BRAZIL.

BOUNDARIES.--West by La Plata, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador; north by Colombia, Venezuela, and Guiana; east by the Atlantic. AREA, more than 3,000,000 of square miles; POPULATION, about 10,000,000.

There are about 4,000,000 whites, who are the descendants of Portuguese colonists. The Portuguese language is spoken. Most of the people are Roman Catholics. The GOVERNMENT of the empire is a limited monarchy. The principal EXPORTS are gold (found especially in the bed of the San Francisco), silver, copper, platinum, diamonds, and other precious stones, cocoa, caoutchouc, sugar, coffee, cotton, tobacco, rosewood, hides, tallow.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Rio de Janeiro (275,000), the capital, is the largest city in South America. It has an excellent harbour, and is a place of much trade. Bahia, or San Salvador (200,000), the second city, has extensive trade in sugar, cotton, tobacco, rice, tapioca, &c. Recife, sometimes called Pernambuco, has an excellent harbour, defended by a breakwater of coral reef. Large quantities of sugar and cotton are exported.

PERU.

BOUNDARIES.-West by the Pacific; north by Ecuador; east by Brazil and Bolivia. The AREA is about half a million square miles; the POPULATION, two and a half millions. The RELIGION is Roman Catholic; the GOVERNMENT, a republic. The principal EXPORTS are guano, nitrate of soda, cinchona bark, chinchilla fur, wool. silver, and gold.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Lima (100,000), the capital, carries on a large trade through its port, Callao, which is 6 miles distant. Pasco, nearly 14,000 feet above sea-level, is the most elevated city in the world. It is noted for its silver mines. Cuzco was the capital of the empire of the Incas.

BOLIVIA

BOUNDARIES.-West by the Pacific and Peru; north and east by Brazil; south by the Argentine Republic and Chili. AREA, 375,000 square miles; POPULATION, 21 millions. The GOVERNMENT is a republic; the RELIGION, Roman Catholic. The principal EXPORTS are cinchona bark, tobacco, alpaca wool, silver, and gold.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Chuquisaca, the capital, 9,000 feet above sea level. Potosi, 13,000 feet above sea level, famed for its silver mines, most of which are