Melissa Brent, age 15, of Chester, Pa., for her question:
DOES URUGUAY HAVE COWBOYS?
Uruguay, one of South America's smallest republics, is chiefly a livestock raising country and most Uruguayans make their living by raising cattle or sheep, or by working in related industries. The country has lots of cowboys, called gauchos, to oversee the livestock.
Most large scale industry in Uruguay is based on the processing of animal products. Principal exports include wool, meat and meat products, and hides and skins.
In no other country in Latin America do the people so depend upon livestock raising as in Uruguay.
The country, which is about the same size as the state of Kansas, has few forests and mineral deposits, and crop raising ranks far behind livestock raising. About three fourths of the land is used for pasture.
During colonial times the region along the Uruguay River was the center of a meat drying industry that remained important even after (ital) frigorificos, (unital) or meat processing plants, appeared in the early 1900s.
At first the (ital) frigorificos (unital) were not very successful. Today, however, meat processing is one of the most important industries of the country.
The official name of the country is (ital) Republics Oriental del Uruguay, (unital) or the Eastern Republic of the Uruguay. The country has water on three sides: the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Rio de la Plats on the south and the Uruguay River on the west.
Across the rivers is Argentina, and to the north is Uruguay's other neighbor, Brazil.
Most of Uruguay's people are of Spanish and Italian descent. More than 90 percent of Uruguay's people can read and write, making the country one of the most literate in South America. Six years of elementary school are followed by six years of secondary school. In the secondary school, the students take a four year general course and a two year upper course.
The University of the Republic in Montevideo, the nation's capital, in the largest college in Uruguay. The school was founded in 1849. Tuition is free for all students.
The Technical University is made up of 74 technical schools that are located throughout the country. Students in these schools learn such subjects as architecture, engineering and agriculture.
There are also several teachers colleges sad schools for the blind and handicapped.
The first European expedition landed on Uruguayan soil in 1516. A Spanish explorer named Juan Diaz de Solis led the team.
At first Uruguay was part of Brazil. It was called Bands Oriental, or Eastern Bank, because of its location on the eastern bank of the Uruguay River. Only is 1830, with independence, did it assume its present name.