Argentina Part 17

[115] "Politica Comercial Argentina," p. 42.

[116] Art 74 of the Custom Law of 1905.

[117] "Politica Comercial Argentina," p. 367.

CHAPTER XVIII

AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL PRODUCTS

Argentina is now one of the leading agricultural countries of the world, and her importance is likely to be enhanced in the near future, because the United States and other sources of food supply are rapidly diminishing their exportable surplus, while in South America population is unable to keep pace with natural production. Wheat, as is well known, is the most important crop. Unlike the pastoral industry, arable cultivation is comparatively modern. In 1854 there were only 375,000 acres under tillage of all kinds, and the area increased very slowly until the beginning of the present generation.

The promise of the country was always recognised, but it was long before foreign capital ventured to trust itself to a land possessing the political reputation of Argentina; and thus, without railway development, the export of agricultural produce was impossible. "All the cereals," says a pamphlet published in the sixties, "do remarkably well, and such is the fertility of the soil that double crops are often taken from the same land. In Santiago del Estero the wheat produced is of the most excellent quality, and although but little care is bestowed in cultivation, it generally yields eightyfold." The encouragement of emigration and the introduction of capital, and thus of improved methods of communication, caused progress to be very rapid; and whereas in 1874 the wheat area was only 271,000 acres, in 1884 it was 1,717,000. By 1899 this had expanded to 5,500,000 acres, and now it is about 14,000,000. The following figures will show the progress of recent years:--

Production in Tons. Exportation.

1902 1,534,400 704,060 1903 2,823,900 1,790,388 1904 3,529,100 2,467,297 1905 4,102,600 3,083,378 1906 3,672,200 2,438,616 1907 4,245,400 2,867,464 1908 5,238,700 3,802,619

It is antic.i.p.ated that before long the wheat export will amount to 5,000,000, and that Argentina will thus lead the world.[118] This cannot be called a rash estimate, for when we examine the figures we shall find that population is not keeping pace with production. The exportation figures of 1908 were 55 per cent. better than those of 1906, while the figures of production showed a rise of only 42 per cent. This is a satisfactory condition of things for the trader, but less so from a national standpoint. In general, the farmer is not rooted to the soil; he merely pays a percentage of his crops to the landlord as rent, and after a bad season is apt to move elsewhere. It is desirable that a scheme of intensive cultivation should be introduced, which promises much greater national benefit in the future in every way than can be obtained by hasty and slovenly methods. A Government publication, apologising for the present system and remarking that in old countries intensive agriculture is no virtue, while in new countries extensive agriculture is no vice, adds: "Wherever there is much ground with few inhabitants it is impossible that the number of proprietors be very large; and if the comparative figure demonstrates that the number of renters is _relatively_ very large, the investigation of the facts will show that it is here that the _qualitative_ influence of the divisor intervenes. In general, he who seeks his fortune in agricultural work lacks the necessary capital for purchasing land, and it is notorious that the immigrants we can count on to colonise our lands arrive completely dest.i.tute of means.

At the very best they can hope to rent the land, counting on the shrewd liberality of the landholder who requires of them only a certain share of the crop in pay for the rent, and in this manner by the results of their labour they may finally become proprietors. There are, therefore, two consecutive subdivisions: that of the working of the land by leasing, and that of ownership by the eventual purchase."

[Ill.u.s.tration: COUNTRY LIFE IN ARGENTINA.]

It is said that the best lands have been snapped up by speculators, otherwise it might be better for the Government to present capable immigrants with small farms, and if necessary lend them capital. The need of Argentina is men rather than extra tons avoirdupois of exports.

The production of maize has made enormous increases in sympathy with the general vast development which strains the rolling stock of every railway and with which the men and machinery in Argentina are insufficient to cope. In 1902 the production was 2,134,200 tons, now it is 3,456,000. This crop is peculiarly susceptible to the ravages of locusts, which, however, have a catholic taste for every kind of vegetable and are said to have destroyed half the crops in 1880. One of the most miserable sights in the world is cornfields ravaged by these pests; nothing is left but slender stumps and the sickening odour of rotting locusts. For the locust is itself subject to a parasite which consumes its inside, and it has been suggested that the parasite might be introduced into the winter-breeding grounds of the locusts. But these lie in the most remote part of the Gran Chaco, and it does not appear that the inhabitants of any land have succeeded in tracking the eggs on any large scale; it is therefore probable that the farmers will have to be satisfied with attempts at cure rather than prevention. As in India, trenches are used for the destruction of locusts, and the noxious creatures having been driven into the receptacle are rapidly covered with layers of earth.[119] They are to Argentina what rabbits are to Australia.

