Last, but not least, in Argentine agriculture comes the vine. The culture of the vine and wine manufacture have gone forward at a great pace in the Provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. In 1884 there were 63,000 acres under vines, and the production of wine was 5,810,080 gallons. Now it is about 41,580,000. Mendoza is an excellent wine country, and some of its bodegas are among the largest in the world. The vineyards, the mountains, and the rural appearance of the towns give to the wine country an old-world air which is refreshing in a new country. The most popular wines are red and white clarets, the better qualities of which are excellent, but many other kinds are made. The country wine is by no means as cheap as it ought to be owing to the high protection. Although this excellent industry is rapidly increasing, it does not go near to supplying home consumption; indeed, the value of the imports of wines and spirits is slightly in excess of the total national production. The export of wine is of course practically nil, for neighbouring countries follow the example of Argentina in protecting their own vineyards by high tariffs and every kind of _fomento_. In fact, the wines of Chile are generally considered to be superior to those raised on the eastern slopes of the Andes, but it is not easy to discover any difference. Nearly all the produce of Mendoza goes to Buenos Aires and forms a very valuable article of freight for the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway. [Illustration: THE PRINCIPAL STREET OF MENDOZA. A MENDOZA VINEYARD.] The crops of Argentina are well distributed, and some regions produce great varieties. Buenos Aires, of course, leads in wheat, and produces more than Santa Fé and Cordoba, which occupy the second and third position, combined, while Entre Rios, which comes fourth, nearly equals the total of all the other minor sources of supply. It may be, however, that some day Patagonia will be a serious rival to Buenos Aires, but now, being unirrigated, her chief product is wool. The Province of the capital also supplies most of the maize and practically all the oats, but in linseed is far out-distanced by Santa Fé. Apart from Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, Cordoba, and Entre Rios, the grain production, except wheat, is insignificant. Tucuman is the great sugar district, and tobacco is largely grown there and in several of the other northern Provinces. Mendoza accounts for more than nine-tenths of the wine raised in the country, but San Juan, Salta, Cordoba, and La Rioja are of some importance. La Rioja in Spain, it may be added, has given its name to a special kind of red wine, and we have Peruvian Rioja just as we have Australian Burgundy.