Chapter 3

See Fr. Rabbe, “Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement,” in theRevue historique(Nov. 1899); Beaucher-Filleau,Les Annales de la compagniedu Saint-Sacrement (Paris, 1900); R. Allier,La Cobalt des dévots(Paris, 1902).

Marc René de Voyer, marquis de Paulmy and marquis d’Argenson (1652-1721), son of the preceding, was born at Venice on the 4th of November 1652. He becameavocatin 1669, and lieutenant-general in thesénéchausséeof Angoulême (1679). After the death of Colbert, who disliked his family, he went to Paris and married Marguerite Lefèvre de Caomartin, a kinswoman of the comptroller-general Pontchartrain. This was the beginning of his fortunes. He became successivelymaître des requêtes(1694), member of theconseil des prises(prize court) (1695),procureur-généralof the commission of inquest into false titles of nobility (1696), and finally lieutenant-general of police (1697). This last office, which had previously been filled by N.G. de la Reynie, was very important. It not only gave him the control of the police, but also the supervision of the corporations, printing press, and provisioning of Paris. All contraventions of the police regulations came under his jurisdiction, and his authority was arbitrary and absolute. Fortunately, he had, in Saint-Simon’s phrase, “a nice discernment as to the degree of rigour or leniency required for every case that came before him, being ever inclined to the mildest measures, but possessed of the faculty of making the most innocent tremble before him; courageous, bold, audacious in quellingêmeutes, and consequently the master of the people.” During the twenty-one years that he exercised this office he was a party to every private and state secret; in fact, he had a share in every event of any importance in the history of Paris. He was the familiar friend of the king, who delighted in scandalous police reports; he was patronized by the duke of Orleans; he was supported by the Jesuits at court; and he was feared by all. He organized the supply of food in Paris during the severe winter of 1709, and endeavoured, but with little success, to run to earth the libellers of the government. He directed the destruction of the Jansenist monastery of Port Royal (1709), a proceeding which provoked many protests and pamphlets. Under the regency, the Chambre de Justice, assembled to inquire into the malpractices of the financiers, suspected d’Argenson and arrested his clerks, but dared not lay the blame on him. On the 28th of January 1718 he voluntarily resigned the office of lieutenant-general of police for those of keeper of the seals—in the place of the chancellor d’Aguesseau—and president of the council of finance. He was appointed by the regent to suppress the resistance of the parlements and to reorganize the finances, and was in great measure responsible for permitting John Law to apply his financial system, though he soon quarrelled with Law and intrigued to bring about his downfall. The regent threw the blame for the outcome of Law’s schemes on d’Argenson, who was forced to resign his position in the council of finance (January 1720). By way of compensation he was created inspector-general of the police of the whole kingdom, but had to resign his office of keeper of the seals (June 1720). He died on the 8th of May 1721, the people of Paris throwing taunts and stones at his coffin and accusing him of having ruined the kingdom. In 1716 he had been created an honorary member of the Académie des Sciences and, in 1718, a member of the French Academy.

See the contemporary memoirs, especially those of Saint-Simon (de Boislisle’s ed.), Dangeau and Math. Marais; Barbier’sJournal; “Correspondance administrative sous Louis XIV.” inColl. des doc. inéd. sur I’histoire de France, edited by G.B. Depping (1850-1855);Correspondance des contrôleurs-généraux des finances, pub. by de Bois-lisle (1873-1900);Correspondance de M. de Marville avec M. de Maurepas(1896-1897);Rapports de police de René d’Argenson, pub. by P. Cottin (Paris, undated); P. Clément,La police sous Louis XIV. (1873).

René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d’Argenson (1694-1757), eldest son of the preceding, was a lawyer, and held successively the posts of councillor at the parlement (1716),maître des requêtes(1718), councillor of state (1719), and intendant of justice, police and finance in Hainaut. During his five years’ tenure of the last office he was mainly employed in provisioning the troops, who were suffering from the economic confusion resulting from Law’s system. He returned to court in 1724 to exercise his functions as councillor of state. At that time he had the reputation of being a conscientious man, but ill adapted to intrigue, and was nicknamed “la bête.” He entered into relations with the philosophers, and was won over to the ideas of reform. He was the friend of Voltaire, who had been a fellow-student of his at the Jesuit college Louis-le-grand, and frequented the Club de l’Entresol, the history of which he wrote in his memoirs. It was then that he prepared hisConsidérations sur le gouvernement de la France, which was published posthumously by his son. He was also the friend and counsellor of the minister G.L. de Chauvelin. In May 1744 he was appointed member of the council of finance, and in November of the same year the king chose him as secretary of state for foreign affairs, his brother, the comte d’Argenson (see below), being at the same time secretary of state for war. France was at that time engaged in the War of the Austrian Succession, and the government had been placed by Louis XV. virtually in the hands of the two brothers. The marquis d’Argenson endeavoured to reform the system of international relations. He dreamed of a “European Republic,” and wished to establish arbitration between nations in pursuance of the ideas of his friend the abbé de Saint-Pierre. But he failed to realize any part of his projects. The generals negotiated in opposition to his instructions; his colleagues laid the blame on him; the intrigues of the courtiers passed unnoticed by him; whilst the secret diplomacy of the king neutralized his initiative. He concluded the marriage of the dauphin to the daughter of Augustus III., king of Poland, but was unable to prevent the election of the grand-duke of Tuscany as emperor in 1745. On the both of January 1747 the king thanked him for his services. He then retired into private life, eschewed the court, associated with Voltaire, Condillac and d’Alembert, and spent his declining years in working at the Academic des Inscriptions, of which he was appointed president by the king in 1747, and revising hisMémoires. Voltaire, in one of his letters, declared him to be “the best citizen that had ever tasted the ministry.” He died on the 26th of January 1757.

He left a large number of manuscript works, of which his son, Antoine René (1722-1787), known as the marquis de Paulmy, published theConsidérations sur le gouvernement de France(Amsterdam, 1764) andEssais dans le gout de ceux de Montaigne(ib.1785). The latter, which contains many useful biographical notes and portraits of his contemporaries, was republished in 1787 asLoisirs d’un ministre d’état. Argenson’s most important work, however, is hisMémoires, covering in great detail the years 1725 to 1756, with an introductory part giving his recollections since the year 1696. They are, as they were intended to be,valuable “materials for the history of his time.” There are two important editions, the first, with some letters, not elsewhere published, by the marquis d’Argenson, his great-grand-nephew (5 vols., Paris, 1857 et seq.); the second, more correct, but less complete, published by J.B. Rathery, for the Société de l’Histoire de France (9 vols., Paris, 1859 et seq.). The other works of the marquis d’Argenson, in MS., were destroyed in the fire at the Louvre library in 1871.

See Sainte-Beuve,Causeries du lundi(vols. xii. and xiv.); Levasseur. “Le Marquis d’Argenson” in theMémoires de l’Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques(vol. lxxxvii., 1868); and, especially, E. Zevort,Le Marquis d’Argenson et le ministère des affaires étrangères(Paris, 1880). See also G. de R. de Flassan,Histoire de la diplomatie française(2nd ed., 1811); Voltaire,Siècle de Louis XV.; E. Boutaric,Correspondance secrète inédite de Louis XV. (1866); E. Champion, “Le Marquis d’Argenson,” in theRévolution française(vol. xxxvi., 1899); A. Alem,D’Argenson économiste(Paris, 1899); Arthur Ogle,The Marquis d’Argenson(1893).

Marc Pieere de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d’Argenson (1696-1764), younger brother of the preceding, was born on the 16th of August 1696. Following the family tradition he studied law and was councillor at the parlement of Paris. He succeeded his father as lieutenant-general of police in Paris, but held the post only five months (January 26 to June 30, 1720). He then received the office of intendant of Tours, and resumed the lieutenancy of police in 1722. On the 2nd of January 1724 he was appointed councillor of state. He gained the confidence of the regent Orleans, administering his fortune and living with his son till 1737. During this period he opened his salon to the philosophers Chaulieu, la Fare and Voltaire, and collaborated in the legislative labours of the chancellor d’Aguesseau. In March 1737 d’Argenson was appointed director of the censorship of books, in which post he showed sufficiently liberal views to gain the approval of writers—a rare thing in the reign of Louis XV. He only retained this post for a year. He became president of the grand council (November 1738), intendant of thegénéralitéof Paris (August 1740), was admitted to the king’s council (August 1742), and in January 1743 was appointed secretary of state for war in succession to the baron de Breteuil. As minister for war he had a heavy task; the French armies engaged in the War of the Austrian Succession were disorganized, and the retreat from Prague had produced a disastrous effect. After consulting with Marshal Saxe, he began the reform of the new armies. To assist recruiting, he revived the old institution of local militias, which, however, did not come up to his expectation. In the spring of 1744 three armies were able to resume the offensive in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, and in the following year France won the battle of Fontenoy, at which d’Argenson was present. After the peace in 1748 he occupied himself with the important work of recasting the French army on the model of the Prussian. He unified the types of cannon, grouped the grenadiers into separate regiments, and founded the École Militaire for the training of officers (1751). An edict of the 1st of November 1751 granted patents of nobility to all who had the rank of general officer. In addition to his duties as minister of war he had the supervision of the printing, postal administration and general administration of Paris. He was responsible for the arrangement of the promenade of the Champs Elysées and for the plan of the present Place de la Concorde. He was exceedingly popular, and, although the court favourites hated him, he had the support of the king. Nevertheless, after the attempt of R.F. Damiens to assassinate the king, Louis abandoned d’Argenson to the machinations of the court favourites and dismissed both him and his colleague, J.B. de Machault d’Arnouville (February 1757). D’Argenson was exiled to his estates at Les Ormes near Saumur, but he had previously found posts for his brother, the marquis d’Argenson, as minister of foreign affairs, for his son Marc René as master of the horse, and for his nephew Marc Antoine René as commissary of war. From the time of his exile he lived in the society of savants and philosophers. He had been elected member of the Académie des Inscriptions in 1749. Diderot and d’Alembert dedicated theEncyclopedieto him, and Voltaire, C.J.F. Hénault, and J.F. Marmontel openly visited him in his exile. After the death of Madame de Pompadour he obtained permission to return to Paris, and died a few days after his return, on the 22nd of August 1764.

