The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-09-16
MILLIONS OF MUTTONS
AND CATTLE ON A THOUSAND Az.
GENTINE REPUBLIC HILLS
Ah"' threaten Serious Competition with
the Business in This Country-Some
Interesting Facts and Figures
from the Far South.

WASHINGTON CITY, Sept I6-Mr. W.
Il. CnrtiS, OF Chicago, secretary of the com
.n'ssion recently visiting the South Amer
an countries in the interest of promo,inq
lra.!e and commeTce with the Uuilea
states, makes sumo remarkable an
Interesting statements concerning IA,
attic industries of those Local
los, which 4 tare well worthy Of
tention. The cattemen of tn,
vest wall doubtless lie surprised to learn
'nai there Is great danger Of American
i'e4L bong crowded out OF the European
macEeti ny Che so-thought in,ignificens
erter O. Uruguay and the Argen-
.'no Espudiic. Mr. Curtis says thai
Grn&nny. with "a population of oniy
$4,000, feels and fattens 5000 0aa
attic and l,0J0,oj0 .leep. The Ar
.ehtne Republic t,rd, over 30 OlA-
400 cattle and l0j. 000, 600 sheep, more sheep
IAN IN any other couUtry in the world ana
'he-o ii1eGs are increasing at tine rate OF -
per cent annually. The wool clip of Uru-
%uay and thu Arsent.ne republic goa, g.,
GerGiany and Bel1 with the exc,plIan
% small percentage o. the coarser varie
s,si, when are shipped To Nav r igland port,
ats This elias, of wool is not raised m ttie
IN led states, and cur tine wool cannot b.
substituted for 1t. ALTHOUGH thsrs are more
>heep in the Argentine country than IN
Australia, the vaiue of the chip is not 50
graat because of its enar.eness and grea Y
properties. 1t scours 50 par coat less than
Iie Australian wool, aud hence brings n
mailer price.
sheep in the Argentine Republic are
worth from 81 cent; h 81 per mead, and ad-
vlaelng rapidly in vaiu.., becau7e the breeds
rra teing graded high her, and there is heavy
demand for stock to establish new ranches
i.'e-e new ranches are being started mostly
~ foreigners, Scotch and Irish, who bring
iarce capital ans secure immense
tracts of land from the government.
frequently comprising 100 miles
quare 10 each rance. MANY Italian
sid Germans are also investing in the ranch
ha ines, and some of the existing rancho,
~ 81 enormous proportions Mr. Samuel
!; Hale { rmeriy Of Bo;ton, own, ranch
r''on which lie nerds 10000 sheep, 6lOj0
I'd Of c&tGle, and 10000 horses Me-
- =. ttt.a, n : 'otc1msn, has one with
liJ,OjO -heep. 10 600 head Of cattle ami
Proportiona.e ely II large numter Of h1r,os
The shipment If mutton 60 England and
other European countries is becO ming Il large
and profits bic trade Sheep can lie raised
at about one-third the cost required in the
United States. owing to the cheapness OF
labor, the lower price of land. and the eli
mate, which is perennial summer Barbed
wire fences ara being largely introduced
and the newcomers are stretching theil
ranches into the adjoining territory Of
Patagonia, where the country and climate
ara very similar to that Of New Mexico and
Arizona The increase in cattle is about a.
! large Is that in sheep, and before ten year,
shall have passed there will be more cattle
in the Argentine Republic than any country
in the world, and hence our ranchmen may
tind themselves ousted from control of tho
beef markets
Already refrigerator ships are transport
ing dressed beef in large quantities from
Buenos Ayres to England, France and Ger
many, and other vessels are being con
structed for similar service on the most ap
| proved modern plans, in order to meot thu
| demands OF the rapidly increasing trade
| North American competition car
safely be defiei because many o
! tbe largest ranches are WITHIN
days drive to the seahoard, while our near
/ est ranches are 1870 miles from eIths
ocean, Within fifty miles of Buenos Ayre
| there are ranches considerably greater in ex
| tent than any in Texas, and railroads ar
being rapidly constructed to transport tn
interior cattle to the outward points of ship
! mant.
The best cuts of beef are worth from 4 t
| 6 cents per pound, dressed, and first-clas
steer sells for from sl2 to Sl4 at the slaugh
ter-pens. Cattle are not weighed, but sol
! by grades as we sell grain and arc value
in estimate per head.