Letters of Mr. J. Graham Kerr. 353 



The time passed very slowly while I was living in Buenos 

 Ayres itself, so I was very glad to receive early in August an 

 invitation to go out to stay at the Estancia Mate Grande, 

 near the town of Nueve de Julio, right out in the pampas to 

 the west of the city. Accordingly, about 6 a.m. on August 

 13th, I left the hotel for the Once railway station, whence I was 

 to take train for Nueve de Julio. My luggage had been sent 

 on before, but when I arrived at Once I found that it had 

 not turned up. I determined, however, to go on without it, 

 having left instructions for it to be sent on after me. After 

 a cup of " cafe con leche" at the station, I took my seat in the 

 train, and punctually at 7.15 we started on our westward 

 journey. The train was on the " American " system, con- 

 sisting of long cars, with a passage running along from one 

 end of the train to the other. It was a cold day, and I found 

 the carriages very cold and draughty. In summer, on the 

 other hand, I believe passengers get nearly choked with dust. 

 The track was, of course, very much rougher than those at 

 home, but still there was wonderfully little oscillation. For 

 the first half of our journey we passed over the typical 

 Buenos Aires pampas-country, almost as flat as a cricket-field, 

 covered with close green turf (the indigenous grasses having 

 here succumbed to the introduced grasses), and dotted here and 

 there by a solitary omba-tree, the one tree indigenous to the 

 pampas (Phytolacca dioica). Towards the end of our journey 

 the character of the country changed; it became wilder; 

 the surface became undulatory, the omba-trees disappeared, 

 and we were amongst the great native grasses of the Pampas. 

 However, of these later on. This form of country continued 

 till we reached Nueve de Julio, between one and two in the 

 afternoon. The town, as is the case with most of the camp- 

 towns, was at some distance from the railway station ; there 

 was, as usual, a number of carriages waiting for passengers, and 

 stepping into one of these I was taken to the hotel, or rather 

 inn, of the village, arriving just in time for breakfast. It 

 will seem rather curious the idea of breakfast at 2 p.m., but 

 the meals here are quite different from what they are at 

 home. When one gets up in the morning one has a cup of 



SER. vi. — VOL. II. 2 c 



