The corn-growing industry of the Argentine Republic is an intensely interesting subject.  Before railways and steamships brought the foreign producer into close competition with our own farmers, Argentina did not produce enough grain to supply her home consumption, and cattle were bred only for their hides, tallow and bones.  In the course of time, when steamers superseded sailing-ships and the world’s carrying capacity thus became enormously increased, Argentina saw her opportunity of becoming a keen competitor in the food market.  Corn-growing became a highly remunerative business, although much still remains to be learned concerning the handling of wheat.  Both in the States and Canada grain is handled in a cheaper and more expeditious manner than in Argentina.  An enormous amount of grain is dealt with in the Wheat Exchange of Winnipeg, but a further big impetus will be given to this industry when the wheat-fields of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are connected with a deep-sea port on Hudson Bay; this will be an accomplished fact in 1915, and as this route means a thousand miles less haulage by land, and eight hundred less by sea to the chief European ports than by any existing route, it is bound to become the popular one; the chief factor, however, in making it a useful wheat outlet is the established fact that Hudson Bay, although many miles north of Lake Superior, remains free from ice for a period of one month after Lake Superior is tightly frozen up.

Argentina may look forward to keen competition with Canada and Siberia for many years to come; on the other hand, the U.S.A. will steadily show a smaller quantity of wheat available for exportation, and the following table throws some light upon the wheat position:—­

Argentina and Uruguay have increased
  the area of their wheat-growing
  land brought under the plough in
  the last ten years by 124 per cent. 
Canada in the last ten years by 120 per cent. 
Russia in the last ten years by 27 per cent. 
United States in the last ten years by 14 per cent.

No country in the world has shown such wonderful capabilities for growing linseed as the Argentine, and her average production for the following five-year periods show this expansion:—­

Years.         Production in Tons.
1894-1898           193,000
1899-1903           382,000
1904-1908           839,000

In ten years she increased her production by 335 per cent.  In the same period India increased her production by 3.8 per cent., and North America by 105 per cent., whilst Russia was unable to keep up her supply.

The world’s total linseed production for 1908 was made up as follows:—­

Argentina produced 1,101,000 tons. 
North America produced 694,000 tons. 
Russia produced 470,000 tons. 
India produced 360,000 tons.

Here again we find Argentina leading.  Moreover, she exported nearly the whole of her production, whilst North America, Russia, and India exported less than half a million tons between them.