W. H. Koebel

The nineteen divisions of Uruguay—Their populations, areas, towns, and industries—Canelones—Florida—San JosÉ—Durazno—Flores—Colonia—Soriano—Rio Negro—PaysandÚ—Salto—Artigas—TacuarembÓ—Rivera—Cerro Largo—Treinta y Tres—Rocha—Maldonado—Montevideo—Climate—Favourable conditions throughout the Republic—The Atlantic coast line—The summer season—Pleasantly tempered heat—A land of cool breezes—Its attractions as a pleasure resort—Climates of the interior and of the north—Draught—Locusts—Comparative immunity of a pastoral country—Uruguayan fauna—Some common creatures of the Campo—Bird life—The ostrich—Its value as a commercial asset—The trade in ostrich feathers—Measures for the protection of the birds.

A list of the nineteen departments of Uruguay with their more salient features will go far towards explaining in detail the various areas, populations, and resources of the Republic.

Canelones, situated in the midst of the departments of Montevideo, San JosÉ, Florida, Minas, and Maldonado, with a coast-line upon the River Plate, possesses an area of 4,751 square kilometres. It is one of the most populous departments, containing over ninety thousand inhabitants. Three railway-lines connect the district with Montevideo. Its chief towns are Guadeloupe, Santa Lucia, Pando, and Las Piedras, each of which contains some eight thousand inhabitants. Canelones is mainly devoted to pasture, agriculture, viticulture, and general fruit-growing.

Florida is situated directly to the north of Canelones. Its area is 12,107 square kilometres and its population fifty thousand. Two lines of railway connect it with Montevideo. The chief town is Florida, the capital of the department, a city of ten thousand inhabitants. Until recent years Florida has been almost altogether given up to the pastoral industry; but of late agriculture has made great strides.

San JosÉ is situated to the west of Canelones, and likewise possesses a coast-line on the River Plate. Its area is 6,932 square kilometres; population about fifty thousand. The department is connected with Montevideo by two railway lines. The principal town is San JosÉ de Mayo, with a population of just over twelve thousand inhabitants. Rather more than half the department is made up of rich pasture-lands, although the agricultural districts are increasing. In addition to fruit-growing and viticulture, the timber industry of San JosÉ is important, consisting of wood both for building purposes and for fuel.

Durazno, to the north of Florida, is the most central department in the Republic, and contains a population of fifty thousand inhabitants. It is connected by a railway line with Montevideo, and its chief city is San Pedro del Durazno, whose inhabitants number eleven thousand. The department is essentially a pastoral one, and is especially well watered, being served by the Rivers Negro and Yi, and by countless tributaries and smaller streams.

Flores, situated to the west of Durazno, contains twenty thousand inhabitants. Almost half this number are residents of the capital, Trinidad. Flores is not yet served by a railway, and it is probably for this reason that so many of its districts, admirably adapted for agriculture, still remain essentially pastoral. In Flores is a very curious grotto, sustained by natural arches and columns, that has been the source of much geological controversy.

Colonia is the richest and most important department of all in the Republic. Lying to the west of San JosÉ, it has the advantage not only of railways but of a lengthy coast-line on the River Plate. Agriculture here has attained to a high pitch of development, and dairy-farming constitutes one of the most important industries of the department. Fruit culture and viticulture are in an equally advanced condition, while the quarrying of building stone is now being energetically carried on. In Colonia is situated the Swiss Colony, the inhabitants of which apply themselves to agriculture and dairy-farming.

Soriano lies to the north of Colonia, and its western boundary is likewise washed by the waters of the river—no longer the River Plate, but the Uruguay. The area of the department is 9,223 kilometres, and its population rather exceeds forty thousand. Soriano is connected by railway with Montevideo. Its chief town is Mercedes, the population of which amounts to ten thousand inhabitants. The principal industry is pasture, although agriculture and general fruit-growing is carried on to a certain extent. Timber, charcoal-burning, and stone-quarrying are responsible for a certain amount of labour. A fair quantity of minerals such as iron, silver, copper, and lead is met with here.

Rio Negro is situated on the Uruguay River to the north of Colonia. Its area is 8,470 kilometres and its population twenty thousand. The department is now in the act of being linked up with the main centres by railway. Its capital is Fray Bentos, a town celebrated as one of the chief centres of the manufacture of meat extract, with a population of seven thousand inhabitants. Rio Negro is essentially a pastoral province, and is the chief centre in the Republic for the breeding of live stock, which attains here to an exceptionally high grade of quality. Rio Negro is one of the most favourably situated departments as regards water communication. In addition to its 120 kilometres of coast-line on the Uruguay it possesses 200 kilometres of river frontage on the River Negro.

PaysandÚ bounds Rio Negro to the north, with a lengthy frontage on the Uruguay River. Its population is forty thousand, of which twenty-one thousand inhabit the capital, PaysandÚ, the second town of importance in Uruguay. The area of the department is about 14,000 square kilometres. PaysandÚ is connected by railway both with the capital and the northern centres. Its industries are chiefly pastoral and agricultural, and a number of meat-curing establishments exist.

