80 THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 



"The Paraguay basin has a character entii-ely distinct from 

 that of its rival. It runs for the greater part in a path re- 

 conquered from the ocean rather than a bed carved out l)y 

 I'unning stream. At its headcpiarters tlie lonely lagonn-morass 

 of Xarayes, over 2000 miles from the bustling Argentine capital, 

 its height is calculated at only 700 ft. above sea-level. Tn time 

 of flood l)oth the main stream and its tributaries overflow their 

 low-lying banks to the extent of many hundreds of square miles. 

 Of all these tributaries the greatest now advances on it. Just 

 above Corrientes the Alto Parana merges in, and swallows np 

 the Paraguay in spite of its reinforcement by the Rermejo, whose 

 month is clearly visible from the town. Then, assuming the 

 right-of-way, it turns once more to the south, and entei-s the 

 Plate as the Parana proper ("the Mother of the Ocean"). So 

 it has come about that the Paraguay has lost its pride of place 

 as one of the world's greatest M-aterways, whilst th^ TTruguay 

 rises into sudden importance as it takes up the abandoned eastern 

 route. Wlien we read that the Plate is formed })y the junction 

 of the Parana and the Uruguay, the statement is true in fact, 

 but not in proportion. The latter river can boast in all of but 

 a thousand miles of length, whilst the totals of the Paraguay 

 and the Parana together sum over 4000 miles. A better idea 

 would be given if we read: "The River Plate is represented in 

 South America by Parana and Co." 



"It has been necessary to dwell thus far on the vagaries of the 

 Parana system, inasmuch as they set a straight boundary round 

 the Mesopotamia, clearly defining the lines upon which its future 

 development must be laid. Its eastern boundary, the River 

 Uruguay, has an average width of one mile. Three hundred 

 miles from its mouth we find it l)roken in a series of long, lagoon- 

 like stretches, whose waters pour down in alternating rapids, 

 and render serious navigation impracticable. Briefly, above the 

 town of Concordia, where the first sei'ious barrage occurs, the 

 Uruguay is a glorified trout stream. On the northern and 

 western limit we overlook the Parana, not, as in its higher 

 reaches, a deep, swift river, but a degenerate Parana — a stream 

 whose width may be three or thirty miles, according to the 

 caprices of its sudden floods, beyond the scope of modern 

 engineering to bridge, and puzzling, with its shallow channels 

 and shifting islands, the most experienced of riv(M- pilots. To 

 the south lies the Plate estuary, leading to the ocean. 



