Buenos Aires 155 



of great estates spent fabulous sums in acquiring breed- 

 ing animals of the best strain. As much as $35,000 

 was paid for single bulls. Three-quarter bred cattle 

 mainly of the Hereford and Shorthorn type are found 

 everywhere, and on some estates the herds are pure- 

 bred Shorthorns. Owing to the foot-and-mouth disease 

 the shipment of live cattle, which rose to great propor- 

 tions about the middle of the first decade of this century, 

 has latterly fallen off. The shipment of frozen meats 

 has, however, steadily increased, and a large amount of 

 British and North American capital is being invested 

 in this business. One of the reasons for the prosperity 

 of the stock-raisers of Argentina has been the intro- 

 duction of alfalfa. The pampas have been plowed 

 over and seeded with this useful forage plant; the 

 rough harsh grasses have disappeared from wide areas; 

 and through the entire year the perennial alfalfa, 

 which sends its roots deep down in quest of water, 

 continues to supply an unfailing yield of rich, nutritious 

 food. The grazing lands between Buenos Aires and 

 La Plata covered with numerous herds of sleek cattle 

 are an impressive sight. 



After having rested awhile and partaken of some light 

 refreshments, we went across the Avenida Sarmiento 

 co the Botanical Garden. It is not very extensive, 

 but is well-arranged, and the plants are set out in such 

 a way as to illustrate to some extent the sequence of 

 the natural orders and their genera. It apparently is 

 designed to be a living manual of botany. The flora 

 of Argentina, so far as represented, naturally riveted 

 our attention; but there were not as many Argentine 

 species as I should like to have found. Exotic and 

 naturalized plants seemed to preponderate, especially 

 trees representing the flora of Australia. Over thirty 



