On the whole, the climate of Buenos Aires is good, and does not interfere with the comfort or pursuits of a healthy and vigorous man. Its worst feature is the _sonda_, or north wind, which blows tempestuously chiefly in the winter, and causes rapid fluctuations in the temperature. The winds from the north are always considered unhealthy. In the summer the heat is greatly aggravated by the _pamperos_--the strong winds from the south-west. But the general climate of the country is dry and invigorating. It will be noticed that the rainfall is scanty. Unfortunately, nearly all the valuable parts of Argentina have barely sufficient rain, and Mendoza is almost rainless. Irrigation, therefore, is largely used, and when it is extended over the south many millions of additional acres will be brought under the plough. Droughts are by far the most formidable foe of the agriculturist. The _Gran Seco_ of 1827-1832, during which period scarcely any rain fell in the Pampa, destroyed all the vegetation down to the thistles, and caused enormous loss.[11] It is feared that the dry area is extending; but it is fortunate that the magnificent rivers of Argentina would suffice to irrigate every part of the country, and even arid Patagonia has perennial streams. In general, it may be said that the climate of Argentina is far from disagreeable, and highly favourable to health and work. FOOTNOTES: [3] W. O. Campbell, "Through Patagonia," p. 6. [4] "Voyage of the _Beagle_," chap. viii. [5] "Voyage of the _Beagle_," chap. xv. [6] D'Orbigny _apud_ Howorth, "The Mammoth and the Flood," p. 352. [7] Darwin, "Geological Observations on South America," p. 99. [8] It is estimated that during the floods the Parana rolls down 1,650,000 cubic feet per second, while the Uruguay volume amounts to 500,000. [9] "Description Physique," i. 310-11. [10] "We found the river course very tortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various ancient slaty rocks, and of granite. The plain bordering the valley had here attained an elevation of about eleven hundred feet above the river, and its character was much altered. The well-rounded pebbles of porphyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of basalt and of primary rocks" ("Voyage of the _Beagle_" chap. ix.). [11] "Very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of food and water. A man told me that the deer used to come into his courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges had hardly strength to fly away when pursued. The lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in Buenos Ayres alone was taken at one million head" (Darwin, "Voyage of the _Beagle_," chap. vii.). CHAPTER II EARLIEST HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY