUBSTANCES.

Mixed

Alfalla

Maize

Natural

in

Trefoil

Bran

Potash

Grasses

flower

26-63

18-11

14-03

24-928

\ 44-15

Soda .

7-54

1-35

6-44

3-039

Magnesia .

15-44

6-75

3-64

12-176

Phosphate of

Lime .

1-69

21-85

60-57

34-918

46-05

Lime and

Phosphoric acid

39-85

6-97

13-68

7-352

Magnesia

Sulphuric acid .

5-56

2-46

4-23

3-718

Silica

2-29

37-89

3-46

1-313

•05

Iron, per Oxide .

-60

1-69

-63

1-470

•25

Common salt

...
loss-40

4-03

3.32

11.096

loss 5-08

100-00

100-00

100-00

100-000

100-00

NuTEiiTTE Constituents, &c.

Albuminous or Nitrogenous "|
compounds — i.e. flesh-form- \
ing and strength-giving . J

Heat-gi-ring or Ilespiratory and 1
Fat-forming — starch, gum, i
sugar, oil, and husk . J

Water

Ash

Com

Clover
TrefoU

Alfalfa
in flower

Bran

13

69i
14

H

3-606

13-864

80-640
1-890

3-83

♦14-44

69-96
3-04

Wood- 1
Fibre . *8-74

14-9

»56-6

13-8
6-0

*9-7

100

100

Husk J

100-00

100-00

* Together
23-18

» Together
66-30

82

STATES OF THE RITEE PLATE.

MiNSBALS rN THE ASH OF

Flesh.

Wool.

Phosphoric acid

. 36-64

Silica

16-74

Potash

. 40-20

Potash

4-12

Earths and iron

. 6.69

Soda.

2-00

Sulphuric acid .

. 2-95

Lime

16-16

Chloride potassium

. 14-52

Magnesia .
Salt .
Sulphuric acid

1-45
11-94
12-94

/

Phosphoric acid

16-66

/

Iron .

20-00

100-00

10000

Blood of S

BONB.

Phosphate of soda

. 13-30

Phosphate of lime .

63-68

Common salt .

. 66-57

Carbonate of lime

16-49

Sulphate of soda "

Silica, alkalis, -water, &e.

20-83

Phosphate of lime

. 19-90

/

Magnesia and iron J

loss 0-23

/

100-00

100-00

NxJTHiTrvB Constituents of Fat Mdtton.

Albuminous or nitrogenous compounds, and sulphur, 1 proportion 10 parts

ditto, in the flesh J

Fat . „ 27 „

Wool contains:

Hydrogen and carbon ....... 67-67

Nitrogenous compounds 17*72

Sulphur 24-61

100-00

From a study of the foregoing, it will be seen that
vegetable substances contain certain mineral constituents
in various proportions. These they draw from the earth,
and they are essential to the building up of the plant.
The other constituents are the nitrogenous compounds,
derived under the influence of light, heat, &c. from the
ammonia contained in the atmosphere ; and the non-
nitrogenous, the hydro-carbons, such as starch, &c. derived

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING. 83

under certain influences (called the vital force) from the
carbonic acid of the air.

The other constituent is water.

It will be seen also, that in the animal feeding on these
vegetable substances, there exists in the blood, bones,
flesh, and wool, the same mineral substances ; and these
pass into them from the food taken, by the animal. The
flesh of the animal is formed of albuminous or nitrogenous
compounds, which are assimilated from the hke com-
pounds of the vegetable matters ; hence these compounds
are called flesh-forming — flesh being merely a more highly
azotised form of the same materials. Likewise, the non-
nitrogenous portions, or constituents, of the plants which
are present in these, in the forms of starch, sugar, gum,
&c. — which are hydro-carbons — enter into the animal
organism, and, in the vital laboratory, are converted into
fat — a more pure and concentrated form of hydro-
carbon ; hence they are called fat-forming. They are
also styled heat-giving, or respiratory, for the reason that,
while a portion of them are retained as fat, and go to
form the fatty tissues as well as the fat deposits, another
portion is burned in the animal system. The oxygen of
the atmosphere being inhaled, and coming in contact with
the hydro-carbon, a combustion takes place, from which
the heat of the animal is derived ; exactly on the same
principle that coal (a hydro-carbon) is burned in a fur-
nace, or tallow, grease, or oil, is burned in a lamp. The
result of this combustion is carbonic acid gas, which is
exhaled.

From this the very great importance of attention to the
food of animals will be self-evident. The structure of the
animal, its bones, nerves, flesh, fat, and wool, are depen-
dent on it for their development and quality. Not only
must animals be furnished with a given quantity of food,

G 2

84 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

but of a class, and in due proportions, requisite for its
fullest development in all its parts, with a slight increase
of one or other constituent of food, when any deficiency
is noticeable, or any special ' force,' or quality, is required
to be brought out or developed. Should there be an
insufficient proportion of fat-forming and respiratory ma-
terials in the food, the animal would become lean, and the
heat of the body would be insufficient ; and in the absence
of a sufficient supply of combustible matter, it would
prey upon its own tissues. In the Uke manner, an insuf-
ficiency of flesh-forming substances would cause the
animal to shrink in muscle and decline in weight and
strength : an excess of fatty matters would clog up and
impede the action of vital functions and procreative
powers ; a deficiency of albuminous compounds would
weaken these powers, and affect the progeny to a very
serious degree ; the inevitable result would be degene-
racy in size, quality, and form, and deficiency in length,
strength, and quantity of wool.

It is of the greatest importance to the breeder of fine
stock, especially with respect to the males which are
destined to cross with less highly bred ewes, that, by a
course of judicious feeding, he should impart to them
that predominance of size, force, vigour, and procreative
power, which would ensure their transmitting to their
progeny their own type and quality. It is equally im-
portant to this end, that the ram should be fully deve-
loped— have attained maturity (two years, or upwards), if
possible, before he is admitted to ewes. It is on these
perfectly intelligible grounds that I have, in my first
paper, laid so much stress on keeping the rams apart
from the flock and feeding them well ; giving them, as
part of their food, an allowance of corn and bran, as
being a more highly azotised or concentrated albuminous

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BKEEDING. 85

food ; and that I have urged the selection of rams pos-
sessing the quahties desirable to be transmitted.

On the part of the young ewe, or ' borrega,' it is
equally important that she should have attained a certain
maturity, to enable her to bear, without injury, the great
vigour of the ram ; to nourish and develop the foetus
within her, and have a sufficiency of milk for her offspring
when lambed. Not only would the immature ewe be
unable to do justice to the begotten of a superior ram,
but her own incomplete form would be stopped in its
development, and she, and all her future offspring, would
be far inferior to what they otherwise would have been.

In the ' Cabaiias ' of the highest perfection in fineness,
silkiness, and length of wool — a Prussian Silesian high-
class ' Cabana ' — the ewe is not allowed to take the ram
before she is two years and a-half old ; and the ram is
not permitted to the ewe until he is three years old. I
consider, however, that in this more genial climate,
maturity is attained at an earlier age by several months ;
for as in vegetation a genial climate and higher tempera-
ture hastens the growth of a plant and ripens it, so it is
also in animal life.

The reason why the results I have indicated above
flow from too early connexion of the sexes, is, that in all
nature, a certain time — variable in each class, and under
different circumstances — is required for the development
of the frame. Development is a gradual process of
chemical combination and organic construction ; and
while these various changes and processes of building up
the structure are going on, all the materials are in a more
pliant form. Like the potter's clay, they are soft, impres-
sionable, and ductile ; and are all required to complete
the work and harden it off. If, before this ripening and
consolidation of the frame is complete, the powers of the ^

86 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

animal are taxed for other purposes, and another life is
given to the young ewe to maintain and form within her-
self, the means of her own development, the albuminous
and the fatty matters, wiU be abstracted from her tender,
ductile, immature body, to be used in the development of
the foetus ; and as there is thus a double call, and an in-
sufficiency for the two purposes, both suffer. Also, as
regards the man ; until he has completed his growth he
has nothing to spare ; so that too early a call upon his
procreative powers is an obstruction of the albuminous
compounds which are required to build up his flesh,
muscle, and strength. So great is this drain on even the
powers of a mature ram, during the season that he is with
the ewes, that, although he has, by careful and hberal
feeding, stored up within him a reserve of substance and
vigour, nevertheless he will suffer unless his feeding be
fully maintained. Indeed to meet this drain, extra-careful
and liberal feeding is advisable. There is a ' waste ' going
on, and this 'waste' must be constantly replaced by sup-
plying to the body that which it parts with in another
form. As the ram is restless and working at this period,
it is desirable to give him his food in a form easily and
speedily eaten ; as otherwise liis restlessness might pre-
vent his eating a sufficiency ; and, at the same time, it
would be weU to make it more digestible and more easily
assimilated, by means of the finer crushing of his maize,
and the addition of a little barley — both softened with a
little boiling water, sufficient to swell the grain shghtly.
The corn so softened should stand for two or three hours
before feed-time, adding dry bran to the com, when
cool.

The knowledge of the nutritive value of different foods
is of importance to the breeder, as will be readily under-
stood from the tables I have given.

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING. 8T

If we take the analysis of alfalfa at its highest point of
nutritive value, we see that it contains of albuminous
compounds, i. e. strengthening and flesh-forming sub-
stances, 3-83 per cent. ; against, of fat-forming substances
— as starch, sugar, wood-fibre, &c. — 2 8" 18 per cent.
The proportion here is as 1 to 6.

In corn, we find that of strengthening matters, there
are 13 per cent. ; against fat-forming and husk, 69^ per
cent., or more or less the proportion of 1 to 6^.

In bran, there are of strengthening matters, 14*9 per
cent. ; ditto of fat-forming and husk, 66"3 per cent., or
more or less the proportion of 1 to 4^.

It is self-evident that by the addition of from one half-
pound to a pound and one-half (according to size of
animal and other requirements) of mixed corn and bran
to his green food and hay, he receives a ration calculated
to give him greater strength and vigour ; and, while
young and growing, greater means of development.

It will not be uninteresting to trace the course of con-
version of food into the animal organism. Food, from
the moment that it enters into the mouth, enters on the
phases of conversion under the influence of chemical
action. The secretions from the glands of the mouth and
throat, known as saliva, in the course of the subdivision
by mastification of the food, mix with it. These secre-
tions are alkaline, and act on the starch constituents of the
food, efiecting the first change, or step in elaboration, by
converting them into dextrine and sugar. The albuminous
compounds of the food remain chemically unchanged,
although mechanically prepared by subdivision, the result
of mastication, for subsequent action. Alkaline secretions
do not influence these compounds, which require the
action of an acid. This awaits them in the acid secretions
from the glands of the stomach, in the kyle, or gastric

88 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

juice, through the instrumentahty of which digestion is
effected.

The digested food thence passes into the ahmentary
canals, which are lined with absorbent glands, which
latter take up the nutritive matters of the food, prepared
respectively by the saKva and kyle.

Eamified in every direction, and in contact with these
glands, is the complex system of blood-vessels, into which
these nutritious juices enter as blood, and are conveyed
through the great vein-trunks into the lungs, where,
coming into contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere
inhaled, combustion takes place ; and this burned, or
oxydised blood, is forced into the arteries, by them con-
veyed through the system, and, under the so-called vital
action, becomes flesh, fat, tissue, bone, &c. &c. Every
portion, every organ of the body, being endowed with the
power of selection, absorbs its own constituents, which
become elaborated into it, replacing the incessant waste
of substance resulting from action and hfe, and adding to
the bulk of substance, flesh, or fat, any excess over such
waste.

Should there be any deficiency in the component parts
of food taken — a single item, mineral, albuminous, or
hydro-carbonic, wanting, or deficient in quantity, the
substance, or organ, of the body requiring such ingre-
dient in excess of the quantity contained in the food,
would necessarily suffer, as its ' waste ' would not be
replaced, and uniform development would be impossible.
Thus, in the absence of hme in the food, bone could not
be formed ; the absence, or deficiency, in alkahes, and the
liquefaction of the blood, would be impossible or defective ;
a deficiency of starch, sugar, or oleaginous matter, and
fatty tissue could not be formed. On the same principle,
within limits, we may graduate the proportions of food

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BREEDING. 89

constituents so as to give special development and en-
gender a special habit of body in animals ; for instance,
producing a greater or less tendency to fatten, or to make
beef or flesh ; accommodating the mechanical treatment
so that the health may not suffer ; and, in order to second
the object aimed at, more or less exercise, shelter, or ex-
posure, are material influences, which the skilful breeder
should know how to graduate according to the proposed
end.

Following out the subject of nutrition, or feeding, of
animals of great value, whose perfection of type, special
properties, and constitutional vigour, are so intimately
connected with it, it is desirable to indicate certain con-
ditions of the natural and other pasture, under various
circumstances, so that the high-caste breeder may sup-
plement such fodder with other matters of food, when
there is deficiency in any essential ingredient. It does
not suffice that the animal is supphed with any given
quantity of food-matters ; but, as I have said, such food
must be in fit condition and possess the right proportions,
more or less, of feeding-ingredients, to form, sustain, and
renew every portion of the body, and to enable all the
functions to be performed harmoniously, naturally, and
with facility.

In the winter season, by reason of the low temperature
and feeble heat of the sun, the growth and organisation
of herbage is in comparative abeyance. Owing to the
non-concurrence of all the cosmic influences in the requi-
site degree, the winter herbage does not assimilate har-
moniously with the various elements of its organism, and
there is wanting in it the due proportions for its complete
development. It has an excess of water, and a deficiency
of saccharine, or starchy elements, as also of the alkaline
salts. It is deficient in nutritious properties generally. It

90 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE,

is not fully organised, and, consequently, does not — taken
as food — meet the requirements of the animal organism.
Animals, therefore, fed exclusively on it, grow lean and
weak. In a season of much rain and cold, these defi-
ciencies in nutritious and mineral matters are augmented,
and animals are affected with purging and other ailments.
Low, banado-land herbage is particularly deficient at that
season in alkaUes and saccharine matters, by reason of
its constant washing. To correct this, and prevent the
purging of the sheep (or other animals), the use of salt
— common or rock-salt — is desirable. In Europe the
winter's grass is supplemented with turnips, mangold-
worzel, and hay. These roots — containing largely of alka-
line salts and saccharine matters, and good hay, that is,
well-got hay, or even chopped-straw — corrects the excess
of water and supphes an organised matter ; and in good
hay all the nutritious ingredients which constitute good
nourishing food are present. No flock of value, there-
fore, should be without a supply of hay (turnips and
chopped-straw are not at present available in this country,
their use being an ' economic ' of advanced farming). In
. the winter, they should never be turned out on the cold
grass pasture in the morning before they have had their
bite of hay ; and they should always have their ration of
hay to come home to of an evening. The deficiency of the
due proportions of nutritious ingredients in food has the
efiect of producing disease ; and, in many instances, para-
sitical disease (' Entozoa '), which, according to the nature
of the deficiency, attacks different organs — worms in the
intestines, leech in the liver, &c. This deadly plague —
leech, or fluke — ' Sobaisse,' for instance — is a parasite
generated by the sheep feeding on vegetable matter in
a state of fermentation, or partial decomposition, under
the action of the sun's rays, from which the alkalies

HIGH-CLASS SHEEP-BRKEDING. 91

and sugars have been largely abstracted by an excess of
water, with which the ground has been long saturated,
and in which the plant has been immersed wholly, or
in part. There is httle doubt that aU the varieties of
' Entozoa ' are generated from similar causes.

In the early spring, when there is rapid growth of
vegetation — 'trefoUum' more especially — there is con-
siderable danger from hove, blood-strike, vertigo, or
apoplexy. The organisation of the vegetable has been
too rapid to be perfect in all its parts ; it, in conse-
quence, too readily ferments, and produces these evils.
A morning's feed of hay obviates considerably the danger
from this, and the use of salt is very beneficial.

In the summer, when the grasses have shed their seed,
the dry leaves and seed-stems contain little nourishment.
The albumen and starch have departed from them, as well
as the alkalies. They, therefore, do not contain the needful
for the formation of blood. The water, Ukewise, has dried
out of them. It is, therefore, requisite to supply, in arti-
ficial food, these deficiencies, otherwise the animal shrinks
in flesh and fatty tissue. If there has been an abundant
seeding of the grasses and trefolium — and these seeds,
and the oleaginous seeds of the thistle, he intermingled
with the dried grasses^ — sheep will keep in fair condi-
tion, provided that they have sufficient water ; but valu-
able animals should have a httle aid from artificial
grasses — alfalfa, in a green state. There can be no ques-
tion of the advantages of giving such animals a little
green food in the cool of the evening. During the long,
hot days, with all the insect annoyances, animals cannot
feed. They collect in groups, seeking shade from one
another ; and it can be well conceived how grateful a
bite of cold green fodder must be to them in the even-
ings. If they are ' shedded,' put into ' galpones,' or sheds,

92 STATES OP THE RIVER PLATE.

during the heat of the day, a bite of green fodder will be
equally grateful to them at that time. The ' high-caste '
breeder is amply repaid for these attentions to the com-
fort and requirements of his stock, as he wiU have little
sickness and a much higher development in his animals.

The dfferent requirements of young and mature animals
in their food-matters, is also a point of mark with the
' high-caste,' or, indeed, any breeder. In the young and
growing animal ' construction ' bears a much greater pro-
portion to the waste than in mature animajs. There is a
quicker circulation, and a more rapid oxidation is needed.
The albuminous compounds of the food are required to
be in a condition easily and speedily assimilable ; and
there is required, to meet the rapid oxidation of the
blood, that predominance of the saccharine element which
exists in green, succulent herbage over that which is
passing into ripeness and seed ; and, more especially, that
which is over-ripe, and from which the saccharine and
alkaline elements have, in a great measure, departed, and
in which the woody-fibres — the non-digestible matters —
prevail.

The action of ' good feeding ' on the wool can also be
understood by a reference to the foregoing tables ; for we
see in the ' ashes ' of wool the minerals of the food which
the animal eats, and in the ' substance,' a very high pro-
portion of nitrogenous and sulphurous compounds.

n.

I will now proceed to make a few remarks and sugges-
tions on important points in management.

The selection of the most desirable season of the year
for the lambing must be determined by the more or less

POINTS m MANAGEMENT. 93

advantageous condition of the herbage at certain periods
of the year, to suit the dam and her offspring at the time
of suckhng and weaning.

First : At the time of impregnation, the ewe should be
in good condition ; the result of good, succulent food ;
she should be ' sappy,' and prone to conceive.

Second : At the time of lambing there should be rich,
succulent grass, in order that her food may be easily con-
verted into milk.

Third : At the time of weaning there should be rich,
nutritious grass, to compensate to the lamb for the loss of
his dam's milk.

The extremes of cold and heat should be carefully
avoided as periods for lambing. A lamb should be well-
grown and strong before he has to face the heats of
summer, which wither and burn up everything, vegetable
and animal. Little or no nutriment remains in dried
grasses. Their albumen, alkahes, and saccharine matters,
have passed into their seeds, or descended into the earth ;
or are extracted by sun and rain ; and they are, conse-
quently, particularly unfit for young stock.

The season of the year when the first proposition can
be best realised, is that when all nature is springing, and
animal life animated with the instinct of propagation —
the spring of the year. I should, all things considered,
select the months of October and November as the most
suitable for putting the rams to the ewes. If the rams
are in high condition (as they ought to be), five weeks
will be sufficient for ' tipping ' every ewe in the flock.

The ewes will consequently lamb in the month of
April (in cold districts the lambing may advantageously
come in earlier), when the autumn grass is abundant, and
the weather stiU genial, and free from any excessive
heats. The lambs will become strong and hardy before

94 STATES OF THE BIVEE PLATE.

the winter sets in ; and the ewes, being kept in good con-
dition by a daUy ration of hay, in addition to the grazing,
and a httle corn for the highest bred ones, coupled with
the requisite protection, there will be no fear of the lambs
suffering.

The weaning time will fall in September, and the lambs
will have the rich, succulent spring grass to supply the
place of their dams' milk, and wUl be well-grown and
strong before the summer heats come on ; the ewes will
have time to accumulate strength and condition by the
time of their next impregnation ; and, I believe, that under
no other arrangement could so favourable a combination
of circumstances be obtained.

m.

Thermal influences, and their regulation, are not less
important niatters. It is necessary in respect of these
regulations that the mean temperature of a locality, or
climate, should be taken into account, together with the
extremes of thermal variation ; and it is essential to have
a right understanding of their influences.

There must be a certain heat diffused throughout the
body, or the vital action is in abeyance, or ceases, and
reconstruction, or development, cannot proceed. This
heat is generated as explained by the combustion of the
hydro-carbons of the food taken ; and the quantity of
such constituents of the food required to maintain this
heat, is mfluenced by the external temperature — the
temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.

The action of external cold is that of reducing the heat
of the body, on the principle of transmission, or evolution,
of heat — the equahsing of the temperatures of substances

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 95

and elements in contact. At a low atmospheric tem-
perature, the superficial parts of the body part with their
heat more rapidly than it can be generated and diffused
under the action of combustion of a given quantity of
carbonaceous matter taken in the food. The effect of cold,
when below a certain degree, is to contract the parts,
contract the blood-vessels, and force back the blood ;
consequently, to impede the process of formation, or
reconstruction, which is dependent for its reahsation on
the blood, and in a certain temperature being maintained
in aU the parts. A larger amount of carbonaceous food,
within limits, being supplied, the equihbrium of evolution
of heat and its generation, is more nearly maintained.

Shelter, producing a warmer surrounding atmosphere,
and non-conductors used as covering, diminish the neces-
sity for an increased quantity of heat-giving food, and are,
in effect, equivalent to a certain amount of food. The
absence of shelter and external warmth cannot, however,
be wholly compensated by food. An unusual degree
of cold produces an effect, inevitably. The skin, and
parts adjacent, will always be affected, as wiU also the
natural covering — hair, or wool, of animals. The con-
traction of the hide and inner skin — from which the wool
springs and draws the means of growth — restricts the
passage into the wool of the elements of its growth, and
diminishes the supply of yolk — which is its natural protec-
tion and softener — and it becomes wanting in texture and
elasticity. In hke manner, the wool suffers from the
effect of wet. The yolk is not of the wool, but is" pro-
vided as its protection. Its composition is oleaginous and
alkaline ; mainly, animal grease and compounds of pot-
ash ; forming, in fact, a true soap, which is washed away
by rain, leaving the wool comparatively dry and harsh.

The action of external heat greater than the normal

96 STATES OF THE EIVEB PLATE.

heat of the blood and body, prevents the evolution of the
heat generated in the body ; it, therefore, disarranges the
equilibrium, which is needful for health, between the
generation and evolution of tlie vital heat, producing an
excessive expansion, or relaxation, an excess of cutaneous
secretions — to meet which a plentiful supply of water is
requisite — a waste of the juices and of the tissues ; and
consequent general relaxation and debility, or the blood
becomes fevered, and its fatty and albuminous elements
have a tendency to lose, to a certain extent, their in-
dividuality.

It is an object with the high-class breeder to protect
his sheep from both extremes ; and, as above-stated, to do
this to the greatest nicety, the variations and mean tem-
perature of a climate must be taken into account. Here,
in the Kiver Plate, we have a very temperate heat during
the greater portion of the year. During the winter
months, though raw and bleak, we have rarely any con-
tinuance of severe cold at all comparable to the cold of
England, North Germany, and France — the cold here
rarely exceeding a hoar-frost, which disappears with the
nioming sun. On the other hand, the summer heats
range considerably higher, frequently reaching, and ruling
for many days together, 90° to 95° Fahr. in the shade,
and from 100° to 125° Fahr. in the sun. Under these
circumstances, a slight protection from cold, and an airy
shade, or protection, against the summer heats, is what are
desirable to aim at ; and, of course, an efficient protection
against wet. The close housing required to meet the
severe cold which prevails for months in Great Britain,
North Germany, and the North of France, is quite unne-
cessary and undesirable here, even in the winter ; and
such houses would be intolerable during the summer
months, both by reason of the heat and the effluvia.

