88 THE WORLDS MEAT FUTURE 



Lastly, Patagonia, cold and windy, is gradually attaining a 

 position as one of the healthiest sheep-rearing districts of the 

 world. 



Argentina is divided into 14 provinces and 10 territories. 

 It is largely composed of immensely rich plains with great 

 depth of river deposit soil, and is almost bare of trees, except 

 round the numerous estancias, where the owners invariably 

 plant largely. In the Chaco will be found dense forest 

 country. Cattle and sheep are to be found all over the Pampa, 

 from the extreme north to the extreme south, where are the 

 territories of Rio Negro. Chubut, and Santa Cruz. However, 

 the bulk of the good cattle are to be found in the east, or 

 Atlantic side, and sheep on the west and south. Patagonia is 

 almost entirely devoted to sheep, nearly all of which are of the 

 various British breeds, or crossbreds. 



It is recorded that the first appearance of cattle on the 

 River Plate was early in the sixteenth century, when seven 

 cows and a bull were brought from Brazil, through Paraguay, 

 by two Portuguese, the brothers Cipriano and Vicente Goes ; 

 but soon after, large numbers were imported by Juan de 

 Galazary Espinoza, treasurer to the Government. The first 

 sheep were introduced in 1550, and large numbers of horses, 

 cattle and sheep, in a semi-wild state, strayed down south to 

 Argentina's rich pastures, from Peru and Brazil. 



Roughly, Argentina may be divided into three divisions, 

 and in each separate portion almost all the cattle of one class 

 in the Republic are included. The principal herds of Durhams 

 are held within the province of Buenos Aires, the southern 

 half of the province of Cordoba, the southern portion of Santa 

 Fe, the south-east corner of San Luis, and a small portion of 

 the territory of Pampa Central. 



Entre Rios and a part of the south of Corrientes holds the 

 main breeding place for Herefords. 



The outskirts of the country are chiefly devoted to Criollo 

 and grade Criollos, these being cattle bred from the original 

 Spanish importation of hundreds of years back, and afterwards 

 allowed to become wild. Down south there are very few cattle, 

 the country being chiefly devoted to sheep. 



The Shorthorns are run on the alfalfa and on all the best of 



