PART I.

THE ARGENTINE FROM THE ECONOMIC STANDPOINT.

I. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE ARGENTINE 71

CLIMATE——SOIL——Geographical situation of the Argentine; its boundaries, its area.

Climate of various districts. The prevailing winds. Nature of the soil; its fertility; adaptation to the culture of cereals and the raising of live-stock——Transformation of virgin into fertile land——The Pampa——The cultivable area——Conditions favourable to production——The plague of locusts.

RIVERS——Their exceptionally favourable influence——The hydrographic system——Network of navigable river-ways: the Rio de la Plata, the Rio Parana——Conditions of navigability—— Canals.

PORTS——List of the principal ports, with a summary of their trade——Buenos Ayres: description of the port, its area, its capacity, tonnage; its docks——The Central Produce Market—— Importance of Buenos Ayres in comparison with the great ports of the world——The port of La Plata——The port of Rosario; increase of its traffic; construction of the new harbour conceded to a French company——Bahia Blanca; its development—— The decentralisation of traffic.

II. RAILWAYS 91

Rapid development of the railway system——Tabulation of its extension in each Province——Table showing the general results of its operation——List of the lines actually running.

List of railway companies, with the length of their roadways and their returns——The difficulty of obtaining these figures exactly——The tariffs of the railway companies——Form of concessions, and suppression of guarantees.

Comparison of the railway system of the Argentine with the railway systems of other countries——Proportion of mileage to area and population.

Extension of the system in the near future, owing to the numerous concessions granted——The mileage of these concessions—— Insufficiency of plans and previous examination——Examination of the most important concessions for which the capital is already guaranteed——The dimensions which the railway system will attain after the concessions are realised——Programme of narrow-gauge construction; its value.

Meeting of the Argentine with the Chilian railways across the range of the Andes——The aerial mining railway in the Province of La Rioja.

Railways in relation to agricultural development——Insufficiency of transport at the moment of harvest; its causes and remedies——Necessity of a better organisation which shall respond to the stress of production.

III. IMMIGRATION AND COLONISATION 113

Immigration is a vital problem for the Argentine——Table of the population per Province and per Territory. Its sparsity—— The exceptional situation of the Argentine as the objective of European emigration——The poor results hitherto obtained through default of colonisation——The faulty division of the public lands——History of immigration in relation to colonisation——The nationality of immigrants.