Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-11

with the exception Of the blood. is sold. The
shin bones for knife handles. buttons and
combs. and some Of the entrails form 'cat-
gut" for fiddle strings. The sheepskins are
dried and sold in bales. and the tongues
and hearts are frozen for export In this
same factory cartridges and pheasants,
chickens. turkeys. ducks, fish and armadil-
los are frozen for shipment to Europe.
A World Market.
Leaving the frozen meat factory, I drove
to the Mercado Central des Frutos. This
Ia the great central market Of Buenos
Ayres, where wool, hides and grain are sold
In wholesale lots. 1t Is the largest produce
market Of the world under one roof. It
covers many acres, and millions Of pounds
Of wool are handled In 1t every year. 1t is
q brick building Of three stories, lying near
the docks on the Ricachuelo river, In that
part Of Buenos Ayres called BARRACKS. Bar
racas means warehouses, and BARRACKS Is
the part OF Buenos Ayres where the great
export business of the Argentine is done.
The wool and hides are taken from the
market house to the warehouses and there
prepared for shipment. At shearing time
wool comes In in train and ship loads.
There are scarcely enough cars to haul the
crop. and the vast market house Is 80 full
that you can hardly get through 1t. Its
three floors are packed with stacks OF dirty,
greasy wool. Carts and wagons loaded with
wool obstruct all other traffic, boats Of wool
are being unloaded in the river with steam
cranes, and the cars are run right into the
market itself. Each mans wool Is put
in a pile by itself. It is taken out Of the
bales and left loose in a stack, 30 that the
buyers can easily examine 1t. In going
among these piles you must be careful to
keep your clothes from touching them. The
wool is unwashed. It is so filled with
grease that when I thrust my hand into
q pile of 1t It came out shining. as though
I had dipped It in vaseline. The shippers
tell me that the wool crosses the ocean
better In its unwashed state, and that 1t
thus brings q greater profit. Wool loses
from 80 to 70 per cent of Its weigh IN
washing, and the Argentine farmers nnd
It better to sell at a lower rate and allow
the European buyers to scour 1t.
Two-thirds Of the Argentine wool goes to
France, Germany and Belgium, though
quite a lot has, until this year. been sent
to the United States. Our last tariff. as
It was interpreted, laid so heavy a duty upon
Vt az to keep it out, although the Argentine
wool we buy is of a coarse variety and does
not, I am told, compete with that raised at
It is known as the Cordoba wool,
and 10 largely used for making carpets.
Exports of Wool.
The Argentine exports of wool are IN
in volume. In 1860 the clip
amounted to only As, 900 900 pounds. In 1891
It was $40. 600, 900 pounds. and In 1897, 472,-
900 pounds. or more than 100 pounds for
sach man, woman and child in the re-
public. The product per sheep is also stead
lily growing, and the average fleece Of today
e one-third again as large as 1t was In
1850. The Argentine not only surpasses us
In the number of sheep, but 1t promises to
surpass us in time in the quality of the wool
and mutton. At present our average fleece
per sheep Is higher, but the Argentines are
improving their breeds by crossing
hem with the best ANS that can be i'm
ported. Every day or so there is an auction
sale Of imported rams in Buenos Ayres. and
not long ago a fine California merino sold
Tor $4,000 in gold. have visited some OF
he auctions. end I an surprised at the fine
of the animals. They are superior to
I have ever seen In the United
States, the most Of them coming from
famous farms and well known breeders Of
! am told that shipments Of So
:alled fine stock from the United States TO
he Argentine have usually resulted In
ossss to our shippers, a. the stock was not