THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC AS A PASTORAL COUNTRY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7305, 29 October 1885, Page 4

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC AS A PASTORAL COUNTRY.

(From the Australasian, 17th inst.) (Continued.) Some idea of the qualifications of tho country for live stook husbandry may be gathered from the followin" particulars of a few of the estates visited by the party during their travels. One of tho first places visited was a property owned by an English gentleman, and situated about TO miles southward from . Buenos Ayres. It is fenced aud subdivided, and contains 25.000 acres. The stock are of a much superior deaoription lo the geuer;il stock of the country. At the time the party visited this estate there were on it 35,000 sheep, 9000 cattle, and 1500 horses. Notwithstanding this heavy stocking, tbe grass all over the estate was so long that had it caught fire it would have swept everything before it. On this ! estate was a stu.i herd of shorthorn cattle of tiie most fashionable pedigrees. The viiitorj, who are well qualified to give an opinion on the subject, considered them quite equal to the fine herd oE Bhorthorns bred for many years by Mfssrs Robertson Brothers, of Oolac, and every beaßt in the herd was fat. Some English sheep on this estate were also much admired. Tbe proprietor of this estate owns an adjoining property of 60,000 acres. It was leased to some Argentines, and on it were 60,000 sheep, 18,000 cattle, and 2000 hones. Another property visited was situated •bout 200 miles south of Buenos Ayres. It was owned by an Argentine, and was for sale. The area was 173,000 acres, and there were depasturing npon it 24.000 oattle, 30,000 sheep, and 2500 horses. From the condition of tbe pastures it was considered the property was Dot half stocked. The next plane visited was also offered for sale. The area was 670.000 acres, and had on it when visited 40,000 horses, 30,000 cattle, and 30,000 sheep. This property had only lately been reclaimed from the Indians, and was certainly not half stocked. The visitors estimated that this estate would carry fully one-and-a-half millions of sheep. Both these properties were offered for sale at 17b per acre, and probably oould have been purchased for less. Both properties were within a reasonable distance of a railway. The value of land in the Argentine liepublic, as in every other country, varies according to position, fertility of soil, and the nature of the improvements. Some lands near Buenos Ayres realise from £2 to £3 per acre, while excellent grazing properties about 300 miles back from 'the coast oan be bought at from 7s to 8s per acre. There are about 90,009,000 Bheep in the country, but they are of such an irregular description it would be impossible by observation to guess tbe average yield of wool per head, and to ju>lge by the majority of whit were seen, the average must be very light, tha wool of low quality and without character. What siza the sheep wonld grow to nnder good management, the visitors found themselves unable to form an estimate, but ie is evident that •hoep of good size can be grown. At a meat-freezing establishment about 40 miles from the capital, they saw a number of sheep being slaughtered for shipment to England in a frozen Btate. Some of them were excellent mutton, and would weigh up to 651 b; but others were small, and of very inferior quality. As a lot they were extremely irregular, and greatly inferior to the general run of the sheep sent to England from Australia. The freezing works had not been long erected, and the/ were of a some- j what primitive character ; but they answered the purpose fairly well, and - many alterations and improvements ,» ' were in contemplation. So far as the visitors could learn the fleeces were skirted, and some attempt made at classing on the more improved estates. On the back country the wool was more carelessly troated. The management of the sheep and treatment of the wool after shearing much resembles that practised in the back country in Central Australia about 30 years ago. The one exception is in the shearing, which in the Argentine Eepublic is mainly done by women. The average price of the wool grown in the country is very low, being a trifle below 6d per lb, while the weight of wool yielded per sheep in the Argentine Republic is not half what it is in Australia, but it must be borne in mind that in Australia the sheep are highly improved, while in the La Plata States the improvement of the flocks may be said to be only now commencing. The presence of soab and footrot throughout the floeka of the country would in a great measure account for the poor yield of wool. The cattle seen in the trio through the country were of an inferior character, as judged by an Australian standard, but they are said to be a great improvement of those reared in the land a dozen years ago. The character of the stock has been greatly altered for the better by the use of English bulls, the shorthorn breed being the type most fanoied. Stud herds are being formed in several placeß, and the improvement of the cattle is being carried on with rapid strides. As with cattle and sheep, the horse stock of the country, though hardy and useful in their way, were considered very much inferior to those of Europe. A large number of English stallions, mostly thoroughbreds, have been imported, and the result. has been a great improvement in the form and style of the produce. To judge by the description of the conntry, it will likely be found more fitted for horse and cattle breeding, and the practice of agriculture, than for the growth of fine wool of high quality. The ordinary sheep of the country are sold at about 63 to 7s per head, cattle realise from 29s to 30s per head, and any number of horses can be purchased •t 15s per head. The numbers of horses bred in the country are enormous ; few properties of any size bnt have over 1000 bead. As horsemen the performances of the peons in the saddle are far and away before the feats of our best rough riders. On several occasions, for . the amusement of the visitors, unbroken horses, 5 and 6 years of age, were lassoed, saddled and bridled, and at once mounted and ridden away. Under their severe treatment the wildest and Host powerful Btud is soon reduced to absolute obedience. The visitors saw . bat little agrioulture, but state that' ' . great crops of maize and wheat are raised in some districts. With suoh a ■oil and climate, the Argentine Republic cannot fail to become one of the foremost agricultural countries in the world.

