=Maldonado=, south of Rocha and east of Canelones, also borders on the ocean at the southeast. Chiefly pastoral, the Department has some agriculture and wine making. There is seal fishing on the islands off the coast. Timber will soon be important as tree planting is encouraged by the Government. The British Consul received a gold medal for planting over 10,000 maritime pines. The beginning was difficult, the young trees being continually buried in masses of sand. Dunes are characteristic of this coast. But when the trees were once established continuance was easy and now 100,000 or more are flourishing in this section. Others followed the example, making land formerly worthless now rated at $5-$25 an acre. Piriápolis, a new town west of the capital city, is a remarkable place due to the patriotic energy of Señor Piria, who here began planting trees over 20 years ago. These are now a forest, with millions of trees, seven miles of eucalyptus woodland stretching from the Piria castle to the ocean, near which a hotel has been erected and chalets, the beginning of a prosperous town and summer resort. A railway serves this western edge of Maldonado. =Minas= is back of Maldonado and west of Rocha. It has pastoral and agricultural industries with a good endowment of minerals. =Florida=, west of Minas and north of Canelones, abounds in cattle and is developing agriculture. =Durazno=, north, in the centre of the Republic, is also chiefly devoted to cattle raising. =Flores=, west of Durazno, is not well populated and is chiefly pastoral. PORTS =Ocean Ports.= The only ocean port of importance in Uruguay is Montevideo and this indeed is on the Plata River. It ranks, however, among the best in South America in depth, capacity, and ease of access, admitting ships of 32-foot draft at low tide. A free port for goods in transit, where they may remain a year in the Custom House without tax, it has excellent docks and harbor works, including ample warehouses and facilities for handling all classes of merchandise, 1400 tons unloaded in ten hours. A port railway serves to connect sea and land traffic, transferring passengers as well as freight directly from steamers to railway cars. The port works constructed by the French, concluded for the most part before the War, cost in the neighborhood of $40,000,000. In the vicinity a Hotel for Immigrants accommodates 1000.