The latter, far from allowing himself to be discouraged, made for Rosario harbour, in search of a new trade: he assumed that of a dock-labourer or lighterman. This was at the time when the growing of maize was beginning, in the Province of Santa Fé, to give satisfactory results. Our hero, having spent some time in carrying sacks of grain upon his back from the quays to the vessels about to sail, conceived the idea of buying, with his savings, a sack of maize, and to sell it retail, in the country, for the purposes of seed. This first venture having succeeded, he continued his operations with a larger number of sacks; then, finally, he abandoned the trade of porter in order to enlarge his new business, which from that time increased by thousands of sacks, and soon became a great export business. Thanks to the development of the culture of maize in this region, he has become one of the greatest merchants and speculators in this product, and enjoys to-day a fortune of many millions, while his companion, less happy in his affairs, still keeps the little drink-shop in Rosario. CHAPTER II THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT IN THE ARGENTINE, COMPARED WITH THE YIELD OF OTHER EXPORTING COUNTRIES The world’s wheat-harvest——Comparison between the statistics of consumption——The conditions of production in Russia and in the Argentine——Comparison with the United States, India and Canada—— The prospects of the Argentine export trade in wheat. Having described the progress realised by the Argentine Republic in the course of the last few years, it will be not without interest to inquire what are the resources of those nations which are, or may be, the competitors of the Argentine in the world-market and in the production and consumption of wheat. Here, according to the most reliable sources, are the figures relating to the average yield of wheat in the whole world during the last sixteen years:—— Period Year 1894-1903. 1904. 1907. Europe (bushels of 60 lbs.) 1,468,000,000 1,656,000,000 1,652,000,000 America ” 684,000,000 756,000,000 889,000,000 Asia and Australia ” 295,000,000 396,000,000 458,000,000 Africa ” 43,000,000 57,600,000 54,800,000 ------------- ------------- ------------- Totals (approx.) 2,490,000,000 2,865,600,000 3,050,000,000 ------------- ------------- -------------