ARGENTINA 59 



ARGENTINA. 



Lat. 22 to 56 south; area, 1,139,979 square miles; population, 

 8,500,000. Bounded by Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, 

 Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean. This magnificent country is at 

 the present time the main exporter of frozen and chilled beef 

 in the world and it is not likely, during the next quarter of a 

 €entury, that any other country will rival it. The most likely 

 one to do it will be Brazil, which will have the advantage of a 

 four days' shorter trip to the Home market; but the Brazilians 

 have a very long way to go to catch up their southern neighbour 

 in the quality of their live stock. The rise of the frozen meat 

 export trade of Argentina reads like a romance, and it is given in 

 detail in that excellent work by the late Mr. J. T. Critchell, 

 and Joseph Raymond, London representatives of The Pastoral 

 Review, "The History of the Frozen Meat Trade." As late as 

 the eighties in the last century, Argentine cattle, of which there 

 were vast herds, were poor and miserable, simply killed for their 

 hides and dried beef. But directly refrigeration was perfected, 

 the wealthy estancieros went to Britain and purchased the very 

 best sires procurable ; money was no object, so long as they got 

 the best, and this has gone on ever since. Although other 

 countries get some excellent sires, the very best still go to Argen- 

 tina, and still they pay the highest prices for what they take a 

 fancy to. Shorthorns, Herefords, Angus, Devons and Lincoln 

 Reds — representatives of all these types still go over, even during 

 these risky times of the submarine warfare. There is still 

 abundant land both for breeding and fattening more cattle. As 

 more land is laid down in Alfalfa, so more cattle can be annually 

 turned off young and of big weights for the freezing works. It 

 is stated by one authority that not one-fifth of Argentina has yet 

 been called into productivity, either for agriculture or cattle 

 raising. Vast areas between Bahia Blanca — the big sea-port 

 south of the river Plate — and the Straits of Magellan, are still 

 available for cattle and sheep, and as their wonderful railway 

 systems spread, these lands become stocked and of more value to 

 the country. This is where private railways are so much moi-e 

 beneficial to a young country than hide^bound State-owned 

 systems which keep a country comparatively stagnant. Again, 

 there is ample room in the far west, in the northern territories, 

 and even beyond their boundaries on the sub-pasture land of the 

 Paraguayan Chaco, and in the great cattle country of Southern 

 Brazil, to breed far more stock than at present exist. 



