218 THE -WHEAT INDUSTRY 



is, however, raised between parallels 30 and 40 

 south latitude. Prior to 1877 not enough wheat 

 was grown to supply home needs, but since that 

 time Argentina has been regularly an exporting 

 country. In 1912 the wheat area was 17,089,000 

 acres, and even then it is estimated that only 

 twenty per cent of the possible area for wheat was 

 used. Wheat growing is moving southward and 

 westward. With increased population and the 

 building of new railroads, the wheat-growing 

 region is rapidly being extended, so that within a 

 few years the acreage promises to be doubled. 



The Topography of the Area. - The wheat-grow- 

 ing region is a vast plain. It is broken by few hills, 

 and slopes from the Andes and other lofty moun- 

 tains in the west and north gradually toward the 

 Atlantic. The soil is for the most part fairly deep, 

 is quite fertile, open, and favorable to natural 

 drainage. 



The Climate of the Area. - The climate is such 

 that the soil can be tilled at almost any time of 

 the year. Unless it is a cold, dry winter and the 

 pastures become bare, the farmer is able to work 

 his animals throughout the winter with very little 

 dry feed. In the wheat region the yearly rainfall 

 varies from 9 to 48 inches. If a wet summer is 

 followed by a warm, open winter, the wheat is 

 likely to suffer from the resulting heavy growth of 

 weeds. When there is rain during the warm winter, 



