Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/488

* BKAZIL. 432 BRAZIL. 300-400 inches. While the wet and dry seasons are not strongly marked, most of the rain falls between January and June. On the coast of the plateau region of southeastern Hrazil there is a greater range of temperature with the sea- sons, and a more strongly marked seasonal rain- fall, the greater part of the annual precipitation coming in the summer, when the sun is south of the equator, and the trades have moved south with it. In the interior of this plateau region the seasonal distrihution of the rain is still found, but the amount is much less than on the coast ; indeed, in some regions, as between the Sao Francisco and the Parantl, the rainfall is deficient in amount. Flora. The tlora of Brazil may be divided roughly into three zones — that of the lowlands of the Amazon basin, that of the southeastern pla- teau, and that of llie broad divide separating tributaries of the Amazon from those of the Rio de la Plata in the interior. Vegetation on the lowlands of the Amazon is of the most luxuriant character, and the forests of the Amazon Valley are lielieved to be the most e.vtensive and varied in the world. The botanical families most numerously represented are the Composite;, Le- guniinosa>, Rubiace*, Aroidese, and Filices. In marshy places and along streams, reeds, grasses, and water plants grow in tangled masses, and in the forest trees crowd each other in the struggle for life, and are draped with parasitic vines or bound together by a network of lianas. Along the coast mangroves, mangoes, cocoas, dwarf palms, and the Brazilwood are noticeable. Among the trees of the Amazon basin are the itauba, or stonewood, so named for its durability, the cassia, or cinnamon-tree, the lime, the m5'rtle, the guava, the bcrtholletia or 'Brazilnut' tree, the jacaranda or rosewood, the pas d'arco or bow- wood, the Brazilian breadfruit, whose large seed.s are used for food, the euphorbia, the copaiba, the maearanduba. with a bark rich in tannin and yielding a milky sap resembling india-rubber when coagulated, the large and lofty silk-cotton tree, the tall white trunked seringa or rubber tree, which furnishes the gum of commerce, and the numerous palms, of which there are three or four hundred species; chief among these are the carnauba ]);ilm. every ))art of which is useful, from the wax of its leaves to its edible pith, and the piassaba palm, the bark of which is clothed with a loose fibre used for coarse textile fabrics and for brooms. Orchidaceous plants, including sev- eral species of vanilla and showy epidendrums, rhexias, bignonias, etc., adorn the forest. The eucalyptus and other .ustralian trees and shrubs have been successfully introduced. There are several kinds of nutritious native grasses which furnish grazing throughout the year. Among the indigenous or broadly cultivated fruits are the pineapple, fig, custard-apple, mango, banana, guava, grape, and orange. European grapes, olives, and watermelons of fine flavor arc culti- vated. On the southeast coast, within the trop- ics, where the rainfall is abundant, there is a similar profuseness of vegetation, succeeded south- ward by plants of a more temperate climate. Inland, as the rainfall diminishes, upon the pla- teau, the vegetation becomes less abundant, and changes in character to open forests of smaller trees, with palms, ferns, and cacti. This is the catinga country. Farther west, on the divide, where the rainfall is scanty, is a prairie region, covered with grasses and herbaceous plants, in which are scattered groves of trees. Faiin'a. The animal life of Brazil is extremely varied, and differs in many important respects from that of the northern continent and the Old World. Of larger animals, there are the puma, jaguar, ocelot, and several members of the dog family. The capibara, peccaries, and tapirs are abundant, also ant-eaters, sloths, opos- sums, and armadillos. l>cr are plentiful in the more open country of the south, and monkeys of many species abound in the Selvas. There is a great variety of birds, which are characterized by the brilliancy of their plumage and their dissimilarity to the birds of other countries. Snakes are abundant, several species, including the rattlesnake and jararaca, being venomous; the boas re.ich an enormous size. The inland waters swarm with fish and turtles, and certain cetaceans a.scend far up the Amazon. In no other river of the globe does the fish-faima compare in the number of its species with that of the Amazon. Geology. The southeast mountain region is in the main composed of crystalline rocks, in- cluding granite, gneiss, and schist of Arch;van age. These rocks also extend westward from the States of Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo into the interior of Matto Grosso. forming the di- vide between the Amazon and the Plata River systems. A second Archican area is foimd in the highlands bordering the Guianas, near the northern boundary, and there are smaller de- tached areas in the middle portions of the Tocantins and Xingii valleys. Paleozoic strata occupy the flanks of the .Vrcluean. while the Creta- ceous and Triassic beds cover a large portion of the plain of central Brazil. The Tertiary and Quaternary formations are developed along the Amazon Valley and the coastal regions. The Archaean rocks are the source of the famous diamond and gold deposits of Minas Goraes, which have been very productive in the past and are still the basis of an important mining in- dustry. The manganese ore deposits in the same State are perhaps the most extensive in the world. , Mineral Resoiirces. Brazil is probably the richest country in minerals in the world; but scarcity of population and capital, together with restrictive mining legislation, are in the way of an active development of the country's possi- bilities. It is estinuited that no less than .$600,- OOO.OOO worth of gold had been export<>d from Brazil prior to 1820, one-half of which eajne from the State of Minas Geraes, which is to Brazil more than Califiunia and Pennsylvania tiigether arc to the United States. Formerly there were extensive surface diggings of gold and diamonds, but they have been mostly ex- hausted. Ai present gold-mining is carried on to a limited extent in the States of Minas Geraes and Bahia, mostly with the aid of Brit- ish capital. The production, which is steadily increasing, reached $2,500,000 in 1900. The same two btates yield aliout 40.000 carats of diamonds a year. The total production since llicir discoverv in 172;i is estimated at 12,000,- 000 carats, valued at $100,000,000. Gold and diamonds do not by any means ex- haust the mining wealth of the country. The less precious minerals, such as iron, lead, cop- per, zinc, manganese, and quicksilver, also