TRAVELS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Press, Volume XLII, Issue 6304, 2 December 1885, Page 5

TRAVELS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

dii _ seJ .. ■).. ",.' «... •;.':,'. , >...•„ [|&JBplsm. Baldwin, who has been travelling America, was interviewed by a "Da&y, Times'' representative, tO J whom Ihe supplied the following interesting [details.—

, I stayed about a fortnight in Buenos [Ayres, getting as much information as I possibly could. There I met Sir John Hall, fend we afterwards travelled a good deal in iompany, off and on, Our first move toftcfher was up the river Uruguay to Monte fjjpeo. where we visited several estanoias, OB as we call them here, stations. The Knte Videan country is very beautiful t Amps of park-like trees rising here and flere on the rounded knolls, but as a rule gap pasture is not suitable for sheep, ffnetimes a good deal of headway Is made fth the flocks, and just as they have atSned prosperity some epidemic comes Sag and sweeps them off. Scab is among 3s troubles that assail them. Indeed it JKgpjbhad throughout the Bepublio, for Sereisno scab law as is the case here, and q§ matter what trouble a man may take to jk«3p his sheep clean, they are liable to infraction from the sheep of some careless selector adjoining. This Monte Videan country is, however, very.well adapted fcr cattle. It is better than Brazil, and the cattle, of the shorthorn breed/are much better too, for they are being improved by the importation of good stock from Great Britain. The proprietors of the solideros complain of this improvement in the breed, for, as they say, the hides of well-bred flrnrpftlq are thin, and do not fetch so much aa those of the coarser animals. The runs generally consist of about 26,000 or 80,000 acres of freehold, and are occupied by people from Great Britain and the natives, who are principally of Spanish descent. There are a good number of Englishmen, who have come out with small capital and gradually .worked themselves into a good position. A large extent of the conntry is re-leased by the proprietors to young Englishmen who come out with, say, £2000 or £8000 to make ft start for themselves. The buildings on these plaoea are not very extensive. Mosquitoes are very troublesome. Occasionally several feeble attempts are made by the natives at a revolution. When we were up in the country some sixty men and a few officers of the army of Monte Video revolted. I saw them crouching outside one of the estancias, and a more miserable, abject lot of creatures I never saw. I believe five Englishmen could have beaten the lot of them without any trouble. A number of Government troops were sent after them, and hearing of this they crossed the river into Entre Bios, which was at that spot about two miles j wide. The troops then retreated, and the rebels crossed back again. At last they snrrendered themselves to the Government, and the President treated them very liberally, granting them ft free pardon and a good dinner. People of Spanish origin predominate in the republic, and Spanish is spoken everywhere. Yes, we took the precaution of carrying revolvers on our travels, but had no occasion to use them. The managers and cadets on the estancias all carry revolvers, but they, too, seldom, if ever, have oocasien to use them. One manager told mc he had been there twenty years, and never had occasion to fire a shot. Still they are carried abuut as a precaution, for the natives are sometimes vindictive* and very ready with their knives. Leaving Monte Video I went with Sir John Hattup the river to Bosario. Here the country is also good for cattle, hut not for sheep. Bosario is a town with about 30,000 inhabitants, and close to the agricultural settlements, which we afterwards visited. Sir John Hall paid a good deal of attention to these settlements. From what I saw and heard I came to the conclusion that agricultural farming there did not pay. The settlers got the land from the Government and private owners at ft very low price and on deferred payments, but generally 'took up the land, for about four or five years, and then left it. Maize, which is used a good deal for fattening cattle, is tiie principal product. There is no system of rotation of crops, and crop after crop of wheat is taken off the land till it is impoverished. The land is so plentiful, the coil so rich, and the

price so little, that it does not pay to go iv for a proper system of farming. Agrion,: tural machinery, however, is naw being largely imported. At the time of our visit the railways were lined with farm implements, such as reapers and binders, Ac. Bosaxio .la a very prosperous place, and there was a good deal of activity noticeable when we passed through it. The quays were blocked with wheat and maiae, and numbers of vessels were loading for the Home Country. The hotels were very good, but so crowded that we could scarcely find room. It was a most extraordinary thing that wherever I went through the Argentine Bepublic every hotel in the place seemed to be full to tiie doors. Thero seemed to be a great many people travelling. Living in the hotels is very cheap— generally about 63 or 7a a day. I went on to Cordova and Mendoza, an inland town, and then across the Andes to Santiago. Part of this journey had to be made on mules, and over some very bad roads. From Cordova the soil is very barren, and not much of it ia fit for use; < but at Mendoza you come into the sugar 1 raising country, which is carried on by all nationalities. Those engaged in thie industry were doing remarkably well, and some of them were making as high as .20 per oent. on the capital invested. The people seemed to have more energy than those engaged in the industry in Brazil, and as they worked it cheaper, and had a bettor market round about them, their profits were proportionately larger.

