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ARGENTINA 242 ARGENTINA Mesopotamia, between the rivers Parana and Uruguay, containing the provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes, and the terri- tory Misiones. (4) Patagonia, including the easte;;g half of Tierra del Fuego. With the exception of the N. W., where lateral branches of the Andes run into the plain for 150 or 200 miles, and the province of Entre Rios, which is hilly, the characteristic feature of the country is the great monotonous and level plains called pampas. In the N. these plains are partly forest-covered, but all the cen- tral and S. parts present vast treeless tracts, which afford pasture to immense herds of horses, oxen, and sheep. Water Courses. — The great water course of the coutry is the Parana, hav- ing a length of fully 2,000 miles from its source in the mountains of Goyaz, Brazil, to its junction with the Uruguay, where begins the estuary of La Plata. The Pa- rana is formed by the union of the Upper Parana and Paraguay rivers, near the N. E. corner of the country. Im- portant tributaries are the Pilcomayo, the Vermejo, and the Salado. The Pa- rana, Paraguay, and Uruguay are val- uable for internal navigation. Not con- nected with the La Plata system are the Colorado and the Rio Negro, the latter formerly the S. boundary of the country, separating it from Patagonia. The source of the Negro is Lake Nahuel Huapi, in Patagonia (area, 1,200 square miles), in the midst of magnificent scen- ery. The level portions of the country are mostly of tertiary formation, and the river and coast regions consist mainly of alluvial soil of great fertility. In the pampas clay have been found the fossil remains of extinct mammalia, some of them of colossal size. Productions. — European grains and fruits, including the vine, have been suc- cessfully introduced, and are cultivated to some extent in most parts of the republic, but the great wealth of the state lies in its countless herds of cattle and horses and flocks of sheep, which are pastured on the pampas, and which multiply there very rapidly. Gold, silver, nickel, copper, tin, lead, and iron, besides marble, jasper, precious stones, and bitumen are found in the mountainous districts of the north- west, while petroleum wells have been discovered on the Rio Vermejo. Argentina has developed in the last decade greatly in agriculture and stock raising, which are the principal sources of wealth of the country. There are es- timated to be over 250,000,000 acres suit- able for agriculture and grazing, and an additional 10,000,000 acres can be made available by irrigation. The acreage and production of the principal crops in 1918- 1919 was as follows: wheat 17,175,000 acres, 5,015,000 tons; oats, 3,015,000 acres, 640,000 tons; flax, 3,466,625 acres, 705,000 tons. The production of maize and corn in 1917 was 4,335,000 tons. There were in the country in 1918 about 3,000,000 head of cattle. The world de- mand for grain and meat, following the end of the World War, conditioned great prosperity in Argentina. Commerce. — The total value of the trade in 1917 was 1,307,392,000 pesos, gold (a peso equals 96.4 cents). The im- ports amounted to 480,896,000 pesos, and the exports to 826,496,000 pesos, leaving a balance in favor of Argentina of 345,600,000 pesos. The exports ex- ceeded those of any former year both in bulk and value. The chief imports were from the United States, amounting to 169,500,000 pesos. The chief exports were to the United Kingdom, amount- ing to 305,800,000 pesos. The large in- crease in the exports to the United Kingdom during 1917 was due largely to shipments of wheat. The exports to the United States were valued at 165,- 100,000 pesos. In addition to wheat, the chief exports were flour, linseed, corn, oats, and meat. Education. — Education in the elemen- tary grades is free and is carried on under subsidiaries by provincial boards of education. There are nearly 9,000 public primary schools, with over 1,000,000 pupils and about 32,000 teach- ers. There are also about 1,000 private primary schools, with about 77,000 pupils and about 4,000 teachers. Sec- ondary education is carried on through 37 national colleges, which are attended by about 12,000 pupils. There are also many normal schools and schools for special instruction, etc. There are 5 na- tional universities, those of Buenos Aires, La Plata, Cordova, Santa Fe and Tucuman. There are over 10,000 stu- dents at the University of Buenos Aires. The total expenditure for educational purposes in 1918 was about 60,000,000 paper dollars. Fitiance. — The total revenue in 1918 was 373,412,306 paper dollars, and the expenditures 390,989,480 paper dollars. The paper dollar has the value of about 42c. in American money. The chief ex- penditures are for the public debt, edu- cation, army, navy, and pensions. Transportation. — There were in 1918 about 22,500 miles of railway, of which about 4,000 belonged to the state. Ves- sels entering the harbors and ports number nearly 50,000 annually. There were about 3,500 post offices and about 44,000 miles of telegraph, of which about 24,000 are national.