AGRICULTURE, PRODUCTION, AND IN DUsTnY. Agriculture, notwithstanding the fa vorable natural conditions, is utterly neglected. The land, though held partly by whites, is culti vated chiefly by the Indians. The methods em• ployed are extremely primitive, most of the work being clone by hand. The chief importance of lies in its vast mineral resources. The profusion of gold decoration found in the royal palaces and temples of the Incas at the Spanish Conquest, as well as the numerous instruments belonging to the period preceding that event \villa are found in the mines worked at pres ent. indicate that the gold deposits of Bolivia were exploited by the Incas. After the Span ish Conquest the natives discontinued the mining of the metil, which was the chief cause of their downfall, and the work was subsequently taken up by the conquerors. The most important centre of gold-mining was the Tipuani River. in the Andes not far from La Paz. After Bolivia became independent gold-mining began to decline. and at present very few mines are worked by modern methods. Gold is supposed to exist in all the mountain streams of the northwestern as well as the southwestern parts of the country. At present silver, in the amount produced, ranks first among the minerals of Bolivia. This metal is worked ehiefly in the Province of Potosi, though it is believed that deposits exist in many other parts of the Bolivian Andes. The total
production of silver, as reported by the chief min ing companies, averages annually over 10.000.000 troy ounces. Tin is next in importance to silver. The tin-mines are situated principally in the de partments of Oruro, Potosi. La Paz. and Cocha bamba at an altitude of 14,000 feet. the most productive being in the departments of Oruro and Potosi. The output of till has increased very rap idly, the methods employed being comparatively modern, and amounts at present to about 40.000 tons yearly. Rich copper deposits are located in the mountains near the Desaguadero River, in the Department of La Paz. The average annual pro duction of copper aggregates about 21)00 tons. There are also deposits of bismuth, antimony, bo rax, salt, lead. zinc, etc. Ill Bolivia. as in other South American countries,inadequate transporta tion facilities and the lack of modern machinery— obstacles removable only by the aid of foreign cap ital—are factors which militate against the de velopment possible to the valuable mineral re sources. That the Government is fully conscious of this fact is evidenced by its liberality in the granting of concessions and in the matter of ap propriations for the surveying of new railroad lines. Manufacturing industries arc praetically of no importance.