Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/911

ARGENTINA. use of drv thistles anil jjeach-tree cuttings for fuel.

. The larger wild animals, found mainly in the northern forests, are the jaguar, puma, ocelot, ant-eater, tapirs, sloths, and peccaries. The pampas and plains are inhabited by deer, wildcats, wild dogs, pumas, skunks, armadillos, the red wolf, foxes, and several bur- rowing qnadrupeds, notably the viseacha. The guanaco, vicuiia, and llama range from the mountains to the plains; the capybara and coypu frequent the rivers; the condor, vulture, the Khea Americana range north of the Rio Xe- gro, and the Khea Darwinia, south of it. Several species of game birds, ami birds of prey, llaniingos, and water fowl of many kinds, jmrrots, humming-birds, and other birds of gay plumage are seen in the forested regions or on tlie ofjen plains, where bird-life greatly Hourishes. There are several vaiieties of reptiles in Argentina ; boas and rattlesnakes occur in the north, together with iguanas, alligators, and turtles. Spiders also and mosquitoes of great size, destructive locusts and ants, ami chigoes abound. Fish are very numerous in the coast and inland waters. Seals, sea-lions, and sea-elephants are captured along the coast, and the rivers sui)ply many edible fish. Mo.st interesting fossil remains are found in different parts of the Republic, a large number of species having been obtained, among them the megatherium, toxodon, glyptodon, and gigan- tic ratite birds.

Geology .^nd jriNEBAL Resources. The in- terior highlands have usually a granitic core, overlaid by Paleozoic fonnations, while the Andean system is largely composed of ilesozoic strata, broken through by igneous rocks and covered by extensive volcanic sheets. The pam- pas are made up of Tertiary sandstone and lime- stone, with sandy or clayey material on the surface. In Patagonia the northwest and south- east ridges are denuded I'emnants of former mountain ranges, and rise out of layers of coarse gravel that cover the region to a depth of 50 feet or more. The gravel consists of granite, gneiss, and schist, and has been de- rived by disintegration and glacial action from the underlying formations. Large areas are also occupied by sand dunes, that shift their position with the winds. The region of the Andes was once the scene of enormous volcanic development, when streams of lava flowed down the slopes and spread out over the, adjacent plains in the form of thick and extensive sheets. The lower stretches of the rivers in Argentina are bordered by recent deposits of alluvium. The mineral lesources of the countr_y have re- ceived but little attention as j'et, although they are extensive, and include a large variety of ores and minerals. Gold is found in the Andes and in the mountains of >San Luis, coal in Tierra del Fuego, marble in the Sierra de Cordoba, while copper, lead, silver, and iron ores and sodium salts occur at numerous localities. The output of silver annually exceeds .$200,000 in value. The gold product in UIOO was valued at $75,000. Mica is mined in the mountain<jus parts of Cordoba, and the product is shipped to European countries. Some petroleum is ob- tained, and a number of companies are organiz- ing for the further exploration of the petroleum, borax, and other mineral resources.

.GRicrLTfRi;. This is naturally the most im- portant industry in a country so rich in land and so sparsely settled as Argentina. Although the land under actmil cultivation constitutes less than 5 per cent, of the total available area, Argentina already figures as an important fac- tor in the world's grain markets. In 1895, at the time of the last census, the total land under cultivation was 4,81)2,005 hectares (nearlv 12,- 000,000 acres) ; in 1888, at the time of the first agricultural census, the area under cultivation was 2,459,120 hectares (nearly 0.000,000 acres) ; while in 1872 it was but 580.008 hectares (or about 1,450,000 acres). The area under culti- ation, therefore, doubled in seven years, and increased more than eightfold since 1872. The total available .agricultural area is estimated at 250,000,000 acres, or more than was taken up in 1900 by the combined grain, cotton, to- bacco, and vegetable crops in the I'nited States. The census estimates the number of people en- gaged in agriculture at one-fourth the entire [lopulation.

There were more than 180,000 farms in Ar- gentina in 1895, of which CO per cent, were cultivated by their owners, 30 per cent, by tenants paying rent, and 8 per cent, by persons working for a share of the crop. Although there are no statistics to show the growth of each of these groups, it is a matter of common observation that the luimber of farmers owning their land is growing apace, as free land is abundant and its acquisition extremely easy. Renting for a share of the crop is the first step on the |)art of the agricultural laborer toward becoming a landowner. Land being productive and population scarce, labor is naturally dear and well rewarded; so that it is a matter of conunon occu)-rence for the laborer to get from one-fourth to one-half of the share of the crop, the proprietor furnishing land, implements, and seeds, as well as a house and food for the laborer and his family. Under these conditions, it takes the laborer only a few j-ears to acquire land of. his own. In fi'fteen out of the twenty- three Argentine Provinces for which there are figures for the two censuses of the country, the luunber of farms increased from 43,74lj in 1888 to 107,274 in 1895. The average size of farms is about 125 acres, the number of larger planta- tions and of farms of smaller area being in- considerable.

The rapid increase in the cultivated area is to a great extent due to European immigration, the newcomers settling in colonies, living in accordance with their own customs, and using their own methods of cultivation. The first colony thus founded consisted of Swiss peasants, who came to Argentina in 185G; in 1874 there were 32 colonies, tilling 12,900 acres; in 1884 the number of colonies increased to 85, the area under cultivation to 80,000 acres; in 1895 the census records 709 colonies, witu a very large increase in the number of acres luider cul- tivation. The wonderfully rapid growth of colonies is explained by the very liberal inuni- gration laws of the Republic, alluring induce- ments being held out to innnigrants, who are given, in some of the provinces, large tracts of land, provisions, and implements with which to begin farming life in the new counti-y. The most important crop in Argentma, from a commercial point of view, is wheat. Barley,