302 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



some further means must be discovered to enable the 

 innocent purchaser to protect himself. 



The most serious difficulty in the way of the 

 increasing foreign trade of Argentarja is that arising 

 from the shallowness of the great estuary of La Plata, 

 which prevents large vessels from approaching the 

 ports. In the course of ages nature will remedy the 

 defect, when the present shoals are raised by deposits 

 of fresh silt so as to confine the volume of water 

 brought down by the great rivers, which would then 

 scour out navigable channels. Whether the process 

 may not be hastened by human skill and enterprise is 

 a question which I am unable to answer. At present 

 I believe that the only point where vessels of moderate 

 burthen can approach the shore is at Ensenada, about 

 fourteen miles below Buenos Ayres. It is now con- 

 nected by railway with the capital, and promises to 

 become an important trading port. 



