flow of water in his
mouth in a most satisfying way, for a few seconds. Of course, The
Instigator started off pacing and measuring the room's verandah, etc.,
in order to devise a scheme for the best improvements for the estancia,
and before long he and The Delineator had made out a plan which would
drive any member of the R.I.B.A. to desperation, but caused its authors
enormous joy. The Jehu and The Chaperon were occupied for some time in
seeing to the comfort of their men and animals, and trying to dry the
tents, clothes, etc., by the huge fire in the galpon in which the peons
were housed for the day. We are told that one Tacuruer tried to employ
the morning remuneratively by opening a temporary barber's shop on the
verandah, and advertising "hair-cutting and shaving"; possibly he might
have built up a successful business in time, but unfortunately for him
his first customer's beard was too unyielding for the ordinary scissors
and the customer objected to the way in which the horse clippers were
used on the hirsute growth of his chin, and talked of his treatment
afterwards in a way that did not inspire confidence in the other
might-have-been customers, who were observed to slink away one by one
from the barber's chair as if it were infected. We regret that a
well-meant enterprise on the part of one of The Tacuru party met with
such a poor reception.

A gleam of ceasing rain--it was not sunshine--gave courage to some of
the more energetic members of the party to go forth to inspect the heaps
of wood about to be made into charcoal in the neighbourhood of the
estancia, if any could be reached on dry land. For to-morrow the visit
to the La Gallareta factory will occupy the day, and the Charcoal piles
are too interesting a sight to be left unvisited now that we are in the
wood department of the Santa Fe Land Company.

In the northern districts where trees are numerous it is necessary to
"distroncar" the land before the soil can be brought into condition
suitable for the plough. In other words all the trees and roots must be
removed before ploughing operations commence. But the timber so obtained
is not wasted; the branches and all pieces not big enough to be used for
sleepers, etc., are cut up into various suitable lengths and piled
together in such a manner that when finished the heap presents the
appearance of a huge beehive; the centre of this dome running from the
apex to the ground is a hollow cylinder; this tube or