Santa Fé is the seat of a Bishop and possesses a Jesuit Church and College, which dates back to 1654. Sixty years ago a traveller described it as a pleasant town with fifteen thousand inhabitants, and the population seems to have increased very little until quite recent years, for it has never had any prominent industries[148] and must always be greatly inferior to Rosario, although the older city is the capital. Like Head at Mendoza, the observer was struck by the practice of promiscuous river-bathing. He thus describes the town[149]: "The city occupies a large space of ground; for, like all the towns in this country, a considerable portion is planted as fruit gardens. The houses are either flat-roofed, or covered with tiles, and only one storey in height. A majority of them were built without any provision for glass windows; the light and air being admitted only through apertures fitted with an open framework of wood, having strong shutters inside; neither are there fireplaces in the houses. There are four large churches, one of which, built in 1834, is remarkable for its solidity and fine proportions. It consists of a nave and aisles, separated by square pillars supporting arches; light is admitted from the windows of a clerestory. It contains a beautiful baptismal font of silver, with four richly carved holy-water fonts. The high altar is in the Gothic style, and enriched with gilding." As remarked before, Santa Fé is not a city of remarkable prosperity. The building of small river craft is an industry of some importance, but the main occupation of its inhabitants is the export of quebracho wood. In 1907 the shipments were 174,126 tons. The river here gives considerable trouble and requires constant dredging, but a new port is rapidly approaching completion, when it will be possible for vessels with a draught of 20 feet to enter.