Beturning to Bosario I took steamer to San Nicholas, where I visited what is known as the Irish farmers* camps. These; farmers occupy a tract of country between' San Nicholas and Baenos Ayrea 875 miles long and about 200 broad. I think this is the finest piece of country in the world— at any rate, it is the best I have ever seen. It was settled principally by Irish farmers from Longford and Heath about fifty years ago, and some of them have made large fortunes in consequence of the increase in the value of land during that time. The soil is very fertile, and the native pasture carries on an average 25,000 sheep to the square league, or about four or five sheep to the acre.. It was purchased: for almost nothing, but now it is worth about £S 10* per acre. Wool is the chief product of thie- fine district, and the sheep are nearly all a crossbreed between merinos and long wools. The land is at rather ;a high elevation, and is sometimes subject to droughts, but not of a very serious character. Water is obtained by sinking wells. I stayed with a Mr Brown, one of the largest of the sheep farmere, and I was very hospitably entertained. Everywhere I went the hospitality of the people was remarkable.

After a brief soiourn in this country, we returned to Buenos Ayres and attended the wool sales. The sales are held every morning, and generally close about ten o'clock. The market is crowded with French buyers, and the bidding is done very quickly. Besides carrying the wool at a very low price, the railway companies also supply the bags—holding about 261b each—in whioh it is brought to market, and give storage free of charge for a week. Most of the wool is bought for the Antwerp market, and is, as a rule, of very inferior quality.

I next travelled southward to the estanciaa owned by Mr David Shennan, brother of Mr Watson Shennan, of the Conical Hills station, near Tapanui. Mr Shennan left New Zealand when, quite young, and has prospered exceedingly out there. His Negrette property is about eighty miles from Buenos Ayres by railway, and is one of the show places of South America. His cattle and sheepare the finest in the Argentine Bepubllc. "This Negrette property contains, I think, about 25,000 acres, and carries 28,000 crossbred aheep, besides 10,000 nearly purebred shorthorn cattle, and 1600 wellbredhoreee, many of them the progeny of splendid draught sires imported from the Old Country. He has a property adjoining, which he has let. It consists of about 70,000 acres quite as good as Negrette. The hospitality of Negrette is proverbial, and the place is generally fall of visitors from all parts of the La Plata, and even from England — ladies and gentlemen. Polo, tennis, shooting, ana many other •kinds of-,.' amusement are gone into-with great' zest.;-' Mr • JUvans, the manager, was at one time a partner of Mr Musgrave, formerly of this province. About twelve miles father on we came to Mr Fair's property. This and Mr Shennan's are among the two beet properties in the Argentine Bepublio. Mr Fair's property is managed by a Mr Tetley, a New Zeaiander by birth, whose parents resided in Canterbury for some time. Mr Tetley, Mr Evans, Mr Brett (nephew of the Hon. Colonel Brett, of Canterbury), and Mr Feathenton (a son of the late Dr. Featherston) arc amongst some of the New Zealand settlers who are well known as efficient managers in the La Plata. Many of the managers own property as well. Mr Krabbe's property was the next I visited. It is about 300 miles from Buenos Ayres and -150 miles from Bahia Blanca, and the railway runs through it. The property consist! of 13 square leagues of country, or between 80,000 and 90,000 acres of fine land, which carries a large stock. At the time of my visit tiie property was still undergoing the process of "refining"—that is, of being Drought into condition for depasturing stock. The modus operandi ia as follows: —In its original state the grass stands several feet high, and is very coarse, and the country is stocked with a very low grade of animals, which may be said to be quite wild. The grass is intermixed with long reeds and scrub, so that it is almost unfit for pasturage. The first step that has to be taken towards the process of refining is to set a match to this rank vegetation and burn off portions of it every year. Then the conntry is stocked with sheep and cattle, and the burning process is repeated at intervals, till, after a oourse of three years, the grass becomes like a fine English sward, and carries about two sheep to the acre, and one bullock to every four acres, but one New Zealand Bheep given as much profit as two in Buenos Ayres. At Curumalan 1 passed through 700,000 acres of some of the finest sheep land in the world; It belongs to Mr Edward Casey, of Buenos Ayres, and has, I learn sinoe my return, been floated into a kind of company. It is more like the pick of New Zealand pastoral country than any other country I have seen. They had a very large stock on it—some hundreds of thousands of sheep and cattle and 50000 horses. It is managed by Mr Brett, before mentioned. There are three railway stations on the property, part of which has been set aside for tiie establishment ol a French colony. Since my visit I' heard that 50,000 acres of it have been Bold to an English capitalist—a celebrated yachting man, whose name has escaped my - memory. . '.) I.remained some time in this locality, then proceeded to Bahia Blanca, the most southern town of any pretentions in Buenos Ayres. It borders on Patagonia, and is reached by the southern broad guage railway, which is owned by English capitalists. At Bahia Blanca I met one - of' those typical Englishmen of whom one occasionally hears. He was a fine, broad chested young fellow, who owned the eetaneia that was managed by young Featherstone. When I visited his place he had a shooting party composed of some twenty young fellows of congenial spirits, who came to bis estancia from all parts of th*f country. But that is apart from the atdty. When I left him he said he would probably see mc in England in a few months. Not long afterwards I saw him on the mail eteaaaer Neva at Monte Video, but did not get close enough to speak with him. However, i afterwards at Bio a friend of mine asked mo had I seen M. Yes, I said, I had seen , him on board the Neva. Did I know why he had left? No. WeU, he had seen in ; the telegrams that war had been declared between England and Bossia, co he had at once sold his estancia, and taken passage Home in order to volunteer his services to fight against the Bussians! Yes, there was quite a scare when the telegrams announced that war had been declared, and people took passage home by the fastest vessels they cojUd get. Twoßussiaa cruisers had been hovering about, and this added to the general alarm. I took a pnaage by the Cotopaxi, which

