PARAGUAY 117 



abundance of pastures, water, and the scarcely sensible climatic 

 changes offer exceptional conditions suitable for livestock pro- 

 duction. If the almost wonderful resources of vegetable food 

 be added to the natural conditions of the country the results 

 would be doubled. The inter-breeding during centuries among 

 the native animals, and the negligence in preserving the camps, 

 abandoned for centuries, have produced in the Paraguayan live- 

 stock a considerable depreciation in quality. 



Good management will correct these defects. The crossing 

 of the native with pure breeds should be the first improvement 

 to be undertaken. The cattle rancher's object should be the 

 improvement of the breed; that is what is really needed. The 

 system employed until lately by ranch owners has been to hold 

 large tracts of land, unattended, with a heavy number of ani- 

 mals, without occupying themselves with breeding good animals ; 

 this system must be abolished. What can be done will be seen 

 by the excellent lessons given by the neighbouring Republics 

 who have obtained the renewal of the greater part of their 

 stock, with enormous benefits to the industry. 



Meat is naturally very cheap, perhaps cheaper than in any 

 other country in the world, since a bullock 3^ to 4 years old is 

 worth only 15 dollars to 20 dollars gold. The hide, tallow and 

 grease being worth alone one-half that amount, there remains, 

 say, 10 dollars, as the value of 300 to 350 lbs. of meat, being 

 less than 4 cents per lb. for meat of the best quality without 

 bones. 



There being such an abundance of cheap meat, and desirous 

 of encouraging the meat preserving industry, the Government 

 of Paraguay has just lately passed a law providing for the 

 introduction free of duty of all things necessary for equipping 

 such a factory, and has provided for the very small export duty 

 of 15 cents gold on the finished product of each bullock or cow. 



Paraguay, with about 1,000,000 inhabitants, is a country so 

 thinly populated that it must take a century or more before it 

 l)ecomes short of pastures for breeding cattle, horses, mules 

 and sheep. 



Pretty well throughout the country you can run a beast to 

 four acres. In fact, that number of acres for a beast is a 

 Government minimum. This law is in several States of South 

 America, viz., that the number of beasts is limited on a set 

 amount of land. A ^dse provision to stop over stocking. Large 

 steamers can go up the River Plate and the Parana as far as 

 Asuncion (capital), 650 miles from Buenos Ayres. 



