CEREAL CULTIVATION AND CROPS 73 
far the most rice. In Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, 
and tropical South America, maize is the staple and in many 
districts the only cereal cultivated. In mountainous parts, how- 
ever, the more temperate climate enables wheat and barley to be. 
grown. In low-lying, well-watered localities, rice is cultivated, 
though not extensively. Paraguay has over 8,000,000 acres under 
maize, and 400,000 under rice. Uruguay produces about 5,000,000 
bushels of wheat. Chile enjoys a cooler climate than the other South 
American States, by reason of its elevation and the influence of the 
cold Antarctic Drift current ; the cultivated region is a long upland 
valley between two snow- clad cordilleras of the Andes, wheat 
predominating especially in the southern part, associated largely 
with barley. The wheat crop of Chile is 16,000,000 bushels. 
“The region of cereals of the Argentine Republic may roughly 
be described as extending from latitude 30° to 41° south, and is 
bounded westwards by longitude 65°, and eastwards by the River 
Uruguay and Atlantic coast; or, in other words, this region in- 
cludes roughly the three provinces of Santa Fé, Entre Rios, and 
Buenos Ayres, and the eastern portion of that of Cordova. In the 
greater part of this immense plain wheat will grow satisfactorily 
without artificial irrigation. But south of latitude 41° and west of 
longitude 65° rain does not come regularly enough.” With irriga- 
tion, wheat and other crops could be grown even much further south, 
as is shown by the satisfactory crops of the Welsh Chubut colony, 
in latitude 43° south. The possible area of cereal cultivation 
in Argentina, without irrigation, is estimated to be upwards of 
200,000,000 acres, of which not more than 5 per cent. is as yet 
touched, but a large proportion is only suitable for maize. The 
chief cereal in the province of Buenos Ayres is maize, its crop 
being more than half the total quantity produced in the Republic ; 
wheat is the predominant grain in Santa Fé, this province pro- 
ducing more than half the wheat crop of Argentina. Barley and 
rye are minor crops. Rice is grown in the northern parts of the 
Republic bordering on the tropics. The wheat export of Argentina 
in 1892 was 17,000,000 bushels; in 1893, 37,000,000; in 1894, 
60,000,000 ; local consumption, 20,000,000. 
On the continent of Australia cereal cultivation is almost con- 
fined to the coastal regions and the fertile plain of the river Murray. 
The mountain range in the east cuts off the rainfall brought by 
the prevailing S.E. winds, so that the interior consists mostly 
of sandy saline deserts. Maize is extensively cultivated on the 
north coast (chiefly around the Gulf of Carpentaria) and on 
the east coast, associated in some parts with rice; in tropical 
Queensland, maize, various millets, and a little rice ; wheat only in 
the southern half of the colony, with maize and a small proportion 
of barley and oats ; but wheat is a very precarious crop, the yield 
per acre in some years of drought being as low as 3 bushels, in 
others, 20. Maize thrives best, giving a heavy yield; in the 
northern part, two crops a year. In New South Wales wheat pre- 
dominates, the acreage under this cereal being twice as large’ as 
