CULTIVATION OF CEREALS IN ARGEjN TINA. [Sept. 1896. 



CULTIVATION OF CEREALS IN ARGENTINA. 



In an earlier number of this Journal* some information was 

 published relating to the economic conditions of the wheat- 

 growing industry of Argentina and reference was made to certain 

 statements as to the extent of land suitable for the growth of 

 cereals in that country. Most of these statements have been 

 based on the results of an inquiry made on behalf of the 

 Argentine Government by M. Fliess, who estimated the area 

 available for the production of wheat and other grains, without 

 the aid of artificial irrigation, at 240 million acres, lying between 

 28° and 40° south latitude and limited on the west by 65° or 66° 

 west longitude. This estimate has been regarded by several 

 authorities as an exaggerated one, although it has been 

 generally agreed that the extent of land available for arable 

 cultivation is very considerable. 



An interesting report on this subject has been prepared by the 

 agricultural expert attached to the German legation at Buenos 

 Ayres. From the results of the investigations made by this 

 gentleman it would appear that the cultivation of cereals in 

 Argentina could not be pursued without the aid of artificial 

 irrigation beyond 64° west longitude owing to the deficient 

 rainfall. This limitation would reduce Fliess's estimate by 

 about 40 million acres, and if a further deduction is made of 

 the extent of land necessary to produce the fodder for draught 

 animals, which has been reckoned at equivalent to about one 

 fourth of the entire surface, the area remaining for the produc- 

 tion of grain crops would be about 150 million acres. It would 

 seem, therefore, that the physical characteristics of Argentina, if 

 Fliess's northern and southern limits are accepted as correct, 

 would under favourable economic conditions render it possible 

 to extend by twentyfold the existing area under wheat in that 

 country. , 



In the report referred to, it is stated that one of the greatest 

 advantages enjoyed by the Argentine wheat grower over his 

 competitor in Europe lies in the favourable climate, which 

 enables him to carry on his operations uninterruptedly 

 throughout the winter and summer, and to produce two crops 

 in the year, one of maize and the other of wheat or flax, from 

 the same land. In the provinces of Santa Fe and Cordoba the 

 period for sowing wheat lasts from the middle of May to the 

 middle of August, and in Buenos Ayres it continues for nearly 

 three months. This not only makes it possible for the farmer 

 to work a larger surface without increasing the number of his 

 hands, by extending the work over a longer period, but also to 

 protect himself to some extent against loss from drought, for 

 while in a very dry year he may run the risk of losing that 



* Vol I., No. 2, Dec. 1894, p. 165. 