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 97

In direct connection with this is the subject of ventila-
tion. The assimilative and formative process is sensibly
affected by it. As I have stated, the food taken by the
animal is elaborated into the ' organism ' through the
blood, and this is eifected through the instrumentality of
the oxidation of the blood. The oxygen of the atmo-
sphere being inhaled into the lungs, comes into contact
with the blood, and is taken up by it, effecting a combus-
tion of the hydro-carbons of the food, by means of which
animal heat is generated, as before said ; and through its
agency the machinery of elaboration (the manufacture of
flesh, fat, &c.) is kept in operation. Stop the supply of
oxygen, and the fire goes out and the machinery ceases to
work. Diminish the supply of oxygen, and cause this di-
minished supply to enter into the lungs, associated with
deadly and noxious vapours, and the work is imperfectly
performed, and disease and wasting ensue.

The vapours generated in a close shed or house in
which animals are kept are carbonic acid gas, sulphurated
hydrogen, and ammoniacal vapours, which have the effect
of thinning the blood and paralysing its circulation ;
while the deficiency of oxygen causes to be left unburned
in the blood fatty globules, which obstruct the circulation,
and to a certain extent poison, as it were, the system, by
clogging it with vmassimilated matter and depriving it of
all tone or vigour of life, which constitutes health and
development.

The want of cleanliness, as well as of fresh air, with its
life-spring of oxygen, is of very serious prejudice to
health. I may here call attention to the very grave evil
which appears to have taken chronic possession of many
flocks from which the ' galpon ' — the shedded sheep of
many, if not most, of our first-class sheep-breeders — are
never free, viz. the scab ; and more especially those of

II

98 STATES OF THE KIVBR PLATE.

German and Merino blood. There is no doubt in my
mind that, from the habit of excessive confinement, high
feeding, dirt, and impure atmosphere combined, the ten-
dency has become chronic in their blood ; and a total
change of system, and much care, may be required to
eradicate it.

The course I would recommend is, in the first place, to
select a genial period of the year, when sweet succulent
grass is abundant. Shear the sheep, ' dip ' them thoroughly
in Demarchi's preparation of sulphur and tobacco, or
other similar ' dip,' and remove them at once to new,
clean ground, which would have to be reserved and
fenced off in anticipation of this. In this clean ' potrero '
I should leave them day and night, or, if the situation
was inconvenient, bring them into a smaller ' potrero ' —
not a ' corral ' — at night. Pure water to drink at discre-
tion, and rock-salt to hck. Shade (of trees, or other) to
drive them under during extreme heat of the sun. While
the sheep were getting thus a two, three, or four months'
run — effecting a change in their whole system and puri-
fying their blood — I would recommend all sheds, racks,
and every portion of the ' plant ' where they had been
kept, undergoing a thorough cleaning and purifying. I
would not allow any sheep to enter on to this ' plant ' or
ground for some months.

I should certainly allow sheep to run in the fresh air
as much as possible. I have no doubt, from my own ex-
perience, that much greater vigour is attained by animals
that are as much in the open air as is practicable, without
exposure to extremes of heat or inclemencies of weather.
There are few days in the spring, autumn, and winter,
when the sheep may not be out grazing the greater part
of the day ; and in the summer, early in the morning
and in the cool of the evening, with decided advantage ;

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 99

and as breeding-stock, destined for the regeneration of
the flocks of the country, especially so. There is also an
economy in the practice. They, however, should not have
an opportunity of ranging over too great an extent of
ground.

IV.

With a knowledge of thermal and atmospheric in-
fluences, we can rightly estimate the immense importance
of a judicious arrangement and ventilation of the build-
ings, or ' galpones,' where sheep are housed. An ill-con-
trived ' galpon ' will suffice to mar the entire prospect,
and defeat every attempt of the breeder. Packed in a
close ' galpon,' the sheep soon consume the oxygen, and
fill the place with the carbonic acid gas which they
exhale — a vapour fatal to health and, in quantity, to life.
Add to this (should the ' galpon ' not be kept clean) the
sulphurated hydrogen, and other foul vapours, which are
generated ; then, suppose these sheep, after passing a night
in this heated and foul atmosphere, turned out to en-
counter the chill of a winter's morning, and we need no
fuller catalogue of fatal evils. Under such circumstances,
the benefits of the best of blood are lost ; the circulation
of the blood is sluggish, its oxidation is imperfect, and
the process of formation (the vital action) is feeble, the
flesh flabby, and the wool deficient in texture, elasticity,
and quantity. Skin, lung, and bronchial diseases, become
chronic ; and the progeny of such sheep is contaminated
and will infallibly degenerate, and be afilicted with the
chronic state of sarna, noticeable in many flocks.

The construction of sheds, or ' galpones,' should be
regulated according to the number of sheep to be housed.
For a flock of from one, two, to three hundred and

h2

100 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

upwards, I consider the best form of protection to be
a long shed, open in its whole front, built at the south
side of a large ' corral,' with the open front facing the
north. Brick and mortar ' galpones ' I consider the very-
worst possible ; I should be sorry to house sheep that
I valued in such an one.

I am convinced that a simple shed of pine boards, with
board, shingle, or thatched roof, is the best for these cli-
mates. The boarding at the back should not come down to
the ground. A few inches should be left between the lower
plank and the flooring, and the space of several inches
should intervene between the upper plank and the roof.
Large openings, vnth shutters to raise up or let down,
should be placed in both gables, so as to ensure the
free circulation of air. The best flooring is that of weU
laid brick, with a sufficient fall, and should be kept
clean. The accumulations of litter and dung permitted
in many establishments is decidedly objectionable, as
being productive of skin diseases, hce, fly-blows, and
foot-rot, besides creating exhalations unquestionably
unwholesome.

The sheep should be free to lie in the shed, or ' corral,'
at will— stormy wet nights excepted — and for the pur-
pose of shutting them in on such occasions, movable
open hurdles should be used. Wet should be avoided as
prejudicial to health and to the wool.

Where a few choice rams, or ewes, are ' stalled,' a
closed ' galpon ' is necessary. This, likewise, should be of
plank, and bricked-floor, with a fall to both sides. A
space of three to five inches should intervene between
the ground and planking, and of eight to twelve inches
all round between the top planks and the roof Ilalf-an-
inch to an inch should be left between each plank, and
there should bel arge openings with ' flap '-shutters in the

POINTS IN MANAGKMENT. 101

gables, to be shut or opened as required. The bedding
should be taken out and dried daily, and the clean por-
tion returned, with the addition of a little fresh litter, after
the stalls have been well brushed out and dried.

Such a shed would be sufficiently warm in the winter
with the shutters down, and cool in the summer with the
shutters up. If the closed shed is large, there should be
ventilators in the roof from end to end.

By reference to the table of the ash of the blood of
sheep, it will be observed that 66^ per cent, of that ash
is common salt. Alkaline salts are essential to its lique-
faction. Lumps of rock-salt should, therefore, be placed
in the ' corrals,' or sheds, so that sheep may have free
access to them. Salt is also a preventive against skin
diseases, leech, and hove (' sobaipe ' and ' empacho '), and
it renders both the male and female more fruitful.
Cleanhness in the food, feeding troughs, and water-
vessels (bebidas), and pure water, are of the highest
importance.

The plan of making a loft in the ' galpon' or sheep-
house, wherein to store corn and fodder, is extremely
objectionable. On the one hand, the provender so stored
becomes more or less contaminated with the exhalations
from below, and on the other hand the lower part of the
building is rendered close and unwholesome.

The physiological question of the advantages or disad-
vantages of in and out-breeding respectively, that is, of
breeding from near relations, or from perfectly distinct, or
far removed branches of families, is one of great impor-
tance, on which much has been written. The consideration

102 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

of expediency as to the crossing of two distinct
breeds or races for specific objects, or with ulterior
views, though apart from the question itself, has its con-
nection with it. There are numerous advocates of both
systems, and each claim to have met with success in the
prosecution of each principle ; and therefore recommend
the adoption of the practice which they beheve to be,
and have succeeded in, best. I am free to admit, that
there have been successful breeders on both principles,
followed out consistently over a considerable period of
time and through many generations. The fact of success
under both systems goes to demonstrate that there was a
difference of circumstances and objects, and that there
can therefore be no arbitrary rule applicable to all cases.

The principle of ' out-breeding ' is accepted in these
countries generally as tlie acme of sound practice ; and it
is beheved by many that if the rams of flocks are changed
every two or three years, little else is required. To such
an extent is this idea carried in some cases that the
veriest mongrels are produced ; and I have even known
cross-bred rams of Negretti, Saxony, Eambouillet, and
long-woohed British extraction, all running in the same
flock, at the same time, and changed for an equally
mongrel lot — picked up here, and there, and everywhere —
after two or three years, under the impression that the
' principle ' of ' out-breeding ' was being carried out.

My own experience goes to show that ' out-breeding,'
as a rule, is destruction to uniformity of type. A judi-
cious ' out '-cross is, under many circumstances, attended
with good in flocks in general, and even in the flocks of
high-caste ; but such ' out '-cross must be made with
sheep of an identity of type, and of the same race, if
purity of blood and high quahty is to be preserved. All
successful founders of breeds of improved sheep have made

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 103

the distinctive characteristics of their stock by means of
'in '-breeding, frequently of the very closest. I believe it to
be one of the greatest ' powers ' — selection and ' in '-
breeding — in the hands of a skilful breeder, especially
the ' in '-breeding of the rams. There can be no doubt
that defects of constitution, or type, are strengthened and
perpetuated by ' in '-breeding, rendering especially neces-
sary skilful selection. On the other hand, good points
and special type are, undoubtedly, transmitted with
greater certainty and fixity when ' in '-breeding is the
rule, and an out-cross, not too far removed, the exception.
An ' out '-cross is desirable when there is any manifestation
of faihng vigour, or other degeneracy, or when any animals
of one branch of a family have attained, by reason of
favourable combinations of circumstances, higher and
better quality than other branches. There can be no
question that, in such case, the selection of the breeder
should fall on the luost perfect and vigorous ram.

When failure, or a certain degeneracy, has resulted from
' in '-breeding, I do not hesitate to say that it has been
rather the fault or error of the breeder than of the
principle. It will be found that, in the majority of such
cases, the breeder had directed his attention to certain
qualities which he sought to advance, and in so doing
lost sight, in some degree, of other qualities which were
essential to the perfect animal. The result lias been that
one special quahty, engrossing the attention of the breeder,
has dominated, causing constitutional weakness. Take
the instance of early excessive fatting quahties, which, if
carried beyond a certain point, must result in weakening
the procreative power (hence so many barren cows and
ewes, as well as some unfruitful rams and bulls), and in
the diminution of muscle, bone, and general vigour, to
a degree prejudicial to a race, and the transmission of

104 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

true quality, ending, ultimately, in defeating the primary
object. The ' out '-cross, to repair decreasing vigour,
becomes a necessity. It is required to restore the equi-
librium of healthy development. ' In '-breeding carried
beyond a certain limit would, it is more than probable,
of itself produce degeneracy ; but the danger in sheep-
breeding is remote, except when a very small number
are kept ; as, by the rule of selection, the most perfect
rams should always be destined to propagate the race ;
and when the stock comprises several hundreds of ewes,
there are several families in different grades of relation-
ship, and the probability is that the best rams result from
different branches, and different combinations of these
branches, in the course of selection.

The object of high-caste breeding is to produce rams to
raise the type, and generally to improve the stock of the
country, and to create new varieties by crossing with
others. In this operation, it must be borne in mind, that
there is something more than an ' out '-cross — it is a cross
between distinct varieties ; and as this is done — i. e. the
improvement of races, or the creation of new types —
through the dominant procreative power of the males of
superior caste, it is very desirable that the power of trans-
mitting type should exist in the males in the highest
degree — a result of ' high ' or ' in '-breeding. It is, there-
fore, of the greatest importance to the sheep-breeder that
the rams which he uses, with the object of improving his
stock, should be ' in '-bred. I have had signal success
by adopting this practice ; and I have extended the
practice with the like success with the ewe progeny of
these ' in '-bred rams — putting rams to them closely allied
to their sires, and even the same sires.

There is a very large number of sheep-farmers — in
fact, the majority — who in their practice commit one of

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 105

the greatest of errors. They have a vague idea of im-
proving their stock and, with tliat end in view, purchase
one, two, or three fine rams. These they put into one of
their flocks, or with a number of ewes selected from their
flocks. The half-bred male produce of these they use in
the other flocks, and even in the same flock, expecting,
of course, brilliant results, and are grievously disap-
pointed at finding they make no, or, at all events, very
little progress. It is a recognised fact among breeders
that a farmer who uses his half-bred rams in his flock
commits a fatal error. The higher blood of the sires of
these half-bred rams is always dominated (vencido) by the
blood of the dams in the progeny resulting from the ewes
of the flock and the half-bred rams. Half-bred rams
have no fixity of type ; whereas, the ewes of any race, or
variety, though it may be ever so inferior, have such
fixity, even if it be a fixity of bad quahty ; and that fixity
will always prevail over anything that is half-bred in
rams. To refine, or improve, simply means to dominate
inferior blood and quality by higher blood and higher
quahty, in superior force.

VI.

The foregoing explanations will suflice to show that
the man who purposes to form and carry on a high-bred
sheep estabhshment has no light task before him ; that
mind and will must be directed to the vmdertaking ; that
there is no detail unworthy of his close attention ; that the
details mentioned herein, and very many others, which
will continually present themselves in the course oif his
undertaking, cannot be neglected ; that he must be ever
observant, and ever prepared to meet all contingencies ;

106 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

that his employes and labourers must be intelhgent, trust-
worthy, and orderly ; and, finally, that he must be rigid
in the exaction of the most systematic management.

The man who is not prepared to meet all these require-
ments had better leave high-caste breeding alone. On the
other hand, he who will fulfil its requirements, and
breed from the best blood, will succeed to his own satis-
faction, and prove a great benefactor to his country.

A great expense and much thoughtfiil care is neces-
sarily entailed in the production of superior animals ;
and there will naturally arise a fear that in this country,
where the general habit is to go in for lo barato (the
cheap), adequate prices might not be obtained. But, it
may be taken for granted, that there are many among
the wealthy and inteUigent sheep-farmers sufficiently alive
to their own interests as to be ready and willing to pay a
good price for superior stock. Indeed, we often see in
the auction sales of imported sheep (in the absence of
sufficient thoroughly good home-bred stock) animals of
questionable blood, inferior size, and in every respect ill-
calculated to benefit our flocks in any appreciable degree,
sold at prices far above their intrinsic value for the
purposes for which they were destined.

Our climate is admirably adapted to the production of
the liighest class sheep ; and I know that results have
been obtained by one or two, under proper management,
which leave little or nothing to be desired ; and that there
are rams bred in the country which far exceed anything
that is imported. I see no reason why, in a few years,
we should not have a breed of sheep extensively estab-
lished in the country, yielding a product that may com-
pare and compete in genei-al usefulness with anything
that is produced in other countries. I trust that tlie day
is not far distant when a flock of sheep which yields less

POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. ] 07

than 61bs. to Tibs, of wool per head, will be a rare ex-
ception ; and I likewise feel assured that the day is close
at hand when there will be more than one flock of high-
caste breeding ewes averaging lOlbs. to 121bs. of wool
each per fleece, and rams bred from them yielding 181bs.
to 221bs. of wool each.

vn.

While individuals contribute to the general good by
their intelligent management, and well-directed employ-
ment of capital, in the improvement of stock, they are
entitled to something like systematic protection ; a pro-
tection not only direct as regards the safe possession of
their property, but considerate and fostering as being the
depositaries of the Porvenir of the country.

Such protection should be extended by the authorities
of all grades, and by the population at large. The good
sense and correct feehng of neighbours cannot always be
counted on, whether from incapacity to understand the
good that is growing up at their side, or from less ex-
cusable causes. In such case, the paternal care of the
authorities should ever be ready to protect individual
rights and the good work in which the breeders are
engaged.

The individual loss and the national loss accruing from
any direct violation of the rights of property, or indirect
violation of the same, by which the labour of years might
be sacrificed, can hardly be over-estimated. The direct
loss, by the taking away under any pretext whatever, or
by theft ; the indirect loss, through the contamination of
the flocks ; the contamination of the blood, by means
of the mixture of inferior stock, so frequent when so

108 STATES OP THE RIVER PLATE.

little respect to limits, or even fences, is observed, and
contamination by disease, scab, and the like. Could any-
thing be more disheartening to the high-caste breeder,
as well as serious in its consequences to the progress
of a great national industry, than an irruption of an
ordinary or inferior flock vsrith its rams into the choice
ewe flock of a high-caste breeder ? And if to this we
add, that the scabby flock of a neighbour is participating
of the camps, depositing infection not only on the herb-
age, to be carried by the winds into the neighbours'
' potreros,' but on every post and every wire, by rubbing
their scabby bodies against them, and leaving the scabbed
wool attached thereto ; surely, might he say that there is
little encouragement held out for, and little of carrying
out, improvement ! Yet, these are occurrences which we
are constantly subjected to. Our pens are invaded by
neighbours' dogs, our ' potreros ' by neighbours' rams and
flocks, or an unscrupidous neighbour will lay his scabby
flock against, or near to, the ' potreros ' — the grazing
ground of the choice rams — to entice them out of the
bounds that they may ' encastar ' with his sheep, and
return to contaminate the rest with the scab. I may
suggest — for the consideration of the governing powers
and the public — the question whether or not the law as
it stands, or as it is understood, provides redress or com-
pensation commensurate with the injury, or whether or
not any redress or compensation is to be had, and if
to be had, at what cost, and with what trammels and
diSiculties ?

The high-caste breeder is not alone entitled to protec-
tion and justice, although in his case protection is more
especially called for. What flock-master can hope to
have a sound flock of sheep so long as his neighbours
are entitled to keep on all sides of him infected sheep ?

POINTS IS MANAGEMENT. 109

The serious ravages of the scab are notorious, and are
spreading to such an extent as to give just cause for
alarm ; but there is no law, and no remedy.

It is absolutely necessary that something should be
done to check the spread of this disease, and protect the
flock-masters who expend money in the care of, and
when necessary, in curing, their sheep. I may cite the
example of Australia in this matter.

With the view of checking and keeping down the
scab, the most stringent laws were enacted, compelling
the flock-masters to cure, i.e. to dip their sheep, under
penalty of heavy fines ; and even, at the requisition of
neighbours, I believe the killing and burning of incurable
flocks. The travelling of infected flocks was and is pro-
hibited ; and I am informed that any party attempting to
cross the lands of a sheep-farmer with a drove of in-
fected sheep, such sheep-farmer can compel the halt of
the drove, and even exact the slaughter and burning of
the same. Such is the paternal and wise protection
accorded by law to a great national industry, rescuing
it from inevitable ruin.

To numbers of flock-masters I have put the question
(well knowing the answer that would be given, but wish-
ing to strengthen my representation of the evils accruing
by the testimony of numbers), ' Why do you not dip
your sheep when you experience so serious a loss, year
by year ? ' The invariable answer is, ' Of what use would
it be ? All my neighbours have scab ; and if they had
it not, any drover can cross my " camps " with infected
sheep, as is almost weekly the case, strewing my lands
with the falling scabbed wool, and, in some instances,
with the carcases of the sheep which, eaten up by the
disease, become too weak to travel, and die on the road.'
As an instance of this, I may quote an occurrence as

110 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

complained of by a gentleman to me but a few weeks ago.
A neighbour of his bought, from an establishment some
distance outside of him, a flock of sheep, scabby in the
extreme. These the party piu-chased for a mere nominal
sum, calculating that a very large portion of them would
not reach their destination. With these sheep he crossed
my friend's lands, and the line of their passage was
strewed with the dead and the dying; and, as he said,
' Of what use would it be for me to " dip ; " my lands
are infected ; the remnants of this diseased flock are
located now at my very door, and I have no redress ! '

This may be an extreme case ; but it suffices to show
that legislation is required in the interest of all ; for an
extreme case proves the license to injure. It is of vital
importance to this great national industry that well-
digested and stringent laws should be enacted for the
protection of individuals, and at the same time, and as a
consequence, the protection and preservation of the most
important and valuable interest of the country.

The inefficiency of the rural law, or its operation,
in its bearings on this great industry, and the require-
ments that have grown and are still growing with it, is a
natural consequence of its rapid development. It has
outstripped all precedents of campo regulations, as well
as the ideas or conceptions of the great majority of the
population. My strictures imply nothing beyond this,
and are made with the object of calling attention to a
pressing necessity which it is of importance to meet
suitably.

Ill

PART V.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE UTILISATION OF RIVEK PLATE

BEEF.

I.

There is a subject in connection with one of the great
rural interests of the Eio de la Plata, which is attracting
much attention both in the country and in Europe, more
especially in Great Britain.

The vast herds of cattle that graze on our plains are
pointed to as an inexhaustible source of food. Here, in
the River Plate, the utilisation of the meat, or its nutritious
matter, of the hundreds of thousands of the animals an-
nually slaughtered — the food part of the majority of which
is wholly lost, yielding little or nothing to the breeder —
is a matter which essentially touches the interests of the
country at large as well as of individuals, and it is
anxiously canvassed in all circles. In England, with
increasing scarcity and rising prices of meat, there is
naturally a longing and expectant look cast towards this
land of cattle and beef ; and persevering efforts are being
made in numerous districts to introduce for consumption
South American salt-beef These efforts are only partially
— and apparently transitorily, even when they are partially,
— successful. When there are craving multitudes able to
pay a fair price for the nutritious food they require, viz.
flesh meat, which is annually becoming a greater necessity

112 STATES OF THE EIVEE PLATE.

with all classes, not only from habit, but also from an
absolute want, to sustain the extraordinary wear and tear
to which the system is subjected by quickened thought
and accelerated movement, and they decline to avail
themselves of that which is urged upon them as ' the
thing ' which they require ; as ' the wholesome beef of
the untainted (by artificial feeding) herds that feed on the
virgin pastures' — it may suggest itself to thoughtful minds,
that there may be a cause for its rejection. Is it really
what it is represented to be? Does the fact that the
cattle roam almost in their naturally wild state over
plains vast in the extreme, suffice to make the beef es-
pecially good, or even good at aU ? And is the expecta-
tion well-founded that this beef can, by any and many
processes, be preserved good and wholesome ?

In another paper, I have described the habits an^
treatment of these cattle, as also the lands and pasturage
on which they feed, and the customary manner of their
slaughter.

During several years my attention has been more or
less directed to this subject, as a matter of general in-
terest rather than with any immediate purpose ; never-
theless with the idea that information obtained on so
manifestly important a matter would prove available and
practically useful.

Under this impression, in the course of recreative study,
I have sought and noted matter bearing on the subject in
the works of authorities of the highest standing, more
especially in those of Dr. Carpenter (Carpenter's ' Physio-
logy ') and Baron Liebig's ' Letters on Chemistry, Physio-
logy, Dietetics,' &c. ; tlie latter work being but recently
published (1859), when the subject presented itself to my
consideration.

It became evident to me on studying these and other

UTILISATION OF RIVER PLATK BEEF. 118

■works, that there were many considerations and conditions
to be taken into account ; that it was not a matter to be
resolved by process alone ; that a little more or less of
salt or other antiseptic, or one or other method of using
the same, or of packing, &c. would not solve the question
of the utilisation of our beef. It became clear to me that
the habits of the cattle, their precarious feeding and
water supply, the long distances (often sixty or eighty •
leagues) they were driven, the excitement of parting
out, the heat and the thirst, the storm and the cold (as
might be) to which they were exposed in long travelling,
the mode of slaughter and butchering, and many other
matters or conditions, must necessarily have an influence
which could not be counteracted by a mere process.

I have known a variety of experiments made, and
processes tried, and of numerous shipments ; I have
heard and read of sanguine expectations, and even favour-
able reports, some of which have appeared under sanction
of high authority — one no less than the 'Lancet;' but
knowing well the cattle of this country, their habits and
condition, and the system followed in respect of them, as
also the methods resorted to with the object of preserving
the beef, I have held, and do hold, the opinion that by no
process of salting or curing can the beef of the cattle, in
the condition in which they are as a rule brought to the
slaughter, be made a desirable food.

