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Trained horses are here from five to seven dollars each ; horned 

 cattle, in good condition, by the herd of a thousand at two dollars 

 a head; mares at three rials (Is. 6d. sterling) each. Sheep are very 

 scarce and never eaten ; they are kept by some families merely for 

 the sake of their wool, which is made into flocks for bedding. It is 

 worthy of remark that in the remote parts of the interior, where no 

 settlements have been made, the cattle are found of a dark dirty 

 brown colour, except on a small part of the belly, which is white, 

 but when they become domesticated they produce breeds of a 

 lighter colour, with hides beautifully spotted and variegated. The 

 fine herds bred in many parts of this district have often tempted the 

 Portugueze to make predatory incursions, and the country being 

 accessible by fine open passes to the frontier, as well as to the north 

 side of the Plata, these violations of territory have been carried on 

 to a very serious extent. So frequent were they at one period that 

 it became necessary to appoint a military force to parade the boun- 

 daries and to defend the Spanish settlements against these inroads. 



In taking a general view of the country, a stranger cannot but 

 observe, with regret, that while nature has been profuse in her 

 blessings, the inhabitants have been neglectful in the improvement 

 of them. Here is, for instance, abundance of excellent clay and 

 plenty of wood on the margin of the rivers, yet it is rare to meet 

 with an inclosure, even for a kitchen garden, much more so for a 

 corn-field. They generally choose their grounds for tillage by the 

 bank of a rivulet, so as to have one side or sometimes two sides 

 bounded by it ; the remainder is fenced in the most clumsy and 

 bungling manner imaginable. Ploughing is performed by the help 

 of two oxen yoked to a crooked piece of wood, about four inches in 

 diameter, and pointed at the end. After the ground has been 

 rooted up, the wheat is sown, without any previous attempt to clear 

 it from noxious seeds. While it grows up, it is never weeded ; so 

 that wild oats, poppies, and other pernicious herbs, thriving amon^ 



