Farmer Protected from Imaginary Danger. 17 



multitude to come from? A large portion, according to 

 Secretary Shaw, is to come from South America. Of all 

 South America only the Argentina Kepublic and Uru- 

 guay are doing much with cattle, or are likely to in this 

 generation; in the remaining portions the people, or 

 climate, or country, or all together, are not adapted to the 

 business. 



The two divisions mentioned, especially the Argentina 

 Eepublic, have a good many cattle— together something 

 less than one-half the number in the United States. But 

 think of the immense distance they must be brought to 

 reach us, 6000 to 8000 miles. How many of the animals 

 would die in the long passage through the hot equatorial 

 regions ? Or who would want to eat fresh beef killed the 

 other side of the equator! 



The exports of Argentina of "animals and their prod- 

 ucts" in 1899 is given as over $115,500,000. But un- 

 doubtedlv much more than two-thirds of this consisted of 

 wool, hides and skins, and mutton. One authority gives 

 the value of the exports of wool that year as $61,000,000 

 gold ; and reports also that 2,372,969 carcasses of frozen 

 sheep were exported, and the value of hides and skins 

 was very great. 



For some years we have been competing with Argen- 

 tina in the free English market. With what result? 

 Where she supplied about $1,000,000 of fresh beef in 1899 

 the United States put in over $29,000,000 ; and in 1901 the 

 value of such exports from the United States is given as 

 over $31,000,000. In the latter year the United States 

 sent abroad over $37,000,000 of cattle, most of which 

 ($35,000,000) went to Great Britain; Argentina sent of 

 cattle to the same place in 1899 about $7,000,000. The 

 fact is, her great dependence in the export trade is on 



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