CHAPTER V
AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES
Sugar-cane—Area of plantations—Statistics of production—Legislation affecting sugar—Consumption.
Vines—Area of vineyards planted—Production, consumption—Imperfect quality—Competition of foreign imports.
Tobacco—Area of plantations—Value of the product—Defective preparation.
The Mulberry—The culture of the silk-worm might be established in the Argentine, but at present exists only in an experimental condition.
Maté—Large consumption of this product.—Statistics of foreign importation—Districts suitable for its growth.
Cotton—Physical conditions proper to its growth—The first favourable results in the Argentine—Its introduction into Chaco—Lack of manual labour for the development of this industry.
Rubber—Existence of rubber plants in the Argentine—An unexploited source of wealth.
Arboriculture—On account of the diversity of the climate, all fruit-trees can be grown in the Argentine—The various fruits cultivated in different regions—Amelioration of the products. The trade in fruit—Its development possible on account of the inversion of seasons as compared with Europe—Refrigeration applied to the transport of fruit—Regions particularly suitable for fruit-growing.
Besides the culture of cereals, such as wheat and maize and linseed, and the important grazing and cattle-breeding industries of the Argentine, together with their dependent industries, there are other forms of agriculture and forms of natural produce, some of which have already attained a great importance, while others are destined to become equally important in the near future; that is, if the progress of evolution in the Argentine follows, as there is reason to hope, its natural upward course.
Sugar-cane.—Among the agricultural industries the culture of the sugar-cane assumes the first rank. The cane is cultivated principally in the Province of Tucuman, in which Province are established the greater number of the sugar factories existing in the Republic. The cane is also
planted, and flourishes, in portions of the Provinces of Santiago, Salta, and Jujuy; in the north of Santa Fé, in Corrientès, and in the Territories of Formosa, Chaco, and Misionès.
Sugar-planting is an industry of considerable antiquity in the Argentine; but it has attained a remarkable development chiefly in the last ten years, owing to the high price of sugar and the establishment of numerous factories equipped with perfected machinery; owing also to the notable profits which the industry offers.
The result has been an excess of production, which led the industry into a dangerous crisis, from which it is now in a fair way to recover. Those who suffered the most were those who had abused their credit by building expensive factories and laying down costly plant; and those who had planted sugar in soils unsuited to its culture, or in regions of unfavourable climate, or where the means of transport were insufficient.
The total area cultivated in 1907 was estimated at about 172,900 acres, of which 14,029 were in the Province of Tucuman; 11,115 in Southern Chaco; 6916 in Salta; 3952 in Jujuy, and 2717 in Santiago de l’Estero; the rest being divided among various other regions of the Republic; these figures representing an increase of nearly 24,000 acres over those of 1895. These 172,900 acres of cane give an average yield of 30 tons of sugar per hectare, or 11·727 tons per acre, representing a total yield of 132,160 tons of sugar.
The greatest number of sugar refineries are to be found in the Province of Tucuman, where there are thirty-two. In the other sugar-growing districts there are only thirteen, which are distributed as follows: Three in Jujuy, two in Santiago de l’Estero, one in Salta, one in Misionès, six on the banks of the Parana River, two in Santa Fé, two in Corrientès, one in Chaco, and one in Formosa.
The net cost of producing the cane, ready for delivery, is about 5 to 7 centavos[64] per 10 kilograms. Taking as
basis a yield of 30,000 kilograms per hectare and a sale price of 12 centavos, the growers would make a net profit of 140 piastres per hectare; or, with the value of the piastre note at 2·2 francs, of £4, 2s. 6d. per acre. Thus sugar-planting is a profitable industry under normal conditions.
[64] The centavo is 1⁄100 or ·01 of the piastre. In metallic currency it is equal to the American cent, and nearly to the English halfpenny; in paper it is worth a little over one-fifth of a penny—·22727 pence.
