CHAPTER XXII

URUGUAY AS A PASTORAL COUNTRY 254

Origin of the live stock of the country--Influence of the climate and pastures upon the first animals introduced--Live stock census of 1909--Importance of the breeding industry--Various ramifications-- Principal items of home consumption--Articles of export--Quality of the first herds introduced--Type of original sheep and horses--Goats and pigs--The introduction of a superior class of animals--The _criollos_ and the _mestizos_--Breeds imported--Durham, Hereford, Polled Angus, and Devon cattle--Dutch, Norman, Flemish, and Swiss cattle--Growth of the dairy industry--Popular breeds of sheep and horses and pigs--Principal countries from which the animals are derived--Growing value of the local-bred live stock--The manipulation of an _estancia_--Well-found estates--Uruguayan agricultural societies--Work effected by these--Government support--The Rural Association of Uruguay--Financial results of agricultural shows--Side products--Tallow--Hams-- Tanning--"La Carolina"--A great dairy farm--The factory of Breuss and Frey--The _saladeros_, or meat-curing establishments--Number of animals slaughtered--Method by which the meat is cured-- _Tasajo_--Countries to which it is exported--The frozen-meat trade--"La Frigorifica Uruguaya"-- Important growth of the new industry--Shipments of frozen meat.