Chapter XXII: Uruguay as a Pastoral Country 254

Origin of the live stock of the country--Influence
of the climate and pastures upon the first animals
introduced--Live stock census of 1909--Importance
of the breeding industry--Various ramifications--
Principal items of home consumption--Articles of
export--Quality of the first herds introduced--Type
of original sheep and horses--Goats and pigs--The
introduction of a superior class of animals--The
_criollos_ and the _mestizos_--Breeds imported--Durham,
Hereford, Polled Angus, and Devon cattle--Dutch,
Norman, Flemish, and Swiss cattle--Growth of the
dairy industry--Popular breeds of sheep and horses
and pigs--Principal countries from which the animals
are derived--Growing value of the local-bred live
stock--The manipulation of an _estancia_--Well-found
estates--Uruguayan agricultural societies--Work
effected by these--Government support--The Rural
Association of Uruguay--Financial results of
agricultural shows--Side products--Tallow--Hams--
Tanning--"La Carolina"--A great dairy farm--The
factory of Breuss and Frey--The _saladeros_, or
meat-curing establishments--Number of animals
slaughtered--Method by which the meat is cured--
_Tasajo_--Countries to which it is exported--The
frozen-meat trade--"La Frigorifica Uruguaya"--
Important growth of the new industry--Shipments
of frozen meat.

CHAPTER XXIII

DEPARTMENTS, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL HISTORY 265

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--Drought--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.