ILLUSTRATIONS. FRONTISPIECE. In Argentina. PLATE I. Lord Wenlock, first-prize 34-year-old Shorthorn bull.... V. Grandison 42, prize champion Hereford, 34 years old.. VII. First-prize Shire stallion............ VIII. Docil, Percheron stallion, 34 years old....... IX. D Wet, first-prize Holstein bull, 22 months old. X. Best cow of Flemish group, winning championship in dairy test. XII. Holstein cows and calves.. XIII. Fig. 1, first-prize yearling Lincoln sheep; fig. 2, first-prize Hamp ARGENTINE TERMS AND MEASURES USED. Money.-Unless otherwise stated, all expressions of value used herein refer to Argentine paper money, which will cost the foreigner to-day (May, 1903) 44 cents of United States money for the peso (dollar). The valuations in the custom-house, in which the amounts of imports and exports are stated, are in Argentine gold, worth 96.5 United States money for the peso. Metric ton, used in the customs statistics.-2,204.62 pounds. Kilo.-2.2046 pounds. Liter.-1.0567 quarts, or 0.264 gallon. Hectoliter.-2.837 bushels, dry measure, or 26.417 gallons, liquid measure. Hectare of land.-2.47 acres. Square of land.-4.17 acres. League of land.-6,672 acres. Kilometer.-0.621 mile. Estancia.-A stock farm, generally very large, where breeding steers and wethers for market, and sometimes also breeding purebred animals for sale as breeding animals, are carried on. Estanciero.-The man who owns an estancia. Cabaña.-An establishment where breeding animals are raised for sale. Cabañero.-The man who owns a cabaña. Camp. The term generally applied to the country, the rural part, derived, no doubt, from the Spanish word "campo," meaning the country. People in town say "I am going to the camp," instead of saying "I am going to the country." Inside camp.―The better and more cultivated and favorably situated land and pastures; usually applied to the better portions of the province of Buenos Aires. Outside camp.-The more distant, less fertile, dryer and less valuable part of the grazing country. Mestizo.-Graded animals-partly pure-blooded, of any sort. Novillos.-Steers. Embarcadero.-The yards and sheds in the port of Buenos Aires where imported animals are received and where export animals are inspected and dispatched on board ship. Frigorifico.-Frozen-meat establishment. Lecheria.-Either a milk depot in the city for the sale of milk at retail or the establishment of a milk dealer in the country. Puchero.-The national dish, especially for the poorer classes. It consists generally of beef, potatoes, and whatever other vegetables may be had. It is all boiled together in one dish and is served in the same manner, requiring few dishes. Some kind of squash is a favorite addition and sometimes chicken is added or substituted for beef. Occasionally a little pork is put in. If good meat is used and it is well cooked and not too much water used, it is very palatable and nourishing. The better families make it with chicken, well flavored, and the chicken and vegetables are served separately. Chacarero.-A farmer-a man who tills the land and raises a crop on a chacra, or farm. THE ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. By FRANK W. BICKNELL, Special Agent and Agricultural Explorer. INTRODUCTION. The Argentine Republic is not to be studied hastily if reliable information is expected. Many mistaken ideas of the country have been promulgated by those who have spoken or written from imperfect knowledge or from hasty surface observations. It is difficult to obtain complete or accurate information regarding any resource or industry. Neither Government officials nor the people engaged in any kind of business have collected and published complete and exact reports concerning what is being done or may be done in the country. One can never be sure to what extent statistics have been "estimated,” and the operation of comparing and analyzing a part of these reports is likely to reveal flaws that raise doubts as to the reliability of the whole. So the independent investigator, desiring to prove all things--to take nothing for granted and to state nothing of which he is himself in doubt must get as many facts, estimates, and opinions as possible, and then, adding his own observations and knowledge, be prepared to judge of the value of what he has heard and read and to form his own conclusions. This is the policy which was adopted by the writer in his investigations in Argentina during parts of the years 1902 and 1903-something over a year altogether. This brief account of some phases of the live-stock industry in the great, rich Republic of the south is conservative rather than enthusiastic, and the statements made herein have been carefully verified. The first object of this inquiry was to determine whether or not the breeders of pure-blooded stock in the United States could sell animals in Argentina. That question may be answered positively in the affirmative, providing the conditions here set forth are studied and observed and only first-class animals are sent to the Argentine sales. If some good Shorthorn bulls and cows could arrive in Buenos Aires from about the 1st to the 20th of August, so they could pass the required forty days in quarantine and be ready to be shown at the time of the great annual stock show and sales in the latter part of September and the first of October, there is little doubt that the returns would be quite satisfactory to those who sent them. Because this country is a long distance from the United States and the people strange to us, we should not be frightened and hesitate to reach out for a business that is so simple and that has earned such handsome profits for others. There is nothing to fear in taking stock to Argentina to sell if the animals are right. They should without fail be tested for tuberculosis before leaving home, for they will be subjected to the tuberculin test there at the end of the forty days' quarantine, and, if they react, showing that they have the disease, they will have to be slaughtered or removed from the country immediately. The English breeders who send animals to Argentina do not generally do this. Our Government certificate showing freedom from tuberculosis would therefore add to the value of the animals. There is no prejudice against any North American in Argentina that is worth taking into consideration in any business enterprise. Any man from the United States who has something to sell that pleases the people there will be well received, and he has as good a chance to sell it as any other man from any other country, providing that he knows the conditions as well as the other man and conforms to them. These things he must learn. To sell breeding stock he will have no trouble if the animals are the right sort, for good breeding stock is keenly sought after, and the supply is inadequate. The Argentines would be very glad to see us enter more into competition with the English and others in respect of their trade, and we may do so very profitably and safely if we study the conditions and observe them in what we do. The writer met with a very cordial reception among Argentines, and has to acknowledge many courtesies. He found them, as well as the English farmers and stock raisers, who are very strong there, always willing to give information. They show a lively interest in us and admiration for our development. THE ARGENTINE RURAL SOCIETY. The first Argentine Rural Society (Sociedad Rural Argentino), the progenitor of the present organization bearing that name, had its origin in 1857. The prime mover in putting the idea into effect has told the writer the story of the inception and development of this, probably the most important, organization in Argentina. Like many other good things in Argentina, it had its inception in England. Don Eduardo Olivera, then a student in London, attending the lectures of John Nesbit on agricultural chemistry, noticed in a Buenos Aires newspaper an article by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, afterwards President of the Republic and also the man who introduced the North American teachers to Argentina, commending a letter the young |