124 THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 



"To live, and let live; to know how to combine healthy 

 pleasure and sound business ; to eschew politics and law-suits ; 

 to ileal courteously and justly with all men — these are the 

 lines that have been followed by those of our countrymen 

 who have won for themselves to-day name and fortune in 

 Argentina. There is no real obstacle to deter those who would 

 follow their example. In the bustling marts, or on the wind- 

 swept pampa. in the virgin forest, or beneath the shadow of 

 the great Cordillera, there is room and to spare for all. And 

 now here will an Englishman, be he home-bred or colonial, meet 

 with a heartier welcome than from those of his countrymen 

 whose footsteps have pointed a path to the fertile shores of 

 t he River Plate. 



The Plate Coast Belt 



" The sheep runs of Patagonia, the alfalfa paddocks of the 

 central Pampas, the rich loams of the Mesopotamia — each 

 zone of Argentina has its advocates. Yet, whatever success 

 may have attended them in their own particular district, none 

 will deny, when pressed to a statement, that a league of camp 

 near Buenos Aires is worth two anywhere else. 



" Apart from its importance politically, the province of 

 Buenos Aires is. without doubt, the richest pastoral district 

 of its extent in the world. The soil consists of from 2 to 3 ft. 

 of black alluvial top-dressing, rendered friable by an admixture 

 of sand and lime, while below it comes a marl, fairly free from 

 clay, but forming under certain conditions into a hard pan, 

 locally known as ' tosca.' Running through this formation, 

 and separated by these beds of hard pan, are different strata 

 of water, the first of which is found at depths varying from 

 L'O to 70 ft., the others following at depths of perhaps only a 

 few yards. As a rule, well-water found near the Plate estuary 

 ie of good quality, witness the numerous and flourishing 

 breweries. As we travel west into the Pampas, the influence 

 of its vast volume gradually lessens, till on the plains that 

 stand midway between the Cordilleras and the coastline the 

 water becomes brackish, and at times undrinkably bitter. 

 This quality is. without doubt, due to the great quantity of 