Marc Antoine René de Voyer, marquis de Paulmy d’Argenson (1722-1787), nephew of the preceding and son of René Louis, was born at Valenciennes on the 22nd of November 1722. Appointed councillor at the parlement (1744), andmaître des requêtes(1747), he was associated with his father in the ministry of foreign affairs and with his uncle in the ministry of war, and, in recognition of this experience, was commissioned to inspect the troops and fortifications and sent on embassy to Switzerland (1748). In 1751 his uncle recognized him as his deputy and made over to him the reversion of the secretariate of war. He then worked on the great reform of the army, and after the dismissal of his uncle became minister of war (February 1757). But the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War made this post exceedingly difficult to hold, and he resigned on the 23rd of March 1758. He was ambassador to Poland from 1762 to 1764, but failed to procure the nomination of the French candidate to that throne. From 1766 to 1770 he was ambassador at Venice. Failing to obtain the embassy at Rome, he retired at the age of forty-eight and devoted the rest of his life to indulging his tastes for history and biography. He brought together a large library, very rich in French poetry and romance, and undertook various publications with the help of his librarian. In 1775 he began hisBibliothèque universelle des romans, of which forty volumes appeared within three years, but subsequently handed over the publication to other editors. His great work,Mélanges tirês d’une grande bibliothèque, was published in 65 volumes (Paris, 1779-1788). At his death he forbade his library to be dispersed: it was bought by the comte d’Artois (afterwards Charles X.) and formed the nucleus of the present Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal at Paris (the marquis having been governor of the arsenal). He died on the 13th of August 1787.

See contemporary memoirs; also Dacier’s eulogium in theAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres(November 1788); and Sainte-Beuve,Causeries du lundi(vol. xii.).

Marc René, marquis de Voyer de Paulmy d’Argenson (1721-1782), known as the marquis de Voyer, son of Marc Pierre de Voyer, the minister of war, was born in Paris on the 20th of September 1721. He served in the army of Italy and the army of Flanders in the War of the Austrian Succession, and wasmestre de camp(proprietary colonel) of the regiment of Berry cavalry at the battle of Fontenoy (May 10, 1745), where he was promoted brigadier. He was associated with his father in his work of reorganizing the army, was made inspector of cavalry and dragoons (1749), and succeeded his father as master of the horse (1752). He introduced English horses into France. He was lieutenant-general of Upper Alsace in 1753 and governor of Vincennes in 1754, and served afterwards under Soubise in the Seven Years’ War. He was wounded at Crefeld in 1758, and was promoted lieutenant-general (1759). He followed his father into exile at Les Ormes (1763), and in the last years of the reign of Louis XV. sided with the malcontents headed by Choiseul; but on the rupture with England he rejoined the service of the king (1775). He was appointed inspector of the sea-board, and put the roadstead of the island of Aix in a state of defence during the American War of Independence. He caught marsh-fever while attempting to drain the marshes of Rochefort, and died at Les Ormes on the 18th of September 1782.

Marc René Marie de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d’Argenson (1771-1842), son of the preceding, was born in Paris in September 1771. He was brought up by his father’s cousin, the marquis de Paulmy, governor of the arsenal, and was made lieutenant of dragoons in 1789. Although, at the age of eighteen, he had succeeded to several estates and a large fortune, he embraced the revolutionary cause, joining the army of the North as Lafayette’s aide-de-camp and remaining with it even after Lafayette’s defection. Leaving France to take one of his sisters to England, he was denounced on his return as a royalist conspirator, on the charge of having in his possession portraits of the royal family. He then went to live in Touraine, marriedthe widow of Prince Victor de Broglie, and saved her and her children from proscription. He introduced new agricultural instruments and processes on his estates, and installed machinery imported from England in his ironworks in Alsace. He was an enthusiastic adherent of Napoleon, by whom he was appointed in May 1809 prefect of Deux-Nèthes. He helped to repel the English invasion of the islands of South Beveland and Walcheren (August 1809), and afterwards directed the defence works of Antwerp, but resigned this post (March 1813) in consequence of the complaints of the inhabitants and the exacting demands of the emperor. In May 1814 he refused the prefecture of Marseilles offered to him by the Bourbons, but was elected deputy from Belfort in 1815 during the Hundred Days. On the 5th of July 1815 he took part in the declaration protesting against any tampering with the immutable rights of the nation. He was a member of theChambre introuvable, where he became one of the orators of the democratic party. He was one of the founders of the journalLe censeur européenand of theClub de la liberté de la presse, and was an uncompromising opponent of reaction. Not re-elected in 1824 on account of his liberal ideas, he returned to the chamber under the Martignac ministry (1828), and resolutely persisted in his championship of the liberty of the press and of public worship. On the death of his wife he voluntarily renounced his mandate (July 1829), and hailed the revolution of 1830 with great satisfaction. On the 3rd of November 1830 he was elected to the chamber as deputy from Châtellerault, and took the oath, adding, however, the reservation “subject to the progress of the public reason.” His independent attitude resulted in his defeat in the following year at the Châtellerault election, but he was returned for Strassburg. He wished the incidence of the taxes to be arranged according to social condition, and advocated a single tax proportionate to income like the English income tax. He harped incessantly on this idea in his speeches and articles (see his letters inLa Tribuneof June 20, 1832). Although he was a proprietor of ironworks he opposed the protectionist laws, which he considered injurious to the workmen. He became the mouthpiece of the advanced ideas; subsidized the opposition newspapers, especially theNational; received into his house F.M. Buonarroti, who in 1796 had been implicated in the conspiracy of “Gracchus” Babeuf (q.v.); and became a member of the committee of the Society of the Rights of Man. He was even sued in the courts for a pamphlet calledBoutade d’un homme riche à sentiments populaires, and delivered a speech to the jury in which he displayed very daring social theories. But he gradually grew discouraged and retired from public affairs, refusing even municipal office, and living in seclusion at La Grange in the forest of Guerche, where he devoted his inventive faculty to devising agricultural improvements. He subsequently returned to Paris, where he died on the 1st of August 1842.

Charles Marc René de Voyer, marquis d’Argenson (1796-1862), son of the preceding, was born at Boulogne-sur-Spine on the 20th of April 1796. He concerned himself little with politics. He was, however, a member of the council-general of Vienne for six years, but was expelled from it in 1840 in consequence of his advanced ideas and his relations with the Opposition. In 1848 he was elected deputy from Vienne to the Constituent Assembly by 12,000 votes. He was an active member of the Archaeological Society of Touraine and the Society of Antiquaries of the West, and wrote learned works for these bodies. He collaborated in preparing the archives of the scientific congress at Tours in 1847; brought out two editions of the MSS. of his great-grand-uncle, the minister of foreign affairs under Louis XV., under the titleMémoires du marquis d’Argenson, one in 1825, and the other, in 5 vols., in 1857-1858; and publishedDiscours et opinions de mon père, M. Voyer d’Argenson(2 vols., 1845). He died on the 31st of July,1862.

ARGENTAN,a town of north-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Orne, 27 m. N.N.W. of Alençon on the railway from Le Mans to Caen. Pop. (1906) 5072. It is situated on the slope of a hill on the right bank of the Orne at its confluence with the Ure. The town has remains of old fortifications, among them the Tour Marguerite, and a château, now used as a law-court, dating from the 15th century. The church of St Germain (15th, 16th and 17th centuries) has several features of architectural beauty, notably the sculptured northern portal, and the central and western towers. The church of St Martin, dating from the 15th century, has good stained glass. The handsome modern town-hall contains among other institutions the tribunal of commerce, the museum and the library. Argentan is the seat of a sub-prefect, has a tribunal of first instance and a communal college. Leather-working and the manufacture of stained glass are leading industries. There are quarries of limestone in the vicinity. Argentan was a viscounty from the 11th century onwards; it was often taken and pillaged. During the Religious Wars it remained attached to the Catholic party. François Eudes de Mézeray, the historian, was born near the town, and a monument has been erected to his memory.

ARGENTEUIL,a town of northern France in the department of Seine-et-Oise, on the Seine, 5 m. N.W. of the fortifications of Paris by the railway from Paris to Mantes. Pop. (1906) 17,330. Argenteuil grew up round a monastery, which, dating fromA.D.656, was by Charlemagne changed into a nunnery; it was afterwards famous for its connexion with Héloise (seeAbelard), and on her expulsion in 1129 was again turned into a monastery. Asparagus, figs, and wine of medium quality are grown in the district; and heavy iron goods, chemical products, clocks and plaster are among the manufactures.