The outgoings and receipts on an acre of soil planted with cane may be estimated as follows:—
| Receipts. | ||||
| By sale of 12 tons of cane, at 12·8d. per cwt. | £12 | 16 | 0 | |
| Expenses. | ||||
| Cost of Planting— | ||||
| Tilling and preparing soil | £0 | 9 | 11 | |
| Lining out and fixing shoots | 0 | 16 | 4 | |
| Shoots, preparation, etc. | 0 | 12 | 9 | |
| Cost of Harvesting— | ||||
| Cutting 12 tons of cane | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| Preparing the cane | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| Transport to factory and extras | 2 | 13 | 5 | |
| Interest on the land, or rent, taxes, and redemption | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| ———— | ||||
| £7 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 12 | 16 | 0 | ||
| ———— | ||||
| Net profit | £5 | 14 | 0 | |
| ———— | ||||
With an increased consumption of sugar, the culture of the cane will occupy a far greater area of the belt in which it is already established. It is, however, limited by the interests of the manufacturers themselves, who limit production in order to keep up the price of sugar, and so obtain higher profits; sugar of native preparation being protected by laws which strike at the importation of foreign sugar.[65]
[65] This is an interesting object-lesson in the working of a tariff. Foreign competition once abolished by the increased prices of foreign articles, the native manufacturer will always minimise, and even destroy, the protection afforded by the tariff, by increasing his own prices. If he cannot do so naturally he will do so by lessening his output; with the result that sooner or later the tariff will actually increase foreign imports and still further limit home production. Obviously the only circumstance under which it can permanently profit even the manufacturers is this: a tariff so high as to make importation ruinous; when the home producer will raise his prices until they are just below the line of unprofitable inflation; which, from the context, would seem to be the case in the Argentine. The consumer must suffer, and usually the employé.—[Trans.]
In 1907 2,498,000 lb. of foreign refined sugar were imported, their value being £181,755; but on the other hand 140,370 lb. were exported during the same year.
It is to be hoped that the price of sugar will not fall too low, as this might bring about the ruin of an industry which is worth encouraging and preserving: but it is essential, on the other hand, to oppose an excessive inflation, which would diminish the consumption of this valuable alimentary product, and would force the consumer to pay the exaggerated profits of a small number of manufacturers and planters. This is the inherent peril of excessive protection.
The law of 23rd January 1904 and the regulation of 25th October of the same year have provided for this condition. One must not forget that all commerce is conditioned by the law of supply and demand, and that to avoid overloading the market with produce, production must be limited, according to circumstances, and in proportion to actual requirements; and beyond the limit of absorption the productive energies of the country must be diverted to other cultures or industries, more remunerative and more certain as to results.[66]
[66] See the important work entitled La Culture des Plantes Industrielles dans la République Argentine, by Carlos D. Girola, published in the Recensement de l’agriculture et de l’élevage de la Nation, Vol. 1. 1908, from which these data are extracted.
Of all the sugar sold in the Argentine, only part is refined; there is at present only one refinery[67] in the country; namely, the “Refineria Argentina” of Rosario. The greater proportion of Argentine sugar is delivered to the consumer in the form of “moist” or brown sugar, which is graded according to its colour and the care taken in its manufacture.
[67] The thirty-two factories hitherto referred to would presumably be crushing-mills, where cane is crushed, the juice evaporated into syrup or molasses and in some cases dried, the product being “raw” sugar.—[Trans.]
There are in several districts, and especially in the neighbourhood of Misionès, rudimentary factories where an impure sugar known as “rapadura” is prepared, which is sold in cubes or tablets. We have no precise data as to the production of the various grades of sugar.
During the last twelve years the manufacture of sugar
has been greatly improved, as a consequence of the crisis through which the industry passed, which demonstrated the necessity of perfecting the methods of preparing and refining the “sap,” etc. To-day a yield is obtained of 71⁄2, 81⁄2, and even 9 per cent. of sugar.
The capital sunk in the sugar industry in the Province of Tucuman amounts in round figures to £4,136,000, and is distributed as follows: Land, £1,232,000; plantations, £440,000; machinery, £1,496,000; buildings £968,000.
It will be as well to give some retrospective data here, which will show how far the production of sugar has developed during the last few years. In another chapter we shall deal with the production of sugar from the industrial point of view.
Thus, in 1884 the harvest was 24,000 tons; in 1894, 75,000 tons; and in 1895 it amounted to 109,000 tons, or an increase of 352 per cent. in eleven years. In 1904 the yield was 134,000, or an increase of 360 per cent. over that of 1884. In 1905 it was 137,000 tons; in 1906, 180,000; in 1907, 113,000.
We have stated that the Argentine Republic underwent a crisis in the matter of sugar, on account of excessive production; and that like other sugar-producing nations she has had to facilitate the export of the surplus by granting a bounty to exportation.
This premium or bounty was conceded in the following manner: a law of 1894 forced the producer to pay 6 centavos per kilogram, or ·576d. per lb. on manufactured sugar; but offered him a bounty of 16 centavos per kilogram—1·536d. per pound—on all sugar exported under certain conditions.
This law ceased to be in force on the 31st of December 1904; but was replaced by another, of the 1st of January 1905, by which the manufacturer who did not export 25 per cent. of the sugar he produced paid 15 centavos per kilogram—or 1·44d. per lb.—on a quarter of his produce, or on the proportion which he did not export.
