Regarded as traffic-ways, these rivers play a part of the highest importance, by giving easy access to the sea, without re-shipment, to provinces more than 600 miles inland, such as those, for instance, of Chaco and Corrientès. The Rio de la Plata affords a natural traffic-way, accessible to all vessels, between Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, which are more than 120 miles apart. All the large transatlantic steamers which used some time ago to put in at La Plata now come up to Buenos Ayres, which has thus become the headquarters of a dozen wealthy steamer-lines engaged in the European service. Thanks to the works established for the deepening of the Parana and the regularising of its course through the sandy districts, great steamers of 10,000 tons can to-day go up to Rosario: steamers of 6000 tons can easily reach Parana or Colastiné; and special boats built for the river service can ascend as far as Corrientès, and from there towards Brazil, Paraguay, or Uruguay: a distance of more than 1200 miles. Besides these “flowing roads,” we must mention others, which, although of less importance, are none the less destined to exercise a beneficent influence over the economic life of the premier province, and the development of its agriculture, thanks to the cheap transit which they will offer in time to come. We refer to the network of canals which the Government of the Province of Buenos Ayres has projected or put in hand. In the first edition of this book we announced the construction of a canal 155 miles in length, which would unite the Mar Chiquita, its point of origin, and Baradero, its terminus; embracing in its course the following centres of rural produce; Laforcade, Junin, O’Higgins, Chacabuco, Salto, Arrecifes, and Baradero. This enterprise, which was put in hand at the expense of the Province of Buenos Ayres, failed with a crash. After the work had been enthusiastically commenced, after several millions of dollars had already been spent, it was discovered that the work could never be completed in a successful manner, nor could it ever yield a return for the sums raised, which were thus swallowed up in this disastrous enterprise. Men whose technical competence allowed them to speak with authority——for instance, the engineer, Luis A. Huergo——basing their statements on scientific principles, had estimated that the undertaking could never be practically realised; and, as we have seen, the result justified their predictions. PORTS AND HARBOURS The nature of the river-banks being such as we have described, the ports utilised by trade along the course of the great Argentine rivers are very numerous.