Of linseed Argentina is by far the largest exporter in the world. Last year the exports went up with an astonishing leap, but for many years they have been greater than those of India, Russia, and North America combined. In 1902 the production was 1,982,000 tons; in 1908 it was 2,625,000.

It is only about thirty years since alfafa (lucerne) was introduced into Argentina, but there is no more useful crop, and it has been of the utmost benefit to the pastoral industries. During the South African War large fortunes were made by exporting alfafa to South Africa, and, given proper soil, it yields many crops in the year. The Province of Buenos Aires is admirably adapted to its cultivation.

Oats are still a comparatively small crop, but they are making considerable progress. The export of 15,000 tons in 1905 had risen to 440,041 in 1908.

Sugar is an old industry, and, as is pointed out elsewhere, it has become of importance owing to the protective policy of the Argentine Government. In 1884 the production was 55,000 tons. For the last three years it has been--

1906 116,287 tons 1907 109,445 "

1908 161,662 "

Tobacco is a prominent manufacture, but it is probable that a great part of the raw material comes from abroad. It is cultivated extensively in the northern region, but owing to its coa.r.s.eness it is not likely that the native product will ever satisfy the home demand.

Last, but not least, in Argentine agriculture comes the vine. The culture of the vine and wine manufacture have gone forward at a great pace in the Provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. In 1884 there were 63,000 acres under vines, and the production of wine was 5,810,080 gallons. Now it is about 41,580,000. Mendoza is an excellent wine country, and some of its bodegas are among the largest in the world. The vineyards, the mountains, and the rural appearance of the towns give to the wine country an old-world air which is refreshing in a new country. The most popular wines are red and white clarets, the better qualities of which are excellent, but many other kinds are made. The country wine is by no means as cheap as it ought to be owing to the high protection. Although this excellent industry is rapidly increasing, it does not go near to supplying home consumption; indeed, the value of the imports of wines and spirits is slightly in excess of the total national production. The export of wine is of course practically nil, for neighbouring countries follow the example of Argentina in protecting their own vineyards by high tariffs and every kind of _fomento_. In fact, the wines of Chile are generally considered to be superior to those raised on the eastern slopes of the Andes, but it is not easy to discover any difference. Nearly all the produce of Mendoza goes to Buenos Aires and forms a very valuable article of freight for the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PRINc.i.p.aL STREET OF MENDOZA.

A MENDOZA VINEYARD.]

The crops of Argentina are well distributed, and some regions produce great varieties. Buenos Aires, of course, leads in wheat, and produces more than Santa Fe and Cordoba, which occupy the second and third position, combined, while Entre Rios, which comes fourth, nearly equals the total of all the other minor sources of supply. It may be, however, that some day Patagonia will be a serious rival to Buenos Aires, but now, being unirrigated, her chief product is wool.

The Province of the capital also supplies most of the maize and practically all the oats, but in linseed is far out-distanced by Santa Fe. Apart from Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba, and Entre Rios, the grain production, except wheat, is insignificant.

Tuc.u.man is the great sugar district, and tobacco is largely grown there and in several of the other northern Provinces. Mendoza accounts for more than nine-tenths of the wine raised in the country, but San Juan, Salta, Cordoba, and La Rioja are of some importance. La Rioja in Spain, it may be added, has given its name to a special kind of red wine, and we have Peruvian Rioja just as we have Australian Burgundy.

Agriculture in Argentina is carried out on an enormous scale, and the hopes of travellers who visited the country a century ago have been realised. But the country is too new, there is too much virgin soil for settled agricultural conditions, and farmers prefer pushing further afield and taking larger holdings to tilling a farm with care for his son to hold after him. Consequently there is little of that _pet.i.te culture_ which beautifies European countries and adds to the comfort of life; and, further, in most parts of Argentina, good as are the means of transporting staples, they are not of the kind which would make minute farming industries profitable. It is not probable that these conditions will change until there has been a large increase of population. As long as the increase is due to immigration--and many of the settlers look forward to returning to their native land when they have obtained a competence--farming methods will be hasty and extensive.

The forest industries of Argentina, though not fully developed, are very valuable. There are said to be 60,000 square miles of timber in the Gran Chaco, and parts of Patagonia are well wooded. Much of the wood is of great value, and the following are among the most useful for commercial purposes. The nandubay, a kind of acacia, reaches a height of about 25 feet and is used for making fences and rafters. The wood is extremely hard and durable. The algarroba also yields good timber, and its fruit and leaves are used for fattening cattle, while the Indians brew a kind of beer from the pods. The lapacho, of the bignonia species, rises to a height of 100 feet, and its wood is used for cabinet work. The urunday is a tree of similar appearance but larger, and its building wood is said to last two hundred years. The palo amarillo is a mimosa and used for making furniture. There are in the north cedars of excellent quality, both red and white, which attain a height of 160 feet. The Jesuits introduced into the country several varieties of palms, and there are many of the trees known in Europe, such as poplars, willows, and walnuts. But by far the most valuable tree in Argentina is the quebracho,[120] which grows in two varieties, red and white; its full height is 80 feet, and it takes a hundred years to come to maturity; the trunk is about 30 inches in diameter. It is the commercial staple in Argentine timber, and the railways have given a great impetus to the trade, in which the Province of Santiago del Estero seems to have been the pioneer. In 1884 it had five thousand men engaged in cutting railway sleepers, but it was not till 1889 that the export trade began, when 14,000 tons of round logs were shipped from Santa Fe.