These two laws contain a radical difference. By the first, the State received 6 centavos per kilogram upon all sugar manufactured, of which it restored 4 centavos for each kilogram delivered for consumption, and then restored 16 centavos for each kilogram exported; thus keeping to a
minimum tax of 2 centavos on sugar delivered for consumption. By the second law the State received nothing on sugar leaving the factory, as the producer confined himself to giving an undertaking for the value of 15 centavos per kilogram on a quarter of his manufactures, which undertaking was returned to him if he exported a quarter of his produce; so that in case he did export his produce the State gained absolutely nothing. But according to a resolution on the part of the Government, passed in April 1905, the tax of 15 per cent. was suppressed, together with the obligation of exporting a certain percentage of the sugar made. The sugar industry thereupon entered upon a new period of absolute liberty, and at the same time was deprived of official protection. In this matter the Argentine Republic acted in accordance with the international agreement of Brussels, which suppressed the sugar bounty.
The consumption of sugar during the eight years 1897-1904 was 780,000 tons, or 97,000 tons per annum. This consumption has not actually been uniform; for instance, in 1897, about 80,000 tons were consumed; while in 1904, 1905, 1906 and 1907, the figures were respectively about 115,000, 162,000, 127,000, and 109,000 tons.
Vines.—Another important branch of agriculture in the Argentine is viticulture, which is more especially utilised in the Provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. To give some idea of the development of this branch of agriculture we may state that in 1885 80,376 acres were planted with vines, while to-day the figure is over 139,000. Of this total 74,620 acres are in Mendoza and 30,580 in San Juan. The different species of grape are selected from the best to be found in cultivation in France and other vine-growing countries.
The vineyards have been laid out under favourable conditions, yet their product leaves something to be desired. Moreover, bad wines have often been put on the markets, sour wines, and wines adulterated with water, which have discredited the native wines, and have led many to doubt whether the Argentine wine industry can ever really take root.
The factor which has chiefly contributed to this disastrous result is the lack of capital from which the industry suffers;
the result being that the processes of fermentation and maturing are not given sufficient time.
Pressed by their liabilities, the Argentine vine-growers hurry over their wine-making, so as to put their wares on the market as quickly as possible, in order to meet their engagements. The general result, apart from exceptions as honourable as few in number, is that the industry produces decoctions of a kind, but not wines.
Despite these unfortunate conditions the consumption of the wines of the country has reached a very considerable figure, which fact has greatly contributed, thanks to very heavy customs duties, to the exclusion of foreign wines. In 1899, to go back no further, the total consumption of wine in the Republic was 322,431,166 pints, of which 237,600,000 pints were of wines of the country, and 84,800,000 of foreign wines (not including those imported in bottles). In 1900 304,440,000 pints were consumed; 221,760,000 of native wines and 82,680,000 of foreign wines. In 1901, out of 327,360,000 pints, 242,880,000 were of native and 84,480,000 of foreign wines; in 1904, of a consumption of 373,120,000 pints, 307,000,000 were of native and 66,120,000 of foreign wines.
In 1907 the total consumption of wines in the entire Republic, according to the office of National Statistics and Administration of Inland Revenue, amounted to 638,843,680 pints, of which 558,096,000 were of native production and 100,747,680 were imported.
The production of native wines is limited, as we have seen, to wines for general consumption. The finer varieties are imported.
The consumption of wines of quality in 1907 reveals a considerable increase since the previous year; which is yet another proof in support of the many to be found in this book of the excellent economic and therefore gastronomic conditions of the country. The large and profitable results of the harvests enable the people to place fine wines upon their tables.
The customs, which are always a faithful barometer of the degree of well-being which a people enjoys, afford us a proof of what we have affirmed. In 1907 there passed through the customs houses, coming from abroad, 59,520 dozens
of bottles of champagne, 1988 dozens of sherry, plus 31,438 pints in the wood; 6925 dozens of port, plus 113,843 pints in the wood; 516,520 dozens of vermouth; 27,624 dozens of semi-fine wines; 1249 dozens of French clarets, and 8111 dozens of sparkling wines. The vins ordinaire imported represented a total of 100,748,680 pints.
As we have already seen, the area of the vineyards in existence at the end of 1907 was of 139,132,630 acres, their value being £18,400,000. As for their yield, it amounted to 1,121,523,300 lbs. of grapes, or more than 518,000 tons, with an estimated value of £3,680,000.
There are, in the Argentine Republic, 3097 establishments devoted to the exploitation of the vineyards and the making of wine, disposing of a total capital of some £4,320,000. Their products amount to 66,762,000 gallons of wine, representing a value of £4,720,000.
