268 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [lL Sepr., 1899. 
At the beginning of the present century they were of a poor type, bearing 
a miserable fleece. ‘They were of two classes: The Pampas sheep as distinct 
from the long-woolled merino sheep from Spaia; and the Criollo, descended from 
the Spanish merino, but these were so degenerated as to resemble in little the 
latter in either wool or type. ‘The Pampas sheep was leggy, with a white face, 
bare about the neck and belly, sometimes with four and even six horns, hardy 
and prolific, and bearing long weak wool with no yolk. The Criollo was a 
smaller animal, many being black or brown, thinly boned, with a shaggy hairy 
growth on the neck that had the appearance of a mane; the wool was mixed 
swith hair, and was generally of a sort of reddish colour. 
There is no need to follow the whole history of the progress of wool- 
srowing in the Argentine. 
Tn 1797 Captain McArthur, of New South Wales, was an enthusiastic sheep- 
breeder. In 1803 he owned a flock of 4,000 merino crossbred sheep. In 1824, 
so successful had been his private enterprise in Australia, that a company on a 
large scale was formed, and shares rose to the fabulous price of £5 each. Still, 
the Argentine people held sheep in no esteem, and in one case whole flocks were 
driven to the seaside, where any were precipitated over the cliffs into the sea, 
thus reducing the flocks to what was considered a convenient number. 
The cross between the new imported merino and the native Criollo was 
termed a ‘“ mestizo,”” aud this term prevails to the present day. 
It is only since 1866 that the sheep industry in the Argentine may be 
really said to have started into life. From 1856 to 1866 the stock of sheep has 
bounded from 16,000,000 to 90,600,000, thus surpassing that of Australia, and 
at a later date only reached $4,000,000. The Australian sheep averaged 5 lb. per 
fleece for the total stock, whilst that of Argentina barely reached 3 Ib. for the 
same year, 1886. Since that year the improvement has gone on, and the return 
- for 1891 showed an average of 4: 1b. per sheep on 78,000,000. 
Admitting that a cow consumes as wana forage as 5 sheep, and the horse 
as much as 7 sheep, then the natural pastures of Buenos Ayres maintain stock 
at the rate of 186 sheep per 100 acres per annum. No such great live stock 
bearing territory can be shown in any other part of the world. Land in Buenos 
Ayres will carry 24 sheep to the acre in addition to 1 cow per 5 acres, and this 
without the aid of artificial feeding. 
*  Well-bred mestizo sheep will average 6} lb. of wool in the grease, washin 
out to from 35 to 40 per cent. Tincolns will run from 7% lb. to 83 Ib. of wael 
per head. ; 
Now, to give our readers some idea of the carrying capacity of land in the 
Argentine, we append a few statistics relating to the stock carried on some of 
the sheep ranches in that country :— 
Venavo Esrancta. 
One hundred and twenty miles from the city of Buenos Ayres. 
Area: 19,760 acres. 
Stock: 20,000 sheep, 3,000 cattle, 800 horses. 
Equal to 2 sheep per acre. 
San FErrnrre. 
Two hundred and fifty miles south of the city of Buenos Ayres. 
Area: 42,640 acres. < 
Stock : 50,000 sheep, 9,250 cattle, 1,400 horses. 
Equal to 2:40 sheep per acre. 
Esrancrs NrGrerrt. 
Eighty miles south of the city of Buenos Ayres. 
Avea: 27,300 acres, divided into 80 paddocks. 
Stock : 35,000 sheep, 7,500 cattle, 1,800 horses. 
Equal to 3°12 sheep per acre. 
Of these sheep, 30,000 are Leicesters, 3,500 Rambouillets, 500 Lincolns, 
1 Negretti, 1 Rambouillet stud flock. 
The rams of the latter class give from 16 Ib. to 32 lb. weight of fleece. 
Neeretti stud rains from 24 |b. to 84 Ib. 
