exporters, and Chile has been driven from all her old consuming
markets. Great Britain is now her best customer, and Brazil takes a
small quantity for milling mixtures. Chile has been badly handicapped
by her crude methods of cultivation, but these are passing away and
modern methods are taking their place. Formerly wheat was grown
chiefly in the region of long rainless summers, and the ripened grain
was thrown upon uncovered earth floors and threshed by horses driven
about over the straw, but this antiquated process was not suited to
the climate and enterprise of the more southern provinces, and the
modern threshing-machine has been introduced. Barley is largely
produced, chiefly for home consumption. Maize (Indian corn) is grown
in every part of Chile except the rainy south where the grain cannot
ripen, and is a principal article of food. The green maize furnishes
two popular national dishes, _choclos_ and _humitas_, which are eaten
by both rich and poor. Potatoes also are widely cultivated, but the
humid regions of the south, particularly from Valdivia to Chiloe,
produce the greatest quantity. The total annual production exceeds
three million bushels. The kidney bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_) is
another staple product in every part of the country, and is perhaps
the most popular article of food among all classes of Chileans. Peas
are largely cultivated south of the Maule. Walnuts have become another
important product and are exported, the average annual produce being
48,000 to 50,000 bushels. The olive was introduced from Spain in
colonial times and is widely distributed through the north central
provinces, but its economic importance is not great. Of the European
fruits introduced into the southern provinces, the apple has been the
most successful. It grows with little care and yields even better than
in its original home. The peach, apricot, plum, quince and cherry are
also cultivated with success. Wild strawberries are found on both
sides of the Andes; the cultivated varieties are unsurpassed,
especially those of the province of Concepcion.

The pastoral industries of Chile have been developed chiefly for the
home market. The climate is admirably suited to cattle-raising, as the
winters are mild and pasture is to be found throughout the whole year,
but the proximity of the Argentine pampas is fatal to its profitable
development. The government ha