One of the four littoral provinces of the Argentine Republic, extending from lat. 33° 31' to 41° S., bounded N. by the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Entre-Rios, being separated from the last by the Rio Parana; E. by the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic; S. by the Rio Negro, which forms the boundary line with Patagonia; and W. by the pampas and the province of San Luis. The W. limit has not yet been definitely marked, but it is somewhere between Ion. 64° and 65° W. Area, 70,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 343,866, of whom 151,241 were of foreign birth, chiefly Italian, Spanish, French, and Irish. The coast line measures about 540 m., and is for the most part low and sandy. The only noteworthy ports on the seaboard are Bahia Blanca and Patagones, or El Carmen, and these are little frequented owing to the perilous navigation of the sea in their vicinity. The chief port is Buenos Ayres, on the Plata, 180 m. from the sea. With the exception of the Guamini, Ventana, Tandil, and Yolcan mountains, which originate near the coast S. E. of the capital, and lose themselves in the pampas, the province is a vast plain, somewhat roughened with hills in the N. and N. E., and clothed with an alternate growth of clover and gigantic thistles to the W. of the city of Buenos Ayres for a distance of some 200 m., and still further westward with long grass besprinkled with flowers and unencumbered by weeds.

The S. portion is about equally divided between stony, arid wastes, and immense marshy tracts interspersed with salt lagoons, which evaporate in the dry season, leaving the soil covered with pure salt. Agriculture has hitherto been much neglected and even despised by the inhabitants, notwithstanding the fertility of the soil, which is chiefly composed of a rich vegetable mould, varying from 9 to 33 inches in depth. "Wheat of a fine quality is raised, but prior to 1872 the quantity was inadequate for the consumption. In December of that year a vessel was freighted for the export of wheat, the first ever sent out of the republic. The staple production is potatoes, two crops of which are raised each year. Since the introduction of railways many new farms have been established and large quantities of wheat are sown. There are 150 flour mills, and a few vermicelli factories; but little other manufacturing is carried on. There are some thriving colonies in the north, chiefly Swiss. The principal branch of industry is cattle-raising, for which the country is admirably suited.

A hundred varieties of grass, elsewhere produced only by great labor, here grow spontaneously, affording pasturage for 30,000 sheep to a square mile, these natural meadows being mostly laid out in large estancias, or cattle farms. The most extensive sheep farmers in the province are the Irish settlers, who have largely contributed to the development of that industry, which enables Buenos Ayres to rival Australia in the production of wool. In 1866 there were in the province 6,000,000 horned cattle, 1,800,000 horses and asses, 60,000,000 sheep, 115,000 swine, and 5,000 goats. The wool clip for that year was estimated at 100,000,000 lbs., and the shipment of wool has since rapidly increased. The chief exports are hides, tallow, sheepskins, wool, and jerked beef. The climate is generally salubrious, but subject to sudden changes, according to the direction of the wind. All the rocks in the province are granitic, which in the Ventana, however, is covered by glossy clay slate and pure white quartz. Numerous fossil remains of colossal mammalia are imbedded in the diluvial deposits of the pampas. Red and yellow shale, gneiss, limestone, and gray quartz occur in the Tandil; agates are found chiefly of the jasper variety.

The N. portion of the province is watered by innumerable small streams falling into the Plata and the Parana, chief among which are the Lujan and the Arrecifes; the rivers of the centre and south are the Salado, carrying the waters of Lake Carpincho to the ocean at San Borombon bay, and the Colorado and Negro, both navigable for a considerable distance from the Atlantic; and the country is interspersed with numerous lagoons and salt marshes, which are dry one half of the year. - The province contains, besides Buenos Ayres, 78 towns, districts (partidos), and colonies. There are 440 public and private schools, attended by 28,373 pupils of both sexes, or less than one third of the total number (99,213) between the ages of 6 and 15. These figures indicate, however, a considerable improvement in educational statistics as compared with those of former years. There is at Santa Catalina, about three leagues from Buenos Ayres, a model farm with a free school of agriculture; the government will expend $500,000 in the development of this enterprise. Four lines of railway lead from the capital to the interior: the northern, about 30 m.; the western, 100 m.; the southern, 72 m.; and the Ensenada, 10 m.