If we compare the production of the Argentine with that of the principal nations of the two Americas, we obtain, for the year 1907, the following table:—
| Argentine Republic | 556,096,000 | pints |
| Chili | 475,200,000 | ” |
| United States | 281,160,000 | ” |
| Brazil | 56,320,000 | ” |
| Peru | 17,248,000 | ” |
| Uruguay | 16,192,000 | ” |
| Bolivia | 5,576,000 | ” |
| Mexico | 3,168,000 | ” |
The Argentine wine industry, in which millions have been engaged, is, as we see, on the road of progress. It has to-day accomplished a rapid and a very considerable development, which might well, in the near future, eliminate the imported product from the market, at least in the case of wines for ordinary consumption.
Like the sugar industry, the wine-growing industry has gone through its crisis. On the one hand the abuse made of credit in establishing warehouses, cellars, and costly plant, and on the other defective methods of manufacture which brought the product into discredit, produced a deep-rooted depression, from which the industry has hardly yet emerged. It cannot look to the future until it perfects its means of
preparation, working out its brands with the aid of time and patience.
This industry, says an eminent writer, gives work to more than 100,000 inhabitants, and represents, as a matter of national wealth, a value in vineyards and factories of some £19,000,000; it produces annually £4,840,000 worth of merchandise, contributes £6,950,000 to the general trade, and surpasses in importance, both in the capital employed and in its products, the sugar industry of the country, which in 1907 manufactured sugar only to the value of £2,772,000.[68]
[68] See l’Industrie viti-vinicole de la République Argentine, by Ricardo Palencia, an essay published in the Recensement de l’agriculture et de l’élevage de la Nation. Vol. I. Buenos Ayres.
Tobacco.—For a long time the tobacco-plant has been cultivated in the Argentine; for we find, in various zones, conditions very favourable to its production; but its culture has by no means as yet acquired the importance of which it is capable, and is very far from satisfying the needs of national consumption.
The exports are insignificant: 37,983 lb. in 1906, and 16,612 lb. in 1907, of the respective values of £539 and £226. The lack of care brought to the cultivation of the plant and to the preparation of the leaf, together with incomplete experience from the industrial point of view, have contributed to check the increase of plantations, which ought to occupy a far larger area than they do.
Tobacco is grown chiefly in the northern region composed of the Provinces of Corrientès, Salta, and Tucuman; it is also grown to a less extent in the Provinces and Territories of Misionès, Formosa, Chaco, Catamarca, La Rioja, and Jujuy. It may be grown equally well in the central region composed of the Provinces of Buenos Ayres, Entre Rios, Santa Fé, and Córdoba; and even further south. There were formerly, and are still, tobacco plantations in the Province of Buenos Ayres, which appeared to promise a fair future for tobacco-planting; but all is as yet in a rudimentary condition, and the industry makes no appreciable progress.
The areas planted with tobacco in 1895 and 1907 were as follows:—
| 1895. | 1907. | ||
| Acres. | Acres. | ||
| Province of Corrientès | 16,287 | 27,910 | |
| Province of Salta | 2,277 | 8,645 | |
| Province of Tucuman | 6,880 | 7,410 | |
| Territory of Misionès | 5,705 | 1,976 | |
| Territory of Formosa and Chaco (South) | 1,294 | 1,235 | |
| Province of Córdoba | 3,348 | 1,729 | |
| Other Provinces— | |||
| Buenos Ayres, Santa Fé, Catamarca | 3,631 | 2,470 | |
| ——— | ——— | ||
| Totals | 39,422 | 51,375 | |
| ——— | ——— | ||
The agricultural census of 1895 affirmed the existence of 3348 acres of tobacco in Córdoba, while the Bulletin of the Division of Statistics at the Ministry of Agriculture announced only 1729 acres; in short, everything leads to the conclusion that we have to deal either with gross blunders or with erroneous information. As it has not been practicable for us to verify these figures we must suppose that in 1895 there was not so large an area planted as the figures would lead us to believe.[69]
[69] See La Culture des Plantes industrielles dans la République Argentine, by Carlos D. Girola.
The Mulberry.—The culture of the mulberry-tree should perhaps be included in that of industrial crops, since its leaves are the food of the silkworm.
From the time of the Spanish Conquest, says Carlos Girola, the engineer, our competent guide in the matter of industrial crops, the silkworm was raised in the Province of Cuyo, and silk was woven there on the hand-loom; but, on account of the facilities of transport, imported silks brought such a competition to bear upon the hand-made native article that the silkworm industry gradually dwindled and finally became extinct.
Numerous experiments have of late years proved that the silkworm can be raised over a great part of the country; and that it has the best chances of development where the population is densest, labour most abundant, and the houses of the workers largest and most comfortable, as in the Provinces of Buenos Ayres (North) and Santa Fé, and in parts
of Entre Rios and Córdoba. So far, however, there is no demand for the native cocoons, and it is so difficult to place them that at present one cannot recommend the silkworm industry except as an experiment or a speculation.
