ARGENTINA 123 



borders the rivers, is covered with valuable hardwoods. But 

 the stock-growing instinct of the latter-day Argentine colonist 

 is opposed to tropical pioneering, so in spite of the glowing 

 description of scientific enthusiasts, the greater part of Misiones 

 is not only uninhabited, but even unexplored. 



" The falls on the Iguazu River, dividing the north of 

 Misiones from Brazil, are of greater height and extent than 

 those of Niagara, though their volume is not so great or so 

 constant. The following are the measured dimensions : 

 Height of Niagara, 150 to 164 ft. ; width, 2260 ft. ; height of 

 Iguazu, 200 to 210 ft. ; width, 9000 ft. (nearly). 



" The factor which must influence the colonist in his choice 

 of a site more than any other in Argentina is that of transport, 

 and transport here means the railroad. The only navigable 

 rivers tap a tropical zone, which is less suited for white colonists 

 than the healthy south. From the Plate to the Straits of 

 Magellan, Bahia Blanca is the only port worthy of the name. 

 On the railroads, therefore, lies the burden of the country's 

 business, and their successful management is vital to its 

 prosperity. 



" Settlers are often tempted by the low price of rich lands 

 into purchasing farms far beyond the railway zone. This is a 

 good investment for the capitalist, but not for the working 

 farmer. Against the cheapness of the land must be placed the 

 cost of transport, which remains as a constant charge on the 

 property, while the want of touch with markets means the loss 

 of many a good bargain. 



" If, however, he has elected to try his fortune there, the 

 farmer should rent land rather than buy it, cut his expenses 

 down to the lowest possible limit, and put all his money into 

 his stock. To attempt agriculture is unwise, except to supply 

 local needs, it is to give hostages to fortune, for a sack of wheat 

 cannot walk itself to market, nor can it get out of the way of 

 floods or drought, as the fanners in Chubut and N. Santa Fe 

 know to their cost. For these reasons, cattle are to be pre-' 

 f erred when possible to sheep, for while they give less profit, 

 there is also less risk of total loss, and there is no point in 

 Argentina from which their own legs will not carry them 

 unaided to a good market. 



