Agricultural Centres.

Many are the agricultural centres, generally known by the name of colonies, established all over the Republic, that, owing to the special conditions of the land which is fit for all cultures, have notably improved.

Among the principal colonies, or agricultural settlements, there are:

1st. The Valdense Colony, founded in 1858. It has an area of 19,432 square cuadras (14,338 hectares 5,035 metres).

Its population in 1884 was 306 families, forming a total of 1,681 inhabitants. To-day, there are more than 2,200 inhabitants. It possesses the best agricultural machinery, steam-mills, and steam and water mills, good carpenters, blacksmiths, and in a word all the establishments necessary to the unceasing progress of such agricultural centres. It has two Evangelical churches, a public library with over a thousand books, eight schools, a postoffice, a municipal commission and a police office.

2d. Swiss, Quevedo and Spanish Colonies. The Swiss Colony was founded in 1863. It has an area of 8,782 square cuadras, or 6,480 hectares, 709 metres. The Quevedo Colony has an area of 5,091 square cuadras, or 3,756 hectares and 5,521 metres, and the Spanish Colony 9,600 square cuadras, or 7,083 hectares, 6,576 metres.

These three agricultural centres form a total of 17,320 hectares, over which live more than 420 families. They possess steam-mills, schools, many commercial establishments. In the Swiss Colony there are two churches—a Catholic and Protestant. The public administration of these settlements consist of a municipal commission, a justice of peace and an attorney. They also have a postoffice.

3d. Sauce Colony. The first settlers who cultivated the soil in this agricultural centre were some Swiss people who, in the year 1879, hired the land where it now exists, In the years 1880 and 1881 other families came and settled themselves close to the first ones. In 1883, thirty families more came from the Valdense Colony; so that in 1884 the Sauce Colony counted 59 families.

4th. Riachuelo Colony. It is 10 kilometres distant, eastward, from Colonia del Sacramento. The first settlers have paid for all the land they had bought, being now the sole owners of it.

The formation and improvements of this colony are owed to the mere intelligence and work of the settlers. The land is of a very good quality and especially fit for wheat. The other plants like maize, barley, beans, potatoes, etc., give also a very good result. The settlers are mostly foreigners; and most of them are Italians. The colony possesses a large public building, which is destined to be the school and the church; besides this, it has also a national school of the first degree. The steam-mill that exists works only for the colony.

The above-mentioned colonies are situated in the Department of Colonia, and besides those, there are also the Arrue and Belgrano Colonies.

5th. Nuevo Berlin Colony. In the Department of Rio Negro there exists, since a few years, the Nuevo Berlin Colony. It has over 1,033 hectares in full culture, and possesses steam ploughs and all kind of agricultural machinery.

6th. Porvenir Colony. The colonies in the Department of Paysandu are the Villa Rosalia and Esperanza colonies, of recent foundation, and the so-called Porvenir colony. This last one is the most important one, counting already over 1,690 inhabitants. The languages spoken in the colony are Spanish and Italian. The soil cannot be better, and is fit for all kinds of culture. It possesses steam and water mills, a threshing Rausanes machine and a Hornsby. It has three schools—a public one and two private ones—and many societies, every one of them working for the improvement of the colony, and also other societies, the object of which is the purchase of all the necessary agricultural machinery. The public administration consists of a justice of peace, two attorneys, a police officer and a postoffice.

7th. General Rivera Colony. It is situated in the Department of Artigas, and has an extension of 4,987 hectares, over which they cultivate tobacco, maize, mani and mandioca; it counts now over a hundred families.

8th. Francisco Aguilar and Francisco Dastre Colonies. They are situated in the Department of Maldonado. The executive power, in the year 1883, ordered the necessary studies to be made for the demarcation of the land where the Francisco Aguilar Colony was to be established. Out of the 2,114 hectares which formed it, 1,359 were destined to general cattle feeding ground, and 755 to ploughing. The administration of the colony is intrusted to a directive commission.

In the year 1884 was established the Francisco Dastre Colony, in which 368 hectares are destined to ploughing and 59 to cattle feeding.

9th. Santa Teresa Colony. Situated in the Department of Rocha and founded on June 24th, 1885; it has 5,534 hectares, more or less.

10th. Igualdad Colony. It was founded in 1875, in the Department of Minas. It has a church and a school.

11th. Harriague, San Antonia and Lavalleja Colonies. In the Department of Salto exist the colonies called, "Harriague," "San Antonio," "Lavalleja," "Cosmopolita" and "Estrella" that have all been founded a short time ago.

The Harriague colony has an area of 1860 square cuadras, or 1372 hectares. The principal culture is wheat and maize.

The San Antonio colony was founded by the government. The land was divided into small estancias or chacras, or farms of 20 cuadras, more or less, each, that were given to some old servants of the state and settlers and are now consecrated to the sowing of cereals.

The Lavalleja colony was founded in a field of government land, and occupied by many native families. The government ordered the land to be divided into chacras, every one of them being given to the first settlers and some old servants as a reward for their services.

12th. Paullier Colony. In the department of San Jose is situated the colony of Paullier Brothers, founded in the year 1883. Its extension is 6,298 square cuadras or 4,647 hectares. In 1884 its population was 400 inhabitants; now it may be calculated to be more than 500. The quality of the soil cannot be better. The cheeses of this colony are the best made in the country, and constitute an important industry. The cows are all of good breed, and besides them the colony possesses a large number of valuable animals imported directly from Europe and bred and fed under shed.

