slaughter arrives. The hacendados, or planters, usually reside in the cities, leaving their plantations under the care of mayordomos or overseers, and only visit them occasionally. The largest plantations in the country are those of La Compañia and Las Canteras, the latter with an area of over 200,000 acres. Smaller estates are called chacras and also haciendas, and the small farms are called quinta. The daily wages of laborers vary from twenty-five cents to thirty-seven cents, and in harvest time amount to fifty cents. In the northern part of the country, the people are far more industrious than in the southern region, where few laborers are to be found above the age of twenty-two. As soon as the young men marry in the southern provinces they yearn for independence, and live upon a little patch of land, which is generally presented to them by the planters. This class of laborers are attached to the plantation, and are called inquilinos. In return for this the land and accommodation granted to them, they are bound to assist the planter during the rodeos (cattle fair) and the trillas (threshing season).

A large part of the soil of Chili is uncultivated; but, when capable of tillage, is so fertile, and yields crops so abundant, that large quantities of cereals and meats are exported, as already seen, to Australia, Peru, England, and other countries. The two provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo, do not grow a sufficiency of grain or cattle for home consumption; but the other thirteen not only supply themselves and these, but exported in 1850 $2,693,545 worth of cereals, and in 1857 $2,242,354. The wheat crop of 1850 was estimated at 11,250,000 bushels; the number of horned cattle at 1,125,000, and 281,250 were slaughtered that year. Charqui, or beef dried in the sun, forms a considerable article of export, as well as of home consumption.Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion, Ñuble, and Chiloé are the provinces which export the largest quantity of agricultural products. The principal grains grown are wheat, barley, oats, and maize; rye does well, but is not grown, because there is no demand for it. Beans are a very large and important crop, and peas are extensively cultivated. In the southern provinces, potatoes of excellent quality are raised. Ñuble, Concepcion, Valdivia, and Chiloé produce large quantities of timber and lumber.

According to the last agricultural statistics of the country, the quantity of fanegas of corn and vegetables produced (every fanega being equivalent to three bushels), was in 1862, as follows:

The quantity of liquors and wines produced by the famous vines of the several provinces in 1861, is estimated in the following figures by arrobas, a liquid measure equivalent to more or less than four quarts of the English system:

The great diversity of climate, from the sunny and serene tropical valleys of the north to the moist hills of Concepcion, produces such a variety of grapes that all the famous wines of Europe can be easily manufactured, from the lacrima christy, which is made from the vineyards of Mount Etna in Sicily, to the light claret wines of Bordeaux, or the stronger red wine of Portugal. During the

last ten years the manufacture of home wines has been introduced, and they are drunk by the inhabitants in preference even to the legitimate wines exported from the south of France. The laborers themselves will soon abandon the old, tasteless and unwholesome chicha for the common wine, which is being manufactured in large quantities in the neighbourhood of Santiago, and at a very low price.

MINES.

After agriculture, the great sources of the wealth of Chili, are its famous mines of gold, silver and copper. But having taken sufficient notice of their products in the second part of this pamphlet, we have now only to point out a few figures showing the locations and extensions of the principal mines.

In 1862, the principal mines worked in the several provinces were the following:

The mines of the Cordilleras of the coast have proved productive, in the province of Santiago, of silver and gold. The latter metal is worked in veins associated with the sulphurets of lead, zinc, copper, and iron, four leagues from Rancagua, and is also collected in the deposits of the streams. The inaccessibility of the mining districts, and the presence of hostile Indians, check the working of the gold mines; so that the annual production of the whole country is not rated at more than $500,000. The silver mines, though once extensively worked, are now for the most part abandoned for the richer mines of Copiapó. This province likewise affords some cobalt and nickel, veins of the arsenical ores having been worked for several years near the mountain called Cerro del Volcan, and their

products shipped to England. Copper mines are found along the course of the granitic and metamorphic rocks of the coast range and western spurs of the Andes from Santiago to the northern extremity of the country. This belt indeed abounds in metallic riches throughout its extent, even to Bolivia and Perú; but though lead, iron, bismuth, antimony, arsenic, zinc, and manganese are found, they are esteemed of no value, and the only mines worked are of the other metals named, and also to some extent of cinnabar. The importance of this ore is, however, greatly reduced by the cheap production of mercury in California.

Lately, discoveries of immense quantities of copper have been found in that part of the desert of Atacama which belongs to Chili. Several smelting establishments have been built by foreign mercantile houses, and principally by a very enterprising and respectable Chilian, Don José Antonio Moreno, who died lately in Santiago, leaving an immenes fortune, of which he made a very patriotic and liberal use.

The desert of Atacama, by its guano fields near Mejillones and elsewhere, and its inexhaustible veins of metals, will prove in future a source of revenue to Chile as abundant as that of her immense southern fields of bituminous coals.

COAL AND COAL FIELDS.

The coal beds of the province of Concepcion, were known as early as the year 1825. In 1834 they were examined by Mr. Wheelwright, Superintendent of the South Pacific Steam Navigation Company. In 1841 the formation was traced between Talcahuano and Valparaiso, and mines were soon after opened at the former locality. Coal has also been found in abundance near the mouth of the Laraqueto, and the beds are visible in the cliffs from vessels sailing along the coast. The most productive mines are in the districts of Coronel and Lota, the latter thirty miles south of the Biobio, in the province of Concepcion. About three thousand miners are employed, and the average annual produce is estimated at about seven hundred thousand tons, worth about seven dollars per ton. The coal beds are contained in strata supposed to be of the tertiary formation; and though the coal of this age is never so good as that of the true coal measures, that of Chili is found to answer for steam and domestic purposes. Prof. W. R. Johnson examined some

specimens said to be from the province of Arauco, which he describes in vol i. of the "Proceedings" of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, as of dull or pitchy black color, and nearly related in external appearance, to many of the richest bituminous coals of America and Europe. By analysis they afforded 67.62 per cent. of carbon, showing a decided superiority over the ordinary brown coal of the tertiary. Reports of examinations of other coals of the region represent, however, a percentage of carbon not exceeding 40, and the presence of much iron pyrites. Coal is imported from England in large quantities for the use of steamers, and for smelting ores.

The largest coal works, managed by the most perfect English system, and established at an expense of nearly a million of dollars, belong to Mr. Luis Cousiño, who inherited them a few years ago from his worthy father, Don Matias Cousiño, a man who devoted his life and capital to the advancement of his country, and died in the prime of life. Mr. Cousiño, as well as Mr. Moreno and Mr. Urmeneta, (the wealthy proprietor of the copper mines of Tamaya), deserve the gratitude of their countrymen for their generous efforts to improve and develop the industry of the country.

RAILWAYS AND ROADS.

Chili is, perhaps, the South American country which presents the greatest difficulties for the making of good freighting roads and railways, and at the same time possesses the most of both. In 1862 there were not less than five railroads, comprising a distance of five hundred and forty-three kilometres, and three hundred and sixty-five broad roads, comprising fourteen thousand and thirty-one kilometres.

Lately, not less than five hundred miles of railways have been completed, and in order to connect the whole extent of the country, through the central valleys from Copiapó, southward to Concepcion, no less than one thousand miles are to be constructed, and already a part of this in process of construction, under scientific study and survey.

Having stated, in the latter part of this work, the location of the principal railroads, for which we refer the reader to the accompanying Map, we now proceed to give some interesting facts about the length, cost, progress and results of those enterprises.