Admitting that certain sample shipments have been
sound and comparatively good, an infinitely greater pro-
portion have been unsound and bad ; and I hold a
priori that the prohibition of the sale of South American
beef, some short time ago, by the Sanitary Board in
England, was well considered and well founded. When
sound beef has arrived in England, it has been made from
animals in an exceptional condition, and these exceptions

I

114 STATES OF THE KIVEB PLATE.

go to prove the rule which I desire to inculcate for the
good of producers, shippers, and consumers.

The reason of my belief that a sound nutritious food
cannot be obtained by any process of salting or curing
the flesh of the unfed and ' driven ' cattle of this country
is simply, that the means taken to preserve the beef are
exactly those which most surely, in the state of the cattle,
would deprive it of the greater part of its nutriment.
Salt is a powerful solvent of meat juices (this power ex-
isting in the acid of the salt, i.e. muriatic acid — salt being
muriate of soda, or chlorine of sodium, of. which more
anon), and it is in the jiuces or soluble substances (albu-
men, fibrine, &c.) of meat that all the nutriment exists.
Water will also, and unaided, extract the nutritious
matters of meat. The most accurate experiments have
been made to determine these points, and therefore I
need merely state the facts. When lean meat is subjected
to the action of salt, the deliquescent properties of the
salt cause it to attract the juices of the meat, and a brine
is formed, which runs from the meat. This liquid which
is thus extracted from the meat, together with the salt,
contains the mineral basis of the meat, its phosphoric
acid, potash, &c. and its albuminous matters, together
wdth its peculiarly vivifying principles, kreatine and krea-
tinine ; consequently, in an equal degree as these matters
are abstracted from the meat, so its fitness for food is
diminished ; and it is impossible to salt lean meat without
its parting with a very large portion of its nutriment.
All housewives know that meat in certain conditions does
not, what they call, ' take the salt ;' and the meaning of
this is simply that the meat yields up its nutriment to the
action of the salt, and that it drains away with a portion
of that salt. Meat to ' take the salt ' must be exceedingly
firm, and highly fed with food rich in nitrogenous or

UTILISATION OF RIVER PLATE BEEP. 115

albuminous compounds, so that the like compounds in
the beef (or other meat) being solidly packed in its sub-
stance, resist the solvent action of the salt ; and by conse-
quence a larger portion of nutriment remains in it. There
is another condition in highly fed meat favourable to this,
viz. its solid fat, fat which is in solid layers on the flesh,
and also veined through the flesh : to this fat the salt
adheres, or combines with it, and its antiseptic properties
act, while its solvent action is diminished.

This property of veined or mixed flesh, in which the
fat and the lean are intermingled throughout, is a con-
dition of well-bred animals — animals bred for beef purposes
and domesticated. Cattle of wild habits, constantly in
motion, and getting unequal and irregular feeding, both as
regards quantity and quality of food, can never produce
this condition of meat, or its richness and flavour. It is
an hereditary quality engendered by feeding, selection,
and domesticity, by which, also, an even growth of parts
and large fleshy development is made a habit — a fixed,
hereditary habit. In contradistinction, constant motion,
roaming over great distances to feed and in search of
water, engenders a lean habit of body, as there is a con-
tinuous waste which, more or less, equalises the replace-
ment effected by the food, admitting of small accession of
bulk in the flesh. At many seasons of the year, when the
herbage is in its lesser nutritious stages, there is a positive
diminution in bulk and depth of flesh ; and when herbage
is in abundance, and in that stage of growth when its
fattening properties prevail, the fatty accumulations are
more rapid than the flesh formations, and the fat, as a
consequence, is deposited in parts internal, around the
kidneys and viscera ; there is little external layering of
fat, and little or no marking or veining of the flesh with
fatty matter.

I 2

116 STATES OF THE BIVER PLATE.

Animals which have been driven or subjected to con-
siderable fear and agitation before being killed, have their
whole flesh relaxed ; their albuminous juices are in an
actual state of dissolution or waste. The saccharine
element is in a state of transition into fat, and the fat
itself is in a peculiar state : it is softened or dissolved —
wasting — and neither flesh nor fat will, to use the homely
expression, ' take the salt.'

Herein are involved highly interesting physiological
laws, which it is convenient to define in a few propositions,
so as to render more clear my deductions.

' Organisation,' construction or the ' laying on ' of flesh,
is the result of food taken. ' Organisation ' is the storing
up of force. There is a latent force in all substances.
The latent force of vegetable substances taken by an
animal as food passes into the flesh, muscle, &c. formed
by their assimilation, and endows the animal with the
power of exercising force in proportion to the store
accumulated.

This store of latent force can either be expended by
effort, or it can be transferred to other and higher organ-
isms, as food of a highly nutrient or azotized quality.

Force dissipated or expended by exercise passes into
other elements ; and organs which have exercised ' force '
to any given degree cannot again exercise an equal
amount until that which has been expended has been
restored by an accumulation of fresh elements. Physical
effort, the efforts or impressions of the mind in man,
sensibilities in animals, equally result in an expenditure
of force ; and this having taken place in the case of an
animal, its flesh has, in a like degree, parted with its
nutritious power ; such power and the capacity for effort
being identical.

The ' secretions ' of the body, and the diminution of

UTILISATION OF EIVEB PLATE BEEF. Il7

substance effected by physical or mental effort, are the
result of a positive decay or decomposition of the various
parts ; and this continuous waste of substance, and its
replacement through the instrumentality of food, is an
absolute condition of animal life. Therefore long travel-
ling, anxiety, loss of rest, will materially reduce the
substance of the body, and without a continual and
sufficient replacement of that substance in the form of
nutritious food (with time for its assimilation into the
organism), the decomposition or waste of substance
would be such that, in a short time, there would remain
httle else but the ' fibre ' of flesh ; aU the ' nitrogenous,'
all the hydro-carbon substances, would be consumed
in the efforts made by the animal, dissipated as gases,
or passed off as secretions. Moreover, this general
decomposition (or combustion) having set in, it would be
in vain to hope to arrest it by any process. Hence the
reason why so much of the beef which has been shipped
from time to time has been found bad, or become bad
immediately that the oxygen of the atmosphere has had
access to it. Close packing, hermetical sealing, &c.
suspends this decomposition, but does not stop it.

Anyone knowing these facts, and the condition of our
cattle in general, how they are brought to the slaughter,
how they are killed, the semi-wild habits of the animals,
and their excitement on the approach of man, can well
understand that their beef cannot be nutritious, and cannot
be salted without parting with by for the greater portion
of such nutriment as it contains, and becoming almost
valueless as food, if not altogether unwholesome. It is
well known that the fibre of meat— that which is left
after the juices are withdrawn — has no sustenance in it.
So loosely is the nutritious matter — the juice of meat —
held in the substance of oiu- beef, that no hash, stew, or

118 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

other similar dish can be made out of it at all palatable.
The meat itself, in all such dishes, is hard and tasteless —
it is little else than meat fibre.

Pure cold water will withdraw all the nutriment from
the lean of any meat. If lean meat is cut up into pieces
and laid in a vessel with cold water, and allowed to remain
for a short time, it will part with the whole of its minerals
and albuminous compounds, that is, the whole of its
nutritive and constructive matter, to the water, and the
solid remains will be indigestible, innutritions fibre. It is,
therefore, clear that if meat of animals, in the condition
of our cattle, is immersed in a brine — salt and water —
there being a double solvent power at work, all vestige of
nutriment will pass from the meat to the brine, and that,
by consequence, such a method is, and will be, wholly
impracticable until means are devised to feed our cattle.
Even the superior salt-junk of Europe, if used for any
length of time without acid, sugar, fruits, and vegetables,
will produce scurvy, not by reason of the salt, but by
reason of the deficiency of potash, phosphoric acid, and
albumen.

There are partial means of causing a retention of
elements : thus, the use of lime in the preparation of meat
will cause the retention of phosphoric acid by render-
ing it less soluble. Subjecting meat to a certain heat —
133° to 158° Eahr. — will cause coagulum of the albumen
(the degree of coagulation being in relation to the heat),
and render it less soluble ; but these methods are partial,
imperfect, and in some cases expensive, and less likely to
succeed with ill-fed than with well-fed meat.

To me it is perfectly clear that we must either feed our
animals (such as are destined for the butcher, and animals
of a superior and beef- making breed) up to the mark
which will admit of their meat ' taking the salt,' or we

UTILISATION OF EIVER PLATE BEEP. 119

must look out for some other process by which the nutri-
ment contained in their flesh may be made available for
export.

n.

So great is the importance of the utilisation of our
beef, both to this country and others, that new projects
are constantly started, new theories propounded, and
numerous experiments made.

Among others, a new process is now in operation :
that of salting the whole carcass entire, by injecting salt
into the veins by the force of gravitation, or by force-
pumps (Dr. Morgan's plan). It may seem presumptuous
to criticise any new and unproved plan ; but I cannot see
that this system can make any material difference in the
issue. It is not the system or process that will primarily
determine failure or success, but the medium and the
condition of the meat.

I consider that the effect of the process of injection
will be to impregnate completely the whole of the meat
witli salt-brine ; and that, consequently, no portion of the
flesh will escape its full dehquescent action. Under
these conditions it is natural to suppose that both the
antiseptic and solvent effects will be in relation to the
impregnation — ergo, that the meat will be very salt ; that
a very large portion of the nutriment will be dissolved
out ; and that to produce a good article, it will be
requisite — 1st, that the animal should be in a better con-
dition, with firmer iiesh, than is needed for other pro-
cesses ; and, 2nd, that tliere should be unusual facilities
for the rapid drying of the meat. I may venture to
express the opinion, all circumstances considered, that
with equal condition of the lean of meat, that process

120 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

which is worked the driest, i.e. with the driest and
cleanest salt, and by which the flesh is the most speedily
dried, affording the smallest relative opportunity for the
draining away of the juices, must he per se the best ; that
is, it will retain the most nutriment.

If the flesh of an animal killed when in a perfect state
of rest, and in a perfectly healthy condition, the flesh
firm, and packed with nutritive matter, be salted in
favourable drying weather, and speedily and thoroughly
dried without getting any taint in any portion of it, as
fair an article will probably be produced as is practicable
by salting.

For salting and packing with pickle in barrels a higher
condition, well-fed meat, is absolutely requisite. A cer-
tain maturity or age in the animal is another essential
condition for successful curing. The habit of the cattle
of the country is the reverse of early maturity, owing to
the nature and precariousness of their food. As a rule,
the meat of animals that have not passed the age of
three or four years cannot be used advantageously for
salting. Probably the most suitable age for the pui-pose
will be found to be from four to six years ; but this again
is influenced by the nature and supply of pasturage,
water, &c.

The cattle destined for slaughter should feed descansado,
and well, up to within twelve hours of the time of killing.
During these twelve hours they should remain in perfect
quietude ; and at the expiration of that time slaughtered
humanely and expeditiously. The bleeding should be
complete, so that there shall remain only that which has
been converted into the ' fibrine ' of flesh.

It is with a view to this also tlaat they should rest
without food for the twelve hours before being slauglitered,
allowing time for the complete assimilation of the food,

UTILISATION OF RIVER PLATE BEEF. 121

SO that there may be as little matter in the body in a state
of ' transition ' as possible, as that which is unformed, as
well as that which is in a state of abnormal waste, is prone
to decomposition, and will not take the salt, nor be pre-
served by it. The carcass should be cold, not only before
it is salted, but also before it is cut up. There can be no
doubt that it would be materially benefited by being
' hung ' to bleed and cool before butchering.

The usual process here is to cut up or ' butcher ' the
animal immediately it is killed and flayed. When the
flesh is supposed to be cold, it is cast into brine-tanks, and
goes through two or three courses of washing and soaking
in brine, being transferred from one brine-tank to
another, and pressed, as it is stated, with the view of
extracting or forcing out all the blood. It is, in fact,
' lixiviated ' before being dried or packed, as the case may
be. Under such a process it may be easily enough under-
stood, from the explanation given in this paper of the
effects of salt-brine and lixiviation, how little nutritious
matter remains in the meat when the process is completed.

Some of the older cattle fed on the ' strong ' pastures
which are found in districts in Buenos Ayres, in the
Banda Oriental, in Santa Fe, &c. and on the ' alfalfares '
of San Luis, resist to a certain extent this process ; and if
driving is avoided, and the animals carefully killed, &c. a
sound article can be obtained, containing always a certain
amount, more or less, of nutriment. There are two or
three parties working on this principle near to the feeding-
grounds of the cattle. They have produced an article
certainly much superior to others ; and if they can so
arrange as to diminish to the lowest point the waste from
travelling and excitement, and be more particular in
killing and butchering, they may still further improve
the quality of their production.

122 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

It strikes me tliat iu the absence of any thoroughly
efficient method of preserving our beef in its sohd form,
so as to retain the greater part of its nutriment, we might
advantageously look to those materials and appliances
which are the direct causes of depriving the solid sub-
stance of its nutriment, to furnish us, in a concentrated
form, with the nutriment they so readily dissolve out of
the flesh.

I have spoken of the action of the acid of salt — mu-
riatic acid — in extracting the food properties from the meat.

For many years, to my own knowledge (and I have sug-
gested its use to many persons with much benefit), there
has been what is called the ' cold soup of beef ' used in
hospitals in Europe, and by many eminent physicians, who
have found it to be in the highest degree nutritious, and
unequalled in tonic or vivifying powers. This prepara-
tion is simply the lean of beef perfectly fresh (and the
sooner after kilhng the better), cut up into small pieces,
and put, with rather more than twice its weight of cold
water, into a vessel, a few drops of muriatic acid being
added at the rate of eight drops to a pound of meat, and
a httle salt. In an hour's time the whole of the nutri-
ment will be extracted from the flesh, and there only
remains to strain it carefully, and the soup is ready for
use. This soup is taken cold ; if heated, it forms a deposit,
coagulum, and it would be less easy of digestion.

Again, I learned from the same authority — the eminent
chemist before named — that by simply placing chopped
lean of beef or mutton (all fat, gelatine, or tendons being
carefully removed*) in a vessel with a Uttle cold water,

• The theory of nutriment existing in gelatinous or tendonous substances
is completely exploded in scientific and professional circles, and those which
are in contact with them. Nevertheless, there are many who still entertain
such an idea, whose opportunities have not been such as to lead to a better
understanding.

UTILISATION OF RIVER PLATE BEEP. 123

and lixiviating, the whole strength of the meat is ex-
tracted. The result is a brown, thickish liquid, about the
consistency of treacle — the pure extract of meat and the
indigestible, innutritious fibre.

If the liquid extract of meat is subjected to heat at a
temperature of 133° Fahr. a partial coagulation of the
albumen takes place, and at 158° the whole ; and the
colouring matter of the blood is coagulated. Evaporated
at a lower temperature, the extract can be reduced to
any required consistence without coagulation, and is
soluble in hot water.

The extract retains not only all the nutriment of the
meat from which it is prepared, but also its flavour. The
quantity of the nutritious extract is just the amount con-
tained in the animal ; that quantity being dependent on
its condition, size, and age. In an old animal there is
very little nutriment — probably not more than 1 or 2
per cent. ; whereas in a young but mature one there may
be from 12 to 14 per cent.

These preparations of the juices of meat are invaluable.
Their portability is hkewise a great advantage, as is also
their ready conversion into the most strengthening soup.

For hospital purposes ; as part of the commissariat for
an army ; for use in private families ; and, if they can be
produced at a price that will admit of it, for a whole
population, they will prove useful and beneficial in the
highest degree.

The soup made from the juices of meat extracted by
means of the muriatic acid, and used cold, is found to be
the most easily digested food that can be given to patients
in the lowest degree of debility. It requires little or no
digestive action, and is in a state to be at once assimilated
with the system ; but it is not in a portable form, and
requires to be used fresh ; whereas the other preparation

124 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

can be packed in the smallest possible compass, will keep
for years, and a very small quantity mixed with hot water
makes a highly nutritious and palatable soup, to which
vegetables and farinaceous matters can be added.

I am informed that there is an establishment forming,
or formed, in the Banda Oriental for the manufacture of
extract of meat ; and I have no doubt that, if such is tlie
case, the principle adopted in its preparation will be that
propounded by Liebig,* which has for many years been
practised in Europe ; but as the meat is there dear, and
the extract cannot be produced at a cost less than that of
the meat itself, it is only manufactured for special purposes
and limited consumption. If Buenos Ayres can supply
this extract at a price within reach of the mass, it will
prove very beneficial to the producers as well as to the
consumers.

There is no secret in the principle,! but there are
doubtless many details which it would be necessary for
any party undertaking to prepare the extract to be well
informed of, and which the discoverer will have perfected.

A fair field, if not a most extensive one, is here open
to capitalists. It is one method, at least, of utilising our
beef to the very best possible advantage, as no particle of
nutriment contained in the flesh is lost ; whereas in all
other known processes the loss is excessive, and is, more-
over, greatly augmented by the necessary operations of
washing, steeping, and cooking salted meats — the best
way of cooking which is to stew them with vegetables,
rice, farina, &c. as in that way such nutriment as they

* Since writing this, I have learned that my supposition was correct ;
that the party in charge of the establishment received his instructions con-
cerning the process from Baron Liebig ; and that the extract bears his name,
and is a decided success.

t See Liebig's Letters on Chemistry (4th edition), Letter XXXIL, and
Appendix, p. 520.

UTILISATION OF HIVER PLATE BEEF. 125

contain is retained in the dish, which is made more
palatable by the addition of raisins, olives, &c.

It must be borne in mind, however, with the aim
before us of the most ' advantageous utilisation of our
beef,' and of acquiring for this product the highest possible
value, that the amount of nutriment contained in the
carcass flesh represents its value, for whatsoever purpose
or process it is destined ; and that by no process can we
give it a value it does not intrinsically possess. The
process of forming the extract of meat will give us, in an
available form, all the nutritive matter contained in the
flesh of an animal, and no more ; but we have seen (page
123) that this all is extremely various in quantity — it may
be 1 per cent, or it may be 14 per cent. ; and condition
as well as age detei'mines the percentage.

The influence of excitement and travelling affects the
quantity of extract yielded, as well as, under other pro-
cesses, it affects the nutritive value of the solid meat ;
and, cceteris paribus, it is the food the animal consumes
which determines its relative value. We shall never
get good value for our cattle until they are domesticated,
and better kept and fed. This, hke everything else,
must have a beginning on a small scale, and gradually
extend itself It is obviously the interest of all that this
beginning should be made, and it behoves the wealthy and
enterprising to lead the way. As regards the various
processes, that is unquestionably the best which renders,
available the greatest value — that is, the greatest amount
of nutritive matter from a given quantity of meat of equal
condition, and that will enable it to be transported to
distant parts in the condition of sound, wholesome food.

126 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

m.

There are considerations in connection with the condition
of our cattle, the travelling and slaughter of the same,
and the supply of meat in the markets, which stand apart
from the mere commercial question, and directly affect
the population of our cities and the surrounding districts.
These considerations are of a very serious and important
character, bearing on no less a matter than the general
liealth and mortahty.

Year by year, the consequences of the condition of our
meat supply are becoming more marked and more grave.
The rapid increase of the city population, the larger
supply of meat required, and, by reason of the gradual
driving back to greater distance of the cattle establish-
ments, the close feeding of the camps, and, consequently,
the inferior condition of the animals, the exhausted state
in which they reach the killing-grounds, and the long
period of hunger and thirst which they often experience
on the way, and in the pens (corrales) of the kilUng-
grounds, and in the bare paddocks to which they are
driven day after day, to return again and again to the
con-ales until sold to the butcher — all these circum-
stances contribute to affect our meat supply, to render it
inferior, and, in the majority of cases, absolutely un-
wholesome.

1 have shown, in the course of these papers, that the
flesh of animals killed under the conditions above repre-
sented is in a state of decomposition. The waste of
substance and nutritious matter is far in excess of the
reconstruction or organisation capable of being effected
by the quantity of food taken by the animal. A given
amount of food, in the requisite constituent properties,

UTILISATION OF RIVER PLATE BEEF. 127

represents a corresponding amount of force ; and so long
as an equilibrium is maintained between the food taken
and the effort made or force expended within the reason-
able capacity of the animal, organisation is perfect, and a
sort of statu quo is maintained in the state of the system.
If a moderate excess of food is taken (over and above the
force expended) and digested, the substance of the body —
perfectly organised substance — is augmented ; and in
either case the meat is sound and wholesome ; but in the
latter instance the nutritive matter in the flesh bears a
higher relative proportion to the fibrous portion of the
meat, and the quality of the meat, as food, is better.

In the case of an excess of effort or expenditure of
power or force over the food taken, e^-fs^in^— previously
effected — organism is destroyed ; that is, decomposition
of organised matter takes place. It is notorious that
from this cause the meat supplied to the markets grows
bad, as a rule, in a few hours, and cannot be used on the
second day. I have frequently known it unapproachable
in eight or twelve hours, whereas I have killed my own
meat, in good condition — -descansado — in the country at
midsummer, and have eaten it on the fifth day perfectly
good— better, indeed, than on the first day — with the
thermometer in the corridor outside of the dining-room
standing at 100° Fahr.

I have stated that meat in the state of decomposition is
not fit to enter into the human organism. Meat, the
organism of which is in part destroyed or decomposed,
taken as food is prejudicial to health. Absorbed into the
blood, it contaminates it, its oxidation becomes imperfect,
and fevers and other disorders are the result. When
poor and unwholesome diets are more or less general,' low
and putrescent fevers prevail, and epidemics are common ;
and from food, vegetable or animal, that is imperfectly

128 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

organised and wanting in the due proportion of con-
stituents, parasitical diseases are generated. All diseases
are traceable to functional derangement; in feet func-
tional derangement constitutes disease, and all ' function '
is dependent primarily on food and its assimilation.

It cannot have escaped the notice of even the least
observant, that fevers, pestilential disorders, and epi-
demics are becoming more and more common amongst
us, and that the mortality from these causes is very great.
Tliere can be no question that the chief cause of this lies
in the unwholesome meat supply, and is further increased
by atmospheric impurities resulting from defective sanitary
arrangements and accumulations of foul matters. Indeed,
it is a rarity to find even a moderately good piece of
beef on any table in the cities of the Eio de la Plata ;
lean, wasted, and tasteless stufi", only rendered passable in
many instances by means of condiments, is the general
character of the beef supplied to the cities.

It will not be uninteresting to take a glance at our
culinary processes. It will be found that prevailing culi-
nary practices have a direct reference to, and are an al-
most infallible index of, the qualities and properties of tJie
naeats cooked. The art of the cook is brought to bear
on, and answer to, the palate of the consumer of the food,
and this palate, taste, or craving is the expression of the
demand of nature for certain aliments or constituents of
food. The beef in these countries is almost universally,
if roasted (baked) in the oven or fried, cooked with a
large quantity of grease. The lean quality of the beef,
the absence of layering or veining of fat in the flesh,
renders this necessary, to supply the needful proportions
of heat-giving substance or carbon on the one hand, and
on the other to check the drawing away of the albu-
minous matters from the substance of the beef in the

UTILISATION OF EIVER PLATE BEEF. 129

cooldng process. When meat is boiled, ' puchero ' is the
dish usually made from it ; that is, meat boiled with
vegetables of various descriptions, and rice, the vege-
tables, &c. supplying the deficient starchy or carbonaceous
matters, and taking up the albuminous juices so readily
parted with by ill-fed beef In all stews and ' made
dishes ' the beef is found to be hard, almost horny, and
perfectly tasteless. It is the mere fibre of flesh ; such
nutritious matter as it contained, as in the case of salting,
has drained away from it. To compensate for the de-
ficiencies of nutritious and carbonaceous matters, and to
absorb the juices that drain from the flesh, a variety of
fruits and vegetables are cooked with it. Pumpkins,
maize, raisins, olives, apples, pears, peaches, &c. &c. sup-
plying saccharine matters — alkalies, vegetable acids, &c.
— compensating to a certam extent for deficiencies in nu-
trient matters, or adjusting the proportions of the food
elements. These things are not only desired by the
palate, but are absolutely requisite to constitute food, and
as correctives ; much in the same way as raisins, limes,
&c. are necessary with a salt meat diet.