In the past few years many companies have been formed for cutting wood in the Gran Chaco and also for extracting tannin. The district of Resistencia is extremely rich in quebracho, and Santiago del Estero continues to produce it in increasing quant.i.ties, as well as firewood, which is extensively used by the sugar-mills of Tuc.u.man. Firewood and posts are also largely produced in Cordoba, and Tuc.u.man and Salta provide woods for building and cabinet-making. The timber industry has now been extended to Tierra del Fuego, where saw-mills have also been established; and when internal communications have been improved it will doubtless be developed on a large scale, for the wood is used for sleepers, building, and furniture-making. It has been suggested that the abundant poplars might be employed in making paper pulp; and, indeed, the timber resources of Argentina, although less vast than those of most of her neighbours, are certain to be a source of increasing profit. The export of quebracho logs, which now amounts to 254,571 tons, has been almost stationary for some years; but the figures for the extract, which in 1902 were only 9,099, are now 48,161.[121]

The oldest and most celebrated of the forest products is _yerba mate_.

Pedro Lozano declared that the tree which produced that vegetable surpa.s.sed all other trees in utility. "The tree,"[122] he says, "is very high, leafy, and bulky. The leaf is also somewhat bulky, very green, and in shape like a tongue. The _yerba_ is obtained by cutting the branches, and placing them upon brushwood, and roasting them slowly; by hand labour they grind the leaves thus roasted in holes sunk in the ground and lined with skins. In all this process the labour of the Indians is so severe that they sweat profusely, because they work the whole day without intermission and with very little food. They eat nothing all day but such forest fruits as chance gives them, and when they have had their supper at night their repose is brief, for within four hours they are obliged to rise and carry on their shoulders the ground leaves to other places, where they make leather packages to take them to other provinces." Lozano speaks with indignation of this cruelty to the Indians, which had depopulated all that part of the world except the Misiones. He gives an elaborate account of the history and uses of _yerba mate_. Its popularity has never waned, among the country people at least, for its bitter taste and stimulating properties are invaluable to the tired rider, and it fills the place that tea does to the Australian Bushman or coffee to the South African Boer. The tea is drunk through a _bombilla_, or tube, which is placed in the _mate_, or gourd containing the infusion, and it is pa.s.sed round among the company. _Yerba mate_ is raised more extensively in Paraguay and Brazil than in Argentina; but the value of the crop is well recognised, and recently the Government distributed fifty thousand plants among settlers.

The mineral wealth of Argentina is very much less than that of most South American countries. In every part of the Continent the difficulty of extracting the ore and bringing it to the coast is considerable, and tends to impair the value of even rich mines; but in Argentina, where the mineral veins are usually not very abundant, the difficulties have seemed almost insuperable, and consequently the capital employed in mining is small. As might have been expected, the Andine and sub-Andine regions almost monopolise the mining interest.

The most famous mine is that at Famatina in La Rioja. The fields cover an area of 720 miles, but they are not ancient workings like most of those in Peru and Bolivia. As was said in the earlier chapters, Argentina was fortunate enough to dispel the suspicion of possessing the precious metals, and, as she is the poorest of South American lands in minerals, so she is richest in all else. But unquestionably she would be still richer, and possibly an important manufacturing community, if petroleum or coal could be discovered in great quant.i.ties. To return to Famatina, it is said that some Mexican miners pa.s.sing by in the eighteenth century were struck by the colour of the river and followed it upward to the mountains, where they discovered great treasure. This mine is called the Mexicana, and is situated at an elevation of 16,500 feet, where the men work in the fashion described by Darwin in Chile. Of late the Government has been at pains to improve the communications, but hitherto the ore (gold, silver, and copper) has not been sufficiently rich to yield much profit. In the neighbourhood silver and copper mines have been worked fitfully, and occasionally fortunes have been made; but the unsettled state of the country and the death or disappearance of those who knew the secrets of the hidden ore were unfavourable to enterprise. All over the two continents it is believed that discoveries of fabulous wealth would be made if the Indians told all they knew; but they keep their secrets tenaciously, and make prospecting unsafe.

