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242 Agricultural Colonies (Argentine Republic)

THE JEWISH EXCYCLOPEDI.V

242

which are ((imu'ticd liy a flood mad. affording aiiiiilc facilities fort he traiisporlat ion of cro])3 to the markets. MoTscville lias become a center for the piinhase of provisions by neifihborinj; colonists, many Italian settlers resorting to it for this inir])ose. The colony contains t<l colonists, representing a total of 1(W families an colony, and their cull ival ion has made itpos-;ilile to Statistics, establish ii butter and cheese factory, to which the Colonists sell their milk. This factory is conduted as ii jirivate enteriirisc by individiuils not connected with the colony, the land, buildings, and a small bounty having been obtained by them from the Jewish Colonization Association. Some colonists sell from 1.800 to 1.900(|uartsof milk a month to the factory. About l.lOOhead of cattle, including 780 plow-oxen, have been placed at the disposal of the colonists by the Jewish Colonization Association; and in addition to these, many colonists have bought cows of their own. MoVseville contains a synagogue, a school, a pharmacy, and a commiuial bath. In the school f>3 boys and 00 girls are taught. At present (1900) the facilities for education in other parts of the colony are inadi(|uate, and two more schools are to Ix; established sljortlj-. Mauricio, in the ]>roviiice fif I!ucn<is Ayres. comprises an area of about 62,000 acres (2."),0001iectares). There are 164 colonists in Jbiuricio, representing 211 families, and a total of 1.04.') persons. The soil is not so rich as that of other colonies in Argentina. MiiVsevillc.

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The only way in which this inferiority can be overcome is liy variation of crops, which system reimires larger areas than are at the dispo.sal of the colonists. As very liigh iirices are asked for land adjacent to the colony, th(! adminislnilors have met the difll-

culty by acquiring some not in its immediate vicinity, to which some of the families at JMauricio are to be transferred. This would permit of the allocation of more land to those that remain, thus enabling vary their crops. In 1898 the following them to crops were sown: wheat, 13.427 acres; maize. 6.952; lucerne, 1,47.5; flax, 7;l)arley, 12; rye, 71; oats, 7; toliaceo, 2i; vegetables, 130; making a total of 22,089 acres, or about 9,000 hectares. Cattle-breeding

being considered one of the most imjjortant forms of indu.stry by the settlers, it has been necessary to form large lucerne fields at considerable expense, as natural jiasturage is insulbcicnt. UpMauricio ward of 2,.")00 head of cat lie have been and jilaced at the dispos;d of the colonists liy the Jewish Colonization AssociaClara. tion, of which about 800 are plowoxen. butter and cheese factory is about to be established. JIauricio has a hospital, a steam Hourmill, a slaughter-house, and a bath. The principal centers of the colony are Algarrobo and Alice. At each of these places there is a school, attemled by 63

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and 65 boys and 28 girls respectschool has been opened in Mauricio, and is attended by 24 boys and 8 girls. The sanitary condition of the colony is good. By far the largest group of Jewish colonies in Argentina is that known as Clara (naiued after the Baroness de Ilirsch) in the province of Entre Rios, which was established liy the Jewish Colonization boys and 30 ively.

girls

A third