The country cookery — that of the pastoral farms or
estancias — rude and simple as it is, is equally an index of
the state of the meat. The cattle are killed on the farm
where they feed, there is therefore no exhaustion or
fatigue from travelling, and no decomposition or waste of
the meat juices or fatty matter. The meat is pierced by
an iron spit or ' asador,' which is stuck in the ground in
close proximity, and leaning towards a fire made of
thistle-stalks, bones, or wood, in the open air or in the
centre of a hut, which serves as kitchen. The heat of
the fire speedily roasts or coagulates the albuminous
matter on the surface of the meat, where it forms a coat-
ing, preventing any escape or draining away of the

K

130 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

albuminous juices within the meat ; it is consequently
full of gravy or juice, and of good flavour, and constitutes
a ' dish ' which can be eaten daily from year's end to
year's end without exciting any repugnance, a quahty in-
dicative of its wholesomeness and fitness to meet the
requirements of the human organism.

If the animals killed are in good condition, aU the
constituents — albuminous and fatty — are in such propor-
tions as suffice for aU the requirements of the system,
and no other food matters are necessary. Hence the
country people live almost entirely on beef so cooked,
using only a little salt, and occasionally a biscuit. ' Mat^ *
(' yerba ' infused in a small gourd, or ' mate,' with boil-
ing water, and imbibed through a tube) is taken in the
morning and during the day. This is the tea of the
country, and is very sustaining, containing a principle
allied to theine, caffene, and the principles of cocoa,
the karab nut, &c.

The festal dish of the camps is ' carne con cuero,' or
meat roasted in the hide. The animal is cut up with
the hide on (on some great occasions when there are
many to feed on it, the animal is roasted whole with the
hide), a large piece is put on the spit and the inner side
presented to the fire, as in the case of the usual ' asado '
or roast ; the red embers are then spread and the meat
laid on them, the side with the hide on resting on them.
In this way the whole of the juices are retained in the
meat, and it is particularly rich and satisfying.

The contrast in flavour, appearance, and nutritious
properties which the meats of the country present to that
procurable in the cities is very marked, and clearly shows
a cause and effect in the long travelling and sufferings of
the animals driven to slaughter for city consumption.
The necessity for the feeding of cattle near the towns for

UTILISATION OF EIVER PLATE BEEP. 131

town consumption is unquestionable, and in the face of
the serious consequences to the pubhc health arising
from the consumption of ill-conditioned and more or less
' tined ' meat, it is high time for some popular or autho-
ritative movement to secure a supply of good-conditioned
wholesome beef.

Note.
The Utilisation of the Beef of the River Plate.

There has reached me from England the announcement of a
new, or a modification of a known, process of preserving raw
meat, in a perfectly fresh state, in tins, from which the air has
been exhausted and ' nitrogen ' substituted. Also there have
arrived in Buenos Ayres, two gentlemen, Messrs, Sloper and
Paris, to experiment on a process of the former, which has
likewise the object of preserving the meat in a perfectly fresh
and raw state.

These gentlemen have brought out samples of English-fed
beef preserved on the plan of Mr. Sloper, which manifests a
perfect preservation ; in appearance, odour, and flavour iden-
tical with fresh-killed meat.

I conceive that the results of the working of their processes,
or any others that may be invented, must be subject to the
general law, and dependent relatively on the condition of the
animals slaughtered ; heuce the question evolves. Can the flesh
of the grass-fed animals of South America be preserved by any
process so as to reach Europe as sound, palatable, and nutri-
tious food ?

I think that there can be little doubt that it can be so pre-
served, ^provided always that the conditions I have set forth in
the course of this work are observed, and the grasses which are
to constitute the food of the animals, allowed to attain a certain
completeness of organism, a certain maturity before they are

K 2

132 STATES OF THE EIVEE PLATE.

fed down ia the ordinary course ; this could only be looked for
in certain seasons of the year, when the natural grasses are
nearly all annuals ; but these indigenous grasses can be supple-
mented with artificial grasses, aided by a system of paddock-
feeding, as indicated in the treatise on Agriculture, and it is
probable that only in such way could complete success be
attained and an uniform quality of meat supplied.

i

AGRICULTURE. 133

PAET VI.

AGRICULTURE.
I.

Sheep-farming, sheep-breeding, cattle-breeding and feed-
ing (and the consequent utilisation of our beef) in progres-
sive stages, must necessarily be dependent on agriculture.
There is a mutual dependence, and there must be a
mutual aid, or neither probably will or can be brought
to any degree of perfection, and certainly not to a lasting
one.

This is so important a truth, that thinking men of these
countries should give it their earnest attention ; indeed
the conviction of this truth should dwell on the minds of
the enhghtened, and no opportunity should be lost for
propagating it, and educating the minds of the masses to
a right understanding of it.

Agriculture ever goes hand in hand with civilisation ;
and the most civilised nations are those with whom the
science of agriculture is placed on the highest pedestal.

The decline and fall of more than one great nation has
its connecting link with the absence of agricultural know-
ledge and agricultural practice ; and the comparatively
sterile lands, which exist in several countries as a conse-
quence of an ' exhausting ' system of farming, stand as
impediments to their regeneration as nations. Able

134 STATES OP THE RIVEK PLATE.

historians and philosophers have pointed this out as a
warning to present and future generations.

Pastoral pursuits are those of nomadic tribes and,
unconnected with agriculture, of nations in their infancy,
when population is scanty; and wants easily suppUed ;
but for a populous, or moderately populated country to
exist and progress without agriculture, is a physical
impossibility.

There is a prevalent opinion that these countries of the
Eio de la Plata are unsuited for agricultural pursuits by
reason of their climate, &c. This popular error cannot
be too soon discarded ; indeed, to hold such an opinion,
is to presuppose the impossibihty of these countries pro-
ducing great and prosperous nations.

The prevalence of this opinion arose from the monopoly
of pastoral pursuits under circumstances particidarly
favourable to them on a primitive system, the small
necessity there was for the practice of husbandry, and the
veiy limited consumption of agricultural products but a
few years ago — the bulk of the population living almost
exclusively on flesh meat, like the wild huntsmen of forest
and plain ; the almost total ignorance on the part of the
native population of the elementary principles or practice
of husbandry ; an almost equal absence of knowledge of
these subjects on the part of the foreign settlers and com-
mercial men of those days ; the rude attempts made with
rude implements, and the consequent precariousness, and
comparatively small yield of crops. Men who know not,
and do not profess to know, how or why a plant grows,
or under what influences different plants thrive,' cannot
possibly form a judgment of the capabilities of a country
for agriculture. Furthermore, the man who has sown
oats in England, Ireland, or Scotland— where the mean
temperature is many degrees lower than here, and the

AGRICULTURE. 135

rainfall altogether different in quantity and distribution —
and reaped abundantly under the combination of circum-
stances presented to him in those countries, certainly can
have no just ground for assuming that these countries
are unsuited for agriculture because the like cannot be
done here. On equal grounds, the farmer who sows and
reaps maize here, might assume that Scotland was unfit
for husbandry because maize will not ripen there I Yet,
from such data as this have conclusions been drawn.

Every few degrees of latitude, every few hundred feet
of elevation, marks a difference of agricultural products,
and determines the more or less favourable conditions of
their culture.

There are certain laws which govern these things.
These laws are universal, but their appUcation (as de-
monstrated by those same laws) is various — infinitely
various. The science of Agriculture is the embodiment
of these laws, and their just application.

The possession of a rich soil by any country marks it
infaUibly as suitable for agriculture ; as the very existence
of a rich loamy soil, presupposes, and is the result of, a
prior rich vegetation. The science of Agriculture teaches
how this can be made available for reproduction in
higher classes. The laws of tillage and its effects are
everywhere the same ; each plant, however, requires
special conditions for its full development, and the busi-
ness of the agriculturist is to select the plants for culti-
vation suitable to the conditions at his command ; or by
his art provide artificial conditions, or modify existing
ones. When moisture is deficient, irrigate ; when in
excess, drain; when the food elements of plants are
wanting, supply them to the soil ; if land is cold, raise its
temperature by breaking it up to a considerable depth,
and thereby elevate the surface, subdividing its substance

136 STATES OF THE RIVEB PLATE.

by diligent tillage, and by heat generating applications,
such as quickhme, or decomposing vegetable matter, as
manure, &c. &c.

There are conditions, however, which cannot be pro-
vided or supplemented ; for instance, plants wliich can
only be grown at a very low temperature cannot well be
produced in a warm climate ; as vegetation will not grow
without sunlight, and from that heat is inseparable ; there-
fore in the warm or hot climates of the tropics, both agri-
culturist and horticulturist must fail in the attempt to
raise the plants of the frozen zone or cold latitudes ;
whereas the vegetation of warm climates can be grown
in cold ones by means of artificial heat.

Agriculture comprises the cultivation of the mandioca,
tobacco, sugar, rice, &c. &c., as well as oats, wheat, maize,
turnips, &c. &c. On this broad basis it must be under-
stood, and selection of plants made best suited to the
climate, requirements of the country, and other con-
ditions.

Our chmate, however, at least, in the southern pro-
vinces, does not present any great disparity of feature
with that of parts of Europe ; and even for the main pro-
ducts of the British Isles it offers congenial conditions ;
and some that are wanting, or are precarious, can and will,
in many districts, be provided by art, as necessities become
greater, and knowledge of the science more general.
Meanwhile, we have ample compensation in those plants
which find more favourable conditions here than there,
and these primarily claim attention.

Again, certain conditions which may be supposed
generally wanting, probably from the circumstance of
their not having been foimd in one or other locality or
tract of land, will undoubtedly be found in other situa-
tions or other varieties of soil, of which many varieties

AGRICULTUKE. 137

«xist in every square league of land. These conditions
the agriculturist (it must be understood that there is a
marked difference between the ' agriculturist ' and the
mere ' tiller of the soil') can readily detect and appreciate.
Other conditions which are not at present so favourable
as is desirable, wiU be modified by the extension of tillage
and planting ; the rainfall, for instance, will be more to
be depended upon, and the absorption of moisture into
the soil greater, both fi-om rain and dew, so that the
recurrence of drought (seca) may be less frequent or less
felt.

IL

I have stated that pastoral pursuits, unassociated with
agriculture, are incompatible with a stage of material
progression, certain hmits having been reached.

I believe that these limits have been attained within a
certain radius of Buenos Ayres and other cities ; and that
that interest must inevitably dechne in point of standing,
if, from this time forward, there is not an union of the two
to a certain extent formed.

I have shown in previous papers that marked augmen-
tation of the value of stock cannot be expected without
feeding both sheep and cattle ; that the lands as they are
in many districts, are incapable of supporting the stock
now on them, and hence heavy losses and degeneration
must be expected. Allied with tillage as an auxiliary, of
only to an extent to meet pressing necessities, the pastoral
interest is capable of very considerable development and
increase of value. Incalculable national and individual
wealth must be the result of the combination. There is
no surer way, indeed there is no other way, to national

138 STATES OF THE RIVEB PLATE.

greatness ; and it is especially the ' porvenir ' of these
countries, and in none to a greater degree than Buenos
Ayres, Santa Fe, Entre Eios, and the Banda Oriental. On
the alluvial plains of some of these there is certainly no
other source of wealth ; they are, as it were, designed by
the Almighty for agricultural and pastoral pursuits.

Men on all sides are asking, what is to be done ? How
are we to give increased value to, or utilise to greater ad-
vantage, this or that stock ? The answer lies undoubtedly
in what I have said. Ponder and speculate as we may,
there is no other answer, and I assert this truth em-
phatically. The wisest heads need not be ashamed to
make a permanent guest of this ' little truth,' and bend
their best intellects to the solution of the problem it gives
rise to. Our live stock is the sole source of wealth in the
country. We must increase its value by feeding, care, and
improved breeding, or all ' property ' in the country will
stand at a low level — a level commensurate with the value
of stock.

m.

To practice to a maximum advantage any of the arts
which have their roots in physical science, it is necessary
to have a knowledge of the theory of the science with
which such arts are connected ; and I purpose explaining
briefly the fundamental principles of the same, which, as
I have just stated, I beheve to be the essential element in
the development of the resources of this country.

The object of tillage is to destroy an existing vegetation
so as to supply its j)lace with a better one ; i.e. with
higher class varieties, and to produce more largely from
an equal space, to multiply the surface of the soil as it

AGRICULTURE, 139

were, so as to maintain on it ' millions ' where otherwise
' thousands ' could not exist, that marvellously wise dispen-
sation of Providence in the Creator's gift of the soil to
man, to the end that he might multiply and live — ' live
by the sweat of his brow.'

The science of Agriculture teaches us how to make the
best use of this gift, how to till, sow, and multiply pro-
ducts ; and the sciences of Chemistry, Physiology, and
otliers in relation with agriculture, demonstrate the phy-
sical connexion of aU matter, the identity of matter in all
composite things living or growing ; as also its indestruc-
tibility.

We learn, by means of these, that from the soil and the
atmosphere, all tilings that grow and live have a common
origin ; what their composition is ; as also the course of
construction or organisation.

We know, from these, the composition of plants and of
all hving things or beings, and the conditions under which
they live and thrive ; we learn from these the composi-
tion of soil, the properties which it possesses in relation
to vegetation, and, by consequence, what increases or
diminishes its productiveness; also the atmospheric and
cosmic iniluences which are agents in formation, hfe,
growth, and their operation.

Let us trace, as briefly as possible, the connexions of
some of these things, and the origin of others.

The action of the ' waters of the earth ' is that of a
constant disintegration, and the atmosphere, the winds,
rains, fire, and frost, labour to the same end.* Eocks of
every variety are formed from substances that have had

• The detailed processes of ocean deposits, volcanic action, the avalanche,
the iceberg, the formation of different strata of rock, the accumu-
lations of Mollusca, &c. &c. ; vegetable, animal, and mineral deposits and
formations — lime, coal, salt, and metals — belong to other branches of

140 STATES OF THE RIVEK PLATE.

a prior existence ; and the particles of these, disintegrated
by the washing of waters and the action of the atmo-
sphere, form fresh deposits in the seas, the ocean, and on
the low lands of the earth. Waters recede, or the land is
raised, and the conglomeration of the various atoms in
these deposits constitute soil. Soil is various in its class,
according to the nature of the rocks from which it has
been disintegrated.

AU soU, however, contains certain elements, although
in different proportions ; these elements are identical with
those existing in and forming everything that grows or
lives ; accordingly, the proportion of those elements which
are essential for the growth of vegetation, contained in a
soil, constitutes a soil fertile or sterile. Some of these
elements are only found in small proportions, even in the
most fertile soils, and, among those of the smallest pro-
portions, are counted, in an agricultural sense, the most
important.

IV.

The action of the component parts of all soils, in rela-
tion to the growth of plants, may be classified in two
main divisions ; one mainly mechanical, the other che-
mical. To the former division by far the larger mass of
matter constituting soil belongs, leaving, indeed, but a
comparatively small percentage for the latter.

The mechanical action or condition with which the
mass is invested consists in holding, distributed through

science, and although interesting to the agriculturist, are only in ultimate
connexion with his science ; and to attempt to explain them would be to
go beyond the sphere of this paper, and would render it unnecessarily
complex.

AGRICULTURE. 141

its substance, the mineral elements which constitute the
food of plants ; with the power of absorbing, in greater
or less degree, the gaseous elements needful for their
growth ; of absorbing and retaining moisture, of absorb-
ing and radiating heat, in their capacity of subdivision
and cohesion ; and in their furnishing the wherewithal
for the rooting of plants.

The chief substances which, as a rule, comprise what
may be called the mechanically acting portion of the soil,
are clay (insoluble sihca), sand, and chalk or lime. Soils
are classified according to the relative proportions which
they contain of these substances, with other subdivisions
determined by the proportion of organic matters (vege-
table substances) which are mixed through them, and
are denominated respectively clayey, sandy, calcareous,
medium ; also clayey loam, sandy or calcareous loam,
&c. &c. The physical or mechanical conditions of these
different soils can be and are modified to an almost un-
hmited extent by tillage, by which the most compact and
impervious of soils can be rendered friable.

The process of disintegration, under the action of the
atmosphere, the winds, the waters, and the light and heat
of the sun, by which soils were formed, is repeated on the
soU, and prepares its elements for the use of plants ;
chemical changes are effected, and new and soluble com-
binations are formed, and the minerals, alkaUes, and earths
yield to this action their substance, which assumes forms
available for the use of plants ; these become diffused
through the mass of the soil, and are retained in it by its
inherent power of attraction.

Plants are composed of two principal parts — the under-
ground, or roots, and the overground, or leaves and stems.
The organic construction of these two parts fits them for
the different offices they have to perform. The roots

142 STATES OP THE KIVER PLATE.

alone possess the power of taking up the minerals, alka-
lies, and earths — the inorganic elements which enter into
the organism of the plant — and they do this by contact
with the soil through which these elements have been
distributed in an available form ; being endowed with a
power of attraction and abstraction superior to that of
the soil, which yields up to them the matters or food
which is required for the formation of the stems and
leaves, and extension of the roots.

The food absorbed by an individual plant is in propor-
tion of the root surface in contact with the soil containing
that food, and the development of plants is in proportion
to the quantity of these food matters existing in an avail-
able form, or due supply of moisture, heat, and sunlight,
and the extent of feeding ground provided for them by
means of the subdivision of the soil, so as to admit freely
of the extension of the roots.

The soil, and the roots of plants in it, require the per-
meation of the atmosphere to prepare the mineral food,
and facihtate its assimilation with the plant. This circu-
lation, or permeation of the plant, is in greater or less
degree, as there is more or less cohesion in the soil.

Moisture is absolutely requisite for the growth of plants ;
it is an essential agent in the preparation of this food in
the soil, and it enters into the plant, is a material agent in
its organisation, and a large constituent of it. An excess
of moisture, however, is detrimental ; Avet stagnating in
the soil obstructs the air channels, and, so to speak, sus-
pends the respiration. A continuous process of respiration,
or circulation of the atmosphere through the soil, and of
absorption of moisture and its evaporation in unison, is
as essential in the soil as in plants and living beings.

As a consequence of efficient tillage, the cohesion of
the soil is broken, its atoms are separated, and an infinity

AGRICULTURE. 143

of surfaces is presented, on which the atmosphere, the
rains, and the dews percolating and permeating freely
through it, act chemically, rendering soluble, and diffusing
through it these mineral food constituents.

The change of position in the mass of the soil and its
individual atoms, effected by repeated tillage operations,
throws out fresh surfaces to the action of the atmosphere
and the sunlight, thereby rendering available a larger
quantity and a larger surface of soU saturated with avail-
able food.

From contact with the atmosphere, in circulation
through its substance, the soil derives ammonia, carbonic
acid, and oxygen — the solvents of mineral and the decom-
posers of organic substances. From rain and dew it
derives also ammonia and nitric acid ; and the evapora-
tion of moisture (water) from any substance, generates
ammonia from the nitrogen of the atmosphere ; and in
the case of this evaporation from the soil, the latter has
the property of fixing or appropriating the ammonia
thus generated. Ammonia and carbonic acid are essential
to the formation, hfe, and growth of vegetation.

The absorption of heat by the soil during the day is
counterbalanced by its radiation, or cooling, at night,
and this 'respiration of caloric' is essential. In hard
compact soil the radiation is very slow ; in subdivided or
tilled soil, it is much more rapid, and dew, the result of
radiation, is deposited on the soil and the vegetation,
and is absorbed by them.

When land is deeply tUled all these influences are ex-
tended in proportion to the depth tilled ; the rainfall
penetrates, and forms a store of moisture in the substrata,
rises, by capillary attraction, to supply the wants of
surface vegetation, without stagnating in the soil or
obstructing its air passages.

144 STATES OF THE RIVEE PLATE.

The mode and detail of tillage varies, however, with
the class of soil and the nature of the subsoil. There are,
as I have already stated, clayey soils —stiff clay, sUiceous
clay, clay loams, sandy loams, vegetable loams, peaty soil,
sandy soil, &c. All these varieties of soils, differing in phy-
sical conditions, have different powers of absorbing mois-
ture, heat, and food elements, and their cohesive powers
and tendencies are different. While in the clayey soUs the
most laborious tillage, the most thorough disintegration
and subdivision of atoms is needful, the tillage of sandy
soils embraces the compression of its particles, so as to
increase its power of retaining the moisture and food
elements which it absorbs ; and it is frequently found
requisite, when the subsoil is of a more compact nature,
to bring up a portion of it to incorporate with the hghter
surface soil, be it sandy or peaty. Sandy soils absorb
heat rapidly, and part with it readily. Clay soUs absorb
heat slowly, and retain it with tenacity ; hence, vegeta-
tion is parched or chilled, dwarfed or luxuriant on them
respectively, under different weather conditions.

Extremes in soils are the most difficult to treat, medium
soils, loams of fair consistence, the easiest ; the presence of
organic matter effecting changes in the soil mechanically
and chemically in the same direction as those brought
about by tillage.

On the higher and sloping lands whence the rainfall
rapidly drains off, a deep tillage is essential, as thereby
the rainfall penetrates more readily and in greater quan-
tity, forming a deposit or reserve of moisture which as
the surface dries, rises by capillary attraction as previously
(page 118) explained.

On low lands a deep tillage is equally desirable, as the
greater the mass of soil moved, the more the land is
raised, and the deeper and more readily the water pene-

AGEICULTURE. 145

trates, and the greater the extent of its diffusion. This
class of land therefore, so tilled, is not so readily ' satu-
rated ; ' the water does not stagnate on the surface so
as to stop the circulation of the air and the diffusion of
heat through the soil, which are so essential to the life
and growth of plants.

On very low lands, in addition to deep tillage, it is
requisite to facilitate the exit of the water by deep fur-
rows, open drains, and ditches.

I do not enter on the very important and highly in-
teresting subject of regular draining, as being from its
costliness out of the reach of the infant husbandry of the
country. I may, however, remark that it is nothing more
than an advanced system of realising ends which I have
just pointed out, viz. the leading down of the rainfall
waters to a greater depth in the soil, and the carrying off
any excess which would otherwise stagnate in it.

As the mechanical and physical action of soil is resi-
dent in and in relation to its general composite mass, so
its chemical action has relation to certain elementaiy sub-
stances, or minerals, intermixed in its substance, each of
which possess certain affinities for others in greater or less
degree, governed and determined by special physical
conditions and influences. Under these influences there
is a dissolution of certain chemical combinations and the
formation of others. In the laboratory of the mass of
the soil, all those changes, solutions, and combinations are
effected which dispose and prepare the inorganic or
mineral elements forming part of its substance to enter
on functions which form part of the cycle of organism or

L

146 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

life. These elements constitute the mineral base of every-
thing that has life, development, and organism : from
the humblest plant to the masterpiece of organism, man,
there can be nothing without them. It is the combina-
tion of these organic mineral substances with gaseous
elements which forms organic or living things; and this
combination is effected under a 'power' which is arbi-
trarily styled ' vital force,' or ' vital action,' and which
comprehends every defined and undefined power from
sunlight to electricity, culminating in the 'vsill' of the
Creator.

These minerals are of two main divisions, or, more
properly speaking, three — acid, alkali, and metallic —
and consist of phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, carbonic
acid, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, sihca, and iron. The
presence in the soil of aU these is absolutely requisite,
otherwise vegetation could not exist on it. Vegetation is
more or less luxuriant or scanty according as there is less
or more of these in the soil in an available form, and the
character or class of natural herbage is determined by
the relative proportions in which they exist. This is
exemplified by the growth of rushes and sedgy herbage
on low wet silicious clay, or clay lands in which there is
always present a large quantity of free siHcic acid, so
considerable a quantity of which (silica) enters into the
composition of sedgy herbage, and by the permanence of
sainfoin, clovers, and the like, on soils containing much
lime ; this element being a large constituent of the many
varieties of this class or order of plants.