The mulberry-tree grows and flourishes excellently on the greater portion of the Argentine soil, and especially in the central and northern districts, where it springs up quickly and vigorously. It is greatly to be desired that it should be more widely cultivated, and that its wider cultivation should go hand in hand with the development of the sericultural industry, which in some countries constitutes one of the principal sources of wealth.
The mulberry also furnishes an excellent wood, and its leaves may be used to feed cattle as well as silkworms. Instead of planting trees which are of no industrial use, the mulberry should be given the place of preference.
Yerba Maté.—The “yerba maté,” or maté shrub, is met with in the woods of Misionès, where it grows in irregular clumps of varying extent. It has been known since the time of the Jesuits, who were the first to plant and cultivate it, as is proved by the plantations which to this day exist in the territory of the Argentine Missions (Misionès). With the leaf of this plant infusions are made, as with tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. The matheine contained in the leaves is possessed of properties at once tonic and stimulating.
The infusion of “yerba maté” is usually made in a receptacle shaped like a pear with an orifice at the smaller end;[70] it is imbibed by means of a silver tube having at one end a bulb pierced with holes, which performs the office of a strainer, and is known as the bombilla. This method of preparation and of use is now tending to disappear; and maté is now often prepared in the same way as coffee, the result being a very refreshing drink, very valuable in the country districts for the refreshment of travellers. Statistics prove that the consumption of maté is continually increasing; and as the national production is insufficient, recourse is had
to importation from Brazil and Paraguay. The amount of these imports for 1907 was as follows:—
[70] Usually a gourd is used, of either spherical, ovoid, or pear-like shape, with one end sliced off; it is commonly polished and carved, often by Gauchos or Indians. Each drinker has his own gourd and bombilla, the latter being necessitated by the use of the leaf in the form of a powder.—[Trans.]
| Pounds. | Value. | |
| Maté imported from Brazil | 100,189,162 | £1,000,364 |
| Maté imported from Paraguay | 6,654,276 | 61,182 |
| —————— | —————— | |
| Total of imported maté | 106,843,438 | £1,061,546 |
| ————— | ————— | |
| Importation in 1906 | £970,154. | |
We have no information respecting the national production of maté, but we have every reason to suppose that it does not exceed 11,000,000 lb.; that is, between a ninth and a tenth of the quantity consumed. There is thus a vast field of development for this branch of agriculture, especially in the Territory of Misionès, which offers all the conditions favourable to the culture of the plant.[71]
[71] See La Culture des Plantes industrielles dans la République Argentine, by Carlos Girola.
Encouraged by these figures, and by the desire to replace the forests of ilex, destroyed by improvident exploitation, attempts have been made to develop the culture of maté; and the first results appear to augur well for the future of this undertaking.
M. Thays, Director of the Parks and Promenades of Buenos Ayres, to whom we owe the floral and arboreal embellishment of the Argentine metropolis, was the first to overcome the obstacles to the artificial culture of the maté shrubs from the seed.
The development of the plant is fairly rapid; the plucking of the leaves may be commenced at the end of six years, and sometimes earlier: the treatment necessary for its cultivation is very much that demanded by ordinary orchard trees. Its longevity is great, and so far it is not known to be subject to any disease.
The cultivation of maté may spread beyond the Territory of Misionès, into the favourable soil of Corrientès, Chaco, and Formosa; possibly into other parts of the northern and central regions; and it may give way to a more intensive culture. M. Thays has obtained specimens of maté from seed in the Botanical Garden of Buenos Ayres, where he has grown it in the open air.
Cotton.—Of the various territories of the Argentine, none lend themselves so well as Chaco, Formosa, and Misionès to the cultivation of the cotton-plant; not only by reason of their climatic conditions, but also on account of the composition of their soil.
The cotton-plant is indigenous to the islands and sea-coasts of the Tropics, and its geographical limits of cultivation, on either side of the Equator, run to 40° of latitude in the north, and in the south to about 30°, but never as far south as 35° or 40°, in spite of the probable suitability of those latitudes.
The plant hardly suffers from the greatest heats of a tropical summer, while very cold weather interrupts its organic functions. It requires a hot, moist atmosphere for its development, but the moisture must not be excessive, or the plant will grow too rapidly.
It is doubtless thanks to these natural conditions that cotton-planting attained to a certain degree of development in the Territories of Chaco, Formosa, and Misionès as soon as the tillers of the soil became aware of its profitable nature.
