It is several years now since Uruguay has commenced to export frozen meat. Six years ago an important freezing establishment, La Frigorifica Uruguaya, was founded in the department of Montevideo on the bank of the River Plate. The place occupies a large extent of ground, and is capable of slaughtering daily two hundred head of cattle and two thousand sheep. This establishment is fitted up with the most recent inventions that have been brought to bear on the freezing process. The frozen beef is classified into three qualities, according to type and weight, and is packed in quarters in a double covering that completely preserves it from the danger of contact with other substances. The carcasses of the sheep, following the usual custom, are shipped entire, and covered in the same way. The Frigorifica Uruguaya began operations in 1905. The rapid increase in the extent of its shipments may be judged from the following figures. Thus, in 1905, the year of its inception, the establishment exported two thousand tons of frozen meat; in 1906 the shipments had increased to four thousand tons, whereas in 1907 the total amounted to seven thousand and in 1908 to nine thousand tons. This increase has continued unchecked during the past couple of years, and the shipments for 1910 are estimated to have amounted to no less than twelve thousand tons. The machinery has now been added to, and the result will certainly go to swell these figures considerably more in the near future. The benefit that this concern confers on the pastoral industry is of course very great. Not only does it increase the facilities for sale of the cattle, but its existence tends in addition towards the improvement of breed in general, since only the animals of a superior class are suitable for the purpose it serves. CHAPTER XXIII DEPARTMENTS, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL HISTORY The nineteen divisions of Uruguay--Their populations, areas, towns, and industries--Canelones--Florida--San José--Durazno--Flores--Colonia--Soriano--Rio Negro--Paysandú--Salto--Artigas--Tacuarembó--Rivera--Cerro Largo--Treinta y Tres--Rocha--Maldonado--Montevideo--Climate--Favourable conditions throughout the Republic--The Atlantic coast line--The summer season--Pleasantly tempered heat--A land of cool breezes--Its attractions as a pleasure resort--Climates of the interior and of the north--Draught--Locusts--Comparative immunity of a pastoral country--Uruguayan fauna--Some common creatures of the Campo--Bird life--The ostrich--Its value as a commercial asset--The trade in ostrich feathers--Measures for the protection of the birds. A list of the nineteen departments of Uruguay with their more salient features will go far towards explaining in detail the various areas, populations, and resources of the Republic.