=The Plata Basin=, in size and flow of water second in the world, and now in economic importance surpassing the Amazon, includes also the Uruguay River which separates the two Republics, serving both for a considerable distance. The Uruguay, formed by several streams which rise in the Serra do Mar of Brazil, has a length of 800 miles. It is navigable for ocean steamers 100 miles to the falls at Concordia and Salta, above these for smaller craft. Steamers of the Mihanovich Line from Buenos Aires, after crossing the Plata enter the rather muddy Uruguay. Passing on the right the town of Fray Bentos in Uruguay, the first port of consequence in Argentina is Concepción del Uruguay, a stock raising centre near which are large estancias, some devoted to pure blooded, others to crossed stock. Nine of these estates cover 370,000 acres, with hardly 1200 devoted to agriculture. Concordia, population 25,000, a little below the Falls, is an important railway junction with good harbor accommodations, flour mills, elevators, etc., exporting wheat, cattle, hides, wool, linseed, _mate_, and quebracho. RAILWAYS The railway system of Argentina is developed to a greater extent than that of any other South American country, largely due to the opportunity for easy construction presented by its great plains. The land transportation is complicated, as there is a real network of railways centering at Buenos Aires besides smaller centres at Bahia Blanca, Rosario, and Santa Fé; other cities are at points of junction of several lines; the most important of these will be mentioned. The railways have an extension of 22,720 miles, about 4000 of which are Government owned, 18,000 of private capital, 670 provincial, and 600 of industrial railways.