The cultivation of this valuable textile is not, however, new to this country. It was grown long ago, chiefly in Misionès, during the administration of the Jesuit Fathers, who made from it cloth for their own use, and also for purposes of trade. But with the expulsion of the members of the celebrated Company of Jesus, and the resulting depopulation of the countryside, decadence overcame this branch of agriculture, and finally an almost total extinction, until to the people of the country it was no more than a memory.
Finally, in 1894, cotton was sown as an experiment in the Territory of Formosa; a few grains of the “Louisiana” and “Sea-Island” types, brought from the United States.
The results were excellent, and encouraged the sowing of larger areas. There are now, in the various colonies founded in Chaco, which grow practically nothing but cotton, some 13,600 acres under cotton. It may to-day be asserted, says an official report, that Chaco is in the van of the Republic in the production of cotton; by reason of the area under cultivation, the quantity of cotton picked at each
harvest, and the importance of its trade with the Buenos Ayres market.[72] In the short space of two years, from March 1902 to March 1904, the exports from Barranqueras, the port of this region, amounted to 850,564 lb. of cotton and 286,831 lb. of cotton-seed. From this we may well augur, as the above-mentioned report asserts, that Chaco will become a great cotton-producing country, on condition that various refractory factors are eliminated.
[72] See the notable monograph entitled: Investigaciones algodoneras en los territorios del Chaco, Formosa y Misionès, año 1904, by the agronomical engineer, Fidel Macial Perez, upon whose data we have drawn for this book.
That the reader may form some idea of the future in store, during the economic development of the Argentine, for the cultivation and exploitation of cotton, he need only refer to the following calculation as to its results. The land in Chaco given over to cotton yields, in good years, an average crop per acre of 1785 lb. of cotton “in the pod”—that is, fibre and seed together. Selling the cotton at the very low price of ·96d. per lb.—and the present price of cotton runs to 1·16d., 1·44d., and 1·65d. per lb.—the minimum yield would be £7, 2s. per acre, even with prices as low as we have indicated. As for working expenses, they do not exceed £4, 5s. 6d. per acre, unless by some trifling sum, according to locality; so that the average profit would be about £2, 16s. per acre.
This is the cost of production of an acre planted with cotton during the first year. Later the expenses diminish by 25 per cent., so that the net profit might reach £3, 11s. 3d. per acre.
One of the great obstacles in the way of the full development of this industry is to be found in the lack of hands indispensable for the minute and delicate operations connected with gathering the crop. It has even happened, during the last few years, that in certain districts as much as 3s. 7d. per cwt. has been offered for selected cotton, and in others as much as a third of the results of the harvest. But we may be sure that when the native farmer and the foreign agriculturalist once awaken to the extraordinary profits which cotton yields, its production will assume a far larger scale.
As the growers have to deal with an industrial branch of agriculture in process of establishment it has not yet been possible to draw from it all the profit that is secured in other countries: cotton-seed, for example, in the United States especially, is a considerable source of wealth, but in the Argentine the growers have scarcely begun to utilise it by the extraction of its oil. But there is a beginning: several mills have lately been established for this purpose. The agronomic expert Macial has justly remarked that we only require spinning-mills and looms for the cycle of the cotton industry in Chaco to attain its completion.
Rubber.—Another source of forestal wealth in the Argentine, and one which is for the moment unexploited,—principally because of local depopulation and a lack of means of transport—is the extraction of the rubber contained in certain tropical plants.
Lately, for example, competent observers have discovered that the true rubber-plant, the Ficus elastica, exists in abundance in the north-east of the Republic, and in the Provinces of Salta and Jujuy, between 23° and 26° of south latitude, and 62° and 66° of west longitude. It is this tree which has given such value to the Brazilian territory of Acre and to various other regions of Brazil.
Various plants yield rubber: one species, of a family known as “lecherones,” grows in the darkest and dampest parts of the forest; others, called “heveas” in Brazil, are much thinner in the stem; and finally there is a third kind, the “liane” or rubber vine.
The first variety, that of the “lecherones,” gives a yield of 171⁄2 to 22 lbs. of gum per annum; there are forest lands containing as many as 50,000 plants to the square league—over 5000 to the square mile—while the poorest districts produce 2000 to the league. Considering the present high prices of rubber, we may obtain some idea of the great wealth of this region. The method of exploitation is easy and simple; the country is indubitably healthy, and with labourers paid at the rate of 3s. 7d. to 15s. 9d. a day a considerable profit would remain.
To-day men of initiative are busily seeking to exploit
this new source of forestal wealth, which ought in time to become another centre of attraction to men and to capital.
