18 
BULLETIN 1409, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
From a special survey made by the Argentine Government in 
1902-03, it appears that the larger portion of Argentine soils are 
sandy; sandy-clay soils are frequent; clay-sand soils are rare, and 
clay soils are very scarce. Other surface soils are less frequent. 
Clay soils and soils rich in lime are found in the subsoil over large 
The alkali soils are most frequent in the west and central 
areas. 
portion of the country. The most fertile soils are found in the 
central and northern regions, especially in the Provinces of Buenos 
Aires, Santa Fe, and parts of Cordoba and Entre Rios. Soil analyses 
made during the same period show the results presented in Table 4. 
Table 4. — Soil analyses by Provinces 
Province 
Coarse 
sand 
Fine 
sand 
Clay 
Humus 
Nitrogen 
Lime 
Potas- 
sium 
Phos- 
phoric 
acid 
Per cent 
15 to 85 
7 to 67 
lto 84 
41 to 87 
3 to 77 
6 to 80 
5 to 42 
Per cent 
13 to 65 
22 to 75 
7 to 66 
9 to 42 
18 to 77 
10 to 69 
14 to 57 
Per cent 
lto 28 
3 to 47 
5 to 52 
lto 18 
2 to 40 
lto 35 
9 to 66 
Per cent 
0to64 
2 to 78 
0to40 
lto 14 
0to24 
0to20 
0to28 
Per cent 
lto 4 
lto 9 
lto 3 
lto 3 
lto 3 
lto 3 
lto 10 
Per cent 
4 to 55 
3 to 14 
lto 74 
7 to 40 
4 to 60 
6 to 87 
1 to 14 
Per cent 
3 to 9 
2 to 9 
1 toll 
4 to 9 
5 to 13 
2 to 10 
lto 11 
Per cent 
1 to 3 
1 to 5 
1 to 3 
lto 2 
Santiago del Estero.. 
lto 3 
lto 4 
Misiones ... 
1 to 8 
Apparently the soils of Argentina, at least in the great central 
region, do not need lime because all forms of legumes grow well 
without inoculation. Various common and wild clovers and medica- 
goes volunteer and grow luxuriantly in the fields and pastures and by 
the roadsides. A feature peculiar to large areas in the south and 
western portions of the Province of Buenos Aires is an underlying hard 
pan of "tosca" which appears to be stratified nodules of clay, light 
in color and similar to limestone. Along the southern coast and 
north from Bahia Blanca this hard pan is very close to the surface, 
sometimes within a few inches, and in places it looks like solid lime- 
stone rock. In these areas alfalfa and other deep-rooted plants can 
not grow and all plants suffer severely unless rains are frequent. This 
hardpan extends for 100 miles north of Bahia Blanca, but the surface 
soil above it gradually becomes deeper and deeper. 
VEGETATION 
More than 90 per cent of all the cultivated crops of Argentina are 
grown in the Pampa and Mediterranean regions within a radius of 
350 miles of the city of Buenos Aires. Among the uncultivated 
plants are to be found most of the weeds that are common in the 
United States, and practically every cultivated plant grown in the 
United States is to be found in Argentina. All the field crops are 
grown in some portion of Argentina, all the common garden vege- 
tables and flowers, and many that are not common in the United 
States; but, certain of our small fruits and many trees are lacking. 
For example, there are no blackberries or dewberries. Raspberries, 
currants, and gooseberries are grown only as specimen plants. 
Strawberries are rare and generally very poor in quality. 
