Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/912

ARGENTINA. oats, potatoes, flax, tobacco, and other European crops are also extensively raised. Sugar-cane is cultivated in the northeast with considerable success, and the cultivation of cotton has been recently introduced. The fruits raised are of the tropical and serai-tropical varieties, includ- ing oranges, olives, figs, grapes, and dates. Silk-worm culture, for which the climate seems to be splendidly adapted, is also receiving con- siderable attention. The following figures illus- trate the growth of the agricultural industry in Argentina : In 1888 the area devoted to the cultivation of wheat was 2,014,947 acres, in 1895 it was 5,064,707, an increase of about 150 per cent, in seven years. The area de- voted to the cultivation of corn in the corre- sponding years was respectively 1,080,724 and 3,074,.374 acres, showing an increase of over 50 per cent. The area under fla.x increased from 299,246 acres in 1888 to 957,073 acres in 1895, or more than 200 per cent. The area under barley increased from 23,937 acres in 1888 to 54,9"ll acres in 1895, or about 130 per cent. The following are the chief wheat-raising I'rovinces, with their acreage in 1895:

While the progress in sugar-cane and tobacco planting keeps pace with that of cereals, the growing of cotton has not reached, as yet, any large proportions, although it is also on the in- crease. The increase in the area under sugar- cane has been as follows: 1855, 551 acres: 1875, 7759; 1888, 52,044; 1895, 151,406. The area under tobacco was; 1872, 8551 acres; 1888, 7991 ; 1895, 39,029. The cotton crop covered an area of about 1500 acres in 1895; but there is no doubt that the beginning thus made is fraught with great possibilities, especially for the northern provinces, which are best adapted to its cultivation.

Stock-raisiny is no less important— if not, indeed, more important — than the cultivation of land. The following table shows the number of various kinds of animals at the time of the taking of the first and second censuses:

1895 Cattle 21,961.657 21,701,526 Horses 4,234,032 4,446,859 Assea and Mules 417.494 483,369 Sheep 66,706,097 74.379.562 Hogs 393,758 6.52,766 Goats 1,894,386 2,748,860

It will be seen from the above figures that the raising of sheep constitutes one of the most im- portant branches of the animal industry. Their increase has been steady and large, as the fol- lowing figures show: In 1830, their total num- ber in the country was estimated at 2,500.000; 1800, 14,000,000; 1870, 41,000,000; 1880, 61.000,- 000. As to the wool product, it increased from 6,000.000 pounds in 1830 to 130.000,000 in 1870; from 310,000.000 in 1S91 to about 500,- 000,000 pounds in 1900. The significance of these figures will be clear if it is remembered that in the United States there were only 42.000.000 sheep in 1895, a number which did not increase up to 1900. On the other hand, the number of cattle in the United States is double that in Argentina.

Manufacture.?. The manufacturing indus- tries of Argentina are largely in foreign hands. This is especially true of the larger industries, requiring investments of considerable capital and management on a large scale, such as elec- tric-light and power plants, flour mills, mines, smelting works, etc. The census of 1895 re- ports in the country 22,204 manufacturing establishments, 18,706 of which belonged to foreigners, 3498 to natives. The proportion of native workmen in these establishments was more than one-third of the total number of 145,650, 52,356 being Argentinians, 03,294 for- eigners. The total number of people engaged in manufactures, including employers and em- ployees, was 167.854. The various industries are classed by the census in nine large groups, as follows :

iNDrSTRIES C =3 1 -1 = Owners Na- tive For- eign I. ,082 ,713 ,955 ,259 ,163 ,339 647 9611 326 173 389 56 122 317 ,.574 ,066 II. Clothing Industry III. IV. V. Furniture and Household Goods .993 VI. Metallic Products ,774 VII VIII Printing Trades IX. ,022 otal ,204 ,498 iNnr.sTBiEs No. of Persons Employed Capital (in pesos) Men Wo- men Na- tive For- eign Total Peso. 96.5 cents I. Food Products ,669, 3,402 ,345 ,726 ,071 ,285,696 II. Clothing Industry ,037 .562 ,414 ,186 ,599 ,086,764 III. Building Industry ,124 ,395 ,702 ,817 ,519 ,531,872 IV. Furniture & Household G'ds ,341 ,380 ,123 ,598 ,721 ,010,006 V. Art and Ornaments ,252[ 308 ,757 ,560 ,568,925 VI. Metallic Products .9631 668 ,018 ,613 ,631 .478,585 VII. Chemicals.. ,695 1.017 .203 ,509 .712 ,902,462 VIll. I'rinting Trades .514 .55H ,622 ,080 ,q09,8:i8 IX. Miscel- laneous .144 2,613 ,190 ..567 ,757 .227.219 Total .739|2-2.9II ,366 ,294 ,650 .101.367

Thus, nearly $280,000,000 of capital was invested in 1805 in the infant industries of Argentina. The table shows that the manufacture of food products is fcu'emost among the industries. That does not include, however, the two largest industries of the country, which have contributed more than any others to its prosperity — viz., the flour mills, employing a capital of about $20.000.000, and tlu^ meat - packing houses, with a capital of more than $22,000,000. Nor does it include sugar plantations and refineries, with a capital of over $17,000,000 ; the Avine-making establishments, with a capital of $8.500.000 ; breweries, with a capital of nearly $3,000,000: and distilleries, with a capital of over $5,000,000. The growth of the flour-milling industry is shown, not so much by the increase of the total number of flour mills — from 638 in 1888 to 059 in 1895 — as by the increase of steam-