ARGENTINE 
35 
the frontier. Early in its history Argentine 
encouraged emigration from Europe, using 
as an inducement the free grant of public 
lands, which proved especially attractive to 
the Italian and Spaniard. In fact the pre 
ponderance of the Italian in the business and 
social life, due to this movement has had a 
noticeable effect on the Spanish language as 
spoken in this country. From 1857 to 1913 
the total of newcomers amounted to 4,781,653, 
many of whom became landholders and began 
at once to contribute to the growth and wealth 
of the country. The population to-day is 
7.8 persons per square mile as against 32.31 
per square mile in the United States. More 
than 300,000 persons migrate to this country 
each year. 
The chief characteristic of the physical 
formation of the Argentine is its vast pampas 
or plains stretching from the Rio de la Plata 
to the west, terminating in the foothills of the 
Andes, or the Cordilleras. Perhaps no part 
of the earth’s surface has such flat, smooth, 
treeless plains as here confront the traveller.