Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-11

IN charge Of one shepnerd, who watches
them on horseback, letting them Craze about
a. they please. The sheep are never fed.
They live out of doors from one years end
to the other. They get all they need by
grazing, for there 10 no such thing as a barn
or stack Of hay on an Argentine stock farm.
The sheep wander of. grazing in the direc-
ton whence the wind blows in the morn
ing, and they return In the evening to sleep
about the hut Of their shepherd. In some
cases the fields are fenced with wire, but
the greater part Of the sheep farms are the
Ppampas as the Lord created them. It Is
the herder's business to keep his sheep from
mixing with these Of other flocks and to
see that they are free from diseases. He
also keeps of the dogs and has the general
care Of the focks. For this and his work
at shearing time he 10 paid SIC to $50 gold
a month. or he may work on the shares for
o%ne-fourth Of the profits. The Argentine
shepherd has a life which is dreary in the
extreme. He lives In . mud hut way out
on the prairie. He may have a garden. but,
as a usual thing. he Is too lazy to make
one, and his chief food is mutton, his en-
ployers allowing him to kill enough sheep
to supply him with meat.
Marketing the Meat.
AoA cASOP " luItO LAS uutl uOW
not been done by the Argentines. In the
past their profits have been from the wool,
hides and tallow. Sheep and cattle were
and are still killed for their skins and tai
low. the meat being thrown away. Where
the focks have multiplied too rapidly thou
sands of the older sheep have been driven
over the rocks into the sea. They have at
times been used for fuel, and in the days
when the Spanish ruled this country an
edict was, published making It . crime to
drive living sheep into the fires of the brick
kilns. At present It is estimated that the
Argentine republic raises one and one-half
billion pounds more meat every year than
1t can consume, or enough waste meat to
give every man, woman and child In the
world a full pound and have 10, 900, 900 pounds
or SO to spare.
1t Is this great surplus that has brought
about the establishment of big meat
Observation-Disclosures which turn out millions
Of dollars worth of beef extracts every
year-and factories for freezing meat SO that
1t will not melt until thawed out for sale to
the retail butchers Of Europe.
The chief branch Of the industry now 10
In frozen mutton. Frozen beef Is also ex-
ported, for such meat Is not so good when
thawed as when fresh killed. The mutton
tastes as Juicy and as sweet as though fresh
from the fields, and I am assured that the
frozen article ANN be distinguished from
that Of old England.
How fast the business IL growing can be
seen by the comparative shipments Of the
last few years. In 1883 only I'll, 900
worth Of sheep carcasses were sent across
the ocean. In nine months of last year the
sales amounted to 1880, 900, and the num-
Der Of frozen wethers shipped to 2,50O,0 900.
At present about 200. 900 sheep are being ex-
ported every month. There are four com
panies in Buenos -Ayres engaged In freezing
and their capital is So. 000. 900.
The factory which I visited was killing
and freezing about 5000 sheep a day. 1t is
known as the Sansinena factory. It is at
BARRACKS. at the. south end Of the city. near
the wharves. SO that the frozen meat can
be taken almost directly from 1t to the
steamer. co..
Glimpse of the Factory.
The Sansinena factory was one of the first
to be established, and 1t Is said that already
more than 81. 900, 600 gold has been spent
upon 1t. It covers many acres. having vast
cattle yards and sheep pens. Its slaughter
house has, ! Judge. more than an acre OF
floor space. 1t Is Of but one story, having
stone floors and a corrugated iron roof. The
floor when I entered 1t was covered with
flowing blood. A thousand sheep were In
the killing pens. and hundreds had been