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222 BRAZIL the province of Minas Geraes. Here the metal occurs primarily in quartz veins traversing metamorphic rocks, and is also disseminated throughout the rock in many places. The principal mines of the Morro Velho, in the valley of the Rio das Velhas, a tributary of the Sao Francisco, are those of Oachoeira, Bahu, and Quebra Panella. According to Phillips, the net profits of these mines for 1849 were $190,080; for 1861, $483,845; and for 1865, $404,190. In 1804 there was a loss of $73,145. These mines are worked by a British company, and yield a dividend of $10 per share of $75. The mines of Gongo Soco, and some others formerly very productive, have been aban- doned. The gold veins in the alluvial soils of Minas Geraes are usually associated with platina and iridium, and in other mines of a different geological formation in the same province with tellurium and other minerals. In some parts of the country it is always ac- companied by and at times mixed with palla- dium to the extent of 7 to 11 per cent. The opinion that the gold mines of Brazil are ex- hausted is pronounced to be false by Burton, Liais, Hartt, and other authorities. Silver almost everywhere accompanies the j^ilenic formation. Copper abounds in Matto Grosso and in Sao Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul ; it is likewise found in the provinces of Minas, Bahia, and Ceara, and near Villa Vicosa in Maranhao. Tin has been discovered among the sands of the river Paraopeba in Minas, and in the province of Rio de Janeiro. Galena is frequently met with, composed as follows: lead, 8GJ per cent. ; sul- phur, 13^; and silver, from 1 to 7 parts in 10,- 000 of ore. It is plentiful at the sources of the river Iguape, in the district of Iporanga, and also at Sorocaba in Sao Paulo, and is found in the provinces of Minas, Bahia, Parahyba do Korte, Santa Catharina, Rio de Janeiro, and Ceara. Chromate of lead is found at Cogo- nlias do Campo in Minas Geraes. Sulphide of zinc and traces of native carbonate of zinc oc- cur in Ceara. Arsenic accompanies the pyrites in some gold mines, and exists in the acid state combined with iron, forming scorodite, in the province of Minas Geraes. There are in Brazil iron mines entirely free from pyrites, thus ex- celling even the famous mines of Danemora in Sweden. Iron works are carried on by the gov- ernment at Sao Joao de Ipanema, the product being of excellent quality. Many varieties of granite of different colors occur in various local- ities, suitable for building, though for this pur- pose the various kinds of gneiss are commonly employed. A very compact quartz suitable for pavements is likewise found. Of porphyry, the green, pink, and black varieties (the latter containing crystals of feldspar) are abundant. Saccharoidal limestone occurs in many parts of the empire, and is generally eruptive in the gneiss formation. Of this class of rock there are several beautiful varieties. The limestone of the Rio das Velhas valley is of a dark gray color, and is so sonorous that in former times plates made of it were used as bells for the churches. The lime used in building on the coast is almost exclusively made from the *///- liaquis or enormous mounds of shells piled up centuries ago by the aborigines, or from the coral beds which abound in all the bays from the Abrolhos northward. Gypsum is found in Minas, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceara, Maranhao, and Amazonas. The various species of clays are extensively used for making bricks, and would also be very suitable for the manufac- ture of earthenware. There are extensive mines in Rio Grande do Sul, yielding coal with a more abundant ash than the English coals sent to Rio de Janeiro, which it re- sembles in appearance and general properties. Prof. Hartt says it has been used since about I860 in the Jacuhy company's steamers, and found more economical than the English coal. A railway from the mines will carry the coal to a seaport, whence it can be taken by colliers and delivered at Montevideo in three or four days at about half the cost of delivering it at Rio de Janeiro, where nevertheless it is com- puted that it can be sold at about $8 per ton. Coal also appears in Sao Paulo, and again in Ceara; it is supposed to exist in Piauhy and Maranhao, and in the valley of the Amazon. Lignite is found in Sao Paulo, and peat in almost all parts of the empire. Bituminous schists are also frequently met with, some being of a turfy origin. Near the mouth of the Camamu, yellow schists have been discov- ered which afford by distillation a solid mat- ter analogous to naphthaline, and a very vola- tile carburet of hydrogen, possessing excellent illuminating properties. Similar schists exist in Maranhao. Graphite is plentiful in Ceara. Sulphur has been detected in Rio Grande do Norte. Nitre, alum, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of soda in the efflorescent form, and rock salt occur in most of the provinces. Common salt is extracted from the stomnpoda which come upon the rock in the Rio Negro below the fresh water, and in the strongest part of the current. A curious efflorescence is that of chloride of soda in the gneiss of some of the mountains of Ceara. Among the fossil remains of extinct mammals found in Brazil may be mentioned those of the mastodon, species of macrauchenia, toxodon, chlamyclotherium, and of the gigantic glyptodon (hvplophonis), mylodon, and megatherium. Among the car- nivora there were wild cats and jaguars, and a species of smilodon (8. neogoeus), an immense cat-like animal with enormous knife-like canine teeth in the upper jaw, allied to the fossil European species. The protopithecus is the only extinct genus of monkey found. Lund encountered in the basin of the Sao Francisco stone implements and remains of man so buried with the remains of the extinct fauna as to leave no doubt that man was contemporaneous with it in Brazil as in Europe. Bones of an immense capybara (Jiydrocluxrus mlcidens) have been met with, and of llamas and horses, which