Salto is the neighbouring province to the north upon the River Uruguay. It contains an area of 12,500 square kilometres and a population of rather over fifty thousand. Its chief town is Salto, that in actual size is said to exceed that of PaysandÚ, numbering as it does rather over twenty-two thousand inhabitants. The department is served by railway. The principal industry is that of pasture. The department, moreover, is one of the chief wine-producing centres of the Republic. Salto is rich in minerals, and quartz and precious stones are met with in fair quantities here.

Artigas is the northernmost province on the Uruguay as well as in the Republic. Its area is 11,300 square kilometres, its population thirty thousand. Its capital is San Eugenio, situated on the Brazilian frontier, a town of nine thousand inhabitants. The railway runs as far as this point, and thus serves the length of the province. Artigas contains many districts notable for minerals, and is well endowed with precious stones such as the amethyst and topaz. Owing to the northern situation of the department grazing and agriculture are carried on to a lesser extent than in the majority of others. The variety of timber is important here, hard woods being found as well as the softer varieties.

TacuarembÓ is situated in the northern centre of the Republic. That is to say, its frontiers extend from the centre to within a comparatively short distance of the Brazilian frontier. The department is the largest in Uruguay, its territories extending over more than twenty-one thousand square kilometres. Its population, however, does not exceed fifty thousand, and it is thus the most sparsely inhabited department of the country. It is served by a railway. The principal town is San Fructuoso, which possesses eight thousand inhabitants. TacuarembÓ is for the most part devoted to agriculture. Tobacco flourishes in the province, and recent experimental rice plantations have met with a fair amount of success. Gold and manganese are met with in various districts.

Rivera is bounded on the south by TacuarembÓ and on the north by Brazil. It is a fairly extensive department containing comparatively few inhabitants, but the precise figures of neither the one nor the other seem available. The chief town of the department is Rivera, a city situated on the Brazilian frontier that has a population of ten thousand. The industries of Rivera are similar to those of TacuarembÓ. The gold mines here are of considerable importance, and are in active working. The department is served by railway, Rivera being the northernmost Uruguayan point of the line from Montevideo.

Cerro Largo is situated on the south-east of Rivera, and is bounded on the north-east by Brazil. The area of the department is nearly fifteen thousand square kilometres; population about forty-five thousand. Its capital is Melo, a town of fourteen thousand inhabitants. It is the terminus of a recently constructed railway-line, the entry of which into the country has had the effect of benefiting local commerce to a considerable extent. The principal industry is pastoral, but, in addition, a certain amount of agriculture is carried on.

Treinta y Tres, which lies to the south of Cerro Largo, possesses an area of 9,550 square kilometres and a population of thirty thousand. It has not the advantage of being served by any railway, although this will shortly occur. The principal town is Treinta y Tres, whose inhabitants are about eight thousand in number. Up to the present time the pastoral industry predominates here, that of agriculture being scarcely known. It is anticipated, however, that the coming development of the province will alter this condition of affairs. The department is well wooded, and the timber industry here is an important one. Treinta y Tres is bounded on the east wholly by the great Lake of Merin, upon the further shore of which lies Brazil.

Rocha, to the south of Treinta y Tres, is also bounded for the great part of its eastern frontier by Lake Merin, although a small portion of Brazil and a long stretch of Atlantic Ocean complete its boundaries in this direction. The department contains an area of eleven thousand kilometres and a population of forty thousand. It is not traversed by a railroad. Its chief industry is grazing; but in some districts viticulture is in an advanced state. The seal fishery affords an important revenue, and the mineral products of the country are considerable. Copper, gypsum, alabaster, marble, and jasper obtain in considerable quantities. The chief town is Rocha, a centre of unimportant size.

Maldonado is situated on the Atlantic Ocean, to the west of Rocha. Its extent and population are not officially given. In a short while the department will be adequately served by the railway, which has already entered its frontiers. Like the great majority of the departments it is principally devoted to pasture. A certain amount of agriculture and wine-growing obtains, and in the southern districts much timber has been planted. The seal fishery in the neighbourhood of Lobos Island, off its coast, is important. The capital of the department is Maldonado, a small coastal town.

Minas, to the north of Maldonado, has a population of about sixty thousand. In addition to its pasture and agriculture, the department is exceptionally well endowed with minerals. The capital is Minas, a city of fourteen thousand inhabitants, that forms the terminus of the railway-line from Montevideo.

The department of Montevideo constitutes the small extent of territory in the neighbourhood of the capital itself, a considerable portion of which is taken up by the outer suburbs of the main town. The country in the neighbourhood here is very fertile and highly cultivated.

