Across Unknown South America | Page 6

where you are constantly walking in avenues adorned with wonderful orchids, with a sky overhead swarming with birds of beautiful plumage. I have been asked in all seriousness whether I found the Andes quite flat--great prairies (the person had heard of the Argentine pampas and got mixed up)--or whether "it" was merely a large lagoon!
I could quote dozens more of these extreme cases of ignorance, but of one thing I am certain, and that is, that there are few people in the British Isles who realize the actual size of the great Brazilian Republic.
Brazil is 8,524,778 square kilometres--with the territory of the Acre newly acquired from Bolivia, 8,715,778 sq. kil. in extent; that is to say, it covers an area larger than the United States of North America, Germany, Portugal, Greece and Montenegro taken together.
Some of the States of the Republic are larger than some of the largest countries in Europe: such as the State of the Amazonas with 1,894,724 sq. kil.; the State of Matto Grosso with 1,378,784 sq. kil.; the State of Pará with an area of 1,149,712 sq. kil.; the State of Goyaz with 747,311 sq. kil.; the State of Minas Geraes with 574,855 sq. kil.; the Acre territory, 191,000 sq. kil.
There are fewer people still who seriously appreciate the great importance of that beautiful country--with no exception the richest, the most wonderful in the world; to my mind undoubtedly the continent of the future.
Incalculable is the richness of Brazil in mineral wealth. Magnificent yellow diamonds are to be found in various regions, those of Minas Geraes and Matto Grosso being famous for their purity and extraordinary brilliancy; agates, moonstones, amethysts, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, topazes, and all kinds of beautiful rock crystals are plentiful. Gold exists in many regions on the central plateau--but particularly in Minas Geraes and Matto Grosso; and platinum in the States of S?o Paulo, Minas Geraes, Sta. Catharina and Espirito Santo; silver, mercury, lead, tin, salicylated and natural copper are found in many places, as well as graphite, iron, magnetic iron, oxide of copper, antimony, argentiferous galena, malachite, manganese oxide, alum, bituminous schist, anthracite, phosphate of lime, sulphate of sodium, h?matite, monazitic sands (the latter in large quantities), nitrate of potassium, yellow, rose-coloured, and opalescent quartz, sulphate of iron, sulphate of magnesia, potash, kaolin. Coal and lignite of poor quality have been discovered in some regions, and also petroleum, but not in large quantities.
[Illustration: Rio de Janeiro, showing the beautiful Avenida Central.]
Springs of thermal and mineral waters are numerous--particularly those of which the waters are sulphurous or ferruginous; others contain arsenic and magnesia.
Most beautiful marble of various colours is to be found, and also enormous quantities of mica and amianth; porphyry and porphyroid granite, carbonated and hydroxided iron, argillaceous schist, mica schist.
Even richer than the mineral wealth is the botanical wealth, hitherto dormant, of Brazil. Valuable woods occur in many Brazilian forests--although it must not for one moment be imagined that entire forests are to be found composed of useful woods. Indeed this is not the case. Most of the woods are absolutely valueless. Still, when it is realized that the forests of Brazil extend for several millions of square kilometres, it is easy to conceive that there is plenty of room among a majority of poor trees for some good ones. Most Brazilian woods are interesting on account of their high specific gravity. Few, very few, will float on water. On the central plateau, for instance, I could not find a single wood which floated--barring, under special conditions, the burity palm (Mauritia vinifera M.). Along the banks of the Amazon and in the northern part of Brazil this is not quite the case. Some Brazilian woods, such as the iron-tree (pao-ferro), whose name fitly indicates its character, are of extraordinary hardness. The Brazilian forest, although not specially rich in woods for building and naval purposes, is nevertheless most abundant in lactiferous, oliferous, fibrous, medicinal, resinous, and industrial plants--such for instance as can be used for tanning purposes, etc. No country in the world is as rich as Brazil in its natural growth of rubber trees; nor have I ever seen anywhere else such beautiful and plentiful palms: the piassava (Attalia fumifera M.), the assahy (Euterpe oleracea L.), the burity (Mauritia vinifera M.), the carnahuberia (Copernicia cerifera M.), the palmito (Euterpe edulis M.), and many others. I shall give a more detailed description of the most important of these plants as we proceed on our journey and find them in their habitat.
Where, perhaps, Brazil's greatest richness lies is in its hundreds of thousands of square miles of wonderful pasture lands--perfectly ideal, with plenty of excellent water and a delicious climate--capable of some day fattening enough cattle to supply half the world with meat.
All these wonderful riches are absolutely dormant; more than that, absolutely