Despite the formidable barrier raised by the range of the Andes, the Argentine and Chili, two nations having the same origin, with a common frontier of 3000 miles, are destined, by means of their railways, to an increasing closeness of relation. Chili is a country poor in cereals, and in especial does not raise sufficient cattle for the needs of her population. On the other hand, she produces wines which are highly appreciated in the Argentine. There may thus spring up between the two countries an exchange of products, which the railways will certainly increase, and which will give the Argentine railroad system the benefit of international traffic. To complete this sketch of the Argentine railways, and of the progress they have realised, we must not fail to speak of the construction of an industrial traffic-way which has established a remarkable record——not only in South America, but over the whole world. We refer to the suspended railway, constructed in the Province of La Rioja under the last Presidency of General Roca, in order to carry down to the plains the produce of the famous Famatina and Mexicana mines. This suspended way, which is over 21 miles in length, and which cost £76,000, is, in the words of M. Civit, the Minister of Public Works, who inaugurated it, the longest traffic-way of this kind in the two worlds.[27] [Footnote 27: As for the probable profits of this line, the Minister makes the following statement: “In counting on a minimum traffic of 50 tons a day during nine months in the year——an amount based upon the present yield of the mines——and deducting 50 per cent. of the gross receipts for working expenses——which is a maximum——we find that to obtain 6 per cent, interest on the capital employed, it would be sufficient to receive 3·36 paper piastres, or 7·6 francs (6 shillings ·96 pence) per ton of ore, whereas the mining companies with the present resources pay 20 piastres.”] “It glides amid the snows and the tempests, crossing abysses thousands of feet in depth, and ending at a height of 15,000 feet. The highest of its towers is as high as the summit of Mont Blanc, and the mines, into whose bowels it enters, will take their place, like those of Rio Tinto and Bilbao, in the commerce of the world, as the agricultural products of the Argentine have already done; thus drawing all eyes to this privileged country, which is set apart for the most brilliant destiny.”