NUMBER OF SHEEP AND QUANTITY OF WOOL PRODUCT IN THE ARGENTINE RepubLIC, 1857 TO 1887. The Argentine Republic levies an export duty on wool of 4 per cent ad valorem, reestablished in January, 1891, for revenue purposes. H. Mis. 94-42 657 OFFICIAL RETURN OF EXPORTS OF WOOL AND SHEEPSKINS. (a) b It is estimated that in unwashed sheepskins the wool is 80 per cent of the weight. It will thus be seen that the increase in the shipments, if it can be called an increase, is not of sufficient importance to be entitled to consideration. If there is, likewise, some increase in the official value of the wool, it is only an apparent increase, owing to the fact that it is now stated in Argentine currency instead of gold. WOOL EXPORTS.-The following table shows the countries to which the sheepskins and wool clip of 1888 were shipped: It will be borne in mind that this wool was all shipped in the dirt-one-third being wool and two-thirds of it being dirt; so that, when figured down to hardpan, the product of the Argentine Republic for 1888, with its 70,000,000 of sheep, was only 98,807,505 pounds of washed wool, a much smaller amount than this country has hitherto been receiving credit for. Indeed, as a wool-producing country, these figures place the Argentine Republic below the United States; since, according to our census of 1880, our product of washed wool from 40,000,000 of sheep was 155,681,951 pounds. In other words, while the Argentine sheep yield an average of 14 pounds of clear wool to the fleece, those of the United States yield almost 4 pounds to the fleece. The wool shipped to the United States, as given in the foregoing table, was exclusively the Cordova carpet wool, it being the only class that it is possible to send to our market at a profit under our present tariff laws.-U. S. Consul E. L. Baker, December 22, 1889. WOOL INDUSTRY. For many years to come, the leading industry of the Argentine Republic must continue to be the raising of sheep and the production of wool. The history of sheepfarming dates back to 1550, when the Merinos were introduced from Spain; but it received no attention whatever from the early settlers of the country. Even as late as 1840 sheep were of no value in a commercial point of view. They were allowed the run of the pampas as a cheap, but not a desirable, article of food. The wool was not worth the expense of carting it to town, and it was often used for litter. The first great impulse was given to the industry about thirty-five years ago, when a few Scotch and Irish sheep-farmers, seeing the wonderful possibilities which the Argentine Republic possessed for growing sheep, began to improve the stock by the importation of the finer Negretti and Ram breed. In 1852 the number of sheep in the entire Republic was 5,500,000; but with the refinement of the wool a foreign market sprang up, and in 1860 the number had increased to 14,000,000. Then followed our civil war, which caused an unprecedented demand for foreign wools and sent the price up to fabulous figures. Everybody |