SOUTHERNMOST AMERICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 10

SOUTHERNMOST AMERICA.

SHEEP-FARMING IN TIERRA DEL FUEGO. An erstwhile New Zealander, who has during the past 13 years been engaged m pastoral pursuits at Tierra del Fuego, the southern knob of South America, is just now on a visit to the Bluff. He has (writes our correspondent) supplied information relative to the developments of Tierra del Fuego. , ' Dealing with tiie climate, he spoke frankly when he said, bad and all as things had bean at the Bluff during the, past Jew - days, they were no£-a patch <*c his experiences. A foot deepV of snow lying-, say, six weeks at a time, was no uncommon occurrence in Tierra del Fuego, at th.s period of the year^. That in itself was not so bad; the sheep -ffaving*learned,tfie virtue of necessity, scraping dowifto the MB* sl ; ! lying tufts of grass and herbage. _\Vhat they had most to dread was a fchaw, , accompankd.by frost, overtopped by further snow, . so that the scraping process became futile. That was a contingency to be reckoned with. ' | The company with which he was con1 nected, he said, was in a rather big way of business, and its holdings covered an area of over three million acres. In the j • year 1896, A\hen he ioined the concern, i*« j '• stock did not exceed 30,000 sheep. To-day the figures had mounted up /to DfO.OW. it should be mentioned that this "Island of ' the Horn" is subdivided into four or five similar ranches, and it being a* best but ' an offohoot of these vaet. Americas, we get 1 some idea of the keen, progressive com1 petition with which New Zealand and the Australian colonies generally, are brought face to face. • ; Referring to the transport trade, the visitor said Punta Arenas was the commercial emporium. From being a pena settlement, with all the moral and eocial obliquy incidental thereto, it has risen in ! civic rank to a thriving city, wi* «|J electrics, eervuse and a population of 7000 • people. The produce, picked up all through ! the straits, was conveyed to the town, and [from thence it was .^hipped to th£ different* 1 market*. - Ei consequence of the raputty-* , increasing tramp by the straits, and the 1 line of mail stea'ipships between Valparaiso and Europe adopting that route, the attention of the Chilian Government waa^ drawn ! to the importance of the station as a place of call and supply. As a consequence the Pacific Navigation Company's vessels now : call at Punba Arenas four time 3 a month— ' twice from England and twice from Valparaiso. In addition, cargo tramp visitors are calling almost continuously, so that transport facilities may be considered complete. The Da«wa.s:e to Great Britain averages 28 days by mail and 33 days by cargo 1 boat. Freights are subject to keen eompeti- ' tion, w,h=ch has the eftV-ct of keeping them down at a low average. j In the m-eat trade Tierra del luego was j ' not in the meantime likely to become a j formidable rival. It was- quite true that, in j carrying capacity, its sheep ranches had reached their maximum, and for som* time 50,000 to 60,000 sheep per annum had been j cleared off— boiled down for tallow. Falling | prices would be sure to confirm them in the tallow trade, and he did not apprehend any immediate change in that respect. There were two freezing establishments at work in the straits.' They put through 12,000 to 13,000 carcases annually. So far ac things went, there was no disposition to extend these operations. If prices hardened up Tierra del Fuego and Southern Patagonia would no doubt look out and see that their products were utilised to the best advantage. The frozen meat trade was ' a great and vapidly-growing trade in the • Argentine, and the chances .were tba-t it would increase in that locality, rather than extend to the straits. Argentine was some days nearer sail to the Home markets, and wae so- much more in its favour.. " I Reverting to the wool trade, a few scraps of information were elicited, useful for comparative purposes. Although high land, the country is not as hilly as New Zealand, and 800 ft is a maximum height. One »'.*eep to the acre i« considered fair average maintenance, and 71b of wool per 6heep (cross-

bred) is an average yield. From. ll£d to le Id are the latest wool quotations ; fleece 9d to Is Id, and pieces 7d to B£d. Shearers are paid 144 6d per 100. Their average cut is 80 sheep per day. Until lately scab was prevalent, but it has now disappeared.