78 THE WORLD'S MEAT Fi'TURE 



all and every day, save for a short breathing space in early 

 winter, brings with it an invariable accompaniment of dust, flies, 

 and discomfort, which constitutes a very serious factor in home 

 life on a small ranch. The planting of trees and turf will afford 

 a partial relief, but these nuisances will continue, in a more oi- 

 less degree, as long as the pampa remains pampa. 



"Animals are liable to loss from bloat if fed carelessly on tlie 

 rank growth during springtime, and their meat is pronounced 

 by butchers to be less attractive than that of stock fattened on 

 natural grass pastures. Furthermore, unless money has been 

 freely invested in storing the summer growth, an estanciero may 

 find himself in a very serious quandary at the first touch of 

 Avinter. Standing feed that would have supported 1000 head 

 of cattle will barely suffice for 200 after a few nights' hard frost. 

 The stock must be smartly handled during the summer season in 

 order to take advantage of the paddocks at their point of maxi- 

 mum nutrition, i.e., just before the flowering stage of the plant, 

 and when it is eaten bare the stock should be taken off at once 

 in order to allow the plant to sprout again in the shortest pos- 

 sible time. A natural corollary to this rule is that it is impossible 

 to have too many paddocks on an alfalfa farm, and fencing 

 means a heavy outlay on an item which is constantly deterio- 

 rating in value. If the home stock is not sufficient to eat down 

 the summer growth, it should be cut at once, or fresh stock 

 purchased, for in a fortnight more the standing crop will have 

 lost 40 per cent, of its feeding value, and in another month it 

 will have altogether vanished, leaving no profit, and retarding 

 the growth of its successor. The estanciero must, therefore, 

 reserve at least 30 per cent, of the capital at his disposal for 

 emergencies, which are certain to arise at the shortest notice, 

 and which will onlv admit of a ready-money solution. It is this 

 reserve fund which vnll probably make the difference between 

 handsome profits and none at all. 



"Previous remarks will have made it clear that in the region 

 of which we have been treating agriculture is dependent for its 

 ultimate success on the planting and cultivation of alfalfa. 

 Cereal crops, however, form a large proportion of the annual 

 product and wealth of the district, and their cultivation, given 

 in the order of their importance, is as follows: — 



The Argentine Mesopotamia. 

 "The watershed of the River Plate basin is collected from three 

 sources, to wit: — 



