Where people had bought camps and mortgaged them, which was the general thing to do in those days, the mortgagees foreclosed, and, when the camps were auctioned off, they did not fetch half what the properties had been bought for in the first instance, some four or five years previously.  This, naturally, had a serious effect on the credit, soundness, and finances of the country, but really, the crisis was not felt until some three or four years after, and it was 1896 and 1897 which were very serious years for the country.

To give one an idea of the value of land in four or five of the principal provinces of the country, I must begin with the Queen Province, as it is called, viz., Buenos Aires.  In 1885, property in the city centre was worth 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a yard, whereas to-day it has been sold up to L200 sterling per yard, while suburban lots of 20 yards by 60 yards realised L5 and to-day are fetching L150, and camp lands have risen from L10,000, to L100,000 the square league.  Of course this is within a radius of 30 to 50 leagues of the city; lands away to the south and west may yet be bought at L10,000, and, still further south towards Neuquen and the far Pampa, at L2,000 per square league.  The province of Buenos Aires is not considered good for alfalfa growing, but has good natural grass camps.

The province of Santa Fe is a large province, extending from the northern boundary of the province of Buenos Aires to Santiago del Estero, and contains what is known as the Gran Chaco.  The southern portion of this province is largely dedicated to the production of wheat, linseed, and maize, for which it is admirably adapted.  There are also large estancias carrying vast herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, while the northern portion has vast forests of very fine and valuable timber.

[Illustration:  Wheat ready for Loading at Station on Central Argentine Railway.]

The first part of this province to be developed was the country around Rosario, the large port on the River Parana, where ocean-going steamers call.  This, together with good railway accommodation in all directions combined with excellent land in the district, facilitates the cultivation of cereals on a very large scale.  Property in Rosario itself is very valuable, and from L30 to L50 a yard is a common figure.  In the immediate district of Rosario land is rarely sold in large areas, but may be calculated at L20 an acre, whilst 40 leagues further north it is to-day worth L50,000 a league.  I know of one estancia of one league which was bought in 1885 for L2,000, resold, after being sown down in alfalfa and divided into paddocks, without further improvements, at L12,000 (this was in 1903), and again sold in 1909, certainly with further improvements as regards watering arrangements and more paddocks, house, and sheds, etc., in fact, a fair model estancia in good working order, for L60,000.  Land on the south-west of Rosario, and about 40 leagues distant, has in the twenty-five years risen from L2,000 a league to L40,000 a league.  This is for virgin camp, and to-day in these districts the average price can be stated at from L30,000 to L40,000 per league, yet 300 miles further north land—­good land—­can be had at from L4,000 to L6,000 per league.