54 BULLETIN 1409, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Mendoza and San Juan extend from the Chilean boundary east- 
ward through the Andes Mountains into the plains country. They 
are naturally semiarid and desert and without irrigation there could 
be no production. The Mendoza and San Juan Rivers and other 
small streams furnish a limited supply of water for irrigation. In 
total area they compare with Michigan and Indiana, as follows: 
Mendoza 36,155,000 acres, Michigan 36,787,000 acres; San Juan 
24,230,000 acres, Indiana 23,069,000 acres. 
The distribution of crop production in Mendoza, the most impor- 
tant of the wine-grape producing Provinces of Argentina, was as 
follows in 1924: 
Acres 
Vineyards 179, 191 
Alfalfa 290, 445 
Corn 69, 402 
Potatoes 25, 201 
Barlev 12, 968 
Wheat 12, 513 
Oats 8,652 
Flaxseed 1, 452 
Canary seed 25 
Rye 75 
Beans 2, 880 
Onions 1, 087 
Acres 
Vegetables 8, 618 
Olives 1, 761 
Peaches 9,887 
Pears 1, 186 
Nuts 948 
Apples 904 
Cherries 766 
Plums 1, 680 
Figs 417 
Other fruits 1, 625 
Total 631,683 
It will be observed that less than 2 per cent of the total area of 
Mendoza is in cultivation and that of the total area cultivated about 
46 per cent is in alfalfa and 28 per cent in vineyards. 
The price of land in Mendoza and San Juan depends upon whether 
it is irrigated, the crops to which is it planted, improvements, and 
distance from shipping station. Land at a distance from the rail- 
road and not irrigated or susceptible of irrigation has little or no value. 
Producing vineyards are assessed for loan purposes at from $240 to 
$800 per acre; land in alfalfa from $54 to $340; land set with bearing 
fruit trees from $30 to $275; and land in miscellaneous crops and 
vegetables from $30 to $200. Most of the labor necessary for cul- 
tivating the vineyards is done under contract, usually about $15 to $20 
per acre, in addition to house and garden. 
Further agricultural development in the grape-growing region of 
Mendoza and San Juan will depend upon such additional areas as 
may be brought under irrigation, market demand for their products, 
especially wine and fruits, and upon freight rates and improved 
transportation facilities. The Pacific Railway, which serves both 
Provinces, estimates that it will be possible to bring under irrigation 
for dry-land methods of farming 288,000 acres in San Juan and 
854,000 acres in Mendoza. This estimate is probably too optimistic. 
Some fresh fruits have been shipped to Buenos Aires and exported to 
the United States and Europe, but to expand the export trade in 
perishable fruits from this region will require the adoption of sys- 
tematic methods of growing, packing, precooling, and refrigeration. 
The climatic conditions in Mendoza, San Juan, and other semiarid 
regions are similar to those in California. 
Tobacco 
Tobacco has been cultivated in various parts of northern Argentina 
for more than half a century. In 1904 the area in tobacco was 
estimated to be as follows: 