Arboriculture.—There is another kind of culture which is destined in the future, although at present it has only the smallest importance, to become an industry of considerable moment; the culture, namely, of orchard trees, of which we must mention the rapid progress. Given the immense area of Argentine territory, endowed with the most varied climates, from the snows of Tierra del Fuego to the semi-tropical heat of Corrientès and Jujuy; from the temperate warmth of the coast to the more relaxing temperatures of the mountains of Córdoba or the Andean frontier, and containing land at all altitudes above the level of the sea, it is not to be wondered at that all the fruit-bearing trees of the world can live and flourish in the Republic.
In the northern region, and especially in Corrientès, Tucuman, Salta, La Rioja, Catamarca, Jujuy, Formosa, Chaco, and Misionès, there are to-day groves of oranges, mandarins, lemons and limes of various kinds, figs, and pomegranates. At Tucuman and Salta “chirimoyos” and “paltas” are cultivated. Almonds, olives, Barbary figs, ananas or bread-fruit, bananas and “guayabos” may also be grown in this region; but unhappily the fruit-growing industry is at a standstill, on account of the lack of labour which is so great a difficulty in all departments of the industrial and economic life of the Argentine.
In the central region we also find the mandarin or tangerine (in the north of Entre Rios and Santa Fé), lemons (in Entre Rios, Santa Fé, and Buenos Ayres), the grape-vine, especially in Mendoza and San Juan, and also in La Rioja, Salta, Catamarca, Córdoba, Santa Fé, Entre Rios, and Buenos Ayres. Peaches, prunes, apricots, cherries, apples, pears, quinces, medlars, and figs are grown in all these districts, and chiefly in the Province of Buenos Ayres, and the islands of the delta of the Parana. In the same region we also find almonds, walnuts, hazel-nuts, and chestnuts, but grown on a small scale only. There is a fair production of lemons; and the olive grows well under favourable conditions.
In the southern region there is no fruit grown, except on a few estates in the Rio Negro and in the valley of Chubut. Yet peaches, apricots, prunes, cherries, apples, and pears will flourish in certain localities; while walnuts, filberts and chestnuts might be grown on an enormous scale on the Andean slopes, where the rains are more frequent and the atmosphere more humid.
Up to the present time, on account of the large profits made by those engaged in agriculture and stock-raising, and above all on account of the insufficiency of the population, which is the prime cause of which we have already spoken, the industry of fruit-farming has been practically ignored, and what little has been undertaken has followed no definite plan, such as the careful selection of stocks and slips and saplings, the preparation of the soil, and the efficient protection of the trees. But in spite of all, very satisfactory results have been obtained, which have revealed the fertility of the soil and the excellence of the climate.
But quite lately we have seen a remarkable development in this branch of agriculture, which seems to promise a fruit-growing industry comparable to that of other and more advanced countries than the Argentine. To-day, according to Girola,[73] more care is expended upon the planting and cultivation of the trees, as the growers have acquired the conviction that it is better to produce quality rather than quantity, and that fruit-growing demands, like other departments of agriculture, the careful selection of varieties at the time of planting; as well as incessant improvement by means of careful grafting, and the application of special procedures to the elimination of noxious insects, and the prevention of parasitic or other maladies.
[73] See the chapter Arbres Fruitiers in the Investigation agricole, by C. P. Girola, reproduced in the Annales de la Société Rurale Argentine for January-February 1905.
This being the case, it follows that the fruit-farmer is gradually acquiring rational methods, which will soon attest to their beneficent influence by transforming the old orchard-plantations, which were with reason described as forests of
fruit-trees, into gardens of carefully cultivated plants, yielding crops very greatly improved in the matter of quality and the beauty of the fruit. On the other hand, the sellers of fruit-trees have at the same time been learning more as to the qualities of different varieties, and how best to select them, in order to place on the market those which will secure the largest profits to the grower, and to propagate the most popular species.
The cultivation of fruit-trees is far from occupying its proper rank among Argentine industries. It is distributed in an irregular fashion; some kinds of fruit-trees abound in certain districts and are rare or unknown in others; and it is impossible for growers in the latter districts to obtain them at profitable rates, on account of the difficulty and scanty means of transport.
As for the fruit trade, it has hitherto been very limited, and confined almost exclusively to the sale of fresh fruit, as with the exception of the factory of the “Tiger Packing Company” and a few others, which prepare canned peaches, etc., in syrup, all growers of fruit for public consumption offer it for sale only in the fresh state.
Yet amid the feverish activity which characterises the present situation in the Argentine, the fruit trade receives a greater impulse each year; not only in the matter of home consumption, which has been popularised by the aid of such companies as the “Co-operative Fruticola,” which endeavours to supply the consumer with articles of the first quality at reasonable prices, but also in the matter of export to large foreign cities. The export of fresh fruit should soon form an important branch of commerce in the Argentine, as it does already in the United States and in other countries.