There is probably no climate in South America that offers greater attractions than that of Uruguay. Throughout the Republic the conditions are favourable; but it stands to reason that those which obtain upon the coast-line facing the Atlantic are the most ideal of all. The climate in these neighbourhoods is essentially temperate, and may be likened to that of the Riviera of France, without, however, suffering from the occasional winter frosts and intense summer heat that characterise this latter seaboard. Nevertheless the winter temperature of the Uruguayan littoral when a southern wind is blowing can be quite as keen as is compatible with comfort.

As is the case in the majority of temperate countries, there is no accurately defined rainy or dry reason, although the rains are wont to be far more abundant in the winter months. The heat of summer in the south-eastern provinces is very seldom oppressive; indeed, one of the most striking characteristics of the warm season is the continuance of the refreshing and bracing airs that temper the heat, and that render midsummer itself as enjoyable as the delightful spring months. The climate of Buenos Aires is distinctly pleasant, but, so far as the summer season is concerned, the difference between that of the capitals of Argentina and Uruguay is curiously marked, when it is taken into consideration that not more than 120 miles of water separate the two. The exceptionally pleasant conditions that prevail on this portion of the Oriental coast are acknowledged by none more readily than by the Argentines, who flock there in great numbers for the purposes of bathing and general climatic refreshment in January and February.

The wind-swept uplands of the interior are favoured in a similar degree when compared with the districts of the other countries in corresponding latitudes. In the northern provinces upon the Brazilian frontier the increase in the normal temperature is, of course, very distinctly perceptible, and for the first time the vegetation gives undoubted evidence of an approach to the tropics.

In consequence of this temperate climate that it enjoys the natural plagues of the Banda Oriental are few. Drought, although it occurs from time to time, cannot be looked upon as a genuinely characteristic chastening influence of the land. The visitations of locusts constitute a more serious matter. These, as in the case of the neighbouring countries, occur in cycles, and the periods marked by the presence of the small winged creatures with the insatiable appetites are unpleasant enough for the agriculturalist. Owing to the great pastoral predominance in Uruguay, however, the country in general suffers far less than one more devoted to the production of cereals. With the spread of agriculture that is now in progress the question is likely to become more serious. But by the time that a reasonable proportion of the Republic has been brought under cultivation it is possible that one of the many plans that are continually being brought forward for the extermination of the locust curse may have taken effect. Nevertheless, too much reliance is not to be placed upon this very desirable consummation.

The great majority of Uruguayan fauna are identical with those of the River Plate countries in general. The animals most commonly to be met with in a journey through the Campo are the carpincho, a large, tailless water-hog; the nutria, a creature that closely resembles a gigantic rat, although its hind feet are webbed; the skunk, the opossum, the iguana, and the armadillo.

In the region of bird life the larger varieties most in evidence are the carancho, a cross between a vulture and a hawk; the chimangu, a smaller carrion-hawk, and a kestrel-hawk with brown body and bright grey wings. Far rarer are the large grey eagle, and the cuerbo, or black vulture. Heron of various species are very plentiful.

Of the smaller birds the teru-tero, a variety of crested plover, is by far the most numerous, although certain districts exist in which the duck and teal run them a close second in point of numbers, while partridge and martineta are to be met with in abundance in others.

Amongst the more gorgeous winged specimens of the country are the flamingo, parrot, woodpecker, humming-bird, and the little black pecho colorado with its brilliant scarlet breast. Both the scissor bird and the viuda (window) bird are aptly named. The former rejoices in a very long, divided tail; the latter is of a pure white colour with a well-defined black border to its wings. The "bien te veo, bicho feo" is a mocking-bird whose call closely resembles the phrase by which it is known, and the ornero, or oven bird, is so called from the curious structure of its mud nest. The small owl, too, is a notable inhabitant of the Campo, as are the dainty miniature doves. But to enter fully into the animal life of the Banda Oriental would require a book in itself; therefore it is necessary to be content with a list of the varieties most commonly to be met with.

In dealing with the category of birds I have purposely left the ostrich to the last, as that particular biped stands, as it were, in a class of its own. The Rhea Americana represents a commercial asset of no little importance, and the grey companies of these rather awkward-looking creatures are carefully watched now as they strut solemnly to and fro over the pastures. The feathers, it is true, cannot as a rule rival in quality those of the African bird, although occasionally some very fine specimens are to be met with. Indeed, it is said that the large, specially selected feathers are sold at prices that range from fifteen dollars to twenty-five dollars the kilo. The great majority of the coarser feathers are of little value, and are employed for dusting brushes and such similar purposes.

That the commerce in these ostrich feathers is of no little importance becomes evident when the shipments of the article are considered. In 1908 the exports of these to France, the United States, Spain, and Germany amounted to fifteen thousand kilos, while in 1909 they had increased to twenty-five thousand kilos. The numbers of the ostriches themselves, however, have tended to decrease of late years, and it is estimated that at the present time there are not more than fifty thousand in the country. Realising the danger incurred by this diminution, the Government is now taking measures towards the protection of these very useful birds, and there is no doubt that judicious legislation will cause their number to increase once more.