AGEICULTUEE.

147

VI.

The growth of crops on, and their removal from, the
land, and the pasturing of sheep, cattle, &c. and their
removal or slaughter, withdraws from the soil certain
proportions of its fertilising or mineral matters ; and each
succeeding crop grown and removed diminishes the power
of the soil for reproduction, in a definite proportion accord-
ing to the crop. The same result follows from the con-
tinuous rearing and removal of animals, as they carry away
with them in their flesh, blood, wool, hair, and bones,
mineral constituents derived from the herbage on which
they feed, which in its turn derived them from the soil.

This is made perfectly manifest by a comparison of the
analyses of soils, vegetation, and animal matters. A single
series or table of these wiU suffice to make this clear.

Anaitsis

OP Mould.

Organic matter and combined water .

Feutilk

POOB, SiJfDT

12-502

16-70

Potash

1-4301
2069

Soda.

•06

Ammonia .

•078

Lime . .

5-096

•13

Magnesia .

•140

•03

Peroxide of do. ,

10-3051
•503 ■

Protoxide .

•04

Do. of magnesia

•354

Alumina .

2-576

•78

Phosphoric acid

•324

■11

Sulphuric do. .
Carbonic do. .

1^104

•02

6-940

Chlorine .

1-362

•01

Soluble silica .

2-496 "1

61-706]

•935

Insoluble do. .

81-50

Loss ....

•02

100-000

100-00

1,2

148

STATES OP THE KIVEB PLATE.

Analysis op

Potash

Wheat

■WhkatStbaw

29-97

1214

Soda

3-90

•64

Magnesia .

12-30

2-74

Lime

3-40

6-23

Phosphoric acid

46-00

6'43

Sulphuric do. .

•33

3-88

Silica

3-22

67-88

Peroxide of iron

•79

•74

Chloride of soda

•09

•22

10000

100-00

For analyses of grasses, clovers, flesh, blood, bones, &c.
see ' Treatise on Sheep-breeding.'

The constant diminution in the produce of land conti-
nuously under crop is thus accounted for, where there is no
sufficient restoration made in the form of manure, as is
also the deterioration of pasture lands from which gradually,
under a system of excessive stocking especially, the more
suitable and nutritious grasses disappear. In pasture lands
this, however, js not the only cause in operation to preci-
pitate the result. On overstocked lands on which the best
and most palatable grasses are closely eaten down, there
is no sufficient opportunity for such better grasses to seed
and reproduce themselves ; so that ultimately the weeds
and inferior grasses usurp possession. This is a process
which is going on extensively on the sheep estancias of
Buenos Ayres, and if certain hmits are not put to it very
serious consequences will accrue to the land and stock-
owners' interests.

The perpetual fertility of a soil is maintained by a
sufficient restoration to it of the minerals abstracted from
it by the crops ; moreover, this fertility or power of pro-
duction can be increased by mechanical operations (tillage)
efficiently performed, and through the improvement of the

AGRICULTURE. 149

'climate' of the soil by drainage, &c. as explained in
another part of this paper.

What we understand as ' manures ' are matters which
contain the elements that constitute the food of plants,
which have served the purpose of one or more organism,
and having undergone combustion or decay, are in a con-
dition to yield up these elements for assimilation with
other organisms, when, being restored to the soil, they
meet with those conditions — mechanical, chemical, and
cosmic — essential to the realisation to that end.

Associated with efficient tillage, there is no law of the
agricultural code more clearly defined, or more pointedly
insisted on as of primary necessity, than that of the resto-
ration to the soil of the matters abstracted from it by
crops, &c. ; that is, of manuring the land when there is
any sign of diminution of crops. The combination of the
pastoral and agricultural is eminently favourable for the
full compliance witli this law.

It is convenient for the complete understanding of this
to give analyses of manures. The most generally useful
and efficient manure is that of the excrements of men and
the inferior animals, which contain in their liquid and solid
forms all the elements of the food on which they feed ;
and it follows that the higher the feeding, the richer the
manure.

As it is not my intention to overcharge this treatise with
technical and scientific details, but simply to direct atten-
tion to fundamental principles and draw practical conclu-
sions, I confine myself to quoting only such analyses as
wiU suffice to demonstrate these principles, and having, in
this paper and in that on ' Sheep-farming,' given the analyses
of soils, fodder, grain, and flesh, it will not be necessary
to do more than quote that of the ash of an average
sample of farmyard manure.

150

STATES OP THE RIVER PLATE.

Analtsis of THJ5 Ash of Farmyard Manttre.

Potash ....

3'22

Soda

2-73

Lime

•34

Oxide of magnesia

■26

Sulphuric acid .
Chlorine ....
Silicic acid ....
Phosphate of lime

3-27

315

27-15

7-11

The large proportion
of silicic acid re-
sults from the straw,
which, as bedding,

Ditto magnesia

2-26

and as food, mixes

Ditto iron
Carbonate of lime
Ditto magnesia

4-68
9-34
1-63

largely with the ex-
^ crements.

Sand

30-99

Charcoal ....

■83

Alkalies and loss

3-04

10000

It is evident from this that, by applying to the land
from which the food of the animals has been reaped, the
excrements of the animals, such land is restored to more
or less the same state of productiveness as before the crops
were grown ; and if to this be added a little bone manure
— crushed bones or bone ash — on old pasture lands, pad-
docks, or ' potreros,' on which numbers of animals have
grown and lived, and generation after generation sold off,
the productiveness of these fields will be restored, as that
which was removed in the bones will be thus returned to
the soil, and the result will be that these lands will
again, if not overstocked, produce the good nutritious
grasses which in part or wholly had disappeared from
them.

Comparatively sterile soils can be made highly produc-
tive by efficient tillage and hberal manuring, as thereby
their physical as well as chemical conditions will be mate-
rially modified or wholly changed.

The assertion made at the commencement of this treatise,
of the necessity of a combination of the pastoral and

AGRICULTURE.

151

agricultural which is comprehended in the term 'farming,'
will derive point from the view presented by the foregoing
facts. The consequence of feeding animals on a ' farm,'
is the furnishing the farmer on the spot with, in the
excrements, the means of maintaining the fertility or pro-
ductiveness of his land ; and the result of efficient tillage
and manuring is to augment many fold the yield of the
land, and, by consequence, enable the farmer to maintain
a much greater number of animals on a given space, and
to maintain them better, rear them of a better class, and
render their products of greater value.

The tillage destroys an inferior vegetation, and leads to
the production of a better, more abundant, and richer
one ; and better food produces greater development, better
flesh, better wool, and more of them.

YII.

The agriculture of Buenos Ayres and the sister, states is,
as a rule, limited and rude, and, with very few exceptions,
improvident. The crops comprise a few cereals, two of
which alone are grown to any extent, and these year
after year on the same land. Maize and wheat are the
chief grain crops ; barley is also grown, but to a less
extent.

In the immediate vicinity of the cities, the usual course
on the farms (chacras) is to take consecutive crops of
these cereals until the soil to the depth to which their
roots penetrate, having yielded up to them such a pro-
portion of its available mineral food, ceases to produce
sufficiently abundant crops to render their cultiva;tion
profitable. Potatoes, pumpkins, and the like, occupy
but a very small extent of land. Recourse is then had
to a deeper-rooted plant, and the land is laid down with

152 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

lucerne (alfalfa), which is mown for ' soiling ' or hay-
year after year until it is worn out. During all this
time it is but rarely that there is any restoration to the
soil of the fertilising matter abstracted from it in the
crops. The extent to which the land is impoverished by
this course in a few years, say the duration of the alfalfa,
is very great, this being a plant which exhausts the soil
probably to a degree unequalled by any other. Alfalfa
hay taking more or less 12 per cent, of its weight of the
mineral food of plants from the soil, the result is, that on
the majority of lands on whicli this plant has been grown,
it will not again thrive, and there is no other crop grown
here that wUl as profitably replace it. These lands are,
therefore, thrown out of cultivation, and fresh land must
be had recourse to, or the farmer has to content himself
with less remunerative crops.

When cereals alone have been grown, the usual tillage
for which is shallow, a new surface can be provided by a
deeper tillage, and a renewal of fertility is brought about
for a time. On the other hand, alfalfa is an exceedingly
deep-rooting plant, and impoverishes the soil to a cor-
responding depth. It has been explained that the means
of maintaining the fertility of a soil consist of the re-
storation to it of the matters abstracted from it in the
crops, in the form of manure. Now this is next to an
impossibility on the majority of farms (chacras) as at
present managed.

On very few chacras are there any more animals kept
than suffice to do the work of tillage, so that almost the
whole of the crops are removed from the land, and the
elements of reproduction with them ; and there is no
means of obtaining manure except at a cost in labour
and carriage out of all proportion to the value of the
crops themselves.

AGBICULTURE. 153

Changes of system and practice are always of slow
growth in a country where the tillage and the pastoral
establishments have ever been and are distinct, both rude,
as also so disproportioned to each other in extent ; and
when the value of animals — homed cattle and sheep — is
so small individually, the change of the agricultural
system and its amalgamation with the pastoral must be
especially difficult to introduce.

It is not, however, less the duty of a writer on these
subjects to point to the only course which can ultimately
raise the agriculture of the nation to anything like a
rational and permanent system. This course is unques-
tionably the rearing and feeding of stock on farms for
the city markets, the excrements of which, used as
manure, will suffice to keep the land ' in heart,' that is,
maintain its fertility ; and, on the other hand, the rearing
and feeding of improved breeds of stock constitutes the
opening of a new outlet for agricultural products and
consequent extension of agriculture.

The rearing and feeding of stock is desirable on other
grounds than that of restoration. The continuous growth
of the same crops on the same land has a highly preju-
dicial effect on its productiveness, as also on the crops,
superinducing diseased conditions of a parasitical descrip-
tion, causing blight and partial or total failure. Variety
and a certain rotation or change of cropping, added to
efficient tillage and sufficient manuring, is that which
agricultural experience teaches to be the most profitable,
as well as the most advantageous, course for the land.
This variety is rendered practicable and necessary when
stock is kept on the farms, as forage crops can, and of
necessity must, alternate with cereals and pasture. The
more suitable forage crops will be discovered in practice,
and the seasons best suited for theii' sowing and rise to

154 STATES OP THE RIVEB PLATE.

meet the exigencies or conditions of the chmate, will
become known. The bean, the vetch, the melilot, the
turnip, beetroot, carrot and cabbage, the sargo and
broraus, &c. &c. may all be found desirable.

On all farms, too, where animals are not kept, there
must necessarily be much waste. Mucli that is grown
may not be marketable, owing to injury from weather, and
other causes and contingencies which every farmer is
subject to, or which arise out of the nature of the crops
themselves. All this can be utilised when there is stock,
so that no part of the farmer's labour is lost to him.

These things, in fact, constitute the economics arising out
of ' mutual aid' and ' mutual dependence,' which lead to,
and determine, in their completeness, the maximum good
in all rural concerns and all nature.

As we have to bring animals to the tillage farms in the
chacra radius, to effect their rapid extension and increase,
and perpetuate their productiveness and value, so we must
carry agriculture to our sheep-farms, and to the cattle
estabhshments also, on which the owners rear high-caste
cattle.

On the sheep-farms it is abeady a crj'ing necessity
everywhere, and propably this is the most urgent and
important call and necessity for that union of the pastoral
and agricultural which I have indicated as the life-blood
of a nation's prosperity.

VIIL

It has been demonstrated, and the fact is patent, that
no material progression can be looked for, in either slieep
or cattle-breeding, without the aid of more nourishing
food, and a more constant supply of it tlian is provided

AGRICULTURE. 155

by nature under her varying influences, and the present
general practice. It is an absolute necessity, therefore,
to grow auxihary food, and to dispose of and use the
pasture lands under a system which will admit of their
yielding more abundantly and more continuously, as also
preserve the better class of grasses thereon. The ways
and means of effecting this is the problem which presents
itself for solution to every landowner and stockowner,
who desires to keep pace with the times and the material
progression which is everywhere in operation.

It must be a bold pen, indeed, that would presume to
lay down a definite law for universal practice in the very
dawn of a new phase in the heavings of progression in a
great national industry ; but in an humble and pious spirit
it may be permitted us to endeavour to throw some light
on so important a subject, one which is to work out the
wellbeing and ' life ' of the land we live in.

There is an infinite variety of individual circumstances,
of conditions and situations of land, a considerable range
of climate and climatic influences, great differences of
vegetation, &c. to complicate the subject.

Let us take into consideration, in the first place, our
natural pastures. We find them teeming with luxuriant
vegetation and bare and arid by turns. We find alternate
tracts of wet and cold, rich and dry lands. Each in its
turn serves a purpose or entails a prejudice, supplies more
or less food according to the season, and the weather
during the different seasons of the year, and producing
different classes of herbage — poor and scant, strong and
coarse, sedgy and of little nourislnnent, rich, succulent,
and luxuriant, or fine, tender, and nutritious.

The higher, warmer, and richer lands yielding, with an
average fall of rain, abundance of palatable grasses and
clover during the autumn, winter, and spring, but many

156 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

of them utterly devoid of green herbage during the heats
of summer and early autumn, more especially in a season
of less than the average rainfall. On the other hand, the
lower lands, thinner in vegetable mould, and more clayey,
are under water after heavy rains, and wet and puddly
after every medium rainfall, and at such times the vege-
tation is by consequence deficient in alkahes and saccha-
rine matter, poor in nutriment constituents, and tending
to scour ; but when the rainfall is scant and insufficient
for the higher grounds, more especially during early
summer, these low lands are clothed with nutritious and
palatable herbage and sweet grasses, in many instances
intermingled with two or three varieties of the melilot.

The most remarkable peculiarity of the medium and
higher lands is the full possession taken of immense tracts
at certain seasons by the variegated thistle, which over-
shadowing every other herbage, chokes it and causes
. almost every vestige of it to disappear. Other tracts are
held possession of by the hard perennial thistle (wild
artichoke) intermingled with the plants, which in the
lower stages of its growth is the very best of grasses, but
in the months of its maximum growth it covers the ground
completely, bidding defiance to the entiy of almost any
animal into its prickly domain.

With few exceptions, the grasses, clovers, and various
kinds of palatable herbage are annuals, and these consti-
tute two distinct series, growing and seeding in different
seasons of the year, and making no sign whatever at other
periods.

One series of these grasses does not make its appearance
until after the heats of the summer, and the first autumn
showers cause them to spring into life. They develop,
seed, die down, and disappear with the autumn, and are
succeeded by the other series, comprising both grasses and

AGEICULTOEE. 157

clovers, which springing in the early part of winter (or
late in autumn), maintain a low state of development
during the winter, and spread out luxuriantly with the
genial spring weather.

On the uplands and medium lands carrying considerable
stock, in the spring season the trefolium (raedick clover)
prevails over the graminaceous grasses ; its predomi-
nance is in proportion to the stock kept on the ground,
more particularly in the case of sheep, whose close feeding
allows little chance of the grasses seeding, and being
annuals they necessarily die out of the land, whereas the
traihng habit of the medick clover, its abundant seed,
produced on every shoot however short it may be eaten,
causes it to dominate. Succulent and nutritious as this
trefoil is, its excessive predominance is a great evil, and
is a sure sign of overstocking. It is an early plant, and
seeds and dies down early in the summer ; the stems and
trailers being of a soft and succulent nature are extremely
light and substanceless when dry, completely withering
in the summer heats, and leaving the ground on which it
has grown most luxuriantly, perfectly bare. On the other
hand, the more soHd stems of the true and graminaceous
grasses, when they have a chance to grow — and the
stronger and closer packing of the roots present much
greater resistance — they also, falhng over, protect the
land from the action of the sun, checking the evaporation
of moisture, and encouraging the germination of the fallen
seed and the interminghng of a young and tender grass
with the faded.

Did every sheep-walk comprise the varieties of soil,
elevation, and herbage which I have here described, it
would be an easy matter to ensure a continuous and
sufficient pasturage for flocks of sheep duly proportioned
to the land ; but, as the rule, probably a flock of 2,000

158 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

sheep, or two or three such flocks, will have the ' run ' of
but one variety of land, high or low, as it may be, it
becomes a very nice matter to dispose the grazing and
calculate the amount of stock that can, with safety and
advantage, be put on a given track of land.

This disposition of the pasturage, so as to give oppor-
tunity for the seeding of the good grasses, and the holding
in reserve, for certain seasons, of a portion of the land
well clothed with grasses that are less perishable than
the trefolia, could be systematically managed, were it
practicable for the landowner to ' fence.' Such an under-
taking as general fencing and subdividing the sheep-walks
or establishments, gigantic and costly as it would be, is in
but rare instances practicable ; first, by reason of the
want of capital, secondly, the insufficiency of labourers,
and thirdly, the small comparative value of the sheep.
Doubtless this will ultimately be done, and the means wdll
be made forthcoming through the improvement of the
sheep increasing the weight of their Jleece and carcass, so
as to give them individual value.

The removal of the sheep from one subdivision to
another (supposing the land to be fenced), according to
the state of the herbage, to allow of the growth of the
graminaceous grasses, when they would otherwise be
deficient, and the accumulation of stock on land on which
there is an excess of coarse herbage at a season when
such herbage was still tender, so as to eat it down and
^Jine it' are practices of the highest importance, and
require intelligent management. Failing the fencing, it
is unquestionably to the interest of the landowner (for if
through injudicious management, by insufficient or exces-
sive grazing of the land, the herbage is allowed to dete-
riorate, he, de facto, loses a portion of his capital invested
in the land, as that land not being able to carry its due

AGRICULTURE. 159

proportion of stock, by reason of such deteriorated herb-
age, is of less positive or actual value) to arrange the
grazing of the flocks on certain portions of his ' run ' at
certain periods of the year, in as near an approximation as
possible to the system he would adopt, supposing it to be
fenced.

A careful examination and study of the herbage of
lands, the period of its growth and ripening, is necessary
to a correct estimate of its capabilities for carrying stock ;
and it is not too much to say that on this the greater or
less profitableness of sheep-farming is dejiendent.

The stocking of land must necessarily be regulated with
regard to season contingencies, as well as to the nature of
the soil and its grasses. The openness of the country,
without wood or hill, exposes it to a very unequal rain-
fall, and long and occasionally severe droughts occur.
An effective and rational method to avoid the conse-
quences of such recurring evils is that of always main-
taining an extent of tillage land proportioned to the whole
stock and its probable requirements in exceptional seasons,
and as an auxiliary in others, on which to grow deep-
rooting artificial grasses and otlier fodder plants, and to
stock a portion of the same as a reserve. This, hke the
' fencing,' can only be done when the ' stock ' is of a value
commensurate with the necessary labour and expense, i.e.
when the stock is worth taking care of, or can be made so.

Probably the most effective step towards a complete
system would be the lessening of the extent of the esta-
blishments or estancias, when the capital is not in propor-
tion to the extent. A man who has half a dozen or a
dozen leagues of land (or even much less), -with means
disproportionate to it, must necessarily be overwhelmed
by the magnitude of the work that would be required to
place the whole property and stock on a proper footing ;

160 STATES OP THE EIVER PLATE.

and such men must either reduce their stock and holdings,
or devote a fractional part of them to the initiation of an
improvement which, in course of time, they may make
general; and there can be no question whatever that
there must be tillage land on every well-regulated esta-
bhshment, or material improvement cannot be hoped for.

IX.

THE 'THISTLE,' ' SEPO CABALLO,' ' ABROJO,' AND POISONOUS

HERBS.

The former of these has its advocates, who believe it
to be not only a proof of good ' campo,' but advantageous
in itself Sheep, cattle, and horses feed on it at certain
stages of its growth, and its seeds furnish a certain quota
of highly nutritious and oleaginous food ; and it is noto-
rious that, at the season of the fall of the seed, all stock
get into good condition. The thistle seed and the seed
of the medick clover are eaten from off the ground on
which probably not so much as a blade of grass is to be
found ; but I do not hesitate to say that it is an unques-
tionable and an incalculable plague. The large spreading
leaves and dense growth usurp the space which would be
occupied by infinitely better fodder, and of nutritious
quaUty tenfold that furnished by the thistle. At a cer-
tain period of its growth, its early stage, it is unques-
tionably a debilitating and unwholesome food, producing
hove and scour — and at that period of the year all stock
are lean and weak where the thistle prevails ; and there
is little doubt that, even at the period of the seed fall,
a very much greater number of animals could be main-
tained in equal condition on the ripe grasses which would

AGRICULTUEE. 161

occupy the land, were it not for its overshadowing. Its
extirpation, however, is an impossibility on estancias, and
all that can be done for generations to come will be to
clear fractional tracts, by cutting it down with thistle-
mowers, year by year, so as to admit of the growth of
grasses and their seeding, and consequent re-stocking of
the land with them. To effect this, tlie cutting should be
at two periods — early in the spring, and at the time of
flowering.

On the lower lands there is little or no thistle. It
cannot exist on what are called the ' baiiado,' or bathed
lands ; but there are certain plants of an extremely preju-
dicial character, bearing abundant seed-pods of oval form,
densely covered with serrated prickles, which are apt to
infest them, and which if not eradicated spread rapidlj-,
and render the camps comparatively useless, or worse than
useless. Of these the abrojo, or large burr, and the sepo
caballo are the worst. The seed-pods fasten into the
hair of the legs, manes, and tails of horses and cattle,
are carried about by them, and ultimately bursting, scatter
the seeds, which vegetate in any soil or land, high or low,
although flourishing with greater strength on the lower.

In the wool of sheep they are known as the worst of
banes. The ' cutter' that has been lately invented for the
thistle answers well for these plants ; and so great a pre-
judice are they, that it is a public duty to eradicate them.

Lesser evils, at the same time by no means small
ones, are the biznaga and wild camomile, which spread
extensively on lands somewhat bare of good herbage.
Poisonous tall-growing plants, such as the ' siente,' hem-
lock, and others, require to be carefully eradicated, as
many animals are lost by feeding on them. All these,
being either annuals or- biennials, are to be got rid of by
cutting at the time of flower.

M

162 STATES or THE RIVER PLATE.

It would not be easy to over-estimate the benefits — the
actual profit that would accrue to sheep-farmers and other
estancieros by a practical application of the foregoing
suggestions in respect of the judicious ' stocking ' and
systematic depasturing of estancia lands. Only a detailed
study and observation will reveal the full importance that
is attached to these matters. Their default is felt every-
where, but felt without a recognition of cause and effect
in connexion with such default. Inevitable consequences,
arising out of natural causes, are set down as ' Epidemia.'
The wilfully blind shrug their shoulders when they look
upon dwarfed sheep or their carcases strewing the camps ;
and stiU the rising consciousness of reproach for the greed
for numbers, and the disinclination to take the requisite
trouble and make the necessary outlay to attain better
results, by the cry of ' Epidemia ! ' as though this was
a something impalpable, borne on the breeze, and disse-
minating degeneracy and death ; whereas, in ninety-nine
cases out of one hundred, starvation is the active cause of
nearly all the evils that, from time to time, visit the
improvident sheep-farmer.

X.

In proceeding to treat of' tillage or arable farming on
estancias, I wish it clearly to be understood that I am not
suggesting any vast or impracticable scheme for putting
the whole country under tillage, or anything more than a
very limited accessory to the great pastoro- agricultural
economy, or management, of grass or grazing lands.
Nevertheless it is an extremely important adjunct, and no
estancia henceforth can be considered to rank in the file
of progress without it.

AGRICULTURE. 163

The object is to supplement the indigenous herbage,
and constitute a reserve to meet exceptional and unfore-
seen necessities, as before stated, and to provide a superior
class of food for that portion of the stock which is de-
stined to raise the standard of the whole, and stamp on it
its type.

On estancias the means of enriching the land imder
tillage, and producing from a small surface enormous
proportionate produce, are unbounded. A deep and
thorough tillage and ample manuring, as fully explained
in this treatise, are the means. A superabundance of
fertilizing matter supplied by the corrals and rodeos, is
at the command of the estanciero, and a free use of it
will result in a great economy of labour ; as through its
instrumentality an amount of produce will be obtained
from a given surface, equal to that which would other-
wise be obtained from double that surface.

