ARGENTINE FORESTS. 295 



We know at present very little as to the extent of the 

 Argentine forests, and still less as to the proportion 

 in which the more valuable species are distributed ; 

 but it is obvious that in these forests there exist 

 important sources of wealth, which, however, must 

 require good management for their future develop- 

 ment. Many of the largest and most valuable trees 

 belong to the family of LeguminoscB, and may be 

 found to rival in importance those of Guiana. 



Speaking of the forests of the northern states, the 

 late Professor Lorentz writes that they are exclusively 

 confined to the eastern slopes of the mountains on 

 which the winds from the Atlantic deposit their 

 moisture, while the western slopes remain dry and 

 bare of trees. He dwells on the need for an efficient 

 forest law, as the result of the carelessness of the 

 sparse population is that in the neighbourhood of in- 

 habited places much valuable timber is ruthlessly 

 destroyed. It may be feared that, under a constitution 

 which, for such purposes, leaves practical autonomy 

 to fourteen different states, it may be very difficult to 

 obtain the enactment of an efficient law, and still more 

 difficult to secure its enforcement. 



The chief architectural boast of Buenos Ayres is the 

 Plaza Mayor, one side of which is occupied l^ the 

 cathedral, a very large pile in the modern Spanish 

 style, which is not likely to serve as a model for 

 imitation. The day being a festa, there was a 

 ceremony in the afternoon, which attracted a crowd 

 of the female population. The great church was 

 ablaze with thousands — literally thousands — of wax 

 candles, and the entire pavement was covered with 



