200 STATES OF THE RIVER PLATE. 



of South America by the railway in course of construc- 

 tion, and protected, will contribute their products of cattle 

 and of sheep to the trade of the river Plate, and present 

 opportunities for settlers. That wonderfully fertile pro- 

 vince, Tucuman, will become easily accessible to capital 

 and enterprise ; and its sugar, coffee, tobacco, indigo, 

 &c. &c. will swell the trade of the Eio de la Plata. 



In the fertile Catamarca, as in San Juan, Mendoza, &c. 

 immense crops of artificial grasses and cereals are pro- 

 duced under irrigation, which is easily effected by means 

 of the numerous rivers and streams which flow from the 

 mountain and hill ranges ; and their capacity for the pro- 

 duction of wine, spirits, and dried fruits is unlimited. 

 The innumerable islands in, and the lowlands on the 

 banks of, the Parana, produce delicious fruits, excellent 

 potatoes and vegetables, and many of them are well 

 suited for the production of rice ; and the yerba tea 

 plantations of Corrientes and Misiones are of great 

 promise. 



There are, indeed, marvellous riches, mineral, vege- 

 table, and animal, in these more distant provinces, which 

 only require the whistle of the steam-engine to give them 

 vent and hand them over to the capitalist and to indus- 

 try. And this is at hand. The Great Central Argentine 

 Eailway now in course of construction from Eosario 

 on the Parana, through the provinces of Santa Fe and 

 Cordova to the city of the latter name, will be a main 

 artery from which there will be many branches. The 

 canalisation of the Eio Salado, in course of operation, will 

 open water communication witli the most distant pro- 

 vinces ; and in the wake of the steamer and the locomotive 

 follow enterprise and industry, capital and civilisation, 

 peace and prosperity. 



riUXTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUAUE, LOMA'N. 



