This does not represent a complete list of the reports made by the consular officers in Latin America, but merely those that are supplied to the Pan American Union as likely to be of service to this organization.

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The engineering section of the department of agriculture of the Argentine Government estimates the production of PETROLEUM in the Comodoro Rivadavia district in 1917 at 200,000 metric tons. The oil already stored at the port in the zone referred to is 45,000 tons. The Argentine Government has vessels engaged in the transportation of this oil from Comodoro Rivadavia, which have a capacity of about 30,000 metric tons of petroleum a month.--According to "La Razon," a daily newspaper of Buenos Aires, an American refrigerating company will erect a large PACKING HOUSE and cold-storage plant in the vicinity of Rosario, Province of Santa Fe. The provincial legislature has enacted a law exempting enterprises of this kind established in that province from the payment of taxes. The establishment referred to will employ several hundred people at the beginning of its operations.--Analyses by the department of public works of samples of COAL from the recently discovered Chubut mines have proved very satisfactory. A larger consignment of this coal has been made, so as to conduct an actual test of its practical value as a fuel. The Government will also analyze coal from the Mendoza mines, and has arranged for the State Railway at Tucuman to test 60 tons of this coal.-Statistics compiled under the direction of the department of commerce and industries of the Argentine Government show that there are 25 BREWERIES in the Republic, with an estimated annual output of 770,859 hectolitros (hectoliter = 26.42 gallons). The capital invested in this industry aggregates 64,248,465 pesos, currency (paper peso = $0.425). The sale of brewery products in 1916 amounted to 26,299,556 pesos, currency, and the number of people employed was 3,114, and the wages paid 4,069,242 pesos.It is estimated that there are now 50,000,000 JUTE SACKS available in the Argentine Republic for handling the next crop of wheat, oats, and flaxseed. These sacks are sufficient to contain 3,000,000 tons of grain. As the total crop of these cereals is estimated at 6,000,000 tons, it will be necessary to provide 50,000,000 more sacks or substitutes therefor in order to properly handle the output of the cereals referred to.--The bureau of statistics of the Argentine Government has compiled reports showing that during the months of January, February, and March of the present year the exports from Argentina amounted to 204,963,471 pesos Argentine gold (gold peso = $0.9648), or 39,771,332 gold pesos more than during the same period of 1916. These exports for the quarter referred to represented in gold pesos the following products: Stock and stock products, 114,480,273; agricultural

products, 70,758,676; forestal products, 5,156,840; and other products, 14,567,682.The land department of the Argentine Government has received an official report recommending the cancellation of DEFECTIVE LAND GRANTS covering 1,014,563 hectares (hectare 2.47104 acres) of public lands in the Territory of Santa Cruz acquired for speculative purposes. Should these grants be canceled, the lands in question will be thrown open to actual settlers, who will be given clear titles to them upon compliance with the Argentine land laws.The ARGENTINE LEAGUE AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS treated 4,340 cases in 1916 and conducted an active propaganda throughout the Republic looking to the prevention and cure of this malady.-BANK BALANCES in the Argentine Republic on April 30, 1917, showed amounts on hand aggregating 63,096,197 pesos, gold (gold peso = $0.9648), and 637,190,746 pesos, currency (paper peso $0.425).

-The 31 SUGAR CANE ingenios (plantations) of the Argentine Republic ground in 1916 cane estimated at 2,000,000 tons, as compared with an estimated quantity of 2,500,000 tons in 1917. Thirty per cent of this amount represents bagasse, which recent investigations show could be utilized in the manufacture of paper should that industry be established in the Republic.——During the latter part of May of the present year a CONGRESS OF OBSTETRICS and gynecology was held in Buenos Aires, delegates from the neighboring countries participating. On May 24 last the HOSPITAL of San Roque was inaugurated in the city of Dolores. The building, which is said to be one of the best for hospital purposes in the country outside of the national capital, was donated by Mrs. Valeria V. de Crotto. During the first part of June last the commission of the Argentine Government in charge of the PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDS to agriculturists had received 9,500 requests for seeds representing 36,500 tons of wheat and 3,500 tons of flaxseed. It is estimated that the area sown to these cereals in the Argentine Republic during the present year will not be less than 7,000,000 hectares, and that the production of wheat alone will aggregate 5,000,000 tons.--On July 8, 1917, the FIRST CONGRESS OF NOTARIES met in Buenos Aires.The area under COTTON CULTIVATION in the Argentine Republic in 1916 was 3,390 hectares, as compared with an estimated area in 1917 of 4,000 hectares.The bureau of statistics of the department of agriculture has published figures showing that the SALES AND MORTGAGES OF RURAL PROPERTY in Argentina in 1916 amounted, respectively, to 305,877,186 and 170,432,317 pesos, currency (paper peso $0.425). A Scandinavian syndicate is negotiating with the Argentine Government concerning the exploitation of FIBROUS PLANTS and the establishment of a factory

=

for the manufacture of textiles and sacks. The company referred to is now operating a textile factory in Paraguay, the raw materials for the use of which come from the fibrous plants of that country.

BOLIVIA

Hundreds of barrels of CEMENT AND MORE THAN 500 BOXES (bultos) of freight have been ordered passed free of duty at the customhouse at Uyuni; all of these materials are destined for the new railroad between Potosi and Sucre, which is now under construction.A COMMERCIAL GUIDE OF LA PAZ is the title of a new book which is being compiled and edited by Luis Dick A. Recent business activities in La Paz and throughout the mining region of Bolivia have added many new names to the business world as well as other data which will be included in the forthcoming guide. Sr. Don Adolfo Diaz Romero, well known in diplomatic circles in Washington, London, and other capitals, has been named CONSUL GENERAL AT PARA, Brazil. Sr. Romero formerly held this important post but was recalled to La Paz at the outbreak of the European war and made assistant minister of foreign relations. More recently he has held the post of professor of law in the University of La Paz. He has already reached Para and entered upon his duties. -An AUTOMOBILE has been run from Oruro to La Paz, a distance of about 150 miles, in six hours. This is considered unusually quick time owing to the poor roads existing for a portion of the distance. On certain parts of the highway a speed of 50 miles per hour was attained.The president of the Geographic Society of La Paz, Dr. Manuel V. Ballivian, has directed an official communication to the chief of a branch of the ministerio de gobierno y fomento calling attention to the necessity of preserving the ancient monolith recently unearthed at Tiahuanacu. Attention is also called to the wanton destruction of parts of THE ANCIENT RUINS by curio hunters and others and to the fact that the vast area over which they are scattered belongs to the State and therefore should be preserved for future generations.- -Among the most interesting exhibits at the museum of the consulate general of Bolivia in New York are the VARIOUS GRADES OF SILK from the region of Cochabamba, Bolivia. This product is of excellent quality, and the industry could be greatly increased by the introduction of additional capital and modern appliances for handling the raw materials. -A company of CAMP FIRE GIRLS (Ninas de los campos de fuego) was recently organized at the American Institute in La Paz, with the object of engaging in such exercises,