Maize 



57 



of the chief difficulties of the industry is the efficient shipment of the grain. Until quite recently 

 the facilities for handling the grain in Argentina were very inadequate, but larger freight cars 

 are now being used on the railways in place of the older cars of English type, which had a 

 capacity of not more than fifteen tons. Further, the authorities of the great shipping ports, 

 Buenos Aires, Rosario, Bahia Blanca, and La Plata are making improvements in the docks and 

 general shipping facilities, and there can be no doubt that the effect on the export trade will 

 be most marked. 



One of the greatest difficulties with which the shipper of corn from the Argentine has to 

 contend is the question of the dryness of the grain, and this vital quality is harder to obtain 

 than any other. It has been stated that fully three-fourths of the losses on Argentine corn 

 going to Europe have hitherto been due to the dampness of the grain before it left the River 

 Plate, with the result that on arrival in Europe the grain is found to be heated and fermented. 

 The shipper has constantly to be on his guard against receiving damp grain, and when once 

 shipped dry his great anxiety is to get it out of the River Plate before the cargo has absorbed 

 much of the humidity that prevails there during the greater part of the shipping season. 

 Until comparatively recently it was held advisable and even necessary to ventilate the cargo 

 on the voyage, but the general opinion among the most successful shippers now is that this is 

 unnecessary and in all probability does more harm than good, as only a comparatively small 



PERSIA. A MAIZE BARN 