The land laws vary considerably, each State having its own regulations. In some provinces it is sold by auction, in other?, areas marked oat on a map may be purohased at an upset price, whioh • varies according to the position and quality of tbe land. There are also concessions granted to those who can gaiu tbe goodwill of the Government. On one place visited the land was granted on condition that 40,000 horses were pnt on the block, so many English stallions imported, and bo many families settled on the land. The bulk of the - hours were, rented to comply with the ' conditions, the stallions were imported, • ■ .and the families were settled on the •}• . land after a process not altogether un- :. known in Australia, which has, received : ' tbe name of dummying. The Govern-;-J'iaent appear to . have the power of 'granting these concessions to whom j>. hey please, and no inconvenient quesifjj |ons are asked. Tlie majority of the 'fi gtnded proprietors are native Argen[r,k has, .who having <?ot possession of large 3-gj Spoks ef land at a moderate valuation tM JS ,*«ady to sell it at a profit to the iwjtf wmer.l There an a few English.

stockowners sprinkled through the country. The expenses of carrying on a atook farm ara not high. There is a good supply of labor in the country, wageß being' about lCs per week, with rations. The food of the peons, as the native laborers are called, consists mainly of buef, little else being given them beyond a small portion of ftour and sugar. Owing to the absence of trepa over a lar;je portion of the Kapublic, funeing-in the sheopwalks is an expensive undertaking. The posts are brought from 8rr.7.il and the northern provinces of the Republic, where there are extensive forests. A saving is effected by putting the posts about three times ns far apart as we do in Australia. The wires lire kept in position by laths bored to the same gauge as the posts. Two of these laths »re placed between eaoh two posts. The import duty on wire does not amount to above £1 par ton. An inquiry was made as to whether iron posts could be imported at the same rate as fencing wire, but no decided answer could be obtained. If the posts wero admitted hb unmanufactured iron, they would be admitted at the low rate, but if considered as manufactured iron the duty would be 33 per cent. The cartage of wool to the railway is done nt a slightly cheiper rate than is usual in Australia, and the rates on the railways are not excessive. Freight to Europe is about 12s per ton, but the cost of lighterage from the port to the ships is almost as heavy. A scheme has been proposed for improving the harbor of Buenos Ayres, but when the railway to Bahia Blanca (where there is a good harbor) is completed, much of the expensive lighterage will be avoided. A largo trade is dene with the continent of Europe through the port of Antwerp. During their extensive trip through the country, the visitors saw nothing io indicate that life or property were more insecure than they were in Australia 30 years ago. The constitution of the Republio appears to be a dene copy of that of the United States of America. The great drawback to settlement in the country by Europeans is the want of * any congenial society, which m*kea it an undesirable place of residence for married men, and this wiw the only reason why none of the parly invested in the country. Their opinion of the country may be given ia the words of one of the visitors : — "I msy say, in a few words, that my friends and myself were greatly impressed with the natural richness and productive capacity of the River Plate country, and we wero ull three of opinion that notwithstanding the disadvantages under which the country suffers from the character of its population and the badness of its government, it is destined before long to be a very formidable competitor indeed to Australia, both in the productiou of wool and in the snpply of tinner] or frozen moats for the European market." There ia no doubt that pasture lands of the very Guest description and of great extent exist in the Argentine Republic, but there are many drawbacks to the practice of fine wool husbandry in the couutry. The splendid pastures are full of the Batburst burr, the trefoil burr, and many other kinds of burrs indigenous to the country. Footrot in that rich soil and moist climate will ever be a great difficulty for the sheep farmer to cope with. Scab is all over the country, and owing to climatic influences will be difficult to eradicate, while all stockowners of experience know that the soil and climate that give a pasture to support three sheep to the acre will also breed disease. In Australia we have had ample proof of this. On such land the lung worm and flake have become such a scourge that the proprietors of very rich pastures have given up breeding altogether, and doubtless what has occurred io Australia will also occur in South America when the land becomes fully stocked. The danger of revolution, to which the inhabitants of the Southern American States are so very susceptible, is not entirely at an end. A few months ago a Colonel Toledo, having two well armed and well appointed regiments under his charge, stirred up the province of Corrientes to revolt against the central authority. He put the governor in prison, cut the telegraph wires, and soon bad the whole province in arms. At 6rst it seemed as if the revolution would be difficult to quell, but by the last advices it was at an end, and Oolenel Toledo had fled for safety to Paraguay. In the Press notices of this affair no one seems to think it worth while to mention suoh a small detail as the cause of the revolt. Possiby there was no cause for revolt but the sheer " cussedness " of the people. The Government of the country appear to be making honest efforts to improve the pastoral Interest. Some time ago they dispatched a commissioner to Australia with instructions to make enquiry into the laws relating to the management of stock in health and disease, and to tbe mode of dealing with, the publio lands. Several acts o£ the Colonial Legislatures have bean translated into Spanish, and laws founded upon them are now being brought before tbe Argentine Parliament. The commerce of the country appears to be remarkably active. In the Budget speech of tbe Finance Minister, .made early in August last, it was stated that at tbe port of Buenos Ayres for the half-year ending June 30, 1885, the Imports amounted to the value of 35,G77,000d01s and the exports to 37,677,000d015. The year's revenue was estimated at 41,197,600d015, of whioh 4,600,000d01s were to be expended in the expansion of the railway system. Whatever may be the future of this great country, it will be watched with keen interest by Australians, for it is the only place in the world that has any chance of rivalling the Australian colonies in the production of wool.