Argentina's Agricultural Progress. 37 



bred more with an eye to the jerked-beef trade with Brazil than 

 to that of the home meat market. The lack of freezing factories, 

 occasioned by the want of a port with adequate shipping 

 facilities, limits the Uruguayan pastoral output to its annual 

 parcel of merino wool, and the shipment of salt charqui to 

 Brazil. But these conditions will not remain for long un- 

 changed, and the arrival of Uruguayan frozen and chilled meat 

 may be looked for at a not distant date as a new contribution to 

 the home market. 



A question frequently put to the Argentine stock raiser is : — 

 Do you expect your capital of live stock to increase ? 



It is probable that the sheep stock in Argentina has reached 

 its maximum number. This is usually stated at 120 millions, 

 an estimate which must be accepted with some distrust until the 

 approaching census confirms it. The bulk of Argentine sheep 

 are Lincoln cross-breds, and the wool produced by this type of 

 sheep is that which has suffered most in the drop in values 

 dating from 1899. When the British ports were closed to 

 Argentine live stock, the demand for large-framed wethers fell 

 away ; the freezers required a medium-sized carcase, and paid 

 no more for the heavier sort. To reduce the change to 

 figures: — In 1898 a good cross sheep gave a fleece worth 4s., 

 and the butcher value of the wether was 12s. ; in 190 1 the same 

 fleece was worth 2s. to 2s. 6d., and the same wether sold for 8s. 

 Sheep breeders were discouraged ; they saw better prospects in 

 cattle, and in the zone surrounding the city of Buenos Aires the 

 sheep has given place to the cow. With an increasing demand 

 for land for agricultural purposes, and the inception of the dairy 

 trade, it is not likely that sheep will regain much foothold in the 

 districts where they have been displaced. It may be alleged 

 that in other regions, such as the extreme south of Patagonia, 

 the sheep stock will increase, but not sufficiently so to more 

 than compensate for the reduction in flocks elsewhere. 



This statement does not imply that the export of mutton 

 carcases from Argentina will not exceed the record of 1902, viz., 

 3,600,000 head. Argentine husbandry is improving, and a better 

 return of butcher stock upon the capital may be expected. A 

 comparison between the export of mutton from New Zealand 

 and Argentina^ in relation to the total number of sheep in each 



