"Of late years an industry of a new kind has sprung up on the River Plate and its tributaries, the shipment of frozen meat to England and the continent of Europe. On our way up the river we stopped at one of the estancias where this business was conducted, and had a chance to see some of its details. The manager kindly took us through the establishment, and explained the various processes. "The animals to be slaughtered and shipped--whether cattle or sheep--are killed and dressed in the usual way. The beeves are divided into quarters, but the sheep are kept whole; in either case the meat is taken to a large room, where it is hung on racks, so that no two pieces shall come in contact with each other. This room is really an enormous refrigerator, and when it is filled the doors are shut tight, and the air within is cooled below the freezing-point by an artificial process. "When the meat has been properly frozen, it is removed from the room and carried on board the steamer at the dock. This steamer has her hold arranged on the refrigerating system, with several inches of thick felt between double walls of planking, so that heat is conducted away very slowly. When the hold is filled the cooling apparatus is set in operation, and the temperature is lowered to about 33° Fahrenheit; the apparatus is kept at work during the entire voyage, and until the steamer delivers her cargo in Europe. The meat thus remains perfectly fresh, although the ship passes the equator and remains for days and days under a tropical sun. "Meat is very cheap in South America and very dear in Europe. The managers of the new enterprise claim that they have met with complete success, and will soon be able to feed the whole of Europe on beef and mutton grown on the pampas of South America. They have many prejudices to overcome, besides the opposition which the graziers and butchers of the Old World are making to the prospect of having their home industries ruined by these importations. [Illustration: PARAGUAYAN MOTHER AND DAUGHTERS.] "We wanted to ascend the Paraguay to its head-waters, but circumstances did not permit, and we turned back from Asuncion. We went to the end of the railway, and had a delightful ride through a diversified country; forest, pampas, hills, valleys, mountains, and plains alternated rapidly, and gave us a succession of surprises. Numerous herds of cattle and horses told of the wealth of the country in live-stock, and if we had not seen the herds we should have known of the prevailing industry by the piles of hides that awaited shipment at the railway stations. "We are in the land of _yerba maté_, or Paraguay tea, and have drunk nothing else at breakfast and other meals; of course, we have tried it frequently in our journeyings in South America, but have never adhered closely to it until now. Perhaps you would like to know more fully about it. [Illustration: A LANDED PROPRIETOR.]