s her turn in providing tea on these polo Sundays,
and there is great competition as to who makes the best cakes,
especially as it often falls to the lady herself to make these luxuries.

Wherever there is a polo club the most exciting event of the year is the
Spring Race Meeting, two days' racing, often followed by a polo match or
tournament with neighbouring clubs, and always as many dances as
possible, as it is the only time in the year when enough girls can be
collected together; every estancia house has its own party, as many as
can be crowded in, including friends from Buenos Aires and Rosario, who
delight in these camp meetings, and she is a proud hostess who can count
a few girls amongst her party. I may as well add here that girls are
almost "non est" in the camp, many districts for leagues and leagues
round not being able to boast of one English girl.

[Illustration: _Tennis Party at Vera_.]

Most clubs hold a Gymkhana Meeting in the Autumn, which makes one more
excitement in the year: it is a very merry meeting as a rule, with
always a dance or two if enough girls can be found. During the Winter
season (from April 1st to September 1st) the shooting is very good in
most parts, and many good shooting parties are given where there is
enough game to make it worth while asking one's friends. The bag
consists of partridges, martinetta (similar to the pheasant) and hares
(which are not considered worth picking up); when there are a number of
guns, dogs are not used, but two men on horseback drag a wire through
the grass (several in a line, if a big party), which forces the birds to
rise, and the guns walk behind. Peons on horseback, carrying sacks, keep
close up to them and pick up the birds as they fall, and close on their
heels comes a big brake, into which are emptied the contents of the
sacks as they get too heavy. The ladies of the party follow in all sorts
and conditions of vehicles, cheering on the shooters and dispensing
much-needed refreshments. A shoot is always followed up by a jolly
evening, after a hot bath and a good dinner. The men, forgetting how
tired they are, are quite ready to sing, dance, or play bridge until the
small hours. Another great event not to be forgotten is the visit of the
Camp Chaplain: he goes from one district to another holding services,
every Sunday in a different place. In a well-populated district he would
hold one about every two months, but to some places, where there are