this is a story about the fertile central valley of chile it is a tale of contrasts of the old life and the new for many generations the farm of santa rosa with its bad field and its herds of cattle has been an important source of the wealth of the door not the family but now don francisco the old owner is dead and the farmer become the property of one of his son don francisco is a kind and generous employer and all family servant goes to the altar of the chapel and light the candle in his memory sons and daughters are gathered in the drawing room of the rambling old country house to hear a lawyer read the will four hundred acres stone and weight is only a fraction of the bundle which one inherits from its father the lango also the cattle and pastures which reach back into the foothills of the e houses like these live hundreds of workers and their families so many in fact that long ago the landlord erected a chapel for them the house more than two hundred years old is almost hidden behind vines it is one who will take his father's place at the head of the great table go into the family bible alongside the other owners of the the will stipulate wanted to take good care of the household servant but most of them were born and raised in the shadow of the old house and have faithfully serve the family or many years spanish and creole your dishes have made the chilean paper famous but the servants in one's kitchen preparing meals day after day only for  themselves or one like too many chileans who have inherited agricultural riches is an absentee landlord almost all of chile's arable land is in single great land holdings some five thousand to fifty thousand acres would contrast to the small farms of north america where the owner and his family do most of the work most of the workers in chile know no other way of life than this they do not dream of any great advance for themselves because for two hundred years or more they and their forefathers have lived on the same esta but don roberto the older son has not been contented with these and equated methods he represents an entirely new element in chilean agriculture he looked over some of the fifteen thousand acres which comprise his heritage goes san miguel the attended the state agricultural college at ames iowa and he is determined to put into practice some of the methods of modern agriculture which he learned there he explains this project for within a few months the first results of this modernization ice t the traditional oxen used for plowing have been replaced by tractors saving and time and labor has enabled him to put an additional thousand acres under cultivation fertile land never used before but even though threshing machines replace horses and don roberto doubled this crop of wheat still chile must import food also makes improvements in the irrigation system there is no rain in chile central valley during nine months of the year and without irrigation the fields with there and died the andes mountains which ground the farm on the east are unfailing source of abundant water on the deep snows come tiny's great gathering force and their descent they become swift rivers rushing across the fertile valley stone fences divide and divide the stream tiller waters bring life lawlor best land in the valley irrigation ditches follow the contours of the hills gradually descending to the level of the valley floor gates control the flow of the find herd of cattle it's producing milk which is later dried in this modern flat and sold in powdered form throughout chile veterinarians use modern scientific methods to protect and to roberto's early reforms was to provide a hot meal for the workers in a central kitchen rich vegetable soup that's been prepared and it's carried to the workers in the field many of these men are descendants of spanish invaders who took indian women to be their wives of course they're proud of their heritage or in their veins flows the blood of the arcadian fierce tribe at the spaniards never entirely than roberto however is interested in more serious reforms most agricultural workers in chile live in unhealthy shacks like this one it is difficult for these people webb struggled along for generations with little help suddenly to realize that the lord of the manor is taking a personal interest in their living condition is offered to build a new house for this worker and this family meets with some skepticism with an architect done roberto examines the plan and then the model of the new house twenty of them have already been built but it will be some years before all is farm workers can be properly how constructed largely with materials produced on the farm these houses can be built cheaply and quickly a few people in chile dream of the day when all farm workers will have housing like this on this one though it worker receives a two acre tract of land he gets a little time morning and evening to work in his own garden and thereby earn a little extra money or in chile even on a progressive frontal wages are low and leave little money for shoes and clothing primarily  in history class a boy completes a drawing of the chilean flag as the teacher explains the significance of the eighteenth of september the chilean national holiday free lunches prepared for all the children today's dishes cause a whale of a favorite chilean stew or soup following the strict discipline of chilean schools the children march to the dining room working women they leave their children here during the day priest breeds mass at the burned out chapel each sunday and on special occasions like this first communion services are held out of doors roberto points proudly to improvements in the irrigation  system is prize imported bulls are brought out for his brother's admiration this contrast of old and new symbolizes the changes which are taking place in chile in agriculture most large landholders are satisfied with antiquated farming methods and prefer to administer the santiago but others like don roberto have caught the spirit of progress which characterizes modern chile for their employees they are giving better working conditions and to their country a sounder agricultural economy so that chile in years to come will be able to feed her own people and feed them well