Cattle on the outside fringe of occupied lands are still very coarse and rough, with a distinct strain of the Hereford about them; they are, however, a useful herd and most suitable for the districts they occupy, where they often have to undergo the hardships of shortage of pasture owing to drought, and little or no water, indeed, it is a marvel how these animals exist at times; and assuredly no refined breed of cattle could live where the Criollos not only manage to thrive, but generally to return a satisfactory result to their owners. The cattle on ranches which are nearer to the seaports, manufacturing centres, or railway stations show distinct improvements. Greater care is bestowed upon them, and the main consideration is never lost sight of—it is the ambition of every estanciero to have his cattle graded up so that they are looked upon as "freezers," which means that they are good enough to be purchased by one or other of the refrigerating companies, who take nothing but the best.
In 1888 cattle running the northern camps (which then represented the extreme outlying posts) were only valued at $6 per head.
| In | 1890 | the value | had risen | to | $10 | per head. |
| " | 1900 | " | " | " | 15 | " |
| " | 1908 | " | " | " | 28 | " |
| " | 1910 | " | " | " | 40 | " |
The question of stock raising and the object to be obtained must rest with the owners: they must decide whether the land is to be utilised for fattening cattle or for breeding the high-class animals for which there is an ever-ready market. To show the enormous value of animals and the high standard to which agricultural lands can be brought, mention must be made of two estancias near Buenos Aires, viz., those belonging to Messrs. Cobo and Messrs. Bell, where splendid stock is always to be found. To give some idea of the high price paid for first-class pedigree animals, it may be mentioned that £3,800 was paid for a prize Durham bull which was sold to Argentina!
At the cattle show at Buenos Aires held in July, 1910, Herefords for killing realized from £850 to £1,000 per animal! These latter high prices were, however, evidently paid by the agents of Cold Storage Companies for advertising purposes. One representative explained that the freezing Companies desired to encourage breeders, and that his Company paid the high prices mentioned above so as to let the breeders know that they would always be paid high prices for first-class cattle.
When we consider the really important position which Argentina takes as a food producer, it appears incredible that the English nation (business men and the general public alike) is so extremely ignorant, as a rule, of prevailing conditions. I do not refer to those who have invested their money in the many channels known to the River Plate circle. But men holding high official positions speak of our commercial interests in Argentina as "something between a hundred and a hundred and fifty millions," and then in a whispered side-speech indicate the dangers of revolution.
Often it is suggested that the chances of death from small-pox, yellow fever, and even from murder are a serious drawback to what might otherwise be a country possible to live in. It makes one very indignant to hear these statements from the lips of those who probably have never left their own country. Let me assure you they may be swept aside, and were it not for their frequent reiteration it would be unnecessary to say that there is not one grain of truth in these suggestions as applied to the state of things to-day.
Nearly one-fifth of the population of Argentina is centred in and around Buenos Aires. It is a city of 1,200,000 inhabitants, many of whom are millionaires; but at the same time there exists much poverty within its precincts—poverty caused in no small degree by the viciousness of the rich, but to a far greater extent by the rooted objection of certain classes to go out to the camps where, during the harvest time at least, wages are high and labour is anxiously awaited.
When we compare the health of this city of Buenos Aires with that of other large cities, we can see what has been done in the way of improvements in the last few years. A glance at the following tables will give some idea of what has been accomplished. The natural increase of the population of Buenos Aires between 1898 and 1907 was 19.1 per 1,000, and no other city equals this.