A submarine telegraph cable has been laid from the capital to Montevideo; and a line across the Andes was completed in July, 1872, connecting Valparaiso and Buenos Ayres. The total length of telegraph wires in operation in December, 1872, was about 4,000 m.; and some 1,500 m. were in process of construction. The provincial government is divided into four departments: the legislative, composed of a senate and a chamber of deputies; the executive, composed of the governor, elected by the people for three years, and two ministers; the judicial, consisting of a superior court or court of appeals, and departmental judges of first instance for civil, criminal, and commercial cases; and the municipal department, whose power does not reach beyond matters of a purely local character. A special convention was in 1872 engaged in revising the provincial constitution, with a view to the adoption of important modifications. Like all the other provinces, Buenos Ayres hjts a revenue of its own, independent of the national revenue; but its liabilities are not all internal as are those of the other provinces.

Its budget requires $2,000,000 annually to defray the expenses of the government, militia, schools, etc.; and it contracted a foreign loan of £1,034,700 in England in June, 1870, at 6 per cent, interest, redeemable at par in 33 years. The provincial income in 1869 was said to be only $600,000. II. A city, the capital of the province and of the Argentine Republic, situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, 180 m. from the sea, and 123 m. W. of Montevideo; lat. 34° 36' S., Ion. 58° 36' W.; pop. in 1869, 177,787, of whom 41,957 were Italians, 13,998 Spaniards, and 13,402 French. Of the remainder, about 75,000 were native Argentines of European descent, 10,000 native Montevideans, 10,000 English, Irish, Americans, and Germans, and the rest Indians. This city, which is, after Rio de Janeiro, in nearly all respects the most important in South America, differs in its leading characteristics little from the large cities of the North American and European seaboards, and has been called the Athens of South America. It is in shape a parallelogram, having the long sides from E. to W., and the N. side on the estuary, which is here nearly 30 m. wide. All the streets are parallel to the respective sides.

It covers an area of nearly 2,000 acres, and is divided into blocks 450 ft. square, presenting, when viewed from an eminence, the appearance of an immense chess board. The early Spanish settlers who planned the town, which they called Santisima Trinidad de Buenos Ayres, made the streets only 36 ft. wide, and the houses, which were built of sun-dried brick, had rarely more than one story. Modern buildings have, hovvever, gradually taken their places, and since 1860 the city has rapidly improved in appearance, and has been embellished with handsome edifices of three or four stories. A corresponding improvement has been made in the internal arrangement of the houses of the wealthy citizens and of English residents. Of the streets, 83 in number, 31 run due W. from the river, and the remaining 52 N. and S.; the pavement and sidewalks are very irregular and dilapidated, but the streets are well lighted with gas. Drainage is still unknown. Though situated upon one of the largest rivers of the globe, the city is poorly supplied with water, that of the wells being brackish, and that brought in carts from the river soldat a high price. The sanitary arrangements are bad. Offal, garbage, and waste water are thrown into the streets, or suffered to accumulate in cesspools under the dwellings.

In 1872 a plan was proposed and accepted for introducing a thorough system of drainage and an adequate supply of pure water; and the works were to commence about the month of December. But in spite of the defects just alluded to, and of sudden changes of weather, the health of the city is generally good, the temperature rarely falling below 18° or rising above 90° in the shade. There are 10 plazas, or squares, the largest of which, the plaza Victoria, covers an area of nearly five acres, the centre being ornamented with the column of Liberty, bearing the inscription "25 de Mayo, 1810," in commemoration of the revolution of Buenos Ayres. The four sides of the square are bordered with paradise trees and provided with marble seats. On one side is the old cabildo, or town hall, erected at the beginning of the last century, and now occupied by the several law courts. On the N. side are the archiepiscopal palace and the cathedral; the latter, though somewhat massive, is not inelegant. The Eecoba Vieja, in another part of the square, is a sort of Moorish arcade with an ungainly triumphal arch of brick in the centre. The Recoba Nue-va, another arcade, is opposite to the cathedral, and is, like the Recoba Vieja, occupied by small shops.

