8. Socorro.-From Calle Paraguay to the Pobre Diablo, and from Hueco de Cabecitas to Calle Uruguay.

9. Pilar. From Pobre Diablo to the Arroyo Maldonado, and from the Cinco Esquinas to the municipal boundary.

10. Piedad. From Calle Uruguay and Santiago del Estero to Ayacucho and Sarandi, and from Calle Charcas to Potosi.

11. Balvanera.-From Calle Charcas to the Puente Alsina, and from Calles Sarandi and Ayacucho to the municipal boundary at Piran's quinta. NOTE. It is proposed to form a new parish in North Barracas, embracing also the Boca, and to divide the Balvanera parish, forming another new one at the south-west quarter of the suburbs, between the Puente Alsina, Calle Solis, and Calle Mexico. The Archbishop has given his consent for the change as soon as the intended parishes be provided with churches.

RULES OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE.

The Faculty is composed of ten professors, eight substitutes, and a secretary. The School of Medicine is opposite San Telmo church.

The medical studies require six years. Besides these, the candidate for a studentship must show certificates of having passed satisfactorily examinations in Latin, philosophy, mathematics, chemistry, and physics.

The pharmaceutical studies are Latin, philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, and pharmacology. The medical student, after passing satisfactorily six yearly examinations, and two general examinations, receives the diploma of Doctor in Medicine. The pharmaceutical student receives that of Licentiate in Pharmacy.

All those who wish to practise medicine or pharmacy in Buenos Ayres must present their diplomas of Doctor or Licentiate in Medicine or Pharmacy of a Faculty or University recognised by that of this country. The medical student must also undergo two examinations; one before the professors of anatomy and physiology, general pathology, materia medica, pathological anatomy, &c., obstetrics, &c., which lasts two hours; the other examination consists of two practical cases of medicine and two operations. The examinations are in the Spanish language, and are public.

The candidates pay as fees $100 s. If the candidate does not pass a satisfactory examination half the amount is returned to him, and he cannot present himself again until six months have passed.

The foreign candidates for the pharmaceutical diploma, without which they cannot open a pharmaceutical establishment, must pass two examinations; one practical, for which he will have to make six chemical and pharmaceutical preparations; the other theoretical.

THE depth of this river increases from the spot where it is joined by its two great tributaries to the sea, and the bottom is oozy, and in some places rocky, to the meridian of Montevideo. From here it changes, and its proximity to the ocean becomes gradually apparent, for the ooze is mixed with sand; as the mouth of the river is approached the sand is finer, and mixed with shells and rocks, the northern bank only remaining oozy. The rocks (tosca) are principally found on the southern coast, from the Saladillo to the little bay of Barragan. The bottom at this part of the coast is very hard, and the water shallow, the width of the bay being two or three leagues. The different bottoms of sand, shells and sand, and rocks and sand, situated to the east of the meridian of Montevideo, may be considered as an immense bank, known at its culminating point as the English Bank. The bed of La Plata is full of banks and quicksands, extending for more than thirty leagues to the east of its mouth, and from thence inwards, obstructing its course and rendering the navigation to Buenos Ayres difficult for vessels of a certain tonnage. We will again refer to these dangers in Vol. II. The tinge of the water of the La Plata, produced by lime, extends for more than twenty leagues into the ocean.

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Islands.

It is only on the left bank they are to be met with, which is rocky, while on the opposite side not a stone is to be found. The principal are Lobos, S.E. of Maldonado; Gorriti, in the same bay; Flores, east of Montevideo; San Gabriel, Lopez, and Farallon, opposite Colonia; Hornos, north of these; Martin Garcia, near the delta of the Paraná: besides these there are several rocky clusters more or less distant from the coast.

Banks.

The principal ones are the English (the most dangerous), the Archimedes, Medusa, Chico, Nuevo, Big and Little Ortiz, Las Palmas, &c. As far as Maldonado there are no banks, but from that to Montevideo the English Bank must be rounded; and if the south passage is taken Archimedes and Medusa also: if Buenos Ayres is the destination all must be passed. To reach Montevideo a pilot is seldom employed; but rarely indeed are the services of a pilot dispensed with when going up to Buenos Ayres. Formerly, before the creation of the ports of Montevideo and Maldonado, mariners preferred the southern shore, passing the English Bank, and those bound for Buenos Ayres stopped at the port of Barragan. Such was the dread inspired by the dangerous banks supposed to be at the mouth of the La Plata that seamen dubbed it «<the sailors' hell,» and the insurance on its navigation was equal to that paid from Europe to its mouth, it being considered a miracle to escape. Few were the merchant vessels to be seen on its bosom, and a war vessel never except in time of war. The vessels most frequenting it were Spanish, but never above 500 tons. No vessel sailed on it by night, which was always passed at anchor, and the course steered was by the eastern side of the Ortiz Bank; but, according as the river became better known, and ports sprung up, the fear inspired by the banks decreased, and the navigation of the river made great progress, aided by the exact and detailed charts introduced, and the pilot service that was organised. If we are to believe the writers and sailors of the last century, it should help to dissipate our terror to know that hurricanes were then less frequent than formerly, nor were they so violent as in the first years of the river's discovery. From the time that ports were made at Montevideo and Maldonado, and the northern shore of the river better known, navigation by the southern side was completely abandoned, whether through the want of good points of observation, or the few ports or harbors to be found along it, or that but little was known of it, or the exact situation of Cape San

