'Q 
(iii) South America.—While New Zealand is predominantly the 
country of first-grade mutton and lamb, the Argentine and 
Uruguay are producers of first-grade beef and constitute the 
only area which is at present a large exporter of chilled beef. 
Attempts have been made at various times to ship chilled beef 
trom Australia and New Zealand, but, up to the present, such 
shipments have not been successful commercially, while recent 
regulations regarding the use of a preservative which promised 
success has again left the question one for further experiment. 
South America has several natural advantages as a meat 
supplier. It has, first, the advantage of position, meat vessels 
taking just over three weeks from the River Plate to London, 
as against five to six weeks from Australia. In addition, the 
meat works on the Plate are better placed for loading, so that a 
vessel can pick up a cargo and leave for England in a few days; 
whereas, after loading beef on the coast of Queensland, a ship 
may have to call at various ports to get a complete cargo, and 
may not be able to sail for several weeks. Again, both the 
Argentine and Uruguay are free from the devastating droughts 
which are such a disturbing and difficult factor in the Australian 
trade. It is not surprising, therefore, that a highly-organised 
and efficient industry should have been built up. There are 
experts who hold the view that the Argentine has reached the 
limit of its productive capacity under existing conditions, but 
there appears to be no general agreement on this important 
point. 
The cattle are mainly of the Shorthorn type; the basis of 
the herds is British, stock-raisers, for many years, having been 
eager buyers of British pedigree bulls. The cattle are largely 
fed on alfalfa—or finished off on it or on cake—and attain 
maturity at about 23 years of age, when they give about 800 lb. 
of dressed meat. Breeding and fattening are distinct businesses. 
The climate allows breeding practically all the year round, 
so that the export trade, unlike that of Australia and New 
Zealand, is not seasonal, though there is a decline in supplies 
during the Argentine winter until the new grass comes on. The 
cattle are frequently dishorned during the first two months 
after birth in order to avoid bruising during drinking or when 
heing railed. 
The buyers of the freezing companies buy at the farms or in 
the market, the cattle being bought at so much per head. 
In 1923, sale by live weight was made compulsory in Argentine, 
she object being to assure for the cattle-owner a fair sale. For 
various reasons, among them the fact that facilities for weighing 
were not universally available, the statute was suspended for six 
months, but it is now operative. After the cattle are bought, 
they are railed down to the freezing works (frigorifico), care 
being taken that they do not suffer in transit. Among the 
precautions adopted on the railways are locked couplings to 
prevent jolting and bruising, sprinklers so that cattle do not