Wheat, the staple product, is grown mainly within a radius of four hundred miles around the mouth of Plate River. The area of cultivation is increasing as the facilities for transportation are extended and, little by little, is encroaching on the grazing lands. The wheat industry is carried on very largely by German and Italian colonists. Flax, grown for the seed, is a very large export crop. Maize, partly for export and partly for home consumption, is also grown. The timber resources, chiefly in Paraguay and the Gran Chaco, are very great, but for want of means of transportation the timber-trade cannot successfully compete with that of Central America and Mexico. Workable gold and silver ores are abundant along the Andean cordillera; gold, silver, and copper are exported to Europe. A poor quality of lignite occurs in several provinces, but there are no available mines yielding coal suitable for making steam. There are petroleum wells near Mendoza. Most of the manufactures pertain to the preparation of cattle products, although a considerable amount of coarse textiles are made in the larger cities from the native cotton and wool. Hats, paper (made from grass), and leather goods are also made. In general, all manufactures are hampered by the difficulties of getting good fuel at a low price. Transportation is carried on along Plate River and the lower parts of its tributaries. The railway has become the chief factor in the carriage of commodities, however, and the railways of Argentina have been developed on the plans of North American roads. About twelve thousand miles are in actual operation, one of which is a transcontinental line, about completed between Buenos Aires and Valparaiso. Electric railways have become very popular, and the mileage is rapidly increasing. The import trade, consisting of textile goods, machinery, steel, and petroleum, is carried on with Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium (mainly transit trade), the United States, and Italy. The competition between the European states for this trade is very strong, and not a little has been acquired at the expense of the United States, whose trade has not materially increased. [Illustration: AREA OF THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF MATE] _Buenos Aires_ is the financial centre of this part of South America. Among its industries is the largest meat-refrigerating plant in the world. The harbor at _La Plata_ is excellent and has drawn a considerable part of the foreign trade from Buenos Aires. _Rosario_, _Cordoba_, _Santa Fe_, and _Parana_ are the markets of extensive farming regions. _Mendoza_ is the focal point of the mining interests.