The first of these--locusts--are indeed a plague which to-day it seems almost impossible to annihilate, for I have little faith in man's attempts effectually to stop or decrease this pestilence; on the other hand, Nature always seems to be on the alert to prevent an overthrow of the balance of things. Those who have spent their lives in the River Plate district have seen this appalling plague crushed by means which Nature, in her own good time, has thought fit to use. With regard to floods and droughts, these can, at least, be modified by men, and means are now being adopted to conserve the floods and render their waters available in time of drought. From frosts we seem powerless to defend ourselves, and it is only those whose work is in close touch with the growing and handling of crops who can fully appreciate the damage done by late frosts. No country is free from drawbacks of some sort or another, and these troubles which I have just mentioned will not prevent the forward march of progress in Argentina. FOOTNOTES: [A] These figures are approximate [B] The dollar referred to throughout this paper is the Argentine paper dollar, which since 1899 has had a fixed value, and is worth approximately 1s. 9d. Previous to that date its value fluctuated considerably. [C] A list of the other Colonies and Foreign Countries which largely contributed to this total will be found on the following page. [D] The other colonies and foreign countries which largely contributed to the totals mentioned are as follows:-- DENMARK--Barley £22,708 Meat 5,988,573 ROUMANIA--Corn, etc. £2,564,538 Meat nil. TURKEY (including CRETE)--Corn, etc £1,383,971 Meat nil. TURKEY, ASIATIC--Corn, etc. £1,344,322 Meat nil. CHILI--Corn, etc £1,099,660 Meat 10,682 BRITISH INDIA--Corn, etc £2,226,668 Meat nil. NEW ZEALAND--Corn, etc £30,585 Meat 4,168,649 HISTORY OF THE SANTA FÉ LAND COMPANY, LIMITED. In the years 1881 and 1882, Messrs. C. de Murrieta & Co. acquired a block of land from the Government of the Province of Santa Fé, and in December, 1882, sold one undivided half-share thereof to Messrs. Kohn, Reinach & Co. Messrs. Murrieta & Co. and Messrs. Kohn, Reinach & Co., having decided to develop the said lands, formed the Santa Fé Land Company, and the prospectus appeared in July, 1883. The area sold to the new Company was said to comprise about 650 Spanish leagues, or 4,336,150 English acres, and the price to be paid to the vendors was £1,050 per league. In order to provide a port of shipment on the Rio Parana the Company bought a further lot of 323 acres in the Colony of Romang. In addition to the original block of land, the Company has since bought the following areas:-- The estancia of La Barrancosa, 10,801 hectareas, say 26,678 The estancia of Santa Catalina, 4,049 hectareas, say 10,002 A strip of land at Guaycuru on the eastern boundary of the Company's forest lands, 1,636 hectareas, say 4,041