From the time of the Spanish Conquest, says Carlos Girola, the engineer, our competent guide in the matter of industrial crops, the silkworm was raised in the Province of Cuyo, and silk was woven there on the hand-loom; but, on account of the facilities of transport, imported silks brought such a competition to bear upon the hand-made native article that the silkworm industry gradually dwindled and finally became extinct. Numerous experiments have of late years proved that the silkworm can be raised over a great part of the country; and that it has the best chances of development where the population is densest, labour most abundant, and the houses of the workers largest and most comfortable, as in the Provinces of Buenos Ayres (North) and Santa Fé, and in parts of Entre Rios and Córdoba. So far, however, there is no demand for the native cocoons, and it is so difficult to place them that at present one cannot recommend the silkworm industry except as an experiment or a speculation. The mulberry-tree grows and flourishes excellently on the greater portion of the Argentine soil, and especially in the central and northern districts, where it springs up quickly and vigorously. It is greatly to be desired that it should be more widely cultivated, and that its wider cultivation should go hand in hand with the development of the sericultural industry, which in some countries constitutes one of the principal sources of wealth. The mulberry also furnishes an excellent wood, and its leaves may be used to feed cattle as well as silkworms. Instead of planting trees which are of no industrial use, the mulberry should be given the place of preference. _Yerba Maté._——The “yerba maté,” or maté shrub, is met with in the woods of Misionès, where it grows in irregular clumps of varying extent. It has been known since the time of the Jesuits, who were the first to plant and cultivate it, as is proved by the plantations which to this day exist in the territory of the Argentine Missions (Misionès). With the leaf of this plant infusions are made, as with tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. The matheine contained in the leaves is possessed of properties at once tonic and stimulating. The infusion of “yerba maté” is usually made in a receptacle shaped like a pear with an orifice at the smaller end;[70] it is imbibed by means of a silver tube having at one end a bulb pierced with holes, which performs the office of a strainer, and is known as the _bombilla_. This method of preparation and of use is now tending to disappear; and maté is now often prepared in the same way as coffee, the result being a very refreshing drink, very valuable in the country districts for the refreshment of travellers. Statistics prove that the consumption of maté is continually increasing; and as the national production is insufficient, recourse is had to importation from Brazil and Paraguay. The amount of these imports for 1907 was as follows:——