Near the plaza Victoria is the plaza Veinte y Cinco de Mayo, in which is the custom house, overlooking the river. Part of that building is used as a national government house, and in the upper story are the president's saloons, where foreign ministers are received. The congress hall in the same vicinity is a small amphitheatre capable of containing 800 persons; the session lasts from May to November. Near the custom house is the station of the Northern railway or tramway; a large central station is projected to be built at this point, in which the four city railways shall meet. Political and other offenders were in former times shot in this square. The plaza Marte, or del Retiro, at the N. E. corner of the city, contains a bronze equestrian statue of Gen. San Martin, barracks for 1,000 men, a steam saw mill, the first introduced in the country, and a railway station. In the plaza Lorea is a market established in 1864. The plaza del Parque derives its name from the arsenal; it is a sort of public garden with a casino in the centre. There are five spacious markets. Part of the municipal revenue is derived from fees for market stalls; and no butchers' or vegetable shops are allowed within half a mile of the several markets.

There are seven hotels and many private lodging and boarding houses; nine German, one foreign, and three national clubs; and a British circulating library with 2,000 volumes, established about 1830. The Colon opera house, the first in South America, was built in 1856 at a cost of $200,000; and there are likewise the Victoria theatre, devoted to the Spanish drama; the Franco-Argentine theatre, for opera bouffe; and the Coliseo, an Anglo-German concert hall, with seats for 500 persons. The provincial government house occupies half a block, and contains around a spacious courtyard the various public offices. Opposite the government house is the state library, with 18,000 volumes, and some manuscripts valuable for their antiquity. There are various other libraries, chief among which is the national library, founded in 1870 under the auspices of President Sarmiento. The chamber of the provincial legislature occupies a hall like an amphitheatre, with galleries for the public, where 400 persons may be seated.

The emigrants' home, in the calle Corrientes, provides gratuitous board and lodging for distressed immigrants until they find employment; it is supported by the national government and by subscription, the annual expenditure being about $5,000. There is a public lottery, 15 per cent, of the total receipts of which are applied to the various municipal charitable institutions. The museum of Buenos Ayres, founded by Rivadavia in 1823 is said to possess the richest collection of antediluvian fossil remains in the world, among which are 50 specimens found in Buenos Ayres of animals no longer known. The university of Buenos Ayres was founded in 1821 by Governor Rodriguez and his minister Rivadavia; the studies embrace the usual classic and scientific courses, and modern languages; and degrees are conferred in theology, law, and medicine. To the national college, in which the studies are analogous to those of the university, each province has the privilege of sending a certain number of boys, who are educated, boarded, and lodged gratuitously. There are 43 schools supported by the municipal government; 15 dependent upon the department of schools (established in 1852); 17 for females, sustained by the sociedad de beneficencia, composed of charitable ladies; and 98 private schools.

There are also a theological seminary, a Jesuit college, a college directed by French priests, and several denominational schools connected with the various English, Scotch, American, and German churches; an infant school, and a number of night schools, opened in 1871. Besides the cathedral, there are 15 churches, 6 chapels of ease, and 4 Protestant churches. There are two monasteries and two convents of cloistered nuns, which escaped the suppression of religious orders after the independence. The French Sisters of Charity have numerous institutes and schools, and the Irish Sisters of Mercy have a school and a hospital. The predominant religion is the Roman Catholic; but all others are tolerated, and the ministers of some denominations are paid by the national government. There are two cemeteries, the Recoleta, and the English for Protestants; two general hospitals, one for males, the other for females; and also French, English, Italian, and Irish hospitals. The sanitary institute is the first institution of its kind on the continent. By the payment of a yearly subscription of $12, any person can secure the right to enter the institution when sick, and remain there until cured.

There are a lunatic asylum, an asylum for the poor, a foundling hospital established in 1779 by Jose Riglos and the viceroy Vertis, a female orphan school, and a deaf and dumb institute. The police force is imperfectly organized, and is composed of only 200 vigilantes. Several lines of horse cars traverse the city and suburbs. Besides the railways leading to interior points, there is almost daily communication by steamers with the various river ports, and stage coaches ply to the camp towns in the interior. Steamers run monthly to the Atlantic ports of Bahia Blanca and El Carmen. - The shoals and quicksands in the Plata render the approach to the city extremely difficult for ships of deep draft. Even those of 16 or 17 ft. must anchor from 6 to 9 m. from shore. Two piers of 1,300 and 1,900 ft. were built in 1855, one for passengers, and the other opposite the custom house for merchandise. Before that time passengers and freight were carried ashore by carts on wheels of immense diameter, which went out two or three cables' length to meet the boats. Even now carts cannot be entirely dispensed with, for at low water neither lighters nor small boats can approach the piers.

