URUGUAY

53

mileage  planned  will  rapidly  bring  the  country ­
  to  the  fore.  American  capital  is  now  being ­
  interested  in  this  field.
While  there  are  some  minerals  to  be  found
in  the  mountainous  sections,  still  the  country
will  always  be  a  pastoral  one.  Mica,  gold,
precious  stones  and  petroleum  are  known  to
exist,  yet  comparatively  little,  if  anything,  has
been  done  along  these  lines.
Of  her  45,000,000  acres  of  land,  less  than
5  per  cent,  is  devoted  to  agriculture,  owing  to
lack  of  population.  There  are  about  1,700,-000
  acres  of  virgin  forest  lands  and  over  40,-000,000
  acres  devoted  to  grazing  cattle  and
sheep.
Wheat  is  the  chief  cereal  grown,  with  corn,
barley,  oats  and  linseed  in  the  order  named.
Tobacco  has  been  tried  with  favorable  results.
The  raising  of  cattle  of  all  kinds  and  the
maintenance  of  slaughterhouses  and  packing
establishments  for  the  purpose  of  supplying ­
  Europe  with  meat  forms  the  largest  industry. ­
  One  plant  alone  at  Fray  Bentos—