13th. Rio Negro Colony. This colony is situated in the tenth district of the department of Tacuarembo, between the Rio Negro and the rivulets Cardozo and Cacique grande. It has a superficies of 38,216 square cuadras, (28,198 hectares, 8,602 metres), out of which 1,249 square cuadras, (921 hectares, 6,133 metres) form the district of the village called "Teniente General M. Tajes"; the remaining part is divided into 361 chacras or farms.

The area of each chacra varies from 29½ to 88½ hectares.

A third part of the chacras are already occupied, and although the colony is of a quite recent foundation the results obtained by the settlers cannot be hoped to be better. The colony possesses already six dairies. It is sure to become, very soon, one of the most important agricultural settlements, on account of its good situation, which permits the easy exporting of its products by the railway, not only to the interior of the Republic but also to the very frontier of Brazil.

The land is very good for plowing, on account, also, of its situation and of the many rivers that run through it, and is quite fit for the sowing of wheat and maize, and also for the culture of tobacco and the grape vine.

The village "Maximo Tajes" that belongs to the same colony has a railway station, a fruit market, a public square, a postoffice, a police-office, and very soon they are going to build a church and a school.

14th. Antonio Crespo Colony. It was founded in 1891 in the sixth district of the department of Tacuarembo, in the place called "Aldea," a league and a half distant from San Fructuoso.

15th. Stajano Colony. In the department of Durazno and at a short distance of the so-called town, the capital of the department, was recently founded a new colony, called "Stajano Colony." It has an area of 7,378 hectares and between 300 and 400 inhabitants; all along the river Yi it possesses many thick woods. The railway station is only one kilometre distant from the town.

During these last two years, in all the rural districts devoted to cattle feeding, they have everywhere begun preserving part of the land for the culture of cereals, potatoes, etc. ... forages and trees fit for cutting and burning. Thus the production of the land has been increased still, and also the rural activity, preparing a total transformation in the cattle feeding and general rural industry of the country.

16th. Piriapolis. So as to give an idea of what the collective capital can do and what results all undertakings may obtain, the object of which is to foment agricultural industry and colonization, something is to be said here of what has already been done by that intelligent and indefatigable business man, Mr. Francisco Piria.

At a distance of some 140 kilometres from Montevideo, by land, and 50 miles by river, over a superficies of 1,992 hectares, among very picturesque hills, watered by the River Plate and bounded northward by the ridge of hills of Pan de Azucar, lies the new establishment called Piriapolis, divided into two large fractions, one of which is devoted to general culture and various industries, and the other intended to be a bathing town, with its own port, a beautiful bay, and a large, neat and secure harbor.

Piriapolis was founded, at the most, two years ago, still it already possesses a large building for the direction of the colony, houses for two hundred workmen, 400 kilometres of land all surrounded by iron wire fencing, many natural wells, and brick ovens. They have also begun the drilling of many artesian wells.

The plantations are 80 hectares, planted with vines (the plants are 2 and 3 years old); three millions of vine-shoot of the best varieties; a nursery with 200,000 olive trees; another nursery with a million of plants, ash trees, maple trees, acacias, etc., ... 300,000 trees to be planted next autumn in the streets and avenues of the bathing town. Groves of eucalyptuses, acacias and other quick-growing trees have already been planted all around the town, covering an extension of 400 hectares.

Two hundred and sixty hectares have been sowed with wheat, beans, French beans, Spanish beans, potatoes and other vegetables.

Great plantations of fruit trees have also been made, and the culture of tobacco has been tried over 80 hectares.

Next year 50 houses more are going to be built, and also a church, a school, a municipal house and a police office.

When all these works are concluded then will take place the solemn inauguration of Piriapolis.

The soil in Piriapolis is very good. The bed of humus or arable ground is 30 centim., and sometimes 1 met., 20 centim. deep. In some parts there are beneath that bed of humus other large beds of carbonate of lime, from one to two metres thick.

There are various springs of mineral waters, the properties of which have been officially recognized.

Among the natural extractive riches of the colony, there are some 300 hectares of forests, the trees of which are between five and six metres high. The cutting of trees has already begun, and a result may be hoped of 6,000 carts of wood, that will give a liquid product of $1.20 each cart.

There are also beautiful granite quarries, with pieces of stone some metres high. The granite of Piriapolis can be extracted and cut very easily. Its price is hardly 20 per cent. of what it generally costs in the other quarries. A contract has been recently made for the purchase of 20,000 posts, 1^m 80 high, by 0^m 25 thick, at the rate of 15c. each. The Directive Commission intends to work the quarries on a great scale, and to establish the working of the stone.

Actually, in Piriapolis port, they have begun to build a quay, a 100 m. long. The depths of the bay varies between 4 and 7 fathoms, at a distance of some 250 m. from the coast.

A road is already opened to public service. It is 30 m. broad and on each side of it a double row of trees has been planted. This road puts Piriapolis in communication with the rest of the Department of Maldonado, and will be useful for the trade and commerce of the Department of Minas.

Piriapolis is actually a reunion of farms and a territorial speculation, which is called to foment the density of the population and also the improvement of all kind of production; it divides the land and gives it every day more value, making it every day more productive by its agricultural industries, and also by the foundation of that bathing town, which secures a great consumption of the products, whilst at the same time the River Plate and the ocean permit the easy exporting of the same.