34  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

large  as  Texas,  and  all  of  our  territory  east  of
the  Mississippi.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north
by  Bolivia,  and  Paraguay,  on  the  west  by
Chile,  on  the  south  by  a  portion  of  Chile
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Paraguay,  Brazil
and  Uruguay,  together  with  the  Atlantic
Ocean  which  washes  its  shores  for  more  than
1500  miles,  constitute  its  eastern  boundary.
Over  700,000,000  acres  of  its  land  is  admirably ­
  adapted  for  cattle  raising  and  the  growing ­
  of  cereals,  a  fact  which  argues  much  for
its  future  development  and  prosperity.
Its  population  is  variously  estimated  at
from  6,000,000  to  9,000,000  but  it  can  with
safety  be  placed  at  7,000,000,  a  little  less  than
25  per  cent,  of  its  inhabitants  residing  in  the
city  of  Buenos  Aires,  which  has  1,700,000
citizens,  a  rather  unusual  condition  of  affairs.
The  early  settlers  of  the  Argentine  were  of
course  Spaniards  and  their  descendants  form
the  bulk  of  the  population  to-day.  There  are
comparatively  few  blacks  or  mixed  breeds,
slavery  having  been  abolished  in  1813,  while
the  Indians  and  aborigines  are  scattered  along