KMi THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 



and cut off a corner there ; for in the Argentina they are not 

 used to be bounded by straight rules, geometrical or otherwise. 

 But if the surface shades from a 6-in. alluvial to a faintly tinged 

 sand : if the subsoil to 100 yards depth is a sandy marl mixed 

 with lumps of freelime that soak up the uncertain streams 

 venturing from the hills before they can catch sight of the 

 low-lying coast ; if the rainfall is between 20 and 25 in. ; if 

 as close as 6 ft., and not more than 40 ft., below the roots of 

 the wiry pampa grass the water comes in strata, brackish, and 

 in some parts undrinkably bitter by reason of the lime-impreg- 

 nated soil through which it has filtered ; if, finally, there is no 

 rock, nor pebble, nor any vestige of the stone age larger than 

 a grain of sand — by all these tokens we may know that we are 

 in the true alfalfa land. 



" Twenty-five years ago alfalfa was only grown on the more 

 progressive estancias, and even then in paddocks rarely ex- 

 ceeding 10 to 20 acres. The crop was set aside for imported 

 stock, and for the benefit of such home-grown animals as were 

 deemed good enough tc send up to the annual sales at the 

 capital. It was stated that grazing killed out the plant, and, 

 in view of the high cost of establishing it, estancieros wasted 

 year after year in cropping a worn-out and unprofitable patch. 

 The necessity of finding a drought-resisting forage in the 

 warmer, sandier backblocks, where the summer rainfall was 

 too scanty to keep up tender grasses, induced a more enlight- 

 ened farmer to give the plant a trial. From the result of 

 that successful experiment we may date the opening up of 

 the central pampas. 



" These plains in the natural state will support on their sun- 

 burnt tufts of grass a maximum of 500 head of cattle or 2000 

 sheep per square league (6400 acres). The same ground laid 

 down in four or five paddocks of alfalfa will maintain all the 

 year round, and turn off in good shape 2000 head of cattle, in 

 addition to 5000 sheep. That is to say, the introduction of 

 this unequalled forage plant has raised the possible production 

 of these pampas from 5,000,000 cattle, or 20,000,000 sheep, to 

 20,000.000 cattle and 100,000,000 sheep — an increase of 800 

 per cent. 



" The yield of an acre of alfalfa if cropped may be safely 