For the better conveyance of my views I will describe
an establishment and its working, such as will probably
meet the requii'ements of most.

On an estancia of any given extent and number of
improving stock — say, sheep — a central agricultural farm,
of an extent corresponding to circumstances and the neces-
sities of the system proposed to be carried out, should
be formed on well-selected ground, both as regards its
quality and convenient position in respect of the various
'stations,' or 'puestos.' From this farm all the important
regulations must be directed, and on it must be kept the
whole of the ' sires,' which, through their superior vigour,
class, and type, are looked to, to stamp their charac-
teristics on, and engender uniformity in, the general
stock. Such farm must necessarily be under the imme-
diate direction of the owner of the estabhshment, or a
thoroughly competent manager.

M 2

164 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

It has been laid down as an absolute rule, not only
that the rams (if any material improvement is to be
effected) be separated from the flocks, well kept, and
told off' to the flocks at fixed periods, and for a limited
time ; but that the borregas must be separated from the
flocks before the rams are introduced, and that capones
(wethers) and old ewes should likewise be parted out and
formed into a flock or flocks apart, until opportunity
ofiers for disposing of them, or they can be steamed down.
There will therefore be required, on every estancia of
any size, one or more ' puestos ' for capones and old ewes,
placed in potreros that will least incommode tlie ewe
flocks. Also a puesto, with fenced or unfenced run ff)r
the borregas, which would have to be either redistributed
to the flocks, after the rams are taken out, or formed into
permanent flocks, and supplied with rams when of proper
age.

On the central farm a sufficient extent of land would
have to be laid out, fenced, and subdivided with conve-
nient paddocks (potreros) ; together with the like for
tillage of alfalfa, maize, and other artificial grasses ; con-
veniently situated with respect to corrals, sheds, wells,
drinking- troughs, and other conveniences, erected on it
for the rams.

Assuming that the flocks of the estancia have attained
to different degrees of improved quality, it might be con-
venient to keep the rams corresponding in quality to such
flocks, in separate lots, two or three, as may be ; each 'lot'
having its own potreros, sheds, and corral ; and probably
the most convenient arrangement woidd be to have tliese
potreros alternating with the ' alfalfares ; ' which latter,
when not standing for mowing, and the ground being
dry, would serve for occasional grazing, to relieve the
grass potreros.

AGBICULTURK.

165

I may state, incidentally, that a complete system of
management necessitates the whole of the stock being
under the absolute control of the estanciero. Either all
his shepherds would have to be on a fixed wage, or those
who had the charge of the ewe flocks (composed wholly
of ewes), might be on a capitation wage, receiving a sum
of money for every lamb counted out of these flocks, by
which means they would be interested in the preservation
of the lambs, and would earn an extra wage by extra
care.

The following is a draft of a central farm, which might
in many cases prove a convenient arrangement, and at all
events will serve the purpose of facilitating explanation.

1 IX

2

IXI

5

X — 1

4

X

t

-tx-

In this draft I place the ram, corrals, and sheds in a
position sheltered from the south and west by the house
and montes ; in front of these, with a wide, well-levelled,
and cleared road intervening, I indicate convenient

166 STATES OF THE EIVER PLATE.

arrangement of potreros, alfalferes, and tillage lands
under fence. Nos. 5, 3, and 1 represent grass potreros,
of dimensions proportioied to the number of rams pro-
posed to be kept in them. To render these productive
of rich nutritious grasses, a good top dressing of corral
manure should be given, and thistles and other weeds cut
down or ' spudded ' out. If the ' soft ' thistle, it should
be cut early, and the cutting repeated so as to admit of
the growth of grasses, which they would otherwise choke
off; if the 'hard ' thistle it would require to be 'spudded'
out, and so with other weeds, according as they are of
annual or perennial growth. This treatment (manuring
and cleaning) will abundantly repay the outlay. JSTos. 2,
4, and 6 represent alfalfares. One of these, or a portion
of one, should be used for the supply of green alfalfa, to
be given to the rams in the evening, in the sheds or cor-
rals (in racks), during the spring, summer, and autumn ;
the others coidd be cut for hay for morning and evening
feed of the rams, and as a reserve for any case of need for
the flocks, and to supply the ewes with a little dry nib-
bling for a week or two before lambing.

These alfalfares would be made enormously productive
if a heavy manuring were given the land before jjloughing
for sowing. In addition to this manuring, the deeper tlie
tillage the better ; as the result of deep tillage will be the
infinitely more rapid and luxuriant growth of the plant :
and moreover, it will be much less influenced and pre-
judiced by drought. Under such a preparation and
treatment, the yield of one square of land would equal
that of at least two squares unmanured and of shallow
tillage. The economic position would be this ; — half the
land, half (or one third) of the seed (four and a-half or
five arrobas to the square would be ample), more or less
half the labour, and half the fencing ; against sixty or

AGRICULTURE. 167

seventy cart-loads of manure on the spot, and only requir-
ing to be spread, and a little more horse or ox-power to
draw the ploughs some three inches deeper in the soil.

The land most advantageous in the average of seasons is
that which is neither very high nor very low, with a good
depth of black loam, vegetable loam, on the surface ; and
where there is a choice of sites, such an one should be
selected.

Divisions marked XXXX could be used for grain-pro-
ducing, and any other crops that might be useful. If one
or two of these spaces sufficed for the supply of grain,
the others could stand as extra potreros until required
for tillage. On the same land corn could be sown for a
couple of seasons, or perhaps three, without material
diminution of yield, if well tilled and well cleaned. It
would then amply repay to manure (the cleanings of the
sheds and corrals finding here a convenient and profit-
able outlet, instead of being left to accumulate about the
place, and causing dirt and disorder), after which a further
succession of full crops could be obtained. Should by that
time more potrero room be required, this corn land could
most advantageously be laid down in perennial grasses,
such as form the permanent meadows and pastures in
Europe, and which I know, from experience, form in this
country an admirable and jiroductive sward.

A. B.C. represent corrals for three ' lots ' of rams, each
with a shed, long, narrow (11 to 12 feet), and not too
high ; a shed, open in the front and partially closed only
at the back, so as to have thorough ventilation ; and, by
reason of their narrowness, affording eveiy facility for
drying. Wide sheds can scarcely ever dry, and are
consequently inconvenient, dirty, and unwholesome.

At the end of the shed C, it would be convenient to
place a granary and store-room for all useful items and

168 STATES OK TUB BIVEE PLATE.

remedies that would be required. D would probably
be a convenient locality on some establishments for the
corrals of the borregas.

Divisional or interior fences, with five wires, render
ditches unnecessary, except when, from the nature of the
land, it would be advisable to carry off the water by
means of open drains. The size of the potreros would
depend on the niunber of rams intended to be kept in
them ; and again, on the quality of the land, and the faci-
lities provided for rehevuig or supplementing the natural
pasture.

One of the most interesting considerations in connexion
with the union of agriculture and pasturage is the adap-
tation of forage plants and artificial grasses to fill the
blanks which the seasons leave in the supply of natural
or indigenous herbage.

Alfalfa (lucerne), on lands of good quality and situa-
tion, is one of the most productive and permanent of the
' leguminose ' varieties, and, in connexion with the species
beans, peas, vetches, porotos, clover, lupines, &c., is of a
high nutritive value. It is probably unsurpassed in dura-
bility and product on suitable land, for mowing, fur
soiling, or hay, when liberally and carefully treated ; but
it is not so well sinted, and dies out much sooner, if de-
pastured, especially by sheep, whose close biting injures
the crown of the plant, and causes it to rot. Moreover,
it cannot be kept clean as a pasture ; trefolium, grasses,
duckweed, and various strong weeds, quickly appear in
it, and hasten its decay and disappearance.

It likewise requires time for the preparation of the
ground and growth before it becomes productive. Only
in the third year after breaking up the land, supposing
it to have jiroper tillage, cleaning, and general treatment,
can an alfalfa be considered productive. For these rea-

AGRICULTURE. 169

sons it is very desirable that other artificial true grasses
should be introduced, not by any means to the exclusion
of alfalfa, but to meet requirements when the alfalfa is at
fault in degree.

The ' Bromus schraderii ' is an exceedingly productive
grass, both in herbage and seed, and suitable for dry
chmates, — a cut-and-come-again plant, that can be mown
and grazed alternately during a season. Sown in the
autumn, or early in the spring, it matures in a few
months, and is of such strong growth, that scarcely any
other plant or weed can hold its way with it. It is
relished by all animals — cattle, horses, or sheep — and, in
all likelihood, will be found very useful on our farms. It
is very easily ' saved ' as hay, as it diies rapidly, and is
not liable to injure or mould, as is alfalfa, — matters of
considerable importance in ' campo' farms. The cultiva-
tion or tillage of the land is simply that of any other crop.
Plough, cross-plough, and harrow fine, and cover in the
seed with harrows and brush. It is a sub-perennial, from
its abundant seeding, readily reproducing itself, if allowed
to ripen one set of seed-shoots in the year.

I have already made reference to permanent grass
pastures of perennial varieties. I am grazing a paddock
laid down with a mixture of grass-seeds commonly used in
laying down grass on good loams in the British Islands —
' fescues,' meadow grasses, cocksfoot, perennial rye-grass,
timothy, &c. — which gives me the highest satisfaction,
yielding a large amount of feed, and growing and spread-
ing under conditions, and at seasons when the indigenous
annual grasses fail ; covering the ground with a sward
absorbent of moisture, and protecting the soil from the
sun. Sown early in the autumn, with a little barley,
they can be cut for soiling (green fodder) in spring, and
depastured in the autumn, and will, luadoubtcdly, prove

170 STATES OF THE ElVEE PLATE.

invaluable as potreros or meadows on the tillage-farms,
for fine stock.

In the suggestions I have made will probably be found
all the requisites to meet the necessities for the highest de-
velopment in sheep-rearing attainable for many years to
come. The more laborious tillage operations, and culti-
vation of forage crops, such as turnips and the like for
sheep, is a stage perliaps yet far removed, even on the
most advanced establishments, and need not therefore
be treated of here.

XI.

It may, on first thoughts, be considered j^remature to
treat of agriculture in connexion witli cattle-feeding ; but,
as I have already remarked, it is becoming a pressing
necessity to produce good heef for the town consumption,
and for salting for foreign markets. The benefits accruing
from the higher-bred animals — shorthorns and Here-
fords — that exist and are augmenting in a few hands,
cannot be realized without a system of at least partial
fatting ; and we can never have wholesome beef in the
city, nor a trade in salt heef, until farms in the vicinity of
the cities, convenient to ports or along lines of railway,
are in part devoted to this very important branch of
industry. ' Cattle-feeding ' is a term which conveys the
idea of an European system, with all its appliances ; but,
we have, by no means, reached that stage, and there
would be no likelihood of such a system pajnng in the pre-
sent generation. Cattle feeding, however, can be adapted
to circumstances, and detennined in its details, by the
circumstances of climate, products, and possible appli-
ances, and the cost of the same ; a fair return on the

AGRICULTURE. 171

capital employed ; the market value of the fodder con-
sumed ; a fair rent for the land, with return of expenses,
as the case may be ; is all that can or ought to be looked
for. The contingent profit that can be reasonably looked
for is that of the doubling the produce of the land,
through the instrumentality of tlie animals fed on the
farm.

It is an industry that has to be created, and the ways
and means of its economic conduct have yet to be un-
folded by practice ; and there is, undoubtedly, a crying
necessity for the initiation of some simple and practical
system of preparing wholesome meat for the consumption
of our city populations.

That which is required to put animals into sufficiently
good and firm condition for all purposes of beef, is that
they should be domesticated, and that they should have a
sufficient and never-failing supply of fodder, or food of a
quality sufficiently nutritious — strong feed — grasses that
are neither too young to have collected nutrient elements,
and which have reached a stage of organization sufficient
to render them ' fatting food,' — nor so old or over-ripe as
to have parted with their nutritious properties. The food
best calculated to answer the purpose (it need not be
turnips and oil-cake) is that which can be produced in the
greatest quantity and nutrient quality from a given space
or extent of groiuid at the least comparative cost, and
which can be provided or produced in the most suitable
feeding state at the diffijrent seasons of the year. That
determined, consumers must of necessity pay for beef a
price equivalent to the value of such food converted into
beef

There is no help for it ; it is a law of economics that it
must be so ; and, there is no question, that good, nutri-
tious beef, at five times the cost per given weight, is

172 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

cheaper, per se, than bad beef from which the greater
part of its alimentary properties have been drained or
wasted. The science and practice of agriculture must in-
dicate the ways and means ; and the more advanced this
science and practice are, and the more efficient the mecha-
nical means brought into play, the more economical will
be the conversion of forage into beef.

It is of the highest importance just now that this pro-
blem of beef-producing should have a practical solution.
The cattle plague in Europe is reported to have made
such ravages in the herds, that some years may probably
elapse before the losses are replaced ; and this, coupled
with the slaughtering of a large number of breeding
stock — cows, dried off in the great city dairies, — and,
above all, the increasing necessity for flesh food, conse-
quent on the high-pressure existence, mental and bodily,
engendered in this age of steam, of rapid and perpetual
thought, of constant contact and friction, of sharp wits,
and of accelerated movement, which require food of the
highest 'azotized' description to maintain, — renders it
anore than probable that a large market will be open to
fed meat from the plains of South America.

I am of opinion that isolated attempts on small farms
cannot lead to this ' solution.' As a sequence, the feeding
of cattle will naturally extend to farmers generally. But,
in the meanwhile, establishments of sufficient magnitude,
fattening a number of animals, to make an impression on
the home consumption, or to supply a curing undertaking
for export, will have to be set on foot ; and these must
be in connexion with either such curing business, or
butchers' stalls, where the meat is properly killed and cut
up, as in Europe.

An ample supply of food and water, regularly given to
domesticated animals of cross breed for English stock,

AGEICULTURE. 173

is, as I liave said, an essential. To provide this is the
problem.

In this, as in the caring of rams, a series of potreros is
a necessary first step ; and these must either be in direct
or easy communication with permanent water, pure and
wholesome, or have regularly supplied water-troughs.
These potreros must be depastured in turn, allowing the
grass to attain nutrient consistence before the animals are
allowed to graze on them. From the nature of our indi-
genous grasses and climate-influences, paddocks of artifi-
cial grasses, alfalfa, and others, would be requisite to fill
the blanks of the natural ones, as also to yield a larger
quantity on a given space. It would also be necessary to
have lands sown with fodder and forage crops, from which
to supply soiling (cut fodder), &c., for the same puqjose.
Lucerne, ' sorgo,' bromus, meadow grasses, and broadcast-
sown maize, as well as many others to cut green, are
available ; also for the provision of dry food, such as hay,
for the seasons when the green fodder has not sufficient
consistence or fatting quality. For the same purpose,
' chala ' (maize straw) might prove a useful auxiliary,
and the grain would be available either for sale or
consumption.

Bon-owing the idea of one of the oldest of British agri-
cultural writers, I may say that, in all the farmer docs in
this matter, in all his arrangements, and with all the seed
he sows, he must mix one other little seed, which will
assuredly bear him good fruit, and bring home good
store. This little seed is called ' Discretion,' or, as we
now-a-days express it, intelligence and judgment must
guide every step.

Shed-feeding is, and will be, for a long time to come,
out of the question ; but large strongly-fenced yards, or
small paddocks, would be practicable conveniences for

174 STATES OF THE EIVEH PLATE.

night feeding, more especially for such animals as have
attained an advanced stage of fatting, and require to be
' finished off,' or hardened, for slaughter. It will be clear
to practical minds that essential elements of success con-
sist in procuring a never-failing supply of pasture-feed in
the most nutritious stage of its growth and productive
yield ; over and above this, stored feed to meet all require-
ments, and in the economic arrangements of gathering it
and supplying it without waste, in quantities sufficient and
not in excess, and in dispositions which will admit of the
feeding being effected with the least amount of labour
consistent with efficiency and regularity. The sowing
of the little seed, ' discretion,' with these matters, or its
omission, may, in most instances; make the difference of
a profit or a loss — success or failure. There is no branch
in the agricultural sphere which requires higher practical
powers, or more complete knowledge of climate conditions,
soils, products, and mechanical detail, than the embryo
business of bringing the staple commodity of the country
into a realizable condition ; and it is earnestly to be hoped
that the conduct of the first movement in this direction
may fall into the hands of earnest and thoughtful, as well
as practical parties, and that such parties may be fortunate,
as well as deserving, in the selection of a course of prac-
tice. There being no landmarks, it is hardly possible
that we should not owe much to the ' genius of fortune,'
inspiration, or induction.

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AXD LABOUK. 175

PAET VII.

THE KIVEE PLATE AS A FIELD FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF
CAPITAL AND LABOUK.

The intimate commercial relations existing between Great
Britain and the Eio de la Plata, and the very great
number of British resident in these South American
States as commercial men, owners of property of every
description — sheep, cattle, and general farmers, trades-
men, mechanics, professional men, and labouring classes ;
the wide field for enterprise in commercial and bank-
ing undertakings, railways, lands, canalization, coloni-
zation, steam navigation, &c., and the cordial reception
given to settlers, as well as the favourable terms or
guarantees accorded by the Legislature to joint-stock com-
pany enterprises, coupled with the rapid development of
the national wealth, indicate them as eminently calculated
to aflbrd most favourable opportunities for the employment
of British capital — collective capital— in joint-stock under-
takings, individual capitals, large and small, and for the
immigration of the industrial classes of all denominations,
without respect to creed — a perfect, proclaimed, and prac-
tical religious freedom existing.

There are already realized, and on foot, undertakings in

176 STATES OF THE BIVER PLATE.

railway and banking companies, sheep-farming associations,
mining companies, land speculations, canalization of rivers,
&c., representing many millions sterling, and year by year
the rapid development of the resources of the country
throws out additional opportunities and creates fresh
necessities. There is a virgin richness and corresponding
energy of production, which only requires the magic touch
of capital to call forth abundant returns.

The extent to which the rich pasture and fertile lands
have passed, and are daily — I might almost say hourly —
passing into the hands of the British settlers, marks beyond
question the congeniality of cHraate and occupation, as
well as testifies to the advantages that have resulted, and
are resulting, from their investments in land and in stock-
breeding.

The great industries of the country, as stated in other
parts of this work, are sheep and cattle-farming, as also
agricultural farius and mechanical trades.

The comparatively small money value of land, its abso-
lute availability for immediate and profitable use, the low
price of stock and the wide margin for its improvement,
present advantages which are not surpassed, perhaps, in
any part of the world.

Large capitals, whether of individuals or companies,
have ample scope and opening in stock and land, and
cannot fail in producing profitable results under ordinarily
intelhgent management.

Smaller capitals, even to the smallest — of a few hundred
pounds— coupled with industrj'^, find relatively equal ad-
vantages employed in lands and stock, or in stock alone,
and nowhere is there a wider or more certain field for
accumulative profit than is here afforded through the
improvement of the stock, and by consequence also, of
the increased value of the land.

FIELD FOK CAPITAL AND LABOUE. 177

To make good my proposition, I have only to set before
my readers a fair statement of the actual ; and in so doing
I may probably dispel many erroneous ideas as to the
ways and means of acquiring property and accumulating
wealth.

So easy was it a few years ago to acquire property in
land at a nominal cost of 500/. to 800Z. per square league ;
so trifling the price of sheep with which to stock it— St?.
to Is. each ; so wide the extent of land for them to
increase over ; so little the trouble or cost in minding
them — as a rule, there was no direct outlay in so doing,
an interest being given to all comers in lieu of payment —
that men, to use a figure of speech, went to sleep and
became rich by the natural accumulation of their stock.
But in addition to this, so rapid and great was the increase
in value of land and stock, that in eight or ten years,
through the increase and growing importance of the
produce of the stock, lands rose in value tenfold ; stock
likewise rose manyfold in value. It will appear as a
consequence that, through the accumulative increase of
the stock, its improved value, and the tenfold augmenta-
tion of the value of land, the parties who entered early
into the sheep-farming business had a concurrence of
extraordinarily advantageous circumstances, which made
their fortunes without any effort on their parts. This did
not alone extend to the land and stock-owners, but the
shepherds, who were paid their services by a half-shai-e
in the increase of the flocks and half the wool, rapidly
acquired property, and many were enabled to purchase
land white it was yet at a low figure.

The report of these extraordinary successes naturally
creates, at a distance especially, the impression that the
like is to be aciiieved now, that property can be acquired
witliout capital, and that the industrial classes can become

N

178 STATES OF THE BIVEE PLATE,

proprietors of land and stock by simply rounding a flock
of sheep. Numbers arrive in this country, particularly
those from Ireland, with this idea, much to their own
prejudice ; many able-bodied feUows, when good situations
and good wages are offered them in industrial occupations,
answer that they did not come out here to work, but to
be proprietors and flock-masters, and seeking in vain their
' Eldorado,' become loafers in the ' campo,' addicted to
caiia (rum) drinking.

A right understanding of the state of things and what
is required here, would lead to the advantage of new-
comers and established residents. There is an unquestion-
able ' Eldorado ' in the Eio de la Plata, but it is for
the industrious, the intelligent, the practical, and the
enterprising.

Notwithstanding that lands have increased so much
in value, they are yet, as I have said, at a low figure,
and have many stages of equally important augmenta-
tion of value to go tlirough. Stock, though of very
much greater value than a few years ago, is still low in
figure.

This industry has simply passed through one stage of
its progress and now enters upon another, requiring
merely the employment t)f more capital and more intelh-
gent industry to yield again what it has already yielded —
viz. : large and accumulative profits.

n.

The value of estancia land, as a matter of course, varies
according to its quality and position ; its greater or less
adaptability for stock-fiirmingin general, and sheep-farming
in particular, as the branch of rural industry which is

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 179

steadily driving back to greater distances the cattle
estancias.

The land in the province of Buenos Ayres being for the
most part better adapted for sheep-grazing than that in
other parts of the Eepublic, is rated at a higher value, at
least in those districts which are considered within the
sheep-farming radius, that is in those districts where the
depasturing of cattle has ' fined ' the grasses, and may be
stated to range between 2,500/. and 5,000/. per square
league. There are, however, some favoured tracts which
have been sold as high as 8,000/. and 10,000/. per league.
The price of public or ' state lands ' on the frontier, as
fixed by law, is 200,000^ (paper dollars), or about 1,600/.,
and 400,000;^ for lands well within the frontier. There
is, however, an agitation on foot which will induce a
modification in the price of the frontier lands, as also in
the manner of disposing of them.

Owing to the difficulties and cost of transit to and from
these lands, the more or less risk from Indian raids, and
the disadvantages incidental to virgin ' camps ' in the com-
paratively coarse and dense herbage which covers the
greater part of them, rendering them, for the time being,
less suited for sheep than those which have been ' fed
off' by cattle, the government price of 200,000^ is con-
sidered too high to induce parties to purchase and settle
on them in any number.

In the Banda Oriental (or Uruguay) the sales of lands
have been equivalent to from 1,500/. to 3,500/. One or
two unusually good and favourably situated estancias have
been sold as high as 5,000/. per square league. The lands
of this Eepublic are sold by the ' suerte,' which is, more
or less, three-quarters of a league.

The Banda Oriental ' campos ' will not, as a rule, carry
so many head of sheep per league as those of the Province

n2

180 STATES OF THE RIVEE PLATE.

of Buenos Ayres. The grasses are stronger and coarser,
and a considerable extent of woodland, which is more or
less general through the country, reduces the grazing
area ; also on the higher lands the rock is near to the
surface and crops out in many parts, and there are numer-
ous boulders, all of wliich reduce the grazing surface.
On the other hand, the numerous streams afford a rarely,
and in many parts a never-failing supply of water, and
the wood, a grateful shade for sheep and cattle, and both
thrive well and increase rapidly. Of late years, very
many estancias have passed into the hands of foreigners,
more especially those in the vicinity of Colonia, along the
course, or within comparatively easy reach of the river
Uruguay, and on the banks of the Eio Negro.