ARGENTINA,or theArgentine Republic(officially,Republica Argentina), a country occupying the greater part of the southern extremity of South America. It is of wedge shape, extending from 21° 55′ S. to the most southerly point of the island of Tierra del Fuego in 55° 2′ 30″ S., while its extremes of longitude are 53° 40′ on the Brazilian frontier and 73° 17′ 30″ W. on the Chilean frontier. Its length from north to south is 2285 statute miles, and its greatest width about 930 m. It is the second largest political division of the continent, having an area of 1,083,596 sq. m. (Gotha measurement). It is bounded N. by Bolivia and Paraguay, E. by Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and the Atlantic, W. by Chile, and S. by the converging lines of the Atlantic and Chile.

Boundaries.—At different times Argentina has been engaged in disputes over boundary lines with every one of her neighbours, that with Chile being only settled in 1902. Beginning at the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, the boundary line ascends the Uruguay river, on the eastern side of the strategically important island of Martin García, to the mouth of the Pequiry, thence under the award of President Grover Cleveland in 1894 up that small river to its source and in a direct line to the source of the Santo Antonio, a small tributary of the Iguassú, thence down the Santo Antonio and Iguassú to the upper Paraná, which forms the southern boundary of Paraguay. From the confluence of the upper Paraná and Paraguay the line ascends the latter to the mouth of the Pilcomayo, which river, under the award of President R.B. Hayes in 1878, forms the boundary between Argentina and Paraguay from the Paraguay river north-west to the Bolivian frontier. In accordance with the Argentine-Bolivian treaty of 1889 the boundary line between these republics continues up the Pilcomayo to the 22nd parallel, thence west to the Tarija river, which it follows down to the Bermejo, thence up the latter to its source, and westerly through the Quiaca ravine and across to a point on the San Juan river opposite Esmoraca. From this point it ascends the San Juan south and west to the Cerro de Granadas, and thence south-west to Cerro Incahuasi and Cerro Zapalegui on the Chilean frontier. The boundary with Chile, extending across more than 32° lat., had been the cause of disputes for many years, which at times led to costly preparations for war. The debts of the two nations resulted largely from this one cause. In 1881 a treaty was signed which provided that the boundary line should follow the highest crests of the Andes forming the watershed as far south as the 52nd parallel, thence east to the 70th meridian and south-east to Cape Dungeness at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Magellan. Crossing the Straits the line should followthe meridian of 68° 44′, south to Beagle Channel, and thence east to the Atlantic, giving Argentina the eastern part of the Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island. By this agreement Argentina was confirmed in the possession of the greater part of Patagonia, while Chile gained control of the Straits of Magellan, much adjacent territory on the north, the larger part of Tierra del Fuego and all the neighbouring islands south and west.

When the attempt was made to mark this boundary the commissioners were unable to agree on a line across the Puna de Atacama in the north, where parallel ranges enclosing a high arid plateau without any clearly defined drainage to the Atlantic or Pacific, gave an opportunity for conflicting claims. In the south the broken character of the Cordillera, pierced in places by large rivers flowing into the Pacific and having their upper drainage basins on the eastern side of the line of highest crests, gave rise to unforeseen and very difficult questions. Finally, under a convention of the 17th of April 1896, these conflicting claims were submitted to arbitration. In 1899 a mixed commission with Hon. W.I. Buchanan, United States minister at Buenos Aires, serving as arbitrator, reached a decision on the Atacama line north of 26° 52′ 45″ S. lat., which was a compromise though it gave the greater part of the territory to Argentina. The line starts at the intersection of the 23rd parallel with the 67th meridian and runs south-westerly and southerly to the mountain and volcano summits of Rincón, Socompa, Llullaillaco, Azufre, Aguas Blancas and Sierra Nevada, thence to the initial point of the British award. (SeeGeogr. Jour., 1899, xiv. 322-323.) The line south of 26° 52′ 45″ S. lat. had been located by the commissioners of the two republics with the exception of four sections. These were referred to the arbitration of Queen Victoria, and, after a careful survey under the direction of Sir Thomas H. Holdich, the award was rendered by King Edward VII. in 1902. (SeeGeogr. Jour., 1903, xxi. 45-50.) In the first section the line starts from a pillar erected in the San Francisco pass, about 26° 50′ S. lat., and follows the water-parting southward to the highest peak of the Tres Cruces mountains in 27° 0′ 45″ S. lat., 68° 49′ 5″ W. long. In the second, the line runs from 40° 2′ S. lat., 71° 40′ 36″ W. long., along the water-parting to the southern termination of the Cerro Perihueico in the valley of the Huahum river, thence across that river, 71° 40′ 36″ W. long., and along the water-parting around the upper basin of the Huahum to a junction with the line previously determined. In the third and longest section, the line starts from a pillar erected in the Perez Rosales pass, near Lake Nahuel-Huapi, and follows the water-parting southward to the highest point of Mt. Tronador, and thence in a very tortuous course along local water-partings and across the Chilean rivers Manso, Puelo, Fetaleufu, Palena, Pico and Aisen, and the lakes Buenos Aires, Pueyrredón and San Martin, to avoid the inclusion of Argentine settlements within Chilean territory, to the Cerro Fitzroy and continental water-parting north-west of Lake Viedma, between 49° and 50° S. lat. The northern half of this line does not run far from the 72nd meridian, except in 44° 30′ S. where it turns eastward nearly a degree to include the upper valley of the Frias river in Chilean territory, but south of the 49th parallel it curves westward to give Argentina sole possession of lakes Viedma and Argentino. The fourth section, which was made particularly difficult of solution by the extension inland of the Pacific coast inlets and sounds and by the Chilean colonies located there, was adjusted by running the line eastward from the point of divergence in 50° 50′ S. lat. along the Sierra Baguales, thence south and south-east to the 52nd parallel, crossing several streams and following the crests of the Cerro Cazador. The Chilean settlement of Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope), over which there had been much controversy, remains under Chilean jurisdiction.

