— 14 — 



of stone of the Middle Uruguay, also some coastwise 

 vessels do the same if they have skippers on board 

 who know this part of the river well. This navigation 

 is done by taking directions which are from time to 

 time controlled by the sounding lead. 

 Buoys. Some buoys, marked on the English map, and which 



have been placed by the Oriental Government, exist, 

 but they disappear frequently, because the side wheels 

 of the river steamers often destroy them. 



As far as the depths, indicated by the mentioned map, 

 are concerned, they are accurate and so are the directions 

 of the channel; the only observation to be made being, 

 that the soundings given are referred to the level of the 

 ordinary water, mean while this Commission has adop- 

 ted as plan of comparison, the level of the lowest low 

 tide, which has been established from observations made 

 during a period of 1866 days at the mole of Fray Ben- 

 tos and from several references at Palmira. 



The lowest tide observed at a gauge which has been pla- 

 ced in a arbitrary manner at the mole of Liebigs's Ex- 

 tract of Meat Factory, at Fray Bentos was 2.90 meters 

 on the 24 th. of July 1896 at 7 h. p. m. Adding 10 centi- 

 meters to this level, in order to deduct three meters in 

 whole figures from all observations, the readings with 

 reference to the zero adopted by the Commission has been 

 obtained. From the curves of the heights of water (Sheet 

 VI ) results that the plan of reference adopted remains 

 about 0.30 meters below the mean of the extraordinary low 

 tides observed. 



In consequence there will always be more depth dispo- 

 sable for navigation than that indicated by the soundings 

 on sheets X". VI and YH. 



As may be ^'rn from the table, the tide propagates in 

 this entire zone with the same intensity as in the River 

 Plata which causes that at least 2 or 3 times each week the 

 water rises to a level of about three or four feet above its 

 ordinary level at low tides, increasing the depth indicated 

 by the plans equally. 

 Fioo.uandi, The greal rises oftho Rj ver UrugUii \ a re a t I 'ainura not 



so much noted as the highest tides of the River Plate, both 