In the province of Entre Rios, there are extensive
tracts of low land, frequently imder water after heavy
rains, and bearing coarse, hard, and rush-like grasses ; and
there are also extensive woods. In some parts also, there
is so much of the Flechilla, or arrow-grass, that sheep
suffer severely, owing to its seed-sheaths penetrating
through the wool and into the skin and flesh. In the
northern parts of this province, this plague, coupled with
the high temperature of the summer season, which super-
induces fly-blow or maggot in the injured parts, causes
many losses, and to a certain extent renders the sheep-
industry undesirable. Hence the extent of good sheep-
pasture does not bear so large a relative proportion to the
whole area of this province as in Buenos Ayres, or even
the Banda Oriental. There exist, however, tracts of land,
more especially in the district of Gualeguaychu, which
leave nothing to be desired, and which are equal, perliaps,
to anything in the Eepublic for sheep-farming ; and the
very best of these are in tlie hands of British proprietors,
and were purchased years back at mere nominal figures.

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 181

Cattle thrive very well in Entre Eios, and attain a good
size and yield a good hide.

The lands of the southern districts of the province of
Santa Fe are similar to those of tlie north of Buenos
Ayres, to which they are contiguous. With the excep-
tion of those in the more immediate vicinity of the town
of Eosario, they are, however, still crude and abounding
in strong, hard grasses, requiring feeding down before
they become really good sheep-pastures. The sheep-in-
dustry is, however, spreading, and numerous estancias
are owned by foreigners. The strong grass-camps of this
province produce and feed some of the best cattle of the
country, and when carefully herded, and not over-driven,
yield a very fair to good ' mess beef.'

So luxuriant are the strong grasses in parts, that they
attain the height of the cattle ; and the thistle, which
abounds in the camps of finer herbage, cannot find a
footing. The more northern parts of this province are,
as yet, unfitted for sheep-industry, owing to the nature of
the herbage ; and in part, too, they are at a disad-
vantage, owing to the high temperature.

Sales of land in the more suitable districts have been
effected at from 1,500/. to 3,000/.

The province of San Luis contains very fertile land of
the same character, and on the slopes of the hill-ranges
and adjoining valleys there are, as in San Juan and Men-
doza, large tracts of cultivated artificial grass, i.e. lucerne
or alfalfa, which are regularly irrigated, and on which
cattle are reared and fattened.

Lands in the province of Cordoba are offering at a mere
nominal figure. Many of them on the ' Grand Chaco *
frontier arc represented as well-suited for sheep of a
strong, hardy class ; the grasses are luxuriant, but as yet
strong and hard. The passage of the Central Argentine

182 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

Eailway will give access to these lands, and many agri-
cultural and sheep-farming colonies will be formed on
tracts granted for the purpose.

III.

The estimated capacity of a square league of land for
carrying sheep is from 10,000 to 20,000 head ; few, how-
ever, could be safely counted on to carry over 16,000
sheep, imless fenced in and trespassing cattle and horses
excluded.

The value of sheep generally offered for sale is to-day
much lower than the quotation of a year or two ago, by
reason of the necessity there exists of relieving a large
number of establishments which have become over-
stocked, and the expediency of weeding out inferior and
aged animals and improving the remainder. The quota-
tions for fair to good average cross-bred sheep are 2b$ to
35,^ per head, or, say, 3*. IQd. to 5.9. 6d. as they run ;
the better classes bear a proportionately higher value.
After shearing, they can be had proportionably less, and
average sheep have been sold at 18,^ to 20,^.

The average yield of wool from this class of sheep is
31bs. per fleece, and its value from 70;^ "to 80,^ per 251bs.,
according to present market rates — say b^d. to Q^d. per
pound. The deductions for carriage to market are gradu-
ated by distance. The wool of a few very superior high-
caste flocks is worth from 20 to 50 per cent, higher.

The usual calculation of increase under the general
system of management is, that a flock will double itself
in three years ; and this is accumulative so long as there
is room on the land to receive and feed the increase.
Thus, 2,000 sheep in three years would reach 4,000, and

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 183

in three years more — in all, six years — 8,000, and so on.
Flocks composed entirely of breeding ewes would increase
much more rapidly, as wUl be hereafter shown. The
expenses of management are usually estimated at about
one-fourth or one-third ; this, however, depends on the
value of the stock, and applies to stock of average class.

As an investment of a considerable capital by a com-
pany, or more limited capitals by inchviduals, there are
sources of profit open to judicious management, apart
from the direct returns in wool and average increase in
the numbers of the sheep — viz., the increase in the value
of land; the wide scope for improvement in the class of
sheep ; augmentation of the yield of wool, and improve-
ment of its quality ; greater product of carcass, skin, and
grease ; and the larger increase of numbers from a given
proportion of stock kept. These are results certainly
attainable through a more liberal employment of capital
and more careful management than has been generally
practised.

It is quite practicable, as I know from experience, to
treble in a few years the returns from wool ; and, by
consequence, the value of the sheep as wool-producers,
and more than double the product in carcass, skin, and
grease ; but assuming an estimate considerably under this,
there is assurance of a highly satisfactory return for
money invested.

The estimated increase from cattle is more or less the
same as in sheep, that is, they double themselves in three
years. The annual sources of revenue from sheep are the
wool, the wethers, and the surplus and aged ewes. From
cattle, the ' steers,' or ' neats ' (Novillos), and surplus
cows.

The expediency of having cattle on a large establish-
ment only partially stocked with sheep, and on which

184 STATES OF THE RIVEK PLATE.

the herbage or pasture is strong and somewhat coarse, is
undoubted. A direct profitable return will be obtained
from the cattle, and by a judicious disposition in grazing
them, they will eat down the coarser herbage, and bring
the land into better state for sheep.

Tliis constitutes a by no means unimportant economy
in the management of lands which, from their present
conditions as strong grass-producing, and being a little
outside of the present sheep-walk radius, can be pur-
chased at half the ]irice of lands of finer herbage, and
which have merely had the advantage of having been so
depastured as to bring them into that better condition.

It will have been observed that I treat the cattle-
breeding as subordinate to the breeding of sheep. In
the first place, there is not yet introduced the practice of
improving the cattle, and there is not yet determined, in
practice, a course of treatment which will bring into play
the most important item of cattle products, viz. the beef.
The land that is in good state will maintain, on a given
area, a very much greater value in sheep than in native
cattle, under the ordinary course of treatment. Sheep,
too, make an annual return in wool, in addition to the
increase ; also, to the generality of Europeans, the sheep-
industry is more congenial. Working among semi-wild
cattle is a speciality of the horseman of the plain, and
the management of a cattle estabhshment requires some
experience in the country and a knowledge of the
language.

Where small capitals are employed, and the parties are
new in the country, this branch of rural industry is not,
at present, a desirable undertaking. Where larger capi-
tals are invested, efficient managers are obtainable ; and
in the more distant and cruder lands of Buenos
Ayres, and on estancias in the Banda Oriental, Entre

FIELD FOE CAPITAL AND LABOUK. 185

Eios, &c., as I have explained above, cattle are very-
desirable, as they materially accelerate the improve-
ment and preparation of the lands to receive sheep
advantageously.

Although land is higher in value in Buenos Ayres than
in other parts of the Eiver Plate States, sheep, as the
rule, are lower by reason of the greater number existing
and disposable in that province.

It is convenient to submit an estimate of the capital
required to purchase and stock land. We will take, as a
basis, a single square league : —

Say one square league, of mean value £3,500 to £4,000

6,000 sheep, at ^30 each 1,250

Which, divided into four flocks, would require four stations, the
huts or houses for which would cost from £15 to £25 each,

according to their solidity ; say £25 100

(If of hrick and lime and with azotea roof, they would cost more.)

Corrals or pens, say £15 each flock 60

It will depend on the determination of the proprietor or purchaser
as to the degree of refining he will pursue with his stock, what
the cost of his rams may he. As ' time is money,' there can he no
question that the introduction into his flocks of rams of superior
class, yielding heavy fleeces and long, sound, stapled wool, is the
hest course ; and at least in one or more of his flocks, rams of
high class should be used. Rams, in any required quantity, can
be had at from ^200 to ^500 each ; but there can bo no question
that, if there is the capital, an average cost of at least ^1,000 (say
£8) for large, vigorous rams of the right sort, would be true
economy ; the more costly ones, which might cost from /3,000 to
|'G,000, going into the best flock. Say, 80 rams at £8 . . . . 640
Such rams as these are worthy of every care, and should be housed
and looked after as I have explained in other papers; the 'plant'
requisite for which may be set down at 150

£6,200

1,500Z. laid out in rams would be well-employed
capital ; in fact, the better and higher class the rams,
tlie more rapid and greater the improvement and con-
sequent profit.

186 STATES OF THK EIVEE PLATE.

The sheep I have put down at $50. This is by the
' cut ; ' but the invester would do well to purchase, instead
of 5,000, 6,500, 7,500, or more, and select from these
5,000 of the best young ewes and ewe lambs, selling the
remainder for what he could get, or killing them for the
skin and grease.

Say that in so doing he raises the cost of his flocks by
one-fourth, or even more, which, with fencing and sowing
of alfalfa and corn, will bring up the cost of land, plant,
and stock, placed on the most advantageous working
footing, to 6,500/. or 7,000/. for every square league.

The wages of shepherds, for four flocks, would amount
to about 15/. per month, or 180/. per annum, and care of
rams 45/. to 50/.

The first year's clip would yield, probably, somewhat
over 600 arrobas of wool, value 380/. If the flocks are
composed, as I have recommended, of all ewes, and the
rams be sound and vigorous, an increase of 80 per cent,
of breeding ewes may be fairly calculated on ; so that in
two years the number of, more or less, 12,000 head may
be counted, of which some 3,500 may be males, which will
be realisable — those from the less high-caste rams, — if the
establishment be within reach of a market, will be sale-
able as wethers ; if out of the reach of a market they
will be available for steaming, and those from the select
flocks and best rams, as sires for use or sale. It will
not be too much to estimate these 3,500, at the age of
18 montlis, to be worth, one with another, something
like 10s. each, equal to 1,750/. There will remain as
breeding stock, of ewes and ewe lambs, 8,500, which,
from tlie improved quality of the 3,500, should yield a
clip of nearly 1,200 arrobas of wool, in value about 750/.

Up to this point, no material increase of charge for
herding {i.e. for sliepherds) will have been required.

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 187

Taking stock at this point, allowing for the better
quality and class of the young stock, we may assume : — ;

8,600 Females, representing £3,300

3,500 Malea, representing at 10s. each .... 1,750

(1,000 rams and 2,500 wethers).

5,050
Rams 640

£5,690

Wool sold, say £1,130.

There will now be required additional stations or
puestos, and additional rams, yearly — some of high-
caste — purchased, others taken from the best-bred on
the establishment.

It is in the succeeding period, or ' term,' that the accu-
mulative increase tells ; and it is quite within bounds of
fair calculation to say that, in the three years of the
second period, the wool sales will average 2,000Z. to
2,500^. per annum ; that the stock existing and realized
in wethers, rams, and old ewes sold, or steamed down,
will represent a value equal to 14,000/. at the end of
this second period ; and that the land and plant will
represent a marketable value of 6,500/. to 7,000/.

To elucidate the progress of increase I give the
following table, from which it will be seen that the
foregoing estimates of probable returns are within the
mark.

Assuming that the stock commenced with consists
of 5,000 head, say in January, 1865, and that these
comprise —

4,000 Breeding ewes.
1,000 Ewe lambs.

188 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

1860.

4,000 Ewes drop 1,600 Male lambs. •

1,600* Ewe lambs.

(Lambed in April & May.)
Original stock 5,000*

8,200

1867.

6,000 Ewes lamb 2,000 Males.

2,000 Ewe lambs.
Previous year's stock . . . 8,200

12,200 head.

1868.
6,600 Ewes (5,000,» and 1,000*) lamb . . 2,600 Males.

2,600 Ewe lambs.
Previous year's stock . . . 12,200

17,400

1809.
8,600 Ewes (5,000, 1,600, and 2,000) lamb . 3,440 Males.

3,440 Ewe lambs.
Previous year's stock . . . 17,400

24,280

1870.
11,200 Ewes (5,000, 1,600, 2,000, 2,000) lamb4,480 Males.

4,480 Ewe lambs.
Previous year's stock . . . 24,280

33 240 / head at shearing
' \ time, 1870.

It will be observed that I have retained the full num-
ber of ewes throughout, and calculated the increase at
80 per cent, of the same. Such an increase presupposes
the management of the flocks and the care of the rams,
on the system I have recommended in the treatises on
Sheep-farming and Agriculture.

FIELD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 189

I have made no deductions for deaths, or for sale or
slaughter of the old ewes. I believe, judging from my
own experience, that, under very careful management
and good average seasons, the losses (deaths) will be
replaced by the increase in excess of the 80 per cent.
I have calculated. A fair allowance, however, may be
made to cover losses, or weeding out, of the inferior
and elder ewes, and deducted from the sum total as
contingencies.

It is not to be supposed that these 33,240 head, or, say,
30,000, allowing the 3,240 against losses, would exist on
one league of land. All the wethers, we will presume,
have been sold or killed, and all rams bred from the
best flocks, sold ; say, more or less, 9,000 males disposed
of as they attain saleable age ; leaving ewes and lambs,
21,000.

The rams, we will assume, have been such as I have
recommended ; in consequence, the sheep and their yield
of wool will have greatly improved and augmented.
Excluding the old ewes of the original stock, or assum-
ing that they have, for the most part, died or been drafted,
it cannot fail to be, that if the right class of rams have
been used, the average of the wool-yield per sheep will
have been doubled, and that a number of the males bred
and retained as rams, for sale or otherwise, Avill have
been worth from ^^'200 to ^500 each, and that it will be
within the mark to estimate the whole of the stock that
has existed — existing or been disposed of up to shearing
time, 1870 — to represent a value of 10s. or 12s. each.

The augmentation of the weight of fleece per sheep
will be manifested chiefly in the third, fourth, and fifth
years' clip ; and it is more than probable that an average
of over 61bs. per fleece may be obtained in the fifth year,
with a considerable increase of relative value. Under

190 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

such circumstances, it is within fair calculation to estimate
the clip of 1870 at a value of over 3,000/., assuming
16,000 sheep shorn.

On the usual system of management with rams of low
value, say 200,^' to 500^ each, the calculation under good
average circumstances is, as I have said, that flocks double
themselves in three years. Thus, 5,000 sheep would
give 10,000 in three years, and 20,000 in six years, with
the weight of fleece and value of wool stationary.

The facilities for the sale of wethers for the butcher
depend altogether on the situation of the estancia. Dis-
tant establishments, and most of those in the Banda
Oriental and Eutre Eios are at a disadvantage in this
particular, and this circumstance undoubtedly affects in
some degree the prices of land in these parts.

The relative cost of management, shepherds, &c. is
affected by the value of the stock. It costs more per
head to take greater care than that usually bestowed on
flocks, as it does also to carry out a better and more
complete system ; but this is more than compensated by
the smaller direct loss in the sheep ; the per centage of
costs and charges are relatively much higher on sheep of
comparatively small value. The amount of management
charges is also affected by the residence or non-residence
of the owner on an establishment, rendering necessary or
otherwise the employment of a manager, the extent of
the estancia, number of flocks, and the staff required to
overlook large concerns.

There are, as a matter of course, certain items which it
is needless to enlarge upon, as they apply to aU businesses
and are well understood by business men.

I have in another part of this work indicated the great
advantages derivable from fencing or enclosing estancia
lands. The difiiculty of doing this arises from the want

FIELD FOE CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 191

of capital and enterprise of the majority of the sheep-
farmers. There is no doubt, however, of its advisability ;
and I do not hesitate to say that so doing would more
than double the capacity of the land for carrying stock,
thereby amply, abundantly recompensing the outlay, and
I earnestly recommend the practice.

The Government or public land question is one that is
at present much discussed. The traditional ' cUnging ' of
the governing powers to the public lands in the expecta-
tion of obtaining high prices at some future date, and the
putting of a minimum price on these lands which they
offer in the market, is one of the great errors of legislative
and political economy which restricts enterprise and
national development ; but it must be admitted that the
question is one which presents difficulties in its solution.
There is a wide field for 'jobbing ' involved in it, and the
Legislature is naturally jealous of innovation which might
give rise to such a result.

Public opinion is fairly awakened and is passing tlu-ough
the usual ' throes ' preparatory to its definitively pro-
nouncing itself and resolving into action. As I write
this the Government has met with failure in an attempt
to auction lands, fixing a minimum price considered to
be above the market value. Distant unsettled lands, as
involvmg risk and some considerable outlay in ' settling '
and stocking them, must go for low figures to iaduce
settlers to take them ; and some of the frontier lands
would, as far as the public interest is concerned, be ad-
vantageously disposed of if given away with exemptions
from taxes, military service (other than guardmg the pos-
sessions themselves), on the condition of ' settling ' them ;
and I am led to beheve that the Legislature would be
disposed to give lands, situated at different points of the
frontier, for the purpose of colonization, to individuals or

192 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE-

companies with sufScient capital to put a minimum number
of families "with flocks, herds, and horses on the same.
Several ' projects of \avf,' that is, ' measures,' are prepared
for introduction into the Chambers, and will probably have
been published before this work reaches the public, the
tenor of which is the granting in fee-simple of frontier
lands. It would perhaps not be correct to criticise em-
bryo projects which have come to my knowledge by the
favour of the projectors, but I may say that their practical
Avorking, supposing any of them to become law, depends
mainly on the exemption from trammel of detail. Grant-
ing land on more or less exposed frontiers, would be in-
effectual unless the proposed grants were of sufBcient
extent to admit of a strong and comparatively concen-
trated settlement, and made to parties or companies with
means sufficient to settle and stock them on the principle
of colonies ; the settlers acquiring a right in fee-simple to
a portion, say half the land occupied by them, and to
have half the increase of stock under agreement with the
' grantees ;' the settlers, if foreigners, to retain tlieir
rights as such, and be subject to no other service than
that of mutual protection under direction of the resident
representative of the grantees ; and if natives, to be
exempt from all military service other than that of the
protection of the colony for a term of years. These
settlements once fairly estabhslied and stocked, the sur-
rounding lands would assume a value, however small at
first, which it would be the interest of the country to sell
at any price that a public market might establish.

Frontier grants, and subsequently the adjoining lands,
would be advantageous investments for enterprising capi-
talists, and would afford good opportunities to hardy and
adventurous settlers, who would acquire say half a league

FIELD FOE CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 193

of land in fee-simple and sufficient stock for the same in
the course of perhaps four or five years.

Lands already settled and well within frontier lines can,
as I have stated, be obtained in the Banda Oriental,
Entre Eios, Santa Fe, and Buenos Ayres, at a range in
value from l,500/.'to 5,000^., and these are available for
investments of individual or joint-stock capitals to the
extent of from half a league to ten or twenty leagues, or
any extent, in one or more establishments ; and such
investments, with an efficient agency or direction, as I
have shown, are certain to afford profitable results.

There is ample room and opportunity for settlers of
every extent of capital ; for instance, parties desirous of
settling in these countries, and not possessing sufficient
capital to purchase and stock one or more leagues of land
on the basis I have thrown out in calculation, can find
lands and stock of less cost.

Practical and enterprising young men of small means,
sons of country gentlemen, farmers, professional men, any
men indeed of industrious habits, and resolved to work
their way, could most advantageously combine to pur-
chase a tract of land, stock it, and themselves occupy the
stations (puestos), and take care of their respective flocks,
and thus effect an important saving on small capitals.
Others of less means, again, could purchase stock and rent
land, which they can do at rents from 25/. to 60/. per
annum for a ' run ' capable of maintaining, more or less,
2,000 sheep. Land is obtainable on rent per ' run ' or
' runs,' or per half league, or one or more leagues. Parties
of still smaller means can purchase half a flock and
arrange with owners of land to join such half flock to an
equal number furnished by the owner of the land, and
take charge of the same on the land, such charge or care
being taken as an equivalent and in lieu of rent. Numbers

0

194 STATES OF tup: river plate.

of young gentlemen, as well as small farmers, have settled
in the country on these terms ; mercantile clerks and
men of the industrial class who have saved out of their
earnings, are constantly abandoning the desk or their
trades to enter into arrangements of this class, or to
piu'chase sheep and rent land, and with ordinary care
and constancy do very well.

IV.

The river Plate not only affords bright prospects to the
possessors of capital, but likewise to the industrial classes
of all grades : no man need want employment for a day
who can work ; and working, he will earn good wages
in every class of labour and every trade. Moreover,
good conduct and constancy lead to advancement, and
constancy and labour at high wages, and small or no
expense in hving, enable a man to save considerable sums,
Avith which he can enter into some trade, or stock-
breeding. I have already said that in every branch of
working trade, there are numbers of our countrymen
tliriving, well to do, and with realised fortunes. In
almost, indeed, I may say in every instance, these parties
have come to this country as journeymen, and from the
high wages obtained, have soon been able to save suffi-
cent to furnish workshops for themselves. In like manner,
for agricultural labourers, as well as any man who can
handle a spade or a pick, wheel a barrow, drive a cart, or
herd a flock of sheep, employment is never wanting, and
the supply of labour is very far short of the demand.

I will enumerate the classes, or some of them, for
which as ' settlers ' there are unfailing and increasing
openings and work at good wages.

Gentlemen with from medium to considerable capitals.

FIELD FOE CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 195

possessing some knowledge of, or at least a taste for,
country pursuits.

Enterprisincj youncj gentlemen, farmers, farmers' sons,
having an industrial training, and possessing small
capitals.

Skilled agricultural labourers, ploughmen, reapers,
mowers, and men who can use agricultural instruments
of modern construction ; haixly, sober, and industrious
young men, handy and intelligent.

Such men readily obtain work at good wages, with
every prospect of increase of wage and advancement to
situations as under farm bailiffs and bailiffs.

The wages of an agricultural labourer of this class
are from 3oOS to 400;^ per month, with board and
lodging, equal to about 21. lbs. to 3/. bs. per month,
which, with board and lodging found them, makes the
wage amount to from Al. to bl. per month. Ordinary
labourers SOOS per month.

Shepherds. — There are many openings for intelligent
and skilled shepherds, equal in wage to skilled agricultural
labourers, with excellent prospects of advancement as
over-lookers, &c.

Shepherds and flock-tenders. — Any man of sober habits,
accustomed to country work, can easily obtain a situation
as flock-tender, at a wage more or less equal to that of
ordinary farm labourers, with lodging and flesh meat
found him.

As I have previously stated, in years past this class of
men easily obtained sheep on shares — half increase and
half wool — as, owing to the then extremely small value of
sheep, this was considered equivalent to a wage of 200^
to 2b{)B per month, and freed the flock-masters from cash
outlay. Subsequently, and as sheep became of greater
value, this interest was reduced to a third, then to a

o2

196 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

quarter, and, ultimately, to a quarter without wool ; but
BOW the majority of flock-masters decline to give any,
especially when the flocks are of better than average
quaUty, and when a system of refining or improvement is
followed ; as in such cases it is absolutely requisite for
the flock-master to have the full control of his stock.
Every year, therefore, the system of a fixed wage in cash
will become more general.

This is likewise, under present circumstances, more to
the advantage of the flock-tender than an interest in the
sheep. Land not being obtainable for the once nominal
sum, either to purchase or rent, the flock-tender who has
had an interest in the sheep finds that his two, three, or
four hundred sheep at the expiry of his contract term
are a clog to him, and he has perhaps no option but to
sell them at a sacrifice.

On distant establishments approaching the frontier
lines, or large newly-formed sheep-farms, large cattle-
farms that are undergoing the transition process from
cattle to sheep (on which probably the sheep at first
introduced may not be of particularly good quality), with
ample, superabundant extent of land for the increase,
shares will probably be given, as it may answer both
parties. On such establishments, young men with small
capitals sufficient to purchase half a flock, would find a
location to their advantage. I know some establishments
where small ' colonies ' of young men, six, eight, or ten,
have settled down on adjoining 'runs,' much to their moral,
intellectual, and material advantage.

