448 Dr David Christison on ascertaining 



brief account of the nature of the country and climate in 

 which these specimens were grown, derived partly from in- 

 formation furnished by Mr Hall, partly from notes taken by 

 myself during a visit to San Jorge in 1867, and published in 

 the Transactions of this Society, vol. xiii., 1877—78, and 

 elsewhere. 



The estancia of San Jorge is situated near the centre of 

 the Eepublic of Uruguay, in bQi° 8^ W. long, and 32° 

 43' S. lat., and at an elevation varying from about 280 to 

 400 feet above the sea-level. In common with the greater 

 part of Western and Southern Uruguay, the ground undulates 

 in broad-backed ridges, rarely above 60 or 70 feet in height, 

 with exceedingly gentle slopes, to the intervening hollows. 

 The country is on the whole fairly well watered, and the soil 

 is, for the most part, either a deep black stiff rich clay, or 

 light black intermixed with sand, with patches of gravelly 

 soil. 



The undulating " campos " are entirely destitute of natural 

 wood, but the edges of the streams are fringed with trees, 

 which, few and scattered in the upper waters, form on the 

 larger streams dense continuous belts, the so-called " montes," 

 permeated by nullahs, and liable to inundation. Useful 

 trees grow in these montes, but, as might have been ex- 

 pected, and as Mr Hall found by experiment, they do not 

 thrive when transplanted to the comparatively dry campos. 



The estancia of San Jorge, originally 330 square miles in 

 extent, was broken up, and the Head Station, with 9 square 

 miles of land, became Mr Hall's property in 1876. The 

 " Quinta," or garden ground round the house, then contained 

 about 350 Eobinia, Lombardy poplar, and Paraiso {Mclia 

 azedarach) trees, besides a great variety of fruit trees. The 

 quinta was at that time the wonder of the whole country 

 for many leagues around, as very few of the estancias, par- 

 ticularly those owned by natives, had vegetable gardens, 

 and still fewer fruit or ornamental trees ; and Mr Hall is, I 

 believe, entitled to the honour of being the pioneer of tree- 

 planting for business purposes on the naked campos of 

 Uruguay. It was in July 1880 that he commenced, and he 

 has now 160 acres under plantation, carrying about 80,000 

 trees, the great majority being Bohinia pscudoacacia, Lom- 

 bardy poplar, and Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood). 



