In 1864 cattle amounted to 10,215,000, in 1884 to 14,171,000, in 1895 to 21,701,526. It will be seen that the rate of advance has been tolerably rapid. As the country became more settled after the middle of the last century, the increase of pastoral industries was somewhat checked by the realisation of the enormous possibilities of agriculture. In 1857 cattle formed 25 per cent. of the wealth of the country, but in 1884 only 18 per cent.[98] But with the fall in the value of wheat and the increasing demand for meat and wool, and the wonderful ingenuity of the methods of freezing and preserving, the pastoral industry has held its own. Cattle and sheep are raised all over the Pampas and far to the north and south; but, generally speaking, cattle keep to the eastern side and sheep to the west, while Patagonia is almost exclusively devoted to sheep. The cattle industry is very different from what it was in the memory of men still living. In the old days animals were killed for their hides and the carcase was left to rot on the ground; their flesh was eaten only by those who tended them. In 1873 the export of meat was under 1,500,000 dollars, and little of this found its way to Europe. In 1907 the exports of beef and mutton amounted to 222,273 tons. The prosperity of the meat industry, however, is due not only to improved methods of transport, packing, and preserving, but also to the wisdom of the estancieros in importing valuable bulls. It is said that even the smallest among them are convinced of the value of good blood and insist upon having it. Between 1899 and 1903 Argentina imported 3,005 bulls, principally from England, and in 1907 the value of live animals imported was over 2,000,000 dollars. We have seen the huge prices that rich Argentines give for the best stallions, but, relatively, breeders are quite as eager for the best bovine sires. Uruguay is better known to the world than Argentina as a seat of the meat industry, but, as a matter of fact, the latter has infinitely more stock of every description. However, in 1908, the Uruguayan beef-salting factories slaughtered three times as many cattle as the Argentine. [Illustration: BULL CALF.] A great many estancias are in English hands; all over the Pampas are great numbers of young Englishmen managing the estates. A warning note has lately been sounded to the effect that Beef Trusts and other United States Trusts are attempting to acquire land and meat factories and to control the supply of meat. It is needless to say that if these organisations make headway, neither the estancieros, nor our traders, nor the meat consumer, will have any reason to congratulate themselves, and it is to be hoped that the Argentine Government will take energetic measures to keep the country out of the grip of the octopus.