THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 609 



WINTERING CATTLE. 



Living entirely in the open air, and having no protection whatever, 

 no matter how severe the weather may be, and depending solely upon 

 the natural grasses of the country for their nourishment, the cattle be- 

 come very lean during the winter months especially if there has been 

 a drought during the summer, thus preventing the growth of vegetation. 

 Thus reduced in flesh, they become very susceptible to the cold; and 

 under such circumstances, when driving rain or snowstorms occur, with 

 the wind from the southwest, hundreds of thousands have been known 

 to perish in a single night.* In the spring they at once begin to im- 

 prove, though the young grass is so watery at first as to cause violent 

 purging; and many cattle are sometimes lost from this cause, especially 

 if they are in poor condition. The skins of cattle that perish from these 

 or other like causes are always removed, and are sold in the market under 

 the name of cpidemia hides, though of course the word is not intended 

 to convey the meaning that the animals died from an epidemic disease, 

 which seems to be ohe impression abroad. So soon as the succulent 

 grasses of the pampas begin to mature, that is, during the months oi: 

 November and December, the cattle begin to improve. 



FROM THE ESTANCIOS TO THE SLAUGHTER-HOUSES. 



The moment they have acquired sufficient strength and condition, and 

 will stand the long drives, the novillos are separated from the rest of 

 the herd and sent to the slaughtering establishments (saladcros) or the 

 city market (mataderos], an operation which sometimes requires a large 

 number of men (peones) and much care ; for pastured cattle are apt to 

 be quick in t!ieir'inovements, and a very little thing will cause them to 

 stampede in disorder and regain their old range. On the other hand, 

 unless occasional rests and breaks in the journey are permitted, since 

 the distance to be traveled is not unfrequently hundreds of leagues, the 

 animals become tired and the meat loses its natural taste (Ion gout). I 

 may add, however, that in the markets of Buenos Ayres u tired" meat 

 is the rule instead of the exception. It is on account of these long 

 drives, without water or food at proper intervals, that the beef sold in 

 the cities does not in any respect compare with that which you can ob- 

 tain on the estancios themselves, where ordinarily it is of most excellent 

 flavor. 



REQUISITES OF AN ESTANCIA. 



A cattle estanciaj in order to be considered first class, requires three 

 conditions, good quality of grasses, an abundance of water, and range 

 sufficient to hold and feed a large herd conditions which, from the be- 

 ginning, the Spanish colonists seem to have well understood, in the 

 selections of the lands upon which are to-day be found the great cattle 

 farms of the country. The development, however, of the wool industry 

 during late years has had a tendency to drive the cattle farmers farther 



*Mr. Darwin in bis "Naturalist's Voyage Around tlie World," page 133, says: 

 "While traveling through the Argentine Republic,! received vivid descriptions of a 

 late great drought, during which time so little rain fell that the vegetation, even to the 

 thistles, failed, the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the appear- 

 ance of a dusty highway ; very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and 

 horsesjperished for the want of food and water. The lowest estimate of the loss of cat- 

 tle in the province of Buenos Ayres alone was taken at one million head." 



t Mulliall's Hand-Book of the River Plate. 



H. Ex. 51 39 