The returns of the statistical department give a total of 2,297 sailing vessels and 1,628 steamers, with an aggregate tonnage of 1,526,284, for the whole republic, four fifths belonging to the port of Buenos Ayres. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1870, the exports of ox hides salted and dried, horse hides, tallow, wool, sheepskins, and jerked beef, amounted to $39,294,690, against $27,320,000 in 1869. The imports, chiefly cotton, woollen, and linen fabrics, furniture, hardware, machinery of all kinds, wheat, coal, iron, wine, beer, boots and shoes, etc, were estimated at $40,000,000 for the year 1870. Although one of the staple exports is the raw material for boots and shoes, immense quantities of these articles are imported. The total exports to the United States in the same period reached $6,473,927 61; the total imports from the United States were only $2,087,999. The export duties on animal products amount annually to 3,000,000 silver dollars. The casa de moneda (mint), or bank of the province, is the headquarters of the paper money; the Maua bank, established in 1858, was the first private bank in the city; the London and River Plate bank (1863) does a large business; the Argentine bank was more recently established, and there are also several private banking houses, one of which furnished a loan to the national government in June, 1871, engaging to discount $6,000,000 in national funds, at the rate of 7 per cent.

The militia and national guard of Buenos Ayres number 19,867 men. Ten daily papers are published in the city: six in Spanish, and one each in English, French, German, and Italian. More than 40,000 immigrants landed at Buenos Ayres in 1871; and in March, 1872, 1,200 landed in a single day. The total number of immigrants in the latter year was about 45,000; and 100,000 were confidently expected for 1873. The provincial and national governments have their seat together in Buenos Ayres. The municipal government is composed of 12 leading citizens and foreign residents. The city is .divided into parishes, each having a justice of the peace. - The mouth of the Plata was discovered in 1512, by Don Juan Diaz de Solis, and Buenos Ayres and several other colonies were founded as early as 1535 by Mendoza; but the Indians having put the new colonists to flight, it was not till 1580 that the Spaniards under Don Juan de Garay took final possession of the present site of the city, and began to establish settlements, which were soon attached to the viceroyalty of Peru. In 1620 Buenos Ayres was erected into a bishopric; a new government was formed, called the government of the Rio de la Plata, which continued dependent upon the viceroyalty of Peru till 1776, when the Plate provinces became the seat of a viceroyalty, of which Buenos Ayres was the capital.

It fell into the hands of the British in 1806, but was soon retaken by the Spaniards; and in a second attempt in 1807 to capture the city, the English met with still less success. In 1810 began the war of independence, which after six years resulted in the formation of the Plate provinces into an independent state, July 9, 1816, Buenos Ayres still continuing to be the capital. The new confederation was called the United Provinces of La Plata. But the exclusive policy of the capital soon induced discontent in the provinces, which demanded a federation instead of the central government of Buenos Ayres. A civil war broke out, ending in the formation of the Argentine Confederation in 1831. In the midst of these internal dissensions, the port of Buenos Ayres was blockaded by a Brazilian fleet; but the blockade was raised in 1818 by the intervention of the British. The peace established in 1831 was of short duration; civil strife soon again manifested itself, and was but temporarily checked by the» accession of Rosas to the supreme power in 1835. The new governor soon involved the country in a foreign war, in the course of which the fleet of Buenos Ayres was seized by the united fleets of England and France, and the navigation of the Parana opened to the vessels of all nations.

Rosas was succeeded in 1852 by Urquiza, against whom Buenos Ay res rebelled, and was again besieged by the confederate forces in 1853. A temporary accommodation was effected in June of the same year; but new troubles soon arose, and continued with little intermission until the final defeat of the Argentine forces by Gen. Barto-lome Mitre, Sept. 17, 1861. The following year Buenos Ayres again entered the Argentine Eepublic, and was appointed the provisional capital, Mitre having in the mean while been elected president. A bill proposing the removal of the seat of government to Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, was vetoed by President Mitre in 1868, and again by his successor, President Sarmiento. Buenos Ayres was visited in 1871 by yellow fever, when for three months business was suspended, and many of the citizens fled to the rural districts. The total number of deaths up to April 30, according to official report, was over 13,000; but this number is regarded as far below the truth.

Buenos Ayres.