8 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
The people here have more of the energy and physique of a 
mountain race ; the dryer climate developing more nervous 
energy. They have had for seven years a system of compul- 
sory education in operation, and now spend between 11,000/. 
and 12,000/. a-year on primary schools; and in the capital they 
have a national college with eight or nine professors, in which 
a good course is given in Mathematics, Agriculture, Mining, 
Metallurgy, Chemistry, Law, and Literature. They have at 
present one pupil for every seven inhabitants. 
The Peon, or labouring class, receive from 23s. to 33s. per 
month, with their food, consisting of flour, beef, raisins, and 
maize, or Indian corn; the quantities varying according to 
the liberality of the employer. The meat is usually made into 
a soup with maize, onions, and any other vegetables they can 
obtain ; and the raisins are sometimes used in cakes, or eaten 
alone. Their main drink is the well-known Mate or Paraguay 
tea, the dry leaf of a species of holly, the Ilex paraguay ensis, 
grown principally in the Republic of that name, and in Brazil. 
This leaf, generally in a powdered state, is put into a gourd 
3 or 4 inches in diameter, from which the inside has been 
carefully removed, a small quantity of sugar added, hot water 
poured on the top of the two, and the infusion is then sucked 
up through a silver or electro-plated tube. This makes a re- 
freshing drink, and has great staying properties without pro- 
ducing the ill effects often ascribed to tea. Wine, though cheap 
and good, is rarely to be procured by them, and the more ex- 
pensive aguardiente , or brandy distilled from the wine of the 
country, still more rarely. They are a temperate and industrious 
class, and when living near the towns often add to their com- 
forts by growing vegetables, cultivating a few vines, and 
drying the grapes on the tops of their houses. This last makes 
an important item in the business with other provinces, and 
with Chili, the raisins being remarkably good. 
The wines of San Juan are much like those of Spain, and 
are free from the overloading of spirit so common in wines sold 
in this country, 
In the pastures of lucerne irrigated by channels taken from 
the river, large quantities of cattle are fattened ; these are 
bought by the farmers in the adjoining provinces, or raised on 
the spot, and during the summer and autumn months — there 
from November to April — are sent to Chili across the Andes, 
and to Bolivia, 700 or 800 miles to the north. Their fat con- 
dition and slow travelling enable these animals to stand the 
wear of such a journey. Men receiving from 3/. to 4/. 
only per month, are sent off in charge of ‘tropas/ or herds, 
of cattle with other men under them at less wages. These sell 
the cattle, receive the money, and return with it to their 