Artisans of all trades, from the cobbler to the iron
ship and engine builder, from the tinker to the watch-
maker ; blacksmitlis, joiners, carpenters, builders, &c. &c.
are much wanted, and would find immediate employment
at from 1^. 15s. to 21. 10s. per week.

Domestic servants, male and female, are anotlier class

FIELD FOE CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 197

of desirable immigrants, and could find employment
immediately at wages of 21. 10s. to 3Z. 10s. per month.

I believe that many educated young men have come
to this country under the impression that to get a puesto
with a small interest in a flock of sheep is an easy matter,
and at the same time a somewhat brilliant opportunity.
I think it only a duty to young gentlemen who may
think of settling in these countries to correct any such
impression. To serve as a peon or flock-tender in a
solitary hut without other means than what he may
derive from his quarter interest is not the life for a young
gentleman with brains or aspirations after social position.
To hve alone, to be his own cook and everything else, to
have no surrounding — I will not say ' comforts,' but
common necessaries of his position— a stretcher his bed,
a deal table or no table at all, and a bench, stool, or chair
his furniture ; to have to pick up a few thistle stalks, or
take the dung from the sheep corral for his fuel, and cook
his bit of meat on a fire made of these in the middle of
his hut, is not a mode of life calculated to elevate, and
almost inevitably leads to the reverse ; especially so if
neighbouring flock-tenders are men who can neither read
nor write, and are addicted to spirit-drinking. On the
other hand, a young gentleman who has means sufiicient
to purchase a flock or half a flock of good sheep, and to
surround himself with some of the comforts of civilised
life, located with other young men of his own social
standing, can do well for himself, and it will be his own
fault if he does not hold his moral and social position.

I have stated in this work that sheep-farming has
entered or is about to enter on a new phase, and this will
present opportunities for young gentlemen with a know-
ledge of the management of this class of stock and its
accompaniments. Possessing a fair practical knowledge
of these matters learned on British or German or other

198 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

European or Australian stock farms, he will readily adapt
his knowledge, after a httle experience out here, to the
requirements of this country, and will be ehgible for
situations of trust in the management of establishments.
Capable assistants, sub-managers, &c. will undoubtedly be
at a premium, and young men after filling such situations
will after a time be competent to fill the higher situations
of local managers. Good conduct, industry, and intelli-
gence in their business will ensure their promotion, and
ultimately, in many cases, an interest, which is the cus-
tomary practice with able managers and directors. It is
highly probable also that establishments will be formed
for feeding cattle up to a point that will make their flesh
available for preserving and curing, and such industry
would present openings for competent hands.

It is not alone on the plains of the Litoral provinces of
the Argentine Eepublic and their pastoro-agricultural in-
dustries that favourable o])portunities are aflbrded for the
employment of capital and labour. The interior pro-
vinces— Salta, Jujuy, Kioja, Catamarca,* Cordova, San
Juan, &c. — with their great mountain ranges of igneous
rock, are rich in minerals — lead, silver, copper, gold, iron,
&c. — and await but the direction of capital and labour to
yield their mineral wealth in vastly greater quantities
than they now do ; and in addition to this, every variety
of tropical and semi-tropical products are cultivated in
greater or less quantity — coffee, sugar, tea, tobacco, indigo,
cotton, spices, fruits, and wines. Most valuable hard-

* Several exceedingly rich copper mines are now working in Catamarca
and Cordova, in which the percentage of both copper and silver is very
high.

FIKLD FOR CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 199

■woods, dyes, and medicinal vegetation abound. Many of
the hardwoods and timbers are marvellously durable, and
very valuable for house and ship-building purposes. Nor
are animal products wanting. The mountain slopes and
valleys give us, and are admirably adapted to the breed-
ing of, tlie alpaca, vicuiia, llama, guanaco, and the native
goat crossed with the angora, also sheep of long wool
available for material improvement by crosses of the
English long wools and others ; also cattle, on the slopes
and plains. Already many British and other foreigners
are dedicating themselves to the goat and sheep industries
in the province of Cordova, the lands on the hill slopes
and on the southern plains being remarkably well adapted
for them. The indigenous sheep of Cordova, Santiago,
Tucuman, and other adjoining provinces, crossed with the
large-framed English long wools will, as already stated,
form a breed of great promise, and well suited not only
to the slopes of the hill ranges, but to the somewhat
strong pastures of the southern plains of this province and
the adjoining lands of Santa Fe and San Luis. There
have been several considerable purchases of land recently
made at Frayle Muerto and establishments formed
on them, by a number of enterprising English gentlemen,
in adjoining lots of various extent from four to nine
square leagues ; some sixty or eighty more square leagues
are taken up at that place, and were purchased at prices
ranging between 800 and 2,000 Bolivian dollars, equal to
120/. to 300/. per square league. These are frontier
lands, and are of course somewhat exposed, though in
reality there is little risk.

These great ' alfalfa ' or lucerne irrigated meadows on
or near the slopes of San Luis, San Juan, and Mendoza,
where cattle are fatted for the Chilian market on the
otlier side of the Cordilleras, — as these provinces are
brouglit nearer to a market and seaport on the east coast

200 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE.

of South America by the railway in course of construc-
tion, and protected, will contribute their products of cattle
and of sheep to the trade of the river Plate, and present
opportunities for settlers. That wonderfully fertile pro-
vince, Tucuman, wiU become easily accessible to capital
and enterprise ; and its sugar, coffee, tobacco, indigo,
&c. &c. will swell the trade of the Eio de la Plata.

In the fertile Catamarca, as in San Juan, Mendoza, &c.
immense crops of artificial grasses and cereals are pro-
duced under irrigation, which is easily effected by means
of the numerous rivers and streams which flow from the
mountain and hill ranges ; and their capacity for the pro-
duction of wine, spirits, and dried fruits is unlimited.
The innumerable islands in, and the lowlands on the
banks of, the Parana, produce dehcious fruits, excellent
potatoes and vegefeibles, and many of them are well
suited for the production of rice ; and the yerba tea
plantations of Corrientes and Misiones are of great
promise.

There are, indeed, marvellous riches, mineral, vege-
table, and animal, in these more distant provinces, which
only require the whistle of the steam-engine to give them
vent and hand them over to the capitalist and to indus-
try. And this is at hand. The Great Central Argentine
Kailway now in course of construction from Eosario
on the Parana, through the provinces of Santa Fe and
Cordova to the city of the latter name, will be a main
artery from which there will be many branches. The
canalisation of the Eio Salado, in course of operation, will
open water communication with the most distant pro-
vinces ; and in the wake of the steamer and the locomotive
follow enterprise and industry, capital and civilisation,
peace and prosperity.

rHIKTKD BY BPOITISWOODE AND CO., KEH'-STREETr SQUARE, LOXUOX.

39 Patehnosteh Row, E.C
London, March 1866.

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INDEX.

Abbott on Sig^ht and Touch (^

Acton's Modern Cookery 19

Alcock'9 Residence in Japan 15

Allies on Formation of Christianity 13

Alpine Guide (The) 15

Apjohn'8 Manual of the Metalloids 8

Araoo's Biographies of Scientific Men .... 4

Popular Astronomy 7

Arnold's Manual of English Literature.,.. 5

Arnott's Elements of Physics 7

Arundtnes Caml 17

Atherstone Priory 16

Autumn Holidays of a Country Parson .... G

Atbb's Treasury of Bible Knowledge 13

Bacon's Essays, by Wh ately 4

Lifcand Letters, by bfEDDiNQ.,.. 3

Works 4

Bain on tlie Emotions and Will 7

on the Senses and Intellect 7

on the Study of Character 7

Baines's Explorations in S.W.Africa .,., 15

Ball's Guide to the Central Alps 15

Guide to the Western Alps 15

Barnard's Drawing from Nature 11

Bayldon's Rents and Tillages 12

Beaten Tracks 15

Becker's C'haricles and Galltis 16

Beethoven's Letters 3

Bknfey's Sanskrit-English Dictionary .... 5

Berry's Journals 3

Black's Treatise on Brewing 19

Blackley and Fhiedlander's German

and English Dictionary 5

Blaine's Rural Sports 17

Veterinary Art 18

Blight's Week at the Lund's End 16

Boase's Essay on Human Nature 6

Philosophy of Nature 6

Boner's Transylvania 15

Bonney's Alps of Dauphin^ 15

Booth 's Epigrams 6

Bourne on Screw Propeller 12

BouRNE'sCatechismoftlie Steam Engine.. 12

Handbook of Steam Engine .... 12

Treatise on the Steam Engine.. .. 12

Bowdler's Family Shakspeare .» ., 17

Boyd's Manual for Naval Cadets IS

Bramley-Moore'sSix Sisters of the Valleys 16
Bbande's Dictionary of Science, Literature,

and Art 9

Bray's (C.) Education of the Feelings 7

Philosophy of Necessity 7

Brewer's Atlas of History and Geography 20

Brinton on Food and Digestion 19

Bristow*s Glossary of Mineralogy 8

Urodie's Constitutional History

Brodik's (Sir C. B.) Works 10

■ Autobiography 10

Browne's Ice Caves of France and Switzer-
land 15

Exposition S9 Articles 12

Pentateuch 1

Buckle's History of CiviUzatiou 2

Bull's Hints to Mothers 19

Maternal Management of Children.. 19

Bunsen's Ancient Egypt X

BuNSEN on Apocrypha IS

Burke's Vicissitudes of Families 4

Burton's Christian Church 3

Butler's Atlas of Ancient Geography ..., 20
Modern Geography 20

Cabinet Lawyer 19

Calvert's Wife's Manual 1*

Campaigner at Home 6

Cats and Farlie's Moral Emblems 11

Chorale Book for England 14

Clouqh's Lives from Plutarch 2

COLKNSO (Bishop) on Pentateuch and Book

of Joshua 13

CoLLiNs's Horse Trainer's^Guide 18

Columbus's Voyages IS

Commonplace Philosopher ia Town and

Country 6

Conington's Handbook of Chemical Ana-
lysis 9

Contanseau's Two French and English

Dictionaries 5

Conybkare and Howson's Life and Epistles

efSt.Paul 12

Cook's Voyages 15

Copland's Dictionary of Practical Medicine 10

Cox's Tales of the Great Persian War 2

■ Tales from Greek Mythology 16

Tales of the Gods and Heroes 16

Talesof Thebes and A rgos 16

Cresy's Encyclopasdia of Civil Eugiueering 11

Critical Essays of a Country Parson 6

Crowe's History of France 2

Cussans's Grammar of Heraldry 11

Da rt's Iliad of Homer 17

D'Aubignl's History of the Reform'ation in

the time of Calvin 2

Dayman's Dante's Divina Commcdia 17

Dead Shot (The), by Marksman 18

De la Rive's Treatise on Electricity 8

Delmakd's Village Life in Switzerland.... 15

De la Pryme's Life of Christ 13

De Morgan on Matter and Spirit 6

De Toc*iukville's Democracy in America 3

DoBSON on the Ox 18

k

22

NEW WORKS PUBUSHBD bt LONGMAKS akd CO.

Duncan and Millard on Classification,

&c. of the Idiotic 10

Dyer's City of Rome 2

Kdinburgh Review (The) 20

Bdwards's Shipmaster's Guide 18

Elements of Botany 8

Ellice, a Tale 16

Ellicott's Broad and Narrow Way 13

Commentary on Ephesians .... 13

— "'" Destiny of the Creature 13

Lectures on Life of Christ 13

Commentary on Galetians .... 13

Pastoral Epist. IS

— • — Fhilippians,&c. 13

— ' ■ Thessalonians 13

Essays and Reviews 13

on Religion and Literature, edited by

Manning 13

Fairbairn's Application of Cast and

Wrought Iron to Building 11

_^ . ^ Information for Engineers . . 11

Treatise on Mills & Millwork 11

Pairbairn on Iron Ship Building 11

Farhar's Chapters on Language 5

FyouLKEs's Christendom's Divisions 13

Fraser's Magazine 20

Frebhfield's Alpine Byways 15

Tour in the Grisons 15

Fboude's History of England 1

GARHATT'sMarvelsandMystericsoflnstinct 8

Gee's Sunday to Sunday 14

GiLBERXand Churchill's Dolomite Moun-
tains 15

GiLLY's Shipwrecks of the Navy 16

Goethe's Second Faust, by Anster 17

Goodeve's Elements of Mechanism 11

Gorle's Questions on Browne's Exposition

of the 39 Articles 12

Grant's Ethics of Aristotle 4

Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson 6

Gray's Anatomy 10

Greene's Corals and Sea Jellies 8

_^ . Sponges and Animalculae 8

Grove on Correlation of Physical Forces .. 8

Gwilt's Encyclopaedia of Architecture .... 11

Handbook of Angling, by Ephemera

Hare on Election of Representatives

Ha rtwig's Harmonies of Nature

. ■ Sea and its Living Wonders. . . .

- Tropical World

Haughton's Manual of Geology

Hawker's Instructions to Young Sports-

Heaton's Notes on Rifle Shooting ....

Healey's Chess Problems

Helps's Spanish Conquest in America
Hersch el's Essays from Reviews ....
- Outlines of Astronomy ....

Hewitt on the Diseases of Women .

Hints on Etiquette

Hodgson's lime and Space

Holland's Essays on Scientific Subjects .

17

17

19

2

19
7
9

Holmes's System of Surgery 9

Hooker and Walker-Arnott's British

Flora g

Hornk's Introduction to the Scriptures .... 13

Compendium of the Scriptures.. 13

Horsley's Manual of Poisons 9

HosKYNs'sTalpa 12

How we Spent the Summer 15

Howitt's Australian Discovery 15

Rural Life of England 16

Visits to Remarkable Places .... 16

Howson's Hulsean Lectures on St. Paul. ... 12

Hughes's (E.) Geographical Atlas 20

(W.) Geography of British His-
tory and Manual of Geography ' 7

Hullah's History of Modern Music 3

Transition Musical Lectures 3

Humboldt's Travels in South America.. .. 16

Humphreys' Sentiments of Shakspeare.. .. 11

Hdtton's Studies in Parliament 6

Uyvaus from Lyra Germanica 14

Xnoklow's Poems 17

Icelandic Legends, Second Series 16

Idle's Hints on Shooting 18

Jameson's Legends of the Saints and Mar-
tyrs 11

. Legends of the Madonna 11

Legends of the Monastic Orders 11

Jameson and Eastlake's History of Our

Lord 11

Johns's Home Walks and Holiday Rambles 8

Johnson's Patentee's Manual 12

Practical Draughtsman 12

Johnston's Gaietteer, or General Geo-
graphical Dictionary 7

Jones's Christianity and Common Sense . . 7

Kalisch's Commentary on the Bible* 5

. Hebrew Grammar 5

Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 10

KiRBY and Spenck's Entomology 8

KuENEN on Pentateuch and Joshua IS

Lady's Tour round Monte Kosa 15

Landon's(L. K.L.) Poetical Works 17

Latham's EngUsh Dictionary *

Lecky's History of Rationalism *

Leisure Hours in Town 6

Lewes's Biographical History of Philosophy 2

Lewin's Fasti Sacri I*

Lewis on Early Roman History ♦

on Irish Disturbances 4

on Observation and Reasoning in

Politics *

on Political Terms 4

Lewis's Essays on Administrations 4

Fables of Babrius 4

LiDDELLandSooTT'sGreek-EnglishLericon 6

Abridged ditto 5

Life of Man Symbolised 1*

LiNDLEY and Moore's Treasury of BoUny 8

NEW WORKS BCBUSHKD BY LONGMANS and CO.

38

Longman's Lectureson History of England 1

Loudon's Kncyclopsdia of Agriculture .... 12

Gardening' .... 12

Plants 9

Trees and Shrubs 9

ICottage, Farmland Villa Architecture 12

LowNDKs's Engineer's Handbook 11

Lyra Domeatica 14

Eacharistica 14

Germanica 10, 14

Mesaianica 14

Mystica 14

' Sacra 14

Macaulay's (Lord) Essays 2

History of England 1

Lays of Ancient Rome 17

Miscellaneous Writings 6

Speeches 5

Works 1

M acdouoall's Theory of War 12

Marsh man's Lifeof Havelock 3

McLeod*b Middle-Class Atlas of General

Geography 20

Physical Atlas of Great Britain

and Ireland 20

McCulloch's Dictionary of Commerce.... 18

Geographical Dictionary 7

Macfie's Vancouver Island 15

Maouire's Lifeof Father Mathew 3

Rome and its Rulers 3

Ma lino's Indoor Gardener 9

Manning on Holy Ghost 13

Massby's History of England 1

Massingberd's History of the Reformation 3

Maundbr's Biographical Treasury 4

Geographical Treasury 7

Historical Treasury 2

Scientific and Literary Treasury ^ 9

Treasury of Knowledge 19

Treasury of Natural History .. 8

Maury's Physical Geography 7

May's Constitntional History of England.. 1

Mklville's I>igby Grand 16

General Bounce 16

Gladiators 16

Good for Nothing 16

Holmby House 16

. Interpreter 16

~~— KateCoventry 16

. . Queen's M aries 16

Mendelssohn's Letters 3

Mbnzies' Windsor Great Park 12

MKrivale's (H.) Historical Studies 1

_ (C.) Fall of the Roman Republic 2

- — Romans under the Empire 2

Boyle Lectures 2

Miles on Horse's Foot and Horse Shoeing. 18

on Horses' Teeth and Stables 18

Mill en Liberty

on Representative Government .

on Utilitarianism"

Mill's Dissertations and Discussions.

Political Economy

System of Logic

Hamilton's Philosophy

Midler's Elements of Chemistry 9

Monskll's Spiritual Songs H

Beatitudes 14

Montgomery on Pregnancy 9

Moore's Irish Melodies 11, 17

Lai la Rook h 17

Journal and Correspondence ... . 3

Poetical Works 17

Morbll's Elements of Psychology 6

Mental Philosophy 6

Morning Clouds 14

Morris's County Seats 20

Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History 14

Mozart's Letters 3

MtJLLBR's (Max) Lectures on the Science of

Language 5

(K. O.) Literature of Ancient

Greece s

MuBCHisoN on Continued Fevers 10

Mukb's Language and Literature of Greece 3

New Testament illustrated with Wood En-
gravings from the Old Masters 10

Newman's Historyof his ReligiousOpinions 3

Nightingale's Notes on Hospitals 19

Odlino's Animal Chemistry

Course of Practical Chemistry..,. 9

Manual of Chemistry 9

Ormsby's Rambles in Algeria and Tnnia .. 15

O'Shea's Guide to Spain 15

(;)wen's Comparative Anatomy and Physio-
logy of Vertebrate Animals 8

OxENHAM on Atonement 14

Packk's Guide to the P renees . 15

Pagbt's Lectures on jirgical Pathology .. 10

Park's Life and Travels 16

Pereira's Elements of Materia Medica.... 10

, Manual of Materia Medicft. 10

Perkins's Tuscan Sculptors 11

Phillips's Guide to Geology g

Introduction to Mineralogy. ... 8

Piesse's Art of Perfumery 12

Chemical, Natural, and Physical Magic 12

Pitt on Brewing 19

Playtime with the Poets 17

Practical Mechanic's Journal \\

Pratt's Law of Building Societies 19

Prescott's Scripture Uifficultiea 13

Proctor's Saturn 7

Pycroft's Course of Knglish Reading .... 5

Cricket Field is

CricketTutor 18

-^^^— Cricketana is

Reade's Poetical Works 17

Recreations of a Country Parson 6

Reilly's Map of Mont Blanc 15

Kiddle's Fir&t Sundays at Church 14

lUvERs's Rose Amateur's Guide 9

84

NEW WORKS PUBUSKKD by LONGMANS Aia> CO.

Rogers's Correspondence of Greysoa .^ 6

Kclipse of Faith .* 6

Defence of ditto 6

— — Essays from the Edinburgh Review 6

Fulleriana 6

Boost's Thesaurus of £n>!:li8h Words and

Phrases 5

Ro.N'ALDs's Fly-Fisher's Entomology 18

Rowton's Debater 5

Russell on Government and Constitution . 1

San DAUs's Justinian's Institutes 4

Scott's Handbook of Volumetrical Analysis 9

ScROPE on Volcanos 7

Senior's Historical and Philosophical

Essays 2

Sewell's Amy Herbert 16

CleveHall .., 16

Earl's Daughter 16

Experience of Life 16

Gertrude 16

Glimpse of the World 16

History of the Early Church 3

Ivors 16

Katharine Ashton 16

Laneton Parsonage 16

.^ ■ Margaret Percival 16

. Night Lessons from Scripture.... 14

- Passing Thoughts on Religion 14

Preparation for Communion 14

. Principles of Education 14

. Readings for Confirmation 14

— Readings for Lent 14

— ■ Examination for Confirmation .. 14

Stories and Tales 16

Thoughts for the Holy Week 14

Ursula 16

Shaw's Work on Wine 19

Shedden's Elements of Logic 4

Shipley's Church and the World 13

Short Whist 19

Short's Church History 3

SiEVEKiNo's (.\melia) Life, by Wink-

WORTH 3

Simpson's Handbook of Dining 10

Smith's ^Southwood) Philosophy of Health 19

(J.) Paul's Voyage and Shipwreck 13

— . (G.) Wesleyan Methodism 3

(Sydney) Memoir and Letters.... 3

. Miscellaneous Works .. 6

Moral Philosophy 6

Wit and Wisdom 6

Smith on Cavalry Drill and Manoeuvres.. .. 18

Southey's (Doctor) 5

Poetical Works 17

Stanley's History of British Birds 8

Stebbing's Analysis of Mill's Logic 5

Stephen's Essnys in Ecclesiastical Bio-
graphy 4

Lectures on History of France S

Stepping-Stone (The) to Knowledge, &c. .. 20

Stirling's Secret of Hegel 6

Stonehenge on the Dog 18

— — ■ on the Grevhound IS

! Strange on Sea Air jo

Restoration of Health ~ lo

TAsso'sJcnisalem, by James 17

I Taylor's (Jeremy) Works, edited by Eden 14

Tennent's Ceylon g

Natural History of Ceylon 8

Thirlwall's History of Greece :..., 2

Thomson's (Archbishop) Laws of Thought 4

j (J.) Tables of Interest 19

Conspectus, by B IRK ett 10

I Todd's Cjclopsedia of Anatomy and Physio-
logy 10

and Bowman's Anatomy and Phy-
siology of Man 10

Trollope's Barchester Towers is

— ^Warden J6

Twiss'b Law of Nations ig

Ttnoall's Lectures on Heat g

Cre's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and
Mines 11

Van Der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology ' 8
Vaiighan's (R.) Revolutions in English

History 1

— (R. A.) Hours with the Mystics 7

Way to Rest 7

Walker on the Rifle 17

Watson's Principles and Practice of Physic 10

Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry 9

Webb's Objects for Common Tele-scopes .. 7

Webster &WiLKiNSON'sGreek Testament IS

Weld's Last Winter in Rome ]5

Wellington's Life, by Brialmont and

Gleio 3

by Gleig 3

West on Children's Diseases 9

Whatkly's English Synonymes 4

Logic t

Remains i

: Rhetoric 4

^—— Sermons 14

Paley's Moral Phylosophy.. .. 14

Whewell's History of the Inductive Sci-
ences S

• Scientific Ideas 2

Whist, what to lead, by Cam 19

White and Riddle's Latin-English Dic-
tionaries 5

Wilbkrfokce (W.) Recollections of, by

IlAREoni) i

Whlich's Popular Tables 19

Wilson's Bryologia Britannica 9

Windham's Diarv 3

Wood's Homes without Hands g

Woodward's Historical and Chronological

Encyclopaedia 3

Wright's Homer's Iliad 17

Yonok's English-Greek Lexicon S

Abridged ditto S

Young's Nautical Dictionary 18

YouATT on the Dog 18

on the Horse ' 18

BPOIIISWOOBB im> CO., rEINTEBS, HEW BTEEEI-SQCABE, LOXDOW

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