would have made a floo prise fo» (he enemy, as besides the ordinary cargo thera , waa 4X60,000 worth ot silver and copper on ; board. The vessel was overcrowded with passengers, but we had no fear, for wa knew there was nothing afloat in those watere to tooah her. Imagine, then, our consternation when oa reaching bahia we learned that the machinery had broken down, and we had to steam slowly along at eight or ten miles an hour, thinking at any moment we were liable to be collawd by A Bussian cruiser. However, alter a few days' suspense we reached Cape Verde, and found to our joy that war had not aftor all been declared.

From Bahia Blanca I journeyed to Bio Negro, in Patagonia, by coach and on horseback. The country trav«ncd did sot appear to; be of much account, and it seemed that from the province of Buenos Ayrea proper you leave the sheep-farming country behind.

Begarding the export of wool and mutton I from this country and its effect oa New Zealand, Sir John Hall was of opinion that lit would make a considerable difference in ! the profits of New Zealand etockowncra. I took a different view of the case. My reasons are these—ln the first place the sheep are herded in small mobs of about 2000, . and have to be yarded every night, as the I dew is so heavy that unless the eheepare on dry ground over night they are almost certain to be attacked with foot rot, and die ia large numbers. Under these eSscumstanoes I do not think that the wool will ever be able to compete in the market with our fine long-combing woo), though it will no doubt do so with our seoond- : class wool. Of course thero are exceptions to this role, and some pieces of country will produce fine wool. For instance, Mr Shennan's clip for the last year fetchei 81 per lb at the wool sheds. Then, again, it appears to mc that it will be a very leag time before the native sheep farmers win do anythincrto improve the breed of thvkt sheep, while another groat drawback is the absence of a scab law. The result of all this is that, generally speaking, the 1 wool is of 'very -poor quality. With regard to fat stock, 1 have noticed that both the sheep and cattle get too fat 5- in fact, the cattle nometimes get so fat that they will not breed. The fat is of a flabby nature, and not poesessed of that solidity whioh characterises the fat of our New Zealand mutton and makes it bo acceptable to the English palate. 80 far the mutton that has bach sent Home from La Plata has been a failure, and it is stated that the meaMreesina;companywho have established works not many miles from the city of Buenos Ayres have lost 428,000. A trial has been made in the direction of sending Home live stock. The day before I left London 4500 lambs were landed from the Plate, bo I was told, and before long I think it is quite probable that Bheep and cattle will be cent over by some of the feet vessels, such as the Stirling Castle, which run across in sixteen days. I don't think that extra stocking would make the desired difference in the quality of the mutton, because the fattening properties seem to be in the nature of the grass, and they cannot grow turnips or English grasses as we can in New Zealand.

At present there 1b a great influx of population to the La Plata. The immigration is estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000 a year. The Immigrants are pruicipaily Basques and Italians. The Basques make the better colonists, and are eagerly engaged as shepherds and servants. They are open' and frank, very respectful and polite.

Financially speakings most of the provinces are not in a very enviable position. During my visit there was a sort of financial disturbance,, and gold was at a4O to 60 per cent, premium, Several reasons were assigned for this, and one of them was the scarcity of gold on account of the Banks having shipped eueh a great deal of it Home to England. The consequence was that gold "went up," and a man landing with iJIOOO in sovereigns would find himself worth .£ISOO of the money .of the country. In Chili the 4a-dol. was worth ft 6d, and in Buenos Ayres one of our gold sovereigns was worth twenty-eight of Uveije silver shillings. In Monte Video the 4s dollar was about par, but in .Brazil again -thfmilreis, whjch may be considered equal to our Ift % 6d. During late years the Argentine Bepublio has borrowed heavily, and a good deal of money faas been squandered, with tiie result that 4&e> -country is now in debt to the tune or .£40,000,000. The elections were just coming on when. I left. The President of the Republic ia considered a great fool if he does not, during hie term or office, make all his relatives rich. In Buenos Ayres overspeculation has made the land tun up ia price from shillings to pounds per acre, and of course numbers of those who boughs the laud in the early days have sinoe amassed large fortunes In consequence of the rise.

Begarding the profits to be made 'try sheep farming accounts differ. The majority of persons I spoke to say about 20 per cent. My own estimate waa that on a property managed for yon yon might reasonably expect 10 per cent, while if yoo managed it yourself you might get as high as 15 per cent, on the capital invested out of it. This, of course, could not be expected during the first two or three yean m which you would be engaged in developing the grazing resources of the land.