During the Spanish dominion little was done in the way of mining.

Shortly after the Revolution, when it was believed that the South American countries, enjoying the advantage of "freedom," would go ahead, considerable interest was taken in Argentine mines, and Sir Francis Head made an adventurous journey across the Pampas and visited the gold-mines of San Luis and the silver-mines of Uspallata in the interests of the Rio Plata Mining a.s.sociation, which had been formed in 1824. The Argentine Government did not deal honestly with the company in the matter of concessions, and Head came to the conclusion that there was no probability of obtaining satisfactory results by the importation of Cornish miners. The sum of 60,000 had been spent without any return, and Head's relations with his employers became strained.[123] The unfortunate company collapsed, and this was also the fate of the Famatina Mines, another English company formed at the same time, whose German manager was shot by the ferocious Quiroga and its capital of 1,000,000 dollars lost.

Under Rosas, of course, mining and all other enterprise languished, but the belief in Argentina's mineral wealth continued, and from time to time attempts were made to develop it. A report published in the sixties states: "Extensive tracts of country are also highly auriferous, and gold-dust makes a considerable figure in the exports of Jujuy. The sierra of Cordova possesses silver, copper, lead, tin, zinc, and iron mines, besides a number of quarries of splendid marbles; and the same may be said of several of the provinces we have named. Petroleum, equal in quality to that of Pennsylvania, has been lately discovered, and, if our information be not altogether inaccurate, there is every reason to believe it will soon become valuable as a source of revenue and national wealth. Little has as yet been done to develop the mineral affluence of the Republic; but it is hoped effective efforts will shortly be made to work some of its already celebrated mines, as well as many more which diligent 'prospecting' would certainly reveal to the knowledge of mankind."

In 1873 the export of metals of gold and copper amounted to 320,000 dollars gold. Progress was probably slow, but it has made considerable positive advance, for the recent average of gold exports alone has been about 382,000 dollars gold. Copper has, of late, remained stationary. Salt is produced in considerable quant.i.ties, chiefly in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, and for a time petroleum borings in several parts of the Andes excited great hopes. Some trains were run by petroleum; but, unfortunately, the yield dwindled, and no fresh discoveries in satisfactory quant.i.ties have been made.

The princ.i.p.al mining Provinces are Jujuy, San Juan, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Luis, and Catarnarca, as well as several parts of Patagonia. Gold, in paying quant.i.ties, is almost confined to the Famatina mines in La Rioja; but there are also workings in Jujuy, Salta, and Patagonia. Lead is found in La Rioja, Cordoba, Mendoza, and San Luis. Copper occurs chiefly in La Rioja. Iron has been discovered in Mendoza, Cordoba, La Rioja, and San Juan, but the quality is poor.

Coal has been found in small quant.i.ties in Mendoza, San Juan, and Neuquen. Petroleum occurs in Salta and Mendoza; while valuable borax deposits have been worked in Salta, Jujuy, and the Territory of Andes.

It is not probable that as long as Argentina offers so many more tempting opportunities to capital any very great attention will be paid to mining; but it may be that when the outlying Provinces, which are the mining districts, become settled and interlaced with roads and railways, it will be possible to apply more economical mining methods, and the task of discovery will be easy. But unless coal and petroleum are discovered it is improbable that the mines of Argentina will be of a value in any way comparable to her agricultural and pastoral industries.

FOOTNOTES:

[118] In 1907-8 the world's export of wheat was as follows:--

United States 4,400,000 tons Argentina 3,540,000 "

Russia 1,651,000 "

Canada 1,530,000 "

Balkan States 623,000 "

India 533,000 "

These figures are reckoned from July 31, 1907.

[119] "All the inhabitants of the Republic, be they citizens or foreigners, between fifteen and fifty years of age are obliged to give personal help for the destruction of the locusts and the use of animals or their property fitted for the work, excepting fine animals which are destined for breeding" (Art. 7 of Locust Law of 1903).

[120] Quebracho means _break-axe_. Of the red variety Falkner says that "in redness and colour it bears so strong a resemblance to red marble, that it is a difficult matter to distinguish them."

[121] The total value of quebracho exported during the year 1905 amounted to over 7,000,000 dollars gold.

[122] "Coleccion," i. 199.

[123] "I feel it a duty which I owe to the a.s.sociation shortly to state that, having ridden 6,000 miles in South America--having thrown myself on the feeble resources of the country--having been to the bottom of every mine which has been inspected--having made all the observations I was capable of making--having lived in deserts, and almost in solitude, nearly a year, with no other subject on my mind than the interests of the a.s.sociation--I deliberately declare upon my honour and upon my character, that it is my humble, but decided opinion--