Physical Geography.—For purposes of surface description, Argentina may be divided primarily into three great divisions—the mountainous zone and tablelands of the west, extending the full length of the republic; the great plains of the east, extending from the Pilcomayo to the Rio Negro; and the desolate, arid steppes of Patagonia. The first covers from one-third to one-fourth of the width of the country between the Bolivian frontier and the Rio Negro, and comprises the elevated Cordilleras and their plateaus, with flanking ranges and spurs toward the east. In the extreme north, extending southward from the great Bolivian highlands, there are several parallel ranges, the most prominent of which are: the Sierra de Santa Catalina, from which the detached Cachi, Gulumpaji and Famatina ranges project southward; and the Sierra de Santa Victoria, south of which are the Zenta, Aconquija, Ambato and Ancaste ranges. These minor ranges, excepting the Zenta, are separated from the Andean masses by comparatively low depressions and are usually described as distinct ranges; topographically, however, they seem to form a continuation of the ranges running southward from the Santa Victoria and forming the eastern rampart of the great central plateau of which the Puna de Atacama covers a large part. The elevated plateaus between these ranges are semi-arid and inhospitable, and are covered with extensive saline basins, which become lagoons in the wet season and morasses or dry salt-pans in the dry season. These saline basins extend down to the lower terraces of Córdoba, Mendoza and La Pampa. Flanking this great widening of the Andes on the south-east are the three short parallel ranges of Córdoba, belonging to another and older formation. North of them is the great saline depression, known as the “salinas grandes,” 643 ft. above sea-level, where it is crossed by a railway; north-east is another extensive saline basin enclosing the “Mar Chiquita” (of Córdoba) and the morasses into which the waters of the Rio Saladillo disappear; and on the north are the more elevated plains, partly saline, of western Córdoba, which separate this isolated group of mountains from the Andean spurs of Rioja and San Luis. The eastern ranges parallel to the Andes are here broken into detached extensions and spurs, which soon disappear in the elevated western pampas, and the Andes contract south of Aconcagua to a single range, which descends gradually to the great plains of La Pampa and Neuquen. The lower terrace of this great mountainous region, with elevations ranging from 1000 to 1500 ft., is in reality the western margin of the great Argentine plain, and may be traced from Oran (1017 ft.) near the Bolivian frontier southward through Tucumán (1476 ft.), Frias (1129 ft.), Córdoba (1279 ft.), Rio Cuarto (1358 ft.), Paunero (1250 ft.), and thence westward and southward through still unsettled regions to the Rio Negro at the confluence of the Neuquen and Limay.The Argentine part of the great La Plata plain extends from the Pilcomayo south to the Rio Negro, and from the lower terraces of the Andes eastward to the Uruguay and Atlantic. In the north the plain is known as the Gran Chaco, and includes the country between the Pilcomayo and Salado del Norte and an extensive depression immediately north of the latter river, believed to be the undisturbed bottom of the ancient Pampean sea. The northern part of the Gran Chaco is partly wooded and swampy, and as the slope eastward is very gentle and the rivers much obstructed by sand bars, floating trees and vegetation, large areas are regularly flooded during rainy seasons. South of the Bermejo the land is more elevated and drier, though large depressions covered with marshy lagoons are to be found, similar to those farther north. The forests here are heavier. Still farther south and south-west there are open grassy plains and large areas covered with salt-pans. The general elevation of the Chaco varies from 600 to 800 ft. above sea-level. The Argentine “mesopotamia,” between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, belongs in great measure to this same region, being partly wooded, flat and swampy in the north (Corrientes), but higher and undulating in the south (Entre Rios). The Misiones territory of the extreme north-east belongs to the older highlands of Brazil, is densely wooded, and has ranges of hills sometimes rising to a height of 1000 to 1300 ft.The remainder of the great Argentine plain is the treeless, grassypampa(Quichua for “level spaces”), apparently a dead level, but in reality rising gradually from the Atlantic westward toward the Andes. Evidence of this is to be found in the altitudes of the stations on the Buenos Aires and Pacific railway running a little north of west across the pampas to Mendoza. The average elevation of Buenos Aires is about 65 ft.; of Mercedes, 70 m. westward, 132 ft.; of Junín (160 m.), 267 ft.; and of Paunero (400 m.) it is 1250 ft., showing an average rise of about 3 ft. in a mile. The apparently uniform level of the pampas is much broken along its southern margin by the Tandil and Ventana sierras, and by ranges of hills and low mountains in the southern and western parts of the territory of La Pampa. Extensive depressions also are found, some of which are subject to inundations, as along the lower Salado in Buenos Aires and along the lower courses of the Colorado and Negro. In the extreme west, which is as yet but slightly explored and settled, there is an extensive depressed area, largely saline in character, which drains into lakes and morasses, having no outlet to the ocean. The rainfall is under 6 in. annually, but the drainage from the eastern slopes of the Andes is large enough to meet the loss from evaporation and keep these inland lakes from drying up. At an early period this depressed area drained southward to the Colorado, and the bed of the old outlet can still be traced. The rivers belonging to this inland drainage system are the Vermejo, San Juan and Desaguadero, with their affluents, and their southward flow can be traced from about 28° S. lat. to the great lagoons and morasses between 36° and 37° S. lat. in the western part of La Pampa territory. Some of the principal affluents are the Vinchina and Jachal, or Zanjon, which flow into the Vermejo, the Patos, which flows into the San Juan, and the Mendoza, Tunuyan and Diamante whichflow into the Desaguadero, all of these being Andean snow-fed rivers. The Desaguadero also receives the outflow of the Laguna Bebedero, an intensely saline lake of western San Luis. The lower course of the Desaguadero is known as the Salado because of the brackish character of its water. Another considerable river flowing into the same great morass is the Atuel, which rises in the Andes not far south of the Diamante. (A description of the Patagonian part of Argentina will be found underPatagonia.)Rivers and Lakes.—The hydrography of Argentina is of the simplest character. The three great rivers that form the La Plata system—the Paraguay, Paraná and Uruguay—have their sources in the highlands of Brazil and flow southward through a great continental depression, two of them forming eastern boundary lines, and one of them, the Paraná, flowing across the eastern part of the republic. The northern part of Argentina, therefore, drains eastward from the mountains to these rivers, except where some great inland depression gives rise to a drainage having no outlet to the sea, and except, also, in the “mesopotamia” region, where small streams flow westward into the Paraná and eastward into the Uruguay. The largest of the rivers through which Argentina drains into the Plata system are the Pilcomayo, which rises in Bolivia and flows south-east along the Argentine frontier for about 400 m.; the Bermejo, which rises on the northern frontier and flows south-east into the Paraguay; and the Salado del Norte (called Rio del Jura-mento in its upper course), which rises on the high mountain slopes of western Salta and flows south-east into the Paraná. Another river of this class is the Carcarañal, about 300 m. long, formed by the confluence of the Tercero and Cuarto, whose sources are in the Sierra de Córdoba; it flows eastward across the pampas, and discharges into the Paraná at Gaboto, about 40 m. above Rosario. Other small rivers rising in the Córdoba sierras are the Primero and Segundo, which flow into the lagoons of north-east Córdoba, and the Quinto, which flows south-easterly into the lagoons and morasses of southern Córdoba. The Luján rises near Mercedes, province of Buenos Aires, is about 150 m. long, and flows north-easterly into the Paraná delta. Many smaller streams discharge into the Paraguay and Paraná from the west, some of them wholly dependent upon the rains, and drying up during long droughts. The Argentine “mesopotamia” is well watered by a large number of small streams flowing north and west into the Paraná, and east into the Uruguay. The largest of these are the Corrientes, Feliciano and Gualeguay of the western slope, and the Aguapey and Miriñay of the eastern. None of the tributaries of the La Plata system thus far mentioned is navigable except the lower Pilcomayo and Bermejo for a few miles. These Chaco rivers are obstructed by sand bars and snags, which could be removed only by an expenditure of money unwarranted by the present population and traffic. In the southern pampa region there are many small streams, flowing into the La Plata estuary and the Atlantic; most of these are unknown by name outside the republic. The largest and only important river is the Salado del Sud, which rises in the north-west corner of the province of Buenos Aires and flows south-east for a distance of 360 m. into the bay of Samborombon. On the southern margin of the pampas are the Colorado and Negro, both large, navigable rivers flowing entirely across the republic from the Andes to the Atlantic. Many of the rivers of Argentina, as implied by their names (Salado and Saladillo), are saline or brackish in character, and are of slight use in the pastoral and agricultural industries of the country. The lakes of Argentina are exceptionally numerous, although comparatively few are large enough to merit a name on the ordinary general map. They vary from shallow, saline lagoons in the north-western plateaus, to great, picturesque, snow-fed lakes in the Andean foothills of Patagonia. The province of Buenos Aires has more than 600 lakes, the great majority small, and some brackish. The La Pampa territory also is dotted with small lakes. The Bebedero, in San Luis, and Porongos, in Córdoba, and others, are shallow, saline lakes which receive the drainage of a considerable area and have no outlet. The large saline Mar Chiquita, of Córdoba, is fed from the Sierra de Córdoba and has no outlet. In the northern part of Gorrientes there is a large area of swamps and shallow lagoons which are believed to be slowly drying up.Harbours.—Although having a great extent of coast-line, Argentina has but few really good harbours. The two most frequented by ocean-going vessels are Buenos Aires and Ensenada (La Plata), both of which have been constructed at great expense to overcome natural disadvantages. Perhaps the best natural harbour of the republic is that of Bahia Blanca, a large bay of good depth, sheltered by islands, and 534 m. by sea south of Buenos Aires; here the government is building a naval station and port called Puerto Militar or Puerto Belgrano, and little dredging is needed to render the harbour accessible to the largest ocean-going vessels. About 100 m. south of Bahia Blanca is the sheltered bay of San Bias, which may become of commercial importance, and between the 42nd and 43rd parallels are the land-locked bays of San José and Nueva (Golfo Nuevo)—the first as yet unused; on the latter is Puerto Madryn, 838 m. from Buenos Aires, the outlet for the Welsh colony of Chubut. Other small harbours on the lower Patagonian coast are not prominent, owing to lack of population. An occasional Argentine steamer visits these ports in the interests of colonists. The beet-known among them are Puerto Deseado (Port Desire) at the mouth of the Deseado river (1253 m.), Santa Cruz, at the mouth of the Santa Cruz river (1481 m.), and Ushuaia, on Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego. North of Buenos Aires, on the Paraná river, is the port of Rosario, the outlet for a rich agricultural district, ranking next to the federal capital in importance. Other river ports, of less importance, are Concordia on the Uruguay river, San Nicolás and Campana on the Paraná river, Santa Fé on the Salado, a few miles from the Paraná, the city of Paraná on the Paraná river, and Gualeguay on the Gualeguay river.Geology.—The Pampas of Argentina are generally covered by loess. The Cordillera, which bounds them on the west, is formed of folded beds, while the Sierras which rise in their midst, consist mainly of gneiss, granite and schist. In the western Sierras, which are more or less closely attached to the main chain of the Cordillera, Cambrian and Silurian fossils have been found at several places. These older beds are overlaid, especially in the western part of the country, by a sandstone series which contains thin seams of coal and many remains of plants. At Bajo de Velis, in San Luis, the plants belong to the “Glossopteris flora,” which is so widely spread in South Africa, India and Australia, and the beds are correlated with the Karharbári series of India (Permian or Permo-Carboni-ferous). Elsewhere the plants generally indicate a higher horizon and are considered to correspond with the Rhaetic of Europe. Jurassic beds are known only in the Cordillera itself, and the Cretaceous beds, which occur in the west of the country, are of fresh-water origin. As far west, therefore, as the Cordillera, there is no evidence that any part of the region was ever beneath the sea in Mesozoic times, and the plant-remains indicate a land connexion with Africa. This view is supported by Neumayr’s comparison of Jurassic faunas throughout the world. The Lower Tertiary consists largely of reddish sandstones resting upon the old rocks of the Cordillera and of the Sierras. Towards the east they lie at a lower level; but in the Andes they reach a height of nearly 10,000 ft., and are strongly folded, showing that the elevation of the chain was not completed until after their deposition. The marine facies of the later Tertiaries is confined to the neighbourhood of the coast, and was probably formed after the elevation of the Andes; but inland, fresh-water deposits of this period are met with, especially in Patagonia. Contemporaneous volcanic rocks are associated with the Ordovician beds and with the Rhaetic sandstones in several places. During the Tertiary period the great volcanoes of the Andes were formed, and there were smaller eruptions in the Sierras. The principal rocks are andesites, but trachytes and basalts are also common. Great masses of granite, syenite and diorite were intruded at this period, and send tongues even into the andesitic tuffs.Silver, gold, lead and copper ores occur in many localities. They are found chiefly in the neighbourhood of the eruptive masses of the hilly regions. (See alsoAndes.)1Climate.—The great extent of Argentina in latitude—about 33°—and its range in altitude from sea-level westward to the permanently snow-covered peaks of the Andes, give it a highly diversified climate, which is further modified by prevailing winds and mountain barriers. The temperature and rainfall are governed by conditions different from those in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, for instance, although they correspond in latitude to Labrador, are made habitable and an excellent sheep-grazing country by the southerly equatorial current along the continental coast. The climate, however, is colder than the corresponding latitudes of western Europe, because of the prevailing westerly winds, chilled in crossing the Andes. In the extreme north-west an elevated region, whose aridity is caused by the “blanketing” influence of the eastern Andean ranges, extends southward to Mendoza. The northern part of the republic, east of the mountains, is subject to the oscillatory movements of the south-east trade winds, which cause a division of the year into wet and dry seasons. Farther south, in Patagonia, the prevailing wind is westerly, in which case the Andes again “blanket” an extensive region and deprive it of rain, turning it into an arid desolate steppe. Below this region, where the Andean barrier is low and broken, the moist westerly winds sweep over the land freely and give it a large rainfall, good pastures and a vigorous forest growth. If the republic be divided into sections by east and west lines, diversities of climate in the same latitude appear. In the extreme north a little over a degree and a half of territory lies within the torrid zone, extending from the Pilcomayo about 500 m. westward to the Chilean frontier; its eastern end is in the low, wooded plain of the Gran Chaco, where the mean annual temperature is 73° F., and the annual rainfall is 63 in.; but on the arid, elevated plateau at its western extremity the temperature falls below 57° F., and the rainfall has diminished to 2 in. The character of the soil changes from the alluvial lowlands of the Gran Chaco, covered with forests of palms and other tropical vegetation, to the sandy, saline wastes of the Puna de Atacama, almost barren of vegetation and overshadowed by permanentlysnow-crowned peaks. Between the 30th and 31st parallels, a region essentially sub-tropical in character, the temperature ranges from 66° on the eastern plains to 62-5° in Córdoba and 64° F. on the higher, arid, sun-parched tablelands of San Juan. The rainfall, which varies between 39 and 47 in. in Entre Rios, decreases to 27 in. in Córdoba and 2 in. in San Juan. The republic has a width of about 745 m. at this point, three-fourths of which is a comparatively level alluvial plain, and the remainder an arid plateau broken by mountain ranges. In the vicinity of Buenos Aires the climatic conditions vary very little from those of the pampa region; the mean annual temperature is about 63° (maximum 104°; minimum 32°), and the annual rainfall is 34 in.; snow is rarely seen. South of the pampa region, on the 40th parallel, the mean temperature varies only slightly in the 370 m. from the mouth of the Colorado to the Andes, ranging from 57° to 55°; but the rainfall increases from 8 in. on the coast to 16 in. on the east slope of the Cordillera. This section is near the northern border of the arid Patagonian steppes. In Tierra del Fuego (lat. 53° to 55°), the climatic conditions are in strong contrast to those of the north. Here the mean temperature is between 46° and 48° in summer and 36° and 38° in winter, rains are frequent, and snow falls every month in the year. The central and southern parts of the island and the neighbouring Staten Island are exceptionally rainy, the latter having 251½ rainy days in the year. The precipitation of rain, snow and hail is about 55 in.(Click to enlarge.)The prevailing winds through this southern region are westerly, being moist below the 52nd parallel, and dry between it and the 40th parallel. In the north and on the pampas the north wind is hot and depressing, while the south wind is cool and refreshing. The north wind usually terminates with a thunderstorm or with apampero, a cold south-west wind from the Andes which blows with great violence, causes a fall in temperature of 15° to 20°, and is most frequent from June to November—the southern winter and spring. In the Andean region, a dry, hot wind from the north or north-west, called theZonda, blows with great intensity, especially in September-October, and causes much discomfort and suffering. It is followed by a cold south wind which often lowers the temperature 25°. The climate of the pampas is temperate and healthy, and is admirably suited to agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Its greatest defect is the cold southerly and westerly storms, which cause great losses in cattle and sheep. The Patagonian coast-line and mountainous region are also healthy, having a dry and bracing climate. In the north, however, the hot lowlands are malarial and unsuited to north European settlement, while the dry, elevated plateaus are celebrated for their healthiness, those of Catamarca having an excellent reputation as a sanatorium for sufferers from pulmonary and bronchial diseases.Flora.—The flora of Argentina should be studied according to natural zones corresponding to the physical divisions of the country—the rich tropical and sub-tropical regions of the north, the treeless pampas of the centre, the desert steppes of the south, and the arid plateaus of the north-west. The vegetation of each region has its distinctive character, modified here and there by elevation, irrigation from mountain streams, and by the saline character of the soil. In the extreme south, where an Arctic vegetation is found, the pastures are rich, and the forests, largely of the Antarctic beech (Fagus antarctica), are vigorous wherever the rainfall is heavy. The greater part of Patagonia is comparatively barren and has no arboreal growth, except in the well-watered valleys of the Andean foothills. The water-courses and depressions of the shingly steppts afford pasturage sufficient for the guanaco, and in places support a thorny vegetation of low growth and starved appearance. The Antarctic beech and Winter’s bark (Drimys Winteri) are found at intervals along the Andes to the northern limits of this zone. The pampas, which cover so large a part of the republic, have no native trees whatever, and no woods except the scrubby growth of the delta islands of the Paraná, and a fringe of low thorn-bushes along the Atlantic coast south to Mar Chiquita and south of the Tandil sierra, which, strictly speaking, does not belong to this region. The great plains are covered with edible grasses, divided into two classes,pasto duro(hard grass) andpasto blando, ortierno(soft grass)—the former tall, coarse, nutritious and suitable for horses and cattle, and the latter tender grasses and herbs, including clovers, suitable for sheep and cattle. The so-called “pampas-grass” (Gynerium argenteum) is not found at all on the dry lands, but in the wet grounds of the south and south-west. Thepasto durois largely composed of the generaStipaandMelica. In the dry, saline regions of the west and north-west, where the rainfall is slight, there are large thickets of low-growing, thorny bushes, poor in foliage. The predominating species is the chañar (Gurliaca decorticans), which produces an edible berry, and occurs from the Rio Negro to the northern limits of the republic. Huge cacti are also characteristic of this region. On the lower slopes of the Andes are found oak, beech, cedar, Winter’s bark, pine (Araucaria imbricata), laurel and calden (Prosopis algarobilla). The provinces of Santa Fé, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero are only partially wooded; large areas of plains are intermingled with scrubby forests of algarrobo (Prosopis), quebracho-blanco (Aspido-sperma quebracho), tala (Celtis tola,Sellowiana,acuminata), acacias and other genera. In Tucumán and eastern Salta the same division into forests and open plains exists, but the former are of denser growth and contain walnut, cedar, laurel, tipa (Machaerium fertile) and quebracho-colorado (Loxopterygium Lorentzii). The territories of the Gran Chaco, however, are covered with a characteristic tropical vegetation, in which the palm predominates, but intermingled south of the Bermejo with heavy growths of algarrobo, quebracho-colorado, urunday (Astronium fraxinifolium), lapacho (Tecoma curialis) and palosanto (Cuayacum officinalis), all esteemed for hardness and fineness of grain. Other palms abound, such as the pindo (Cocos australis), mbocaya (Cocos sclerocarpa) and the yatai (Cocos yatai), but the predominating species north of the Bermejo is the caranday or Brazilian wax-palm (Copernicia cerifera), which has varied uses. The forest habit in this region is close association of species, and there are “palmares,” “algarrobales,” “chañarales,” &c,, and among these open pasture lands, giving to a distant landscape a park-like appearance. In the “mesopotamia” region the flora is similar to that of the southern Chaco, but in the Misiones it approximates more to that of the neighbouring Brazilian highlands. Among the marvellous changes wrought in Argentina by the advent of European civilization, is the creation of a new flora by the introduction of useful trees and plants from every part of the world. Indian corn, quinoa, mandioca, possibly the potato, cotton and various fruits, including the strawberry, were already known to the aborigines, but with the conqueror came wheat, barley, oats, flax, many kinds of vegetables, apples, peaches, apricots, pears, grapes, figs, oranges and lemons, together with alfalfa and new grasses for the plains. The Australian eucalyptus is now grown in many places, and there are groves of the paradise or paraiso tree (Melia azedarach) on the formerly treeless pampa. The cereals of Europe are a source of increasing wealth to the nation, and alfalfa promises new prosperity for pastoral industries.Fauna.—The Argentine fauna, like its flora, has been greatly influenced by the character and position of the pampas. Whatever it may have been in remote geological periods, it is now extremely limited both in size and numbers. Of the indigenous fauna, the tapir of the north and the guanaco of the west and south are the largest of the animals. The pampas were almost destitute of animal life before the horses and cattle of the Spanish invaders were there turned out to graze, and the puma and jaguar never came there until the herds of European cattle attracted them. The timid viscacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus), living in colonies, often with the burrowing owl, and digging deep under ground like the American prairie dog, was almost the only quadruped to be seen upon these immense open plains. The fox, of which several species exist, probably never ventured far into the plain, for it afforded him no shelter. Immense flocks of gulls were probably attracted to it then as now by its insect life, and its lagoons and streams teemed with aquatic birds. The occupation of this region by Europeans, and the introduction of horses, asses, cattle, sheep, goats and swine, have completely changed its aspect and character. On the Patagonian steppes there are comparatively few species of animals. Among them are the puma (Felis concolor), a smaller variety of the jaguar (Felis onça), the wolf, the fox, the Patagonian hare (Dolichotis patagonica) and two species of wild cat. The huge glyptodon once inhabited this region, which now possesses the smallest armadillo known, the “quir-quincho” orDasypus minutus. The guanaco (Auchenia), which ranges from Tierra del Fuego to the Bolivian highlands, finds comparative safety in these uninhabitable solitudes, and is still numerous. The “ñandú” or American ostrich (Rhea americana), inhabiting the pampas and open plains of the Chaco, has in Patagonia a smaller counterpart (Rhea Darwinii), which is never seen north of the Rio Negro. On the arid plateaus of the north-west, the guanaco and vicuña are still to be found, though less frequently, together with a smaller species of viscacha (Lagidium cuvieri). The greatest development of the Argentine fauna, however, is in the warm, wooded regions of the north and north-east, where many animals are of the same species as those in the neighbouring territories of Brazil. Several species of monkeys inhabit the forests from the Paraná to the Bolivian frontier. Pumas, jaguars and one or two species of wild cat are numerous, as also the Argentine wolf and two of three species of fox. The coatí, marten, skunk and otter (Lutra paranensis) are widely distributed. Three species of deer are common. In the Chaco the tapir or anta (Tapir americanus) still finds a safe retreat, and the peccary (Dycotyles torquatus) ranges from Córdoba north to the Bolivian frontier. The capybara (Hydrochoerus capybara) is also numerous in this region. Of birds the number of species greatly exceeds that of the mammals, including the rhea of the pampas and condor of the Andes, and the tiny, brilliant-hued humming-birds of the tropical North. Vultures and hawks are well represented, but perhaps the most numerous of all are the parrots, of which there are six or seven species. The reptilians are represented in the Paraná by the jacaré (Alligator sclerpos), and on land by the “iguana” (Teius teguexim, Podinema teguixin), and some species of lizard. Serpents are numerous, but only two are described as poisonous, the cascavel (rattlesnake) and the “vibora de la cruz” (Trigonocephalus alternatus).2

The Argentine part of the great La Plata plain extends from the Pilcomayo south to the Rio Negro, and from the lower terraces of the Andes eastward to the Uruguay and Atlantic. In the north the plain is known as the Gran Chaco, and includes the country between the Pilcomayo and Salado del Norte and an extensive depression immediately north of the latter river, believed to be the undisturbed bottom of the ancient Pampean sea. The northern part of the Gran Chaco is partly wooded and swampy, and as the slope eastward is very gentle and the rivers much obstructed by sand bars, floating trees and vegetation, large areas are regularly flooded during rainy seasons. South of the Bermejo the land is more elevated and drier, though large depressions covered with marshy lagoons are to be found, similar to those farther north. The forests here are heavier. Still farther south and south-west there are open grassy plains and large areas covered with salt-pans. The general elevation of the Chaco varies from 600 to 800 ft. above sea-level. The Argentine “mesopotamia,” between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, belongs in great measure to this same region, being partly wooded, flat and swampy in the north (Corrientes), but higher and undulating in the south (Entre Rios). The Misiones territory of the extreme north-east belongs to the older highlands of Brazil, is densely wooded, and has ranges of hills sometimes rising to a height of 1000 to 1300 ft.

The remainder of the great Argentine plain is the treeless, grassypampa(Quichua for “level spaces”), apparently a dead level, but in reality rising gradually from the Atlantic westward toward the Andes. Evidence of this is to be found in the altitudes of the stations on the Buenos Aires and Pacific railway running a little north of west across the pampas to Mendoza. The average elevation of Buenos Aires is about 65 ft.; of Mercedes, 70 m. westward, 132 ft.; of Junín (160 m.), 267 ft.; and of Paunero (400 m.) it is 1250 ft., showing an average rise of about 3 ft. in a mile. The apparently uniform level of the pampas is much broken along its southern margin by the Tandil and Ventana sierras, and by ranges of hills and low mountains in the southern and western parts of the territory of La Pampa. Extensive depressions also are found, some of which are subject to inundations, as along the lower Salado in Buenos Aires and along the lower courses of the Colorado and Negro. In the extreme west, which is as yet but slightly explored and settled, there is an extensive depressed area, largely saline in character, which drains into lakes and morasses, having no outlet to the ocean. The rainfall is under 6 in. annually, but the drainage from the eastern slopes of the Andes is large enough to meet the loss from evaporation and keep these inland lakes from drying up. At an early period this depressed area drained southward to the Colorado, and the bed of the old outlet can still be traced. The rivers belonging to this inland drainage system are the Vermejo, San Juan and Desaguadero, with their affluents, and their southward flow can be traced from about 28° S. lat. to the great lagoons and morasses between 36° and 37° S. lat. in the western part of La Pampa territory. Some of the principal affluents are the Vinchina and Jachal, or Zanjon, which flow into the Vermejo, the Patos, which flows into the San Juan, and the Mendoza, Tunuyan and Diamante whichflow into the Desaguadero, all of these being Andean snow-fed rivers. The Desaguadero also receives the outflow of the Laguna Bebedero, an intensely saline lake of western San Luis. The lower course of the Desaguadero is known as the Salado because of the brackish character of its water. Another considerable river flowing into the same great morass is the Atuel, which rises in the Andes not far south of the Diamante. (A description of the Patagonian part of Argentina will be found underPatagonia.)

Rivers and Lakes.—The hydrography of Argentina is of the simplest character. The three great rivers that form the La Plata system—the Paraguay, Paraná and Uruguay—have their sources in the highlands of Brazil and flow southward through a great continental depression, two of them forming eastern boundary lines, and one of them, the Paraná, flowing across the eastern part of the republic. The northern part of Argentina, therefore, drains eastward from the mountains to these rivers, except where some great inland depression gives rise to a drainage having no outlet to the sea, and except, also, in the “mesopotamia” region, where small streams flow westward into the Paraná and eastward into the Uruguay. The largest of the rivers through which Argentina drains into the Plata system are the Pilcomayo, which rises in Bolivia and flows south-east along the Argentine frontier for about 400 m.; the Bermejo, which rises on the northern frontier and flows south-east into the Paraguay; and the Salado del Norte (called Rio del Jura-mento in its upper course), which rises on the high mountain slopes of western Salta and flows south-east into the Paraná. Another river of this class is the Carcarañal, about 300 m. long, formed by the confluence of the Tercero and Cuarto, whose sources are in the Sierra de Córdoba; it flows eastward across the pampas, and discharges into the Paraná at Gaboto, about 40 m. above Rosario. Other small rivers rising in the Córdoba sierras are the Primero and Segundo, which flow into the lagoons of north-east Córdoba, and the Quinto, which flows south-easterly into the lagoons and morasses of southern Córdoba. The Luján rises near Mercedes, province of Buenos Aires, is about 150 m. long, and flows north-easterly into the Paraná delta. Many smaller streams discharge into the Paraguay and Paraná from the west, some of them wholly dependent upon the rains, and drying up during long droughts. The Argentine “mesopotamia” is well watered by a large number of small streams flowing north and west into the Paraná, and east into the Uruguay. The largest of these are the Corrientes, Feliciano and Gualeguay of the western slope, and the Aguapey and Miriñay of the eastern. None of the tributaries of the La Plata system thus far mentioned is navigable except the lower Pilcomayo and Bermejo for a few miles. These Chaco rivers are obstructed by sand bars and snags, which could be removed only by an expenditure of money unwarranted by the present population and traffic. In the southern pampa region there are many small streams, flowing into the La Plata estuary and the Atlantic; most of these are unknown by name outside the republic. The largest and only important river is the Salado del Sud, which rises in the north-west corner of the province of Buenos Aires and flows south-east for a distance of 360 m. into the bay of Samborombon. On the southern margin of the pampas are the Colorado and Negro, both large, navigable rivers flowing entirely across the republic from the Andes to the Atlantic. Many of the rivers of Argentina, as implied by their names (Salado and Saladillo), are saline or brackish in character, and are of slight use in the pastoral and agricultural industries of the country. The lakes of Argentina are exceptionally numerous, although comparatively few are large enough to merit a name on the ordinary general map. They vary from shallow, saline lagoons in the north-western plateaus, to great, picturesque, snow-fed lakes in the Andean foothills of Patagonia. The province of Buenos Aires has more than 600 lakes, the great majority small, and some brackish. The La Pampa territory also is dotted with small lakes. The Bebedero, in San Luis, and Porongos, in Córdoba, and others, are shallow, saline lakes which receive the drainage of a considerable area and have no outlet. The large saline Mar Chiquita, of Córdoba, is fed from the Sierra de Córdoba and has no outlet. In the northern part of Gorrientes there is a large area of swamps and shallow lagoons which are believed to be slowly drying up.

Harbours.—Although having a great extent of coast-line, Argentina has but few really good harbours. The two most frequented by ocean-going vessels are Buenos Aires and Ensenada (La Plata), both of which have been constructed at great expense to overcome natural disadvantages. Perhaps the best natural harbour of the republic is that of Bahia Blanca, a large bay of good depth, sheltered by islands, and 534 m. by sea south of Buenos Aires; here the government is building a naval station and port called Puerto Militar or Puerto Belgrano, and little dredging is needed to render the harbour accessible to the largest ocean-going vessels. About 100 m. south of Bahia Blanca is the sheltered bay of San Bias, which may become of commercial importance, and between the 42nd and 43rd parallels are the land-locked bays of San José and Nueva (Golfo Nuevo)—the first as yet unused; on the latter is Puerto Madryn, 838 m. from Buenos Aires, the outlet for the Welsh colony of Chubut. Other small harbours on the lower Patagonian coast are not prominent, owing to lack of population. An occasional Argentine steamer visits these ports in the interests of colonists. The beet-known among them are Puerto Deseado (Port Desire) at the mouth of the Deseado river (1253 m.), Santa Cruz, at the mouth of the Santa Cruz river (1481 m.), and Ushuaia, on Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego. North of Buenos Aires, on the Paraná river, is the port of Rosario, the outlet for a rich agricultural district, ranking next to the federal capital in importance. Other river ports, of less importance, are Concordia on the Uruguay river, San Nicolás and Campana on the Paraná river, Santa Fé on the Salado, a few miles from the Paraná, the city of Paraná on the Paraná river, and Gualeguay on the Gualeguay river.

Geology.—The Pampas of Argentina are generally covered by loess. The Cordillera, which bounds them on the west, is formed of folded beds, while the Sierras which rise in their midst, consist mainly of gneiss, granite and schist. In the western Sierras, which are more or less closely attached to the main chain of the Cordillera, Cambrian and Silurian fossils have been found at several places. These older beds are overlaid, especially in the western part of the country, by a sandstone series which contains thin seams of coal and many remains of plants. At Bajo de Velis, in San Luis, the plants belong to the “Glossopteris flora,” which is so widely spread in South Africa, India and Australia, and the beds are correlated with the Karharbári series of India (Permian or Permo-Carboni-ferous). Elsewhere the plants generally indicate a higher horizon and are considered to correspond with the Rhaetic of Europe. Jurassic beds are known only in the Cordillera itself, and the Cretaceous beds, which occur in the west of the country, are of fresh-water origin. As far west, therefore, as the Cordillera, there is no evidence that any part of the region was ever beneath the sea in Mesozoic times, and the plant-remains indicate a land connexion with Africa. This view is supported by Neumayr’s comparison of Jurassic faunas throughout the world. The Lower Tertiary consists largely of reddish sandstones resting upon the old rocks of the Cordillera and of the Sierras. Towards the east they lie at a lower level; but in the Andes they reach a height of nearly 10,000 ft., and are strongly folded, showing that the elevation of the chain was not completed until after their deposition. The marine facies of the later Tertiaries is confined to the neighbourhood of the coast, and was probably formed after the elevation of the Andes; but inland, fresh-water deposits of this period are met with, especially in Patagonia. Contemporaneous volcanic rocks are associated with the Ordovician beds and with the Rhaetic sandstones in several places. During the Tertiary period the great volcanoes of the Andes were formed, and there were smaller eruptions in the Sierras. The principal rocks are andesites, but trachytes and basalts are also common. Great masses of granite, syenite and diorite were intruded at this period, and send tongues even into the andesitic tuffs.

Silver, gold, lead and copper ores occur in many localities. They are found chiefly in the neighbourhood of the eruptive masses of the hilly regions. (See alsoAndes.)1

Climate.—The great extent of Argentina in latitude—about 33°—and its range in altitude from sea-level westward to the permanently snow-covered peaks of the Andes, give it a highly diversified climate, which is further modified by prevailing winds and mountain barriers. The temperature and rainfall are governed by conditions different from those in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, for instance, although they correspond in latitude to Labrador, are made habitable and an excellent sheep-grazing country by the southerly equatorial current along the continental coast. The climate, however, is colder than the corresponding latitudes of western Europe, because of the prevailing westerly winds, chilled in crossing the Andes. In the extreme north-west an elevated region, whose aridity is caused by the “blanketing” influence of the eastern Andean ranges, extends southward to Mendoza. The northern part of the republic, east of the mountains, is subject to the oscillatory movements of the south-east trade winds, which cause a division of the year into wet and dry seasons. Farther south, in Patagonia, the prevailing wind is westerly, in which case the Andes again “blanket” an extensive region and deprive it of rain, turning it into an arid desolate steppe. Below this region, where the Andean barrier is low and broken, the moist westerly winds sweep over the land freely and give it a large rainfall, good pastures and a vigorous forest growth. If the republic be divided into sections by east and west lines, diversities of climate in the same latitude appear. In the extreme north a little over a degree and a half of territory lies within the torrid zone, extending from the Pilcomayo about 500 m. westward to the Chilean frontier; its eastern end is in the low, wooded plain of the Gran Chaco, where the mean annual temperature is 73° F., and the annual rainfall is 63 in.; but on the arid, elevated plateau at its western extremity the temperature falls below 57° F., and the rainfall has diminished to 2 in. The character of the soil changes from the alluvial lowlands of the Gran Chaco, covered with forests of palms and other tropical vegetation, to the sandy, saline wastes of the Puna de Atacama, almost barren of vegetation and overshadowed by permanentlysnow-crowned peaks. Between the 30th and 31st parallels, a region essentially sub-tropical in character, the temperature ranges from 66° on the eastern plains to 62-5° in Córdoba and 64° F. on the higher, arid, sun-parched tablelands of San Juan. The rainfall, which varies between 39 and 47 in. in Entre Rios, decreases to 27 in. in Córdoba and 2 in. in San Juan. The republic has a width of about 745 m. at this point, three-fourths of which is a comparatively level alluvial plain, and the remainder an arid plateau broken by mountain ranges. In the vicinity of Buenos Aires the climatic conditions vary very little from those of the pampa region; the mean annual temperature is about 63° (maximum 104°; minimum 32°), and the annual rainfall is 34 in.; snow is rarely seen. South of the pampa region, on the 40th parallel, the mean temperature varies only slightly in the 370 m. from the mouth of the Colorado to the Andes, ranging from 57° to 55°; but the rainfall increases from 8 in. on the coast to 16 in. on the east slope of the Cordillera. This section is near the northern border of the arid Patagonian steppes. In Tierra del Fuego (lat. 53° to 55°), the climatic conditions are in strong contrast to those of the north. Here the mean temperature is between 46° and 48° in summer and 36° and 38° in winter, rains are frequent, and snow falls every month in the year. The central and southern parts of the island and the neighbouring Staten Island are exceptionally rainy, the latter having 251½ rainy days in the year. The precipitation of rain, snow and hail is about 55 in.

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The prevailing winds through this southern region are westerly, being moist below the 52nd parallel, and dry between it and the 40th parallel. In the north and on the pampas the north wind is hot and depressing, while the south wind is cool and refreshing. The north wind usually terminates with a thunderstorm or with apampero, a cold south-west wind from the Andes which blows with great violence, causes a fall in temperature of 15° to 20°, and is most frequent from June to November—the southern winter and spring. In the Andean region, a dry, hot wind from the north or north-west, called theZonda, blows with great intensity, especially in September-October, and causes much discomfort and suffering. It is followed by a cold south wind which often lowers the temperature 25°. The climate of the pampas is temperate and healthy, and is admirably suited to agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Its greatest defect is the cold southerly and westerly storms, which cause great losses in cattle and sheep. The Patagonian coast-line and mountainous region are also healthy, having a dry and bracing climate. In the north, however, the hot lowlands are malarial and unsuited to north European settlement, while the dry, elevated plateaus are celebrated for their healthiness, those of Catamarca having an excellent reputation as a sanatorium for sufferers from pulmonary and bronchial diseases.

Flora.—The flora of Argentina should be studied according to natural zones corresponding to the physical divisions of the country—the rich tropical and sub-tropical regions of the north, the treeless pampas of the centre, the desert steppes of the south, and the arid plateaus of the north-west. The vegetation of each region has its distinctive character, modified here and there by elevation, irrigation from mountain streams, and by the saline character of the soil. In the extreme south, where an Arctic vegetation is found, the pastures are rich, and the forests, largely of the Antarctic beech (Fagus antarctica), are vigorous wherever the rainfall is heavy. The greater part of Patagonia is comparatively barren and has no arboreal growth, except in the well-watered valleys of the Andean foothills. The water-courses and depressions of the shingly steppts afford pasturage sufficient for the guanaco, and in places support a thorny vegetation of low growth and starved appearance. The Antarctic beech and Winter’s bark (Drimys Winteri) are found at intervals along the Andes to the northern limits of this zone. The pampas, which cover so large a part of the republic, have no native trees whatever, and no woods except the scrubby growth of the delta islands of the Paraná, and a fringe of low thorn-bushes along the Atlantic coast south to Mar Chiquita and south of the Tandil sierra, which, strictly speaking, does not belong to this region. The great plains are covered with edible grasses, divided into two classes,pasto duro(hard grass) andpasto blando, ortierno(soft grass)—the former tall, coarse, nutritious and suitable for horses and cattle, and the latter tender grasses and herbs, including clovers, suitable for sheep and cattle. The so-called “pampas-grass” (Gynerium argenteum) is not found at all on the dry lands, but in the wet grounds of the south and south-west. Thepasto durois largely composed of the generaStipaandMelica. In the dry, saline regions of the west and north-west, where the rainfall is slight, there are large thickets of low-growing, thorny bushes, poor in foliage. The predominating species is the chañar (Gurliaca decorticans), which produces an edible berry, and occurs from the Rio Negro to the northern limits of the republic. Huge cacti are also characteristic of this region. On the lower slopes of the Andes are found oak, beech, cedar, Winter’s bark, pine (Araucaria imbricata), laurel and calden (Prosopis algarobilla). The provinces of Santa Fé, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero are only partially wooded; large areas of plains are intermingled with scrubby forests of algarrobo (Prosopis), quebracho-blanco (Aspido-sperma quebracho), tala (Celtis tola,Sellowiana,acuminata), acacias and other genera. In Tucumán and eastern Salta the same division into forests and open plains exists, but the former are of denser growth and contain walnut, cedar, laurel, tipa (Machaerium fertile) and quebracho-colorado (Loxopterygium Lorentzii). The territories of the Gran Chaco, however, are covered with a characteristic tropical vegetation, in which the palm predominates, but intermingled south of the Bermejo with heavy growths of algarrobo, quebracho-colorado, urunday (Astronium fraxinifolium), lapacho (Tecoma curialis) and palosanto (Cuayacum officinalis), all esteemed for hardness and fineness of grain. Other palms abound, such as the pindo (Cocos australis), mbocaya (Cocos sclerocarpa) and the yatai (Cocos yatai), but the predominating species north of the Bermejo is the caranday or Brazilian wax-palm (Copernicia cerifera), which has varied uses. The forest habit in this region is close association of species, and there are “palmares,” “algarrobales,” “chañarales,” &c,, and among these open pasture lands, giving to a distant landscape a park-like appearance. In the “mesopotamia” region the flora is similar to that of the southern Chaco, but in the Misiones it approximates more to that of the neighbouring Brazilian highlands. Among the marvellous changes wrought in Argentina by the advent of European civilization, is the creation of a new flora by the introduction of useful trees and plants from every part of the world. Indian corn, quinoa, mandioca, possibly the potato, cotton and various fruits, including the strawberry, were already known to the aborigines, but with the conqueror came wheat, barley, oats, flax, many kinds of vegetables, apples, peaches, apricots, pears, grapes, figs, oranges and lemons, together with alfalfa and new grasses for the plains. The Australian eucalyptus is now grown in many places, and there are groves of the paradise or paraiso tree (Melia azedarach) on the formerly treeless pampa. The cereals of Europe are a source of increasing wealth to the nation, and alfalfa promises new prosperity for pastoral industries.

Fauna.—The Argentine fauna, like its flora, has been greatly influenced by the character and position of the pampas. Whatever it may have been in remote geological periods, it is now extremely limited both in size and numbers. Of the indigenous fauna, the tapir of the north and the guanaco of the west and south are the largest of the animals. The pampas were almost destitute of animal life before the horses and cattle of the Spanish invaders were there turned out to graze, and the puma and jaguar never came there until the herds of European cattle attracted them. The timid viscacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus), living in colonies, often with the burrowing owl, and digging deep under ground like the American prairie dog, was almost the only quadruped to be seen upon these immense open plains. The fox, of which several species exist, probably never ventured far into the plain, for it afforded him no shelter. Immense flocks of gulls were probably attracted to it then as now by its insect life, and its lagoons and streams teemed with aquatic birds. The occupation of this region by Europeans, and the introduction of horses, asses, cattle, sheep, goats and swine, have completely changed its aspect and character. On the Patagonian steppes there are comparatively few species of animals. Among them are the puma (Felis concolor), a smaller variety of the jaguar (Felis onça), the wolf, the fox, the Patagonian hare (Dolichotis patagonica) and two species of wild cat. The huge glyptodon once inhabited this region, which now possesses the smallest armadillo known, the “quir-quincho” orDasypus minutus. The guanaco (Auchenia), which ranges from Tierra del Fuego to the Bolivian highlands, finds comparative safety in these uninhabitable solitudes, and is still numerous. The “ñandú” or American ostrich (Rhea americana), inhabiting the pampas and open plains of the Chaco, has in Patagonia a smaller counterpart (Rhea Darwinii), which is never seen north of the Rio Negro. On the arid plateaus of the north-west, the guanaco and vicuña are still to be found, though less frequently, together with a smaller species of viscacha (Lagidium cuvieri). The greatest development of the Argentine fauna, however, is in the warm, wooded regions of the north and north-east, where many animals are of the same species as those in the neighbouring territories of Brazil. Several species of monkeys inhabit the forests from the Paraná to the Bolivian frontier. Pumas, jaguars and one or two species of wild cat are numerous, as also the Argentine wolf and two of three species of fox. The coatí, marten, skunk and otter (Lutra paranensis) are widely distributed. Three species of deer are common. In the Chaco the tapir or anta (Tapir americanus) still finds a safe retreat, and the peccary (Dycotyles torquatus) ranges from Córdoba north to the Bolivian frontier. The capybara (Hydrochoerus capybara) is also numerous in this region. Of birds the number of species greatly exceeds that of the mammals, including the rhea of the pampas and condor of the Andes, and the tiny, brilliant-hued humming-birds of the tropical North. Vultures and hawks are well represented, but perhaps the most numerous of all are the parrots, of which there are six or seven species. The reptilians are represented in the Paraná by the jacaré (Alligator sclerpos), and on land by the “iguana” (Teius teguexim, Podinema teguixin), and some species of lizard. Serpents are numerous, but only two are described as poisonous, the cascavel (rattlesnake) and the “vibora de la cruz” (Trigonocephalus alternatus).2

Population.—In population Argentina ranks second among the republics of South America, having outstripped, during the last quarter of the 19th century, the once more populous states of Colombia and Peru. During the first half of the 19th century civil war and despotic government seriously restricted the natural growth of the country, but since the definite organization of the republic in 1860 and the settlement of disturbing political controversies, the population had increased rapidly. Climate and a fertile soil have been important elements in this growth. According to the first national census of 1869 the population was 1,830,214. The census of 1895 increased this total to 3,954,911, exclusive of wild Indians and a percentage for omissions customarily used in South American census returns. In 1904 official estimates, based on immigration and emigration returns and upon registered births and deaths, both of which are admittedly defective, showed a population increased to 5,410,028, and a small diminution in the rate of annual increase from 1895 to 1904 as compared with 1860-1895. The birth-rate is exceptionally high, largely because of the immigrant population, the greater part of which is concentrated in or near the large cities. In the rural districts of the northern provinces, the increase in population is much less than in the central provinces, the conditions of life being less favourable. According to the official returns,3the over-sea immigration for the forty-seven years 1857-1903 aggregated 2,872,588, while the departure of emigrants during the same period was 1,066,480, showing a net addition to the population of 1,806,108. A considerable percentage of these arrivals and departures represents seasonal labourers, who come out from Europe solely for the Argentine wheat harvest and should not be classed as immigrants. Unfavourable political and economic conditions of a temporary character influence the emigration movement. During the years 1880-1889, when the country enjoyed exceptional prosperity, the arrivals numbered 1,020,907 and the departures only 175,038, but in 1890-1899, a period of financial depression following the extravagant Celman administration, the arrivals were 928,865 and the departures 532,175. Another disturbing influence has been the high protective tariffs, adopted during the closing years of the century, which increased the costs of living more rapidly than the wages for labour, and compelled thousands of immigrants to seek employment elsewhere. The influence of such legislation on unsettled immigrant labourers may be seen in the number of Italians who periodically migrate from Argentina to Brazil, andvice versa, seeking to better their condition. Of the immigrant arrivals for the forty-seven years given, 1,331,536 were Italians, 414,973 Spaniards, 170,293 French, 37,953 Austrians, 35,435 British, 30,699 Germans, 25,775 Swiss, 19,521 Belgians, and the others of diverse nationalities, so that Argentina is in no danger of losing her Latin character through immigration. This large influx of Europeans, however, is modifying the population by reducing the Indian andmestizoelements to a minority, although they are still numerous in the mesopotamian, northern and north-western provinces. The language is Spanish.

Science and Literature.—Though the university of Córdoba is the oldest but one in South America, it has made no conspicuous contribution to Argentine literature beyond the historical works of its famous rector, Gregorio Funes (1749-1830). This university was founded in 1621 and the university of Buenos Aires in 1821, but although Bonpland and some other European scientists were members of the faculty of Buenos Aires in its early years, neither there nor at Córdoba was any marked attention given to the natural sciences until President Sarmiento (official term, 1868-1874) initiated scientific instruction at the university of Córdoba under the eminent German naturalist, Dr Hermann Burmeister (1807-1892), and founded the National Observatory at Córdoba and placed it under the direction of the noted American astronomer, Benjamin Apthorp Gould (1824-1896). Both of these men made important contributions to science, and rendered an inestimable service to the country, not only through their publications but also through the interest they aroused in scientific research. A bureau of meteorology was afterwards created at Córdoba which has rendered valuable service. Dr Burmeister was afterwards placed in charge of the provincial museum of Buenos Aires, and devoted himself to the acquisition of a collection of fossil remains, now in the La Plata museum, which ranks among the best of the world. Not only has scientific study advanced at the university of Buenos Aires, but scientific research is promoting the development of the country; examples are the geographical explorations of the Andean frontier, and especially of the Patagonian Andes, by Francisco P. Moreno. In literature Argentina is still under the spell of Bohemianism and dilettanteism. Exceptions are the admirable biographies of Manuel Belgrano (d. 1820) and San Martin, important contributions to the history of the country and of the war of independence, by ex-President Bartolomé Mitre (1821-1906). Buenos Aires has some excellent daily journals, but the tone of the press in general is sensational. The number of newspapers published is large, especially in Buenos Aires, where in 1902 the total, including sundry periodicals, was 183.

Political Divisions and Towns.—The chief political divisions of the republic consist of one federal district, 14 provinces and 10 territories, the last in great part dating from the settlement of the territorial controversies with Chile. For purposes of local administration the provinces are divided into departments. The names, area and population of the provinces and territories are as follows:

The principal towns, with estimated population for 1905, are as follows: Buenos Aires (1,025,653), Rosario (129,121), La Plata (85,000), Tucumán (55,000), Córdoba (43.000), Sante Fé (33,200), Mendoza (32,000), Paraná (27,000), Salta (18,000), Corrientes (18,000), Chivilcoy (15,000), Gualeguaychú (13,300), San Nicolás (13,000), Concordia (11,700), San Juan (11,500), Río Cuarto (10,800), San Luis (10,500), Barracas al Sud (10,200).

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