TIERRA DE FUGEGO.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 100, 27 March 1936, Page 5

TIERRA DE FUGEGO.

SHEEP FARMING ENTERPRISE. To most people Tierra de Fuego it known as an island somewhere . about Gape Horn, where a few miserable m dians exist in a continual blizzard, but Mr J. Anderson, of Christehuch, who has just returned from a nine months tour in South America, knows it as gooc sheep country—better than much on tin mainland of southern Argentina. M. Anderson, who is a member of the staff o a pastoral firm, was absent from New Zealand for nine months, and spent mos of that time visiting sheep-raisin; estancias in Argentina and Uruguay He has now returned to Christchurch.

The scale on which sheep farming wa: undertaken in South America was shown by the control by one company of 1,128,000 acres, said Mr Anderson in an interview. Much of this area was barren country, hut it was divided into six estancias or stations—carrying 30,000. 75,000, 35,000, 26,000, 20,000, and 900 C sheep. Mr Anderson stayed on three ol the largest of these stations, the area' of which varied greatly, according to the nature of the country. The largest of these carried, in addition to its sheep, 5000 cattle and 150 C horses, and the second largest 4800 cattle and 1000 horses. Yet another carried 130,000 sheep, and another, of 800,00( acres, 80,000 sheep. This last ' wasmanaged by an Australian. On these stations, in' the province of Buenos Aires, : on poor country in the foothills of the Andes, Merino sheep were run, the feed available being native' growth, mostly bushes, and hardly any grass at all. Mr Anderson was, astonished tc sec such, good Merinos there'.' Breeders had been using Australian rams in tiieii studs for some years. Tierra del Fuego was far from resembling the popular idea of it. It was as good sheep country as he had seen on his lour, said Mr Anderson. The number of sheep there could be estimated from the existence on it of_a. newly-built woolshed that this season had ■ handled 6000 sheep a day. On the same property was a private railway—the most southern railway in the world—to take the hales of wool to the landing -place. • The European .manager and his staff lived, there all the year round. _ The sheep on Tierra del Fuego fed on the native grasses, which to Mr Anderson appeared not to be quite as good as the New Zealand tussock, and on small bushes. The country, however, looked good after a visitor had seen some , of the southern parts of the mainland.

Of £235,000 spent b.y voluntary bos- I pita Is in England in treating 25,000 , victims of. . road accidents in 1934, i only £30,000 was rnvd back by ( patients and their friends. Another ' £BO,OOO was recovered under the pre- i sent laws, but it left £125,000 to be supplied from the general funds.

For years the Cows brought by farmers from the Isle of 51 an to the Calf of Man, a small island off the south coast, have swum across the Sound. They did not seem to mind this way of travelling, but animal lovers have protested, so that cows are now car* , ried on a raft.