Слике страница
PDF
ePub

the same district ask for the guarantee, the wants and particular circumstances of the district will be taken into account, in order to make the privilege as extensive as possible. When an application is granted, the petitioners must deposit the sum of $5,000 in the national bank, as an evidence of good faith on their part. All establishments must present a quarterly account of operations, and a board of inspection is appointed to supervise them. Most of the establishments which export frozen meat have availed themselves of the provisions of this law.

[ocr errors]

Chapter VIII.

AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY, EXPORTS OF CEREALS, VALUE OF LAND, ETC.

The agricultural industry is of recent growth in the Argentine Republic, which, up to the year 1870, imported nearly all the flour it needed from Chile. During the Paraguayan war, the Argentine

ners found a good market for their products, and when the war was over, it was discovered that the supply was sufficient to satisfy the demand of the whole region of the River Plate. This condition of affairs lasted for about ten years, at the end of which time the country began to export considerable quantities of cereals to Europe, till in 1891, the exports of wheat amounted to 448,000 tons, those of maize to 700,000 tons, those of linseed to 40,000 tons, and those of hay to 30,000 tons. Nine years before, in 1878, the total exportation of wheat, flour, maize, barley, linseed, potatoes, and lucerne was only 14,130,314 pounds. Comparing the figures of 1878 and 1891, the great increase in the exportation of cereals in so short a time is plainly shown.

In 1892, there were under cultivation 8,200,000 acres of land which is only 3.7 per cent of the total area of the Republic. Remembering that the area of the small Province of Tucuman alone is 10,000 square miles, an idea can be formed of the vast amount of fertile land that was then, and to a great extent is yet, available for agricultural pursuits.

It has already been seen that in all the Provinces and national territories, more or less land is under cultivation, showing that

[graphic][merged small][ocr errors][subsumed]

everywhere the people take a lively interest in fostering this important industry.

The date of sewing the seed and securing the harvest varies in the different Provinces and territories, owing to the variation of their climates, brought about by their geographical situation and physical configuration. In the most noted agricultural ProvincesBuenos Aires, Entre Rios, and Santa Fé-the wheat, barley, and oats are sown from May to July, the maize from September to November, the lucerne in April, May, September, and October. The wheat, oat, and barley crops are harvested in December and January, the maize crop in February and April, and the lucerne crop from November to April.

The time of planting the sugar cane, which is grown in Santiago, Tucuman, Salta, Jujuy, and the territorial governments of El Chaco, Formosa, and Misiones, is from July to October, and of the harvesting, from June to October of the following year. Rice is sown in September and October, and is gathered from March to May. The mandioca is sown in June, and gathered in April and May.

The soil, which has not yet lost much of its natural phosphates, generally yields abundant crops, especially if the rains have neither been scarce nor excessive.

The following figures show the average yield of the soil per acre:

[blocks in formation]

The following figures show the average prices in 1888, in the

city of Buenos Aires, at which some agricultural products were sold:

[blocks in formation]
« ПретходнаНастави »