and Tocantins, on the right or southern bank, are the most considerable. Every one of these is a large river. Brazil, indeed, abounds in inland waters, and possesses capabilities for inland navigation such as belong to few other regions. CLIMATE and PRODUCTIONS: The climate of Brazil is tropical, and its mineral and vegetable productions are extremely rich and varied. The climate of Northern, and of the coast region of Southern, Brazil is thoroughly tropical. With the exception of the extreme southern provinces, the whole country is within the Torrid Zone. But the uplands of the centre and south have a relatively cool temperature, and are healthy and agreeable for Europeans, great numbers of whom are settled in the provinces of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catharina, Paraná, San Paulo, and Minas Geraes, which form temperate Brazil, The diamond and other precious stones,' with gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead, are among its productions. But the mineral wealth of Brazil is greatly inferior in importance to the products of its soil and to the inexhaustible treasures of its forests, which abound in the greatest variety of useful and beautiful woods, adapted for cabinet work or dyeing-mahogany, logwood, rosewood, brazil-wood, &c.and medicinal plants. INHABITANTS: The population of Brazil is upwards of 174 millions, more than a third of whom are whites, almost exclusively of Portuguese descent. A large proportion of the population consists of Negroes who, until recently, were slaves, but now possess the full privileges of citizens, and are in all respects on terms of equality with the whites. The remainder consists of Indian and mixed races. At the seaports, the population is chiefly European or of European descent. There are large German Colonies in the States of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catharina. The Portuguese language is generally spoken by the people of Brazil. The Roman Catholic religion is followed, but there is no connection between Church and State. INDUSTRIES: Brazil is mainly an agricultural country, but only a small fraction of its soil has been brought under cultivation. It possesses the highest fertility, and yields the most abundant harvests. Coffee, sugar, cotton, and rubber are the staple productions, and the firstnamed has become increasingly important within recent years. Rice, cocoa, maize, and tobacco, with the manioc and other articles of native growth, are also extensively produced. The manioc yields the cassava bread, the chier article of food to the native Indian population. COMMERCE: Brazil carries on a large foreign trade, principally with the United States and Great Britain, and very largely also with Germany and France. Annual value, 774 millions sterling-imports, 323 millions; exports, 441⁄2 millions. 1. Found chiefly in the upland State of Minus) 2. Brazil was the last country in America to Geracs, to the north of Rio Janeiro, The iron-ore abolish slavery. In 1971, there were over 11 desis of Minis Geries only await developmentation slaves, but the work of emancipation was to become probably the most important in the then commenced, and crowned in 18.8 by an Act which abolished slavery. world. As Brazil has scarcely any manufactures, the imports consist of manufactured articles of every description. The exports consist solely of the raw produce of the soil, and, owing to the vast extent of the republic and the consequent very different peculiarities of the soil and climate, their nature varies considerably, Sugar-cane is grown in large and increasing quantities in the northern provinces, Pernambuco being the centre of the sugar-producing zone. India-rubber comes from the more northerly provinces, especially Pará; and coffee, though also grown in the north, comes chiefly from the central portions of the empire, Rio Janeiro and San Paulo. Tobacco is also grown largely, especially in Bahia. The trade of Brazil with the United Kingdom amounts to about 14 millions sterling-imports therefrom, 6 millions; exports thereto, 8 millions The prine pal exports from Brazil to the United Kingdom are rubber, raw cotton, iron ore, cotton seeds, cocoa, coffee, bides, sugar, and nuts. The customs duties on British manufactures are very high, averaging 45 per cent. of their value. of The most important port is that of RIO JANEIRO, and its principal export is coffee, which amounts in value to nine-tenths of the total exports thence, Internal communication in Brazil is facilitated by an unrivaled river-navigation, supplemented by about 10, 500 miles of railways, connecting the chief towns on the seaboard with the interior. system GOVERNMENT: The United States of Brazil form a Federal Republic. The executive authority is exercised by the President, and the legislative power by a National Congress, which consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Each State in the Union has its own Government, distinct and independent as regards local affairs. Brazil was, until the bloodless revolution of November 15th, 1889, the only country in South America under a monarchical government. On that day, however, the Emperor, Dom Pedro II., under whose long and enlightened rule the country had advanced rapidly in the path of improvement, both commercial and social, was deposed, and Brazil was declared a Republic under the title of the United States of Brazil." " The annual Revenue amounts to about 23 millions a year, and the Expenditure to 25 millions. The Public Debt is about 100 millions sterling. The standing army, service in which is compulsory, consists of about 28,000 men, and the