The Argentine Republic, or "Argentina," as it is popularly called, is
the most prosperous and most important of all the South American
states. Its area (1,319,247 square miles) is equal to the total area
of the States of the United States east of the Mississippi and
Missouri, including the Dakotas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Although a portion of this vast area is not of much value for
agricultural purposes, especially in Patagonia, a very large portion
of it does consist of soil of great fertility, while the climate,
which for the most part is a temperate one, is such as is well suited
to Europeans and white people generally. The population May 10, 1895,
was 4,094,911. Of this population it is estimated that over 850,000
are Italians, 183,000 French, 161,000 recently emigrated Spaniards,
60,000 English, and 54,000 Germans and Swedes. The language of the
government and of the schools is Spanish. At one time in Argentina
there was a disposition to take the United States as a model in
everything, but of late years there has been a tendency toward taking
France as a model in manners and customs. This disposition to imitate
European peoples is particularly true of the wealthy classes.