226 URUGUAY sprang up rapidly around the mother house of Avignon, one of the most fruitful of which was planted at Clermont in Auvergne by Clemence du Ranquet in 1602. The primitive Ursulines also spread beyond the Alps. In 1606 Anne de Saintonge of Dijon formed several estab- lishments of them, which were favored by the bishops and became very popular throughout Franohe-Comte, living in strict retirement with- out being cloistered, binding themselves by per- manent vows only after several years of pro- bation, and educating gratuitously the children of the poor. But these only formed a small minority of the French Ursulines, who in 1715 had 11 provinces and upward of 350 monaste- ries. The first Ursuline colony in America was founded in 1639 at Quebec by Marie Guyart, known as Mere de 1'Incarnation, the first pro- cesses for whose beatification were begun at Rome by the Canadian bishops in 1869. All the Ursuline convents are under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop, and their coherence is so loose that many convents do not even know to which of the numerous congregations they belong. There are Ursuline convents in the United States at Morrisania (New York city), Cleveland, Toledo, and Fayetteville, O., Spring- field and Alton, 111., Columbia, Savannah, and Augusta, Ga., New Orleans, San Antonio, Gal- veston, Louisville, and St. Louis ; and in Can- ada at Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Chatham. The Ursulines have ceased to exist in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany since 1871. URUGUAY, or Banda Oriental del Uruguay, a re- public of South America, lying between lat. 30 and 35 8., and Ion. 53 and 58 30' W., bounded N., N. E., and E. by Brazil, S. E. and S. by the Atlantic, and S. W. and W. by the Rio de la Plata and the Uruguay, which sepa- rate it from the Argentine Republic. Uruguay has a shore line of 200 m. on the Atlantic, 155 m. on the Plata, and 270 m. (in a direct line) on the Uruguay, making 625 m. accessible to shipping ; while the land frontier i only 450 m. The sea coast is low, sandy, and devoid of safe harbors; the coast on the Plata is high and rocky, indented by several open bays ; and the banks of the Uruguay are generally low, with intervals of moderately high table land. The interior is traversed by chains of wooded hills, from which descend innumerable streams uniting in small rivers, navigable for consider- able distances by small craft. Extensive un- dulating grassy plains (pampas) form the chief feature of the country. The Cuchilla Grande is the principal mountain ridge ; others are the Carapy, Castellos, and Yerbal. The highest land is the Cerro Pelado in the department of Mmas, nowhere exceeding 2,500 ft. above sea level. The Rio Negro rises in the sierra banta Anna, crosses the republic from N. E. to b. W., dividing it into two nearly equal parts, and after a course of about 350 m. flows into th . e Uruguay about 80 m. above its junction with the Parana. Among other rivers are the Dayman, 100 m. long, navigable 18 m.; the Queguay, 150 m. long, navigable 30 m. ; the San Jose and Santa Lucia, respectively 100 and 120 m. long, which unite 12 m. from the estuary of the Plata and are navigable about 25 m. ; and the Cebollati, which flows N. E. into Lake Merim in Brazil, receiving numerous tributaries. The climate is mild and health- ful. The thermometer ranges from 82 to 88 F. ; but on the table lands heavy frosts oc- cur in July and August, and in the low lands the temperature occasionally rises in February above 100 F. An abundance of rain falls in all seasons, but the greatest amount in May and October; snow seldom falls, and rapidly disappears. The temperature occasionally rises 25 in two or three hours, and frequently falls 40 in four hours. The soil is very rich, yield- ing abundant crops of grain, a great variety of fruits and vegetables, sugar cane, and cotton. Among the trees are the walnut, willow, cedar, myrtle, mulberry, laurel, orange, lemon, olive, fig, pomegranate, apple, pear, almond, peach, plum, cherry, and guava; lignum-vitse, taru- man, and other hard woods ; and the quebracho and scarlet willow, which furnish excellent dyes. Among the medicinal plants are the poppy, wormwood, gentian, balsam, coriander, chamomile, liquorice, and sarsaparilla, the last growing in great abundance along the banks of the Rio Negro and its tributaries. Gold, silver, lead, iron, copper, marble, agates, ala- bhster, and amethysts are found ; but the min- eral resources are hardly developed, though several mines have lately been opened. Ja- guars are sometimes seen along the banks of the Uruguay, and pumas on those of the Rio Negro. The carpincho, deer, ostrich, partridge, duck, parrot, plover, swan, and goose abound. The rivers furnish a variety of excellent fish, and the Plata contains a great many sea wolves. The republic is divided into 18 departments, which, with their areas, chief towns, and popu- lation in 1872, are as follows: DEPART- MENTS. Aw., Popula- tion. CHIKF TOWNS. Popu- Utlon. Cerro Largo Colon ia... I turn/in > . . Florida... Guadalupo Maldonodo Minns Montevideo Pay sand li . Sal'to San Jos6. . Soriano. .. Tacuarembo Total 7.:. 1,900 4.850 4,100 1,600 5.160 4,915 225 7,860 8.125 8.890 8,125 10,460 88.000 22,508 16,281 19.900 4S,000 18,750 27,168 127.704 88,052 82,602 20,115 21,408 84,000 Villa de Melo 6,'000 2,000 1,600 2,000 8,000 1,000 1,700 105.000 9.000 10,000 5,000 1.600 8,000 Colonla del Sacramento Durazno Florida ( 'aneloncs Maldonado Minas Montevideo. Paysandii Safto San Jon6 San Salvador San Fructuoso 63,800 454,478 Montevideo is the capital of the republic. Of the population 254,000 are foreigners, including 60,000 Italians, 30,000 each of Basques, Span- iards, and French, 20,000 Brazilians, 10,000 Ar- gentines, 10,000 English and Germans, 2,000 Portuguese, and 12,000 Africans. The abori- gines have entirely disappeared. The bulk of
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