166 
Publications of Interest to Agriculturists. 
five establishments, which exported 1,294,344 sheep in 1892. 
Argentine mutton is worth 3 \d. per lb., against New Zealand 4 \d., 
the latter being better fed and of superior quality. Every portion 
of the sheep is now utilised except the blood. There is also another 
establishment which is prepared to can both beef and mutton, thus 
giving an outlet for the meat that is not well fed enough for the car- 
cass trades. 
The greater part of the wool is sold locally, most of it by brokers, 
but some by auction. There are three large markets in Buenos 
Aires and one at Rosario. Wool is not at present properly graded, 
and the lots are of an uneven character. Railroads are in a more 
advanced condition than high-roads, which do not at present exist, 
and are much required. The removal of the wool, &c., to the railway 
stations is generally undertaken by carters, who make a specialty of 
the business. 
As the station of Los Yngleses is the one with which the author 
of the book is connected, it may in conclusion be taken as an ex- 
ample from amongst those which he describes. Mr. John Gibson 
went to the River Plate in 1818, and bought this estate in 1825. 
At the time of the purchase the produce in hand was 15 cowhides 
and one bag of tallow. The area of the estate was 68,352 acres, 
less 3,300 taken back by the Government ; 12,000 acres were use- 
less for grazing. The land is low, and intersected by lagoons. The 
soil is sandy on the uplands, a shallow covering of black earth on 
the intermediate lands, with a mixture of sand and clay in the 
hollows. 
Mr. Geoi’ge Gibson commenced sheep-breeding in 1835. Pre- 
viously the stock had consisted of 18,000 cattle and 3,000 mares, 
sheep having been neglected. Merinos were first introduced. The 
wethers of the Creole flock were clipped, but their wool was thrown 
away as valueless. About this time much damage was done by 
wild dogs. A premium was paid for them, and 2,000 were destroyed. 
Pumas also were troublesome, but a premium of $100 per head 
secured their extermination. Scab is first mentioned in 1845, the 
lung-worm in 1846. The first wire fence was made in 1853 ; there 
are now 84 miles of it. Boiling down commenced in 1843. The 
flock in 1849 reached 12,000, in 1845 it was reduced to 7,000, in 
1850 increased to 14,000, and in 1855 to 23,000. 
The first change in sheep-breeding dates from 1856. The deli- 
cacy of the Saxony Merinos and the loss of lambs made it apparent 
that the soil did not suit Merinos. In the next seven years different 
English breeds of sheep were introduced : in 1858 Romney Marsh 
sheep, in 1862 Cotswold and Improved Leicester, and the same year 
a Lincoln tup was sent out by Mr. Platten, with the message that 
he wished Mr. Gibson to have “ at least one good sheep ” upon 
the place. This sheep was found to cross better with the Merinos 
than any others that had been tried. In 1863 a large number of 
Lincolns were introduced, and in 1865 no other tups than Lincoln 
were used. In 1863, 5,000 Pampa sheep, an indigenous breed with 
