360 



Agriculture in Buenos Ayres. 



760,000 tons in 1895. The area under this crop rose from 

 400,000 acres in 1881, to 1,800,000 acres in 1895, and a further 

 gradual increase is expected owing to the employment of this 

 grain for feeding the ever increasing herds of cattle on the 

 estancias. Barley is grown in the province to a small extent 

 only; in 1895 the acreage under this crop was only 75,000 

 acres, and the quantity exported did not reach 9,000 tons. Flax 

 is cultivated specially for the production of linseed oil, and is 

 raised almost exclusively in the northern part of the 

 province. 



The permanent pasture throughout the Republic is very rich, 

 and a sufficient amount of hay could be produced not only for 

 home requirements, but also to yield a lucrative article of ex- 

 port at a very small outlay. It is nevertheless found more 

 remunerative to grow lucerne, inasmuch as this yields four or 

 even more crops annually. In 1895 the area under lucerne in 

 the province was half a million acres, and 70,000 tons were 

 exported principally to Brazil and the United States. It 

 was estimated that the total yield of the crop exceeded two 

 and a-half million tons. 



When the Spaniards colonized Argentina, the llama and 

 the alpaca were the only domesticated animals in the country, 

 and horses, cows, and sheep were successively introduced. 

 It is estimated that there now are about 25 million cattle 

 in the Republic, whence over 400,000 were exported alive in 

 1895. The province of Buenos Ayres alone contained 

 7,205,000 in 1895, as compared with 8,755,000 in 1890. The 

 diminution, which is attributed to various causes, was 

 observed in the various breeds without exception. The dairy 

 cows numbered 371,000, and the development of an export 

 trade in butter is very hopefully mentioned. About a quarter 

 of a million bullocks are used as draught animals. 



It is supposed that there are five million horses in Argentina. 

 Despite the steps taken to introduce the best blood into the 

 country, the horse-breeding industry would appear to have 

 been neglected as regards the improvement of the native 

 breed — swift and hardy animals which can be usefully em- 

 ployed for crossing purposes. 



The Argentine Republic is, after Australia, the largest 



