Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/271

Rh demand, and thus large quantities of wheat are annually imported from the United States. The reason of this is that the soil under tillage is occupied in the production of articles for foreign markets. The chief products of Brazil are coffee, sugar, cotton, manioc or cassava flour, tobacco, rice, maize, fruits, and spices. Of these by far the most important now is coffee, while sugar ranks next in value, and cotton after sugar. The coffee plant, introduced from. Arabia into the French colony of Cayenne in 1722, was soon after brought to Brazil; but it was not until 1810 that Brazilian coffee came to be highly valued in the European markets. In that year, however, Dr Lecesne, a planter, expelled by the revolution from San Domingo, settled near Rio, and introduced the most improved methods of rearing the coffee-plant. So successful has the result of the new system been, that its cultivation now extends from the Amazon to Sao Paulo ; and whereas in 1818 the annual exports of coffee did not amount in value to 240,000, in 1873 the exports were worth nearly 13,000,000. The cultivation of sugar has not increased nearly in the same proportion as that of coffee, and in recent years a disease of the cane has affected the cultiva tion seriously. It is produced in greatest quantity in the districts adjoining Bahia. The quantity of sugar exported in 1850 was 16,200 bales, representing a value of about 1,700,000; in 1873 the value of the exports was 3,120,000. Cotton is found to thrive best in the dry table-lands of the northern provinces, especially in Maranhao and Pernambuco. Its quality is considered excellent ; but the rude and expensive method of its culture, and the high rates of carriage in these inland districts, operate very unfavourably for this branch of traffic. The annual value of cotton exported is not much above 3,000,000. The Ilex curitibensis, and other varieties of the holly, which yields the yerba mat6, or Paraguay tea, are indigenous to the southern provinces of Bio Grande, Santa Catharina, and Parana, Some attempts have been made towards the cultivation of this product, but the greater part of the tea is rudely made from the tree in its wild state in the woods. The amount annually exported to the River Plate averages between 300,000 to 400,000 in value. Tobacco is chiefly cultivated in the provinces of Bahia, Minas, S. Paulo, and Para, and in some localities of Rio de Janeiro. Though it is inferior in quality to that of the West Indies, it is exported to the value of between 700,000 and 800,000 annually. The cultivation of cocoa, hitherto obtained from the valleys of the Amazon and Tocantins, is increasing in the provinces of Bahia and Ceara. Rice grows in consider able quantities, and not being much used by the natives for food, a large surplus remains for exportation. The cassava or manioc is extensively grown and forms the staple food of the lower classes The root, which is the part of the plant used for this purpose, contains a deadly poison. It is easily expelled, however, by the action of fire, and the residuum is ground into a wholesome and nutritious flour or farina Tapioca, which is extensively used in Europe, is a preparation of the starch from the root of the cassava.

The varieties of animated life in Brazil are more numerous perhaps than in any other region in the world. Of beasts of prey, the most formidable are the jaguar or South American tiger, the ocelot, the tiger-cat, the puma, the guara or red wolf, and the Brazilian fox or wild dog. Large herds of the peccary roam in the forests, in which also is to be found the tapir or anta, the largest South American mammal. The capivara, or water hog, abundant on the river banks, is the largest known rodent. Diverse species of deer inhabit the campos; representing the Edentata there are several species of armadillos and ant-eaters, and the sloths ; and of the Marsupialia, several species of opossum occurring over the whole of Brazil. The varieties of the monkey tribe that abound in the forests appear to be almost infinite. The largest belong to the genus Stentor, including the guaribas or howling monkeys. The Simla jacchus has never been seen elsewhere. There are several varieties of bats, of which the Vespertilio Iqjorinus and the V. spectrum are the largest. No less immense is the variety of birds, from the o^lira, an eagle far larger than our most powerful birds of prey, to the humming-bird, no larger than a bee. The rhea, a species of ostrich, is found in Brazil. The Bra zilian birds are celebrated for the beauty of their plumage. &quot; Red, blue, and green parrots,&quot; says Malte-Brun, &quot; frequent the tops of trees. The gallinaceous jacus, the hoccos, and different kinds of pigeons, haunt the woods. The orioles resort to the orange groves ; and their sentinels, stationed at a distance, announce with a screaming noise the ap proach of man. Chattering manakins mislead the hunter; and the metallic tones of the uraponga resound through the forest like the strokes of a hammer on an anvil. The toucan (Jtamjjhastos) is prized for its feathers, which are of a lemon and bright red colour, with transverse stripes reaching to the extremities of the wings. The different species of humming birds are more numerous in Brazil than in any other country of America. One sort is called by the people the Gnanthe engera or winged flower.&quot; Snakes of every kind abound in the marshy districts, some of which, such as the rattlesnake and the jararaca, are remarkably venomous; while others, such as the boas, attain an enormous size and strength. A vast number of troublesome insects infest the margins of all the great rivers. Of these the most formidable is the puim, which is so small as to be scarcely visible, and inflicts a most painful and even dangerous bite. The red ant is peculiarly destructive to vegetation, and whole districts are sometimes laid waste by its ravages. The spider here attains an enormous size, but is not so venomous as might be expected from its ap pearance. The gayest butterflies flutter through the air, the blue shining Menelaus, the Adonis, the Nestor, and the Laertes. More than ten species of wild bees have been observed in the woods, and the greater number produce honey. The Cactus cocdnellifer, and the insect peculiar to it, are found in the province of S. Paulo. Lizards and caymans abound. The quantity of turtle in the Amazon and its principal tributaries is almost incredible. The waters swarm with fish in thousands of species, many of which have not yet been described. Among the largest is the Pira mcti, the principal food of large numbers of the people of Para and Amazonas. Of domestic animals, the most important are the horse, the ox, and the sheep. Vast numbers of horses, sprung from the original European stock, roam at large over the extensive plains of the southern provinces. They are generally found in droves of twenty or thirty. Oxen are also allowed to wander half wild. They are hunted down with the lasso in great numbers, and are valued chiefly on account of their hides, horns, and tallow, which are exported in immense quantities. The chief cattle-breeding districts of Brazil are the island of Marajo in Para, Goyaz, Matto Grosso, Piauhy, S. Paulo, Minas, Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul. Sheep do not

Brazil was discovered in 1499 by Vincent Yafiez Pin9on, a companion of Columbus. He descried the land near Cape St Augustine, and sailed along the coast as far as the River Amazon, whence he proceeded to the mouth of the Orinoco. He made no settlement, but took posses sion of the country in the name of the Spanish Government, and carried home, as specimens of its natural productions, some drugs, gems, and Brazil-wood. Next year the Portuguese commander, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, 