To turn from the meat industry to that of agriculture, we come, naturally enough, to a far less imposing condition of affairs, but one, nevertheless, that is increasing in importance each year. The chief cereal of Uruguay is wheat. At the present moment nearly three hundred thousand hectares have been devoted to the raising of this crop. Although the discovery of fresh lands suitable to the production of wheat has caused this particular area to increase, the main centres in cultivation up to the present have been rather strictly localised. The provinces that contain the really important wheat districts are those of San José, Colonia, and Canelones. The lines of railway, however, that have recently been constructed to the east and west of the Republic are opening up much land that is undoubtedly admirably suited for the production of this cereal. Wheat, it may be explained, is a crop the nature of which renders it more immune than the majority from the attacks of the voracious locust. By the time the all-devouring insect is wont to make its appearance, the ears of the wheat are as a rule hardened to a sufficient extent to render them unpalatable. Wheat therefore, frequently escapes, wholly or in part, where the maize crop suffers severely from the ravages of the locusts. The production of maize is only very slightly less than that of wheat. The yield of this commodity in 1909 amounted roughly to one hundred and seventy thousand tons, while that of wheat fell just below two hundred and thirty-four thousand tons. Generally speaking, it may be said that the districts where wheat is grown are suitable for the cultivation of maize, and thus in Uruguay the two are wont to flourish to a large extent side by side. It is worthy of note, however, that whereas the wheat area has remained more or less stationary, although its development is now practically certain, that of maize has increased to a marked extent--from one hundred and forty-five thousand hectares, in fact, in 1900 to over two hundred thousand hectares in 1909. The production of oats and barley--although that of either still remains comparatively insignificant--has increased rapidly during the past decade. In 1900 the output of oats only just exceeded thirty tons, whereas in 1909 it had amounted to nearly seven thousand tons. Barley has a similar, although a somewhat more gradual, tale to tell, since in the corresponding period its production rose from four hundred to three thousand tons. CHAPTER XXV INDUSTRIES AND NATURAL WEALTH (_continued_)