THE MOUTH OF THE PLATE.

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Antonio, until the necessity of avoiding the English cruisers off Santa Maria and Maldonado obliged the Spanish vessels to find a new passage to the south of the bank, sailing by parallels 35 deg. 5m. to 36 deg. until arrived at the meridian of Montevideo, and then making for this port, or Barragan, or Buenos Ayres, as the case might be. This course, once safely opened, it has so continued, until, with the establishing of so many lighthouses, the river is now entered by the northern side.

Anchorage,

Wherever the lead shows that the bottom is oozy an anchor may be let go, taking care, however, to give a wide berth to the banks, lest the ship might drag on to them. With winds from the south the southern side is preferable, from other points the northern is best. Large vessels can get as far as Montevideo, while vessels drawing fifteen or nineteen feet of water can fearlessly ascend as far as Buenos Ayres or the Hornos Island. As shelter from the N.N.E., E., and S.E. winds the best parts are Hornos, Montevideo, and Maldonado, although the latter is not perfectly sheltered from the S.E., which reaches the anchorage through the pass of Gorriti. The Bay of Barragan, and the roads of Buenos Ayres, are sheltered from S.W. winds. Small vessels can anchor off Cape Santa Maria, at the entrance of the Santa Lucia, and off Colonia, on the northern shore; in the Tuyú and Saladillo rivers, the Bay of Barragan, and the Riachuelo, near Buenos Ayres, on the southern. Ships can anchor at Maldonado in six or eight fathoms; in the roads of Montevideo, four to six fathoms; in the harbor, two to three fathoms; in the roads at Barragan, three fathoms; the roads of Buenos Ayres, three to six fathoms; near the city, two to three fathoms. Against S.W. winds the anchorage on the northern shores is best, against those from the S.E. the others. Of all these anchorage grounds that of Maldonado is the best, as the bottom is oozy, covered with sand. In the others the bottom is mud, in which the anchor cannot hold during strong winds.

Lights.

The lighthouses of the La Plata in this part have considerably improved of late years. At present there are five stationary and five floating lights; the first-named are placed on the Island of Flores, the Cerro of Montevideo, Colonia, and the Custom-house of Buenos Ayres. The floating lights point

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out the following dangers: the English Bank, Panela Quicksands, New Bank, Little Bank, and the roads of Buenos Ayres. We will give in their proper place detailed particulars of these lights, leaving it as granted that their combination greatly facilitates the entry and navigation of the river during the night. The first light known in the Rio de la Plata was that of the poop lantern of the Spanish frigate Loreto, lost off San José in 1792, and placed on the Island of Flores. This light was afterwards removed, in 1798, to the Cerro of Montevideo, experiencing a thousand vicissitudes, until one light was established on the island, and another on the Cerro.

Beacons and Buoys.

There are many along the river, but complete confidence cannot be placed in their stability, as the force of the current often tears them away, or, what is even worse, displaces them, for then, instead of acting as a warning against danger, they lead to it. The principal beacons are those on San José Point, at Montevideo, and at the Martin Garcia channel. The Bell Buoy on the English Bank disappeared during a tempest, and has never been replaced.

THE PORT OF BUENOS AYRES.

The port is no better than any other on the river, the anchorage not being good, in consequence of the softness of the bottom, which allows of the anchors dragging when the wind blows from the N.E., this wind traversing the roads in an oblique direction, and raising generally a heavy sea. The anchoring ground is divided into the Outer and Inner Roads, formed on one side by the City Bank, and on the other by the Camarones Bank, which is a ramification of the great Palmas or Playa Honda Bank. The Port of Buenos Ayres being but a very indifferent one by nature, and hitherto neglected by the authorities, it is insufficient for the trade of this vast emporium. No captain considers his ship safe whilst anchored in these offings (it being impossible to call the «port» anything else), as every gale of wind from S.W. round to N.E. imperils his vessel. Many schemes have been proposed for constructing a harbor and docks; but as yet nothing has been done.