Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

94 DROUGHTS — CATTLE — FERTILITY. 1812. over the plains, and eat up every leaf which retains any mois- ture during the dry heats of summer. Before there were herds of cattle, guanacoes ranged over the country, in great num- bers, as they now do to the southward of the river Negro, where I have seen them grazing in large companies, like flocks of sheep. During the droughts above-mentioned vast num- bers of cattle die for want of water, and perhaps this may be the principal reason why so few trees grow there naturally ; but it cannot be the only one, because they grow where planted, and partially sheltered, though not watered. Most people are aware of the scale upon which the cattle farms of the ' Banda Oriental' and ' Republica Argentina' were carried on : but the civil wars which have succeeded the steady government of Spain have broken up and ruined many of the largest establishments, where from one hundred to two hun- dred thousand head of cattle were owned by one man — where the annual increase was about thirty per cent — and where the animals were, generally speaking, slaughtered for their hides alone. What must be the natural fertility of a country, which, without the slightest assistance from man, can nourish such enormous multitudes of cattle, besides immense droves of horses and flocks of sheep, and yet, except near its few towns, appear almost destitute of inhabitants. To return to our little vessel — entering the Plata in 1832. Unfavourable winds, and currents setting out of the river, delayed our progress, and obliged us to anchor frequently. We arrived at Monte Video on the 26th, and lost no time in making observations for our chronometers, and preparing for surveying the coasts southward of Cape San Antonio : but as I found that it would be advisable to visit Buenos Ayres, in order to communicate with the Government, and obtain information, we sailed from Monte Video on the 31st, and two days afterwards anchored off" Buenos Ayres. There, however, we did not remain an hour ; for the misconduct of a Buenos Ayrean officer on board a vessel under their colours, and a vexatious regulation with respect to quarantine, decided my