The Argentine Republic: Its Development and ProgressDenis, Pierre
History
The Argentine Republic: Its Development and Progress
Denis, Pierre
Agriculture -- Argentina; Argentina -- Description and travel; Argentina -- Economic conditions -- 1918-
4. Beyond the lucerne belt, at the point where the plain rises toward
the Sierra de San Luis and the Sierra de Cordoba, the subterranean
water sinks deeper. This zone at the foot of the ranges, unsuitable
for lucerne, yet with a soil comparatively rich in humus, has been
taken up by agricultural workers. The wheat area extends, in the San
Luis province, as far as Fraga and Naschel, in the Conlara depression.
The maize area extends to Oncativo, in the Cordoba province, between
the Tercero and Secundo rivers, where the summer rainfall is heavier.
Thanks to the nearness of the mountains, this area has a water-supply
for irrigation, and this sustains several small centres of good farms.
5. The south of the Buenos Aires province and the central Pampa are the
wheat zone. The bed of _tosca_, which is not far below the soil, does
no harm to the wheat except in years of drought. The valleys, where
the _tosca_ is interrupted, and the dunes, where the soil is deep, are
very carefully used for lucerne fields of limited extent. Wheat-growing
seems now, both in this and the preceding zone, to have reached its
limit, as the dryness makes it improbable that there will be any
extension westward.
6. Lastly, the east of the Buenos Aires province, the centre of
which is fairly indicated by the little town of Dolores, is the only
part of the Pampean plain which has not been reached by agricultural
colonization. The land lies low, and is badly drained. The only change
that has taken place in the vegetation is a progressive improvement due
to the hoofs of the cattle during their long stays there. This pastoral
area is clearly limited in the south by the Sierra de Tandil. In the
north it is continued in the more varied region that lies between
Buenos Aires and the lower Salado, where the alternation of winter
pasture on the dry lands and summer pasture in the valleys, encourages
the best methods of breeding, and has made it the region of the dairy
industry.
In the Entre Rios province the limit of the large estates of wheat and
flax is marked by 32 deg. S. lat. The part of Entre Rios which extends
north of 32 deg. and the Corrientes province do not strictly belong to
the Pampean region.
* * * * *
Extensive breeding was the first form taken by white colonization on
the Pampa. The word breeding is, in fact, hardly the correct name for
an industry that mainly consisted of hunting, and was wholly distinct
from the patient and advanced methods used at the same time in the
northern provinces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account