navy includes 60 armoured vessels, 9 of which are ironclads. DIVISIONS: The Republic of Brazil includes 20 States and I Federal District (the city of Rio and its environs).1 The Maritime States of Brazil are Pará, Maranhão, Piauhy, and Ceará, on the north-east coast; Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espirito Santo, Rio Janeiro, and the Municipio Neutro, on the east coast; with San Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do Sul, The Inland States are Amazonas, and Matto Grosso1 in the west, and Goyaz and Minas Geraes in the east. on the south-east coast. their chief towns. The vast State of Amazonas is Though so vast (532,800 square miles) and fruitful 1. Most of the Brazilian States are named after | Madeira, occupies the centre of South America. named after the great river which flows through it. with diamond mines and bonndless forests, it has Paraná is similarly named from the river which forms scarcely as many people as a third-rate toan, only its western boundary. 70,000, or 1 to every 76 square miles. The stager which extends from the Upper Paraguay to the miles, has a population of only 80,000. 2. The State of Matto Grosso (Great Wood), State of Amazonas, with an area of 753,000 square RIO DE JANEIRO' (811), the capital of Brazil, stands on the western side of a fine bay, one of the most magnificent of natural harbours. Rio de Janeiro (or Rio, as it is often called) is the largest city in South America. Bahia (200), 800 miles to the northward of Rio, is the second city in the republic, and is also the seat of a great foreign trade. Pernambuco (190) ranks third in importance. This place consists really of several adjoining towns, which have grown into one, and of which that distinguished as Recife-the business quarter of Pernambuco-is the most considerable. Pernambuco is 450 miles north of Bahia. The most northerly seaport of Brazil is Pará, which is situated on a fine estuary called the Rio do Pará, on the north-eastern coast. Pará is by position the great outport for the Amazon valley-a region of which the vast capabilities are as yet almost entirely undeveloped. In the south of Brazil, beyond Rio Janeiro, the two chief seats of commerce are the towns of San Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. San Paulo lies upwards of 200 miles to the south-westward of Rio, and some miles inland. The maritime town of Santos constitutes its port. Rio Grande do Sul is near the southern extremity of the country, at the outlet of the lake or rather lagoon of Patos. PARAGUAY. THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY, the "Mesopotamia of South America," is to the north-east of the Argentine Republic. It is enclosed between the great rivers Parana and Paraguay, and is bounded on the north and east by Brazil. Its Paraguay has now an area of only 98,000 square miles, and a population of about 631,500, including 50,000 Indians, and 18,000 foreigners. most characteristic article of produce is the verba maté or Paraguay tea, which is extensively used in South America like tea in the Old World. The capabilities of the country are practically exhaustless, and, as its climate is favourable to Europeans, they may be very largely developed in the near future. The forests yield hardwood and other timber trees, medicinal plants, and india-rubber, while the soil is suitable for growing maize, rice, coffee, cocoa, indigo, manioc, sugar-cane, tobacco, oranges, and cotton. Yerba maté, tobacco, hides and skins, oranges, sugar, &c., amounting to about half a million sterling, form the chief exports. The chief imports are textiles (mostly from Great Britain), wine, and rice. About half the imports come from Great Britain. The chief town of Paraguay is ASUNCION (6c), on the River Paraguay. Only three other towns-Villa Rica, Concepcion, and San Pedro-have over 10,000 inhabitants. There is a railway from Villa Rica to the capital, but the river traffic is far more important. The Roman Catholic is the State religion, and education is free and compulsory, but scarcely one-fifth of the adult Paraguayans can read or write. The Government is carried on by a President, through a Cabinet of responsible ministers, the legislative authority being vested in a Congress of two Housesa Senate and a House of Deputies. 1. Founded by the Portuguese in 1567. Con- and the Argentine Republic, Paraguay had an area stituted the capital of Brazil in 1763, instead of Bahia. of 100,000 square miles, and a population of 1% 2. Before the war of 1865-70 with Brazil, Uruguay, millions. URUGUAY. THE REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY lies to the north of the La Plata. The River Uruguay forms its western border. On the east it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north by Brazil. Uruguay includes 72,200 square miles, and has a population of about 1 million. Its capitai is MONTE VIDEO (244), which stands on the north bank of the Rio de la Plata, at the entrance of that estuary. Monte Video occupies a position admirably suited for maritime commerce, of which it enjoys a large share. The rearing of cattle and sheep is the leading industry in the republic, and an active trade is carried on, chiefly with Great Britain and France, the principal articles of export being cattle, hides, preserved meats, wool, and tallow.' Fray Bentos and Paysandu have important preserved-meat manufactories. The executive government of Uruguay is entrusted to a President, aided by a Council of Ministers; the legislative power is exercised by a Parliament of two Houses-the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The Roman Catholic is the State religion. Primary education is compulsory, and there is a university at Monte Video. THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. ARGENTINA, or the ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, includes the group of States formerly known as the "United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata," and now consists of 14 Provinces and 10 Territories. The total area of the Provinces is stated to be 623,000 square miles, and that of the various Territories 512,900 square miles, so that the republic has a total area of no less than 1,135,900 square miles, or nearly 20 times that of England and Wales. The republic is bounded on the north by Bolivia, on the north-east by Paraguay, on the east by Brazil, Uraguay, and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Chile. The boundary dispute with Chile was settled by the award given in 1902 by the British Government, who assigned the headwaters of the Chubul to Argentina, and a considerable tract in the south to Chile. The repub ic is very thinly peopled, the total number of inhabitants being about 51⁄2 millions, a very small number for such an immense country, averaging only 5 per square mile. A larger proportion of the Argentine people are of white race than is the case in the countries further north. The whites are chiefly, but by no means exclusively, of Spanish descent. The increase of population within recent years is due mostly to immigration, chiefly from the south of Europe, the Italians forming 56 per cent. and the Spaniards only 11 per cent. of the new Between 1857 and 1900 nearly 3 million settlers entered the country. The Spanish language prevails throughout the republic. The Roman comers. Catholic religion is uniformly followed. The primary schools are maintained by the general and provincial governments. There are 5 universities and abou 50 normal schools and lyceums. 2. Argentina, from he Latin argentum, silver. 3. So called from the Rie de a Plata, ic.. the 1. The exports to the United Kingdom are under 1 million sterling, but the imports from Great Britain to Uruguay amount to 2 millions a year. River of Siver. The total imports and total exports are each over 6 millions sterling. NATURAL FEATURES: The greater part of Argentina is an immense plain. This plain includes, in the south, the region of the Pampas, and, in the north, the larger portion of an extensive tract called the Gran Chaco-a succession of grassy plains, of the highest natural fertility, though tenanted only by wild beasts or by savage Indians. The Argentine rivers are of first-rate magnitude. Among them are the Paraguay, the Parana, and the Uruguay, the three great feeders of the extensive estuary entitled the River Plate (Rio de la Plata). The whole region, with the exception of a very small tract in the extreme north, is within the Temperate Zone, and the climate is not generally warmer than that of Southern Europe. INDUSTRIES: The vast herds of cattle and horses and the enormous flocks of sheep which are reared on the immense pastures, constitute the wealth of Argentina, and animals and animal prɔducts form the chief exports.1 Agriculture is, however, progressing rapidly, and Argentina is becoming one of the leading grain-exporting countries of the world. About 24.000 square miles are now under cultivation, and nearly 3 million tons of wheat were produced in 1901. The chief crops are wheat and maize, but a large acreage is devoted to alfalfa, oats, flax, vine, sugar-cane, and other cultures. The mineral wealth is great, but almost undeveloped— -some gold, silver, and copper are exported. Large quantities of salt are now obtained from the salinas in the valley of the Rio Negro. There are now 523 dairies in the Republic. TRADE: The commerce of the Argentine Republic is very large, and has more than doubled during the last decade. Present value, about 1051⁄2 millions sterling. The foreign trade is mainly with Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, the United States, and Italy. The imports are principally textile fabrics and articles of clothing, iron and iron goods, railway, telegraph, and other material, with articles of food and drink. The chief articles of export are wool, wheat, maize, linseed, hides and skins, live animals, frozen and salted meat, sugar, tallow, &c. Animals and their produce constitute fully three-fourths of the total imports, and two-thirds of the total exports, pass through the port of Buenos Ayres. The trade with Great Britain is very large and steadily increasing; the ex. ports from the Republic to Great Britain amounting to about 25 millions sterling, while the imports of British produce-principally machinery, hardware, and cotton, woollen, and linen goods-amounts to some 13 millions sterling. Over 12,300 miles of railways connect the principal cities of the Republic with the capital and chief seaport, BUENOS AYRES, and there are besides some 1,500 miles under construction. GOVERNMENT: Each of the Argentine Provinces is a distinct republic, the whole constituting together a Federal Republic in which the executive power is left to a President, while the legislative t. There are 22 million cattle, 4 milion horses, and 24 million sheep in the republic. For many Tears to come, the leading industry of the Argenting Republic must continue to be the raising of sheep and the production of wool. The great seat of the wool industry is the province of Buenos Ayres, the rich succulent grasses of whose boundless Pmpas afford natural pasturage to the foot of the Andes; but the other provinces have all a few sheep There are also about 10,000 llamas in the province of |