Agriculture.
The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is an essentially pastoral country.
Its fields, covered with good and nutritive grass, are nearly all of them divided into estancias for cattle breeding, that, to the present time, is the principal source of riches of the country.
Agriculture, however, has already reached a high degree of importance in the departments of Montevideo, Canelones, Colonia, San Jose, Soriano, Paysandu, Salto, Florida, Durazno, Maldonado. It is not quite so important in the other departments as in the three first ones. However, in the environs of the villages and centres of population, there are great many farms and agricultural centres that produce cereals and vegetables for local consumption. The exceeding crop, in the prosperous years, is immediately sent to the principal commercia centres of the Republic, which allows the export of corn, flour, wheat, canary-seed, flax, trefoil, barley, etc.
Although the Republic counts with a fertile soil, and finds itself in the very best conditions for any kind of agricultural industry, agriculture, however, remains still in a secondary degree, in spite of its late improvements, and in spite of the large extension of land which began last year to be cultivated.
However, after all the necessities of the country have been satisfied there generally remains an important surplus of agricultural and rural products, when the crop is good, that may be calculated over $1,200,000.00.
The wheat grown in Uruguay is reputed to be the best in all South America, and effectively got the gold medal in the Universal Paris Exhibition in the year 1878.
In this country one fanega of wheat (the fanega is equivalent to 105 or 113 kilogs more or less) produces sometimes from 20 to 30 fanegas; one of maize produces from 150 to 200, one of barley from 18 to 30.
Besides wheat and maize, the sowing of which is most important, the grape vine, the olive, tobacco, flax, canary-seed, hemp, chick-pea, beans of all kinds, potatoes, (two crops a year,) peas, lentils, Spanish potatoes, beet-roots, etc., etc., are also cultivated with very good results.
As we have said, the vegetables are produced in a great variety and abundance.
The tobacco culture is also a new source of wealth opened to the economical movement of the country. Although this industry still goes rather slowly, there are already many establishments in the interior where it has been undertaken with very good results.