In the matter of a fresh-fruit trade with foreign countries the Argentine is particularly favoured by circumstances; for on account of her geographical position she is able to profit by the inversion of the seasons with regard to Europe; that is, by placing summer fruits on the European markets in the middle of the northern winter. Another advantage which the Argentine will enjoy on these markets is the fact that she has to reckon with no formidable competitors; for those countries that might dispute her place, such as
South Africa, which is situated in much the same latitude, or Chili, which grows a variety of good fruit, have not the abundant fertility of the Republic; or if they run her close in this respect, as is the case with Chili, they are separated from Europe by a greater distance, which considerably increases the price of transport.[74]
[74] And also of refrigeration; the fruit being “chilled,” that is, kept slightly above freezing point.—[Trans.]
Profiting by the admirable physical advantages of the country, once this trade has obtained the indispensable assistance of rapid and convenient steamers, with special holds or refrigerating chambers for the storage of large quantities of fresh fruit, we are certain that it will not have long to wait for profitable results.
Several years ago one of the authors of this book sent to Messrs Garcia, Jacobs & Company, of London, as a commercial sample, a batch of peaches preserved by chilling, and according to the testimony of these merchants the peaches of Buenos Ayres may well be the subject of a successful business, provided that fruit of the superior varieties be produced. Entering into detail, Messrs Garcia & Jacobs added that the best qualities sent had sold satisfactorily; they ended by stating that consignments reaching London in the months of March, April, and May should yield considerable profits.
After this experiment many others were made by various persons, until finally, thinking the moment had come for establishing the fruit trade on a solid and lasting basis, the Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company determined to fit their steamers with special “chilled” chambers or holds for the transport of fresh fruit.
The first consignments have not been completely satisfactory, as in this trade, which is now being undertaken on a very large scale, every one has a great deal to learn; from the producer, who plants the varieties of fruits which he thinks most suitable for export, the farm labourer, who gathers the fruit, and the man who packs it in special cases, down to the steamship company, which has to confide the care of the refrigerating plant and the holds to a competent technician, whose duty it is to maintain a constant
temperature, appropriate to each species of fruit. But even under these still imperfect conditions the progress achieved has been very remarkable, and justifies our assertion that a large export trade in fresh fruit is perfectly practicable.
The exhibitions of fruit which the Government of the Republic organises annually, with much practical good sense, have greatly helped to attract attention to the fruit-growing industry, and at the same time to stimulate competition and improvement. These exhibitions have been a veritable revelation to everybody, for very few people suspected that the Argentine produced so great a variety of the best species of fruit-bearing trees; or that she could rival other countries in the matter of production.
The fresh-fruit trade is not, in the Argentine, as it is in the United States, favoured by the existence of refrigerator cars, placed at the disposal of the producers by the railway companies, and capable of transporting enormous quantities of fruit from one end of the country to the other. But this innovation, like so many others demanded by industry and commerce, will come in time, when the population has increased, and new markets will be permanently opened to the producer. At the present time such fruits as are intended for home consumption, like those selected for exportation, have not far to travel before reaching their destination, as they are usually grown near Buenos Ayres; particularly the peach, which is the fruit most in demand on account of its superior quality.
Although the entire Argentine territory lends itself admirably to the production of fruit, there are particular districts which by nature are especially fitted for the plantation of fruit-trees. Among such districts we may cite the islands which form the delta of the Parana, which are covered with an extremely rich soil and magnificent growths, and are irrigated during certain seasons of the year by the waters of the river, which deposit on them a richly nutritious silt, like that which the famous waters of the Nile leave upon its Egyptian banks. There flourish a great variety of fruit-trees, from peach and apricot, pear and apple, fig and quince, down to the “diospiro kaki,” and many other species.
Another region which has commenced to attract attention
by reason of its magnificent fruits is that of the Rio Colorado; it will one day be as famous for its peaches and apricots as California is to-day. At a short distance from Buenos Ayres is another favoured district, producing in especial magnificent peaches; it is that of the village of Dolores, in the Province of Buenos Ayres, whose exquisite fruits figure on the best tables of London and other European capitals.
As we see from these data, fruit-farming is making rapid progress in the Argentine: it may succeed in time in capturing not only the home markets, but also the most important foreign markets.
As for the preparation of fresh fruit in syrup, as well as the manufacture of dried fruits, both of them industries well developed in the United States, they still exist in the Argentine only in a rudimentary condition; but in view of the rapid progress achieved each year in the Argentine, in this as in other industries, we may hope that they will soon develop and establish themselves securely.