Argentina from a British Point of View by Various
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now to be made in fences, wells, and buildings; the more there are of
these the better, the land will carry a larger head of cattle and the control of them is easy when the camp has been properly divided. The colonists are generally Italians. They are an industrious and kindly people, hardy and quiet, well content with their surroundings, careful and frugal in their living, and many thousands could go back to their own country with wealth which has been acquired by constant and assiduous attention to the economies of life. It has often been said that an Englishman will starve where an Italian will thrive, and in some respects this is true; but it would be better expressed if it were stated that an Italian can adapt himself to circumstances better than an Englishman. At the same time, I doubt if an Italian would come off best were the two placed on a desert island where instantaneous action, grit, and endurance were called for. Many things are said of an Englishman, and none fits his character better than that which gives him the privilege of "grumbling," and this characteristic becomes more marked when he is able to grumble with one of his own kith and kin. I have heard Argentines praise Englishmen, who, they say, manage their estancias far and away beyond all others, but at the same time they have told me that they would never allow two Englishmen on their place at once. It has been said that many of the immigrants do not intend to settle in the country. Probably this idea has gained ground on account of the large numbers of the labouring population, who are attracted to Argentina by the high wages ruling during the harvest time, and then find it pays them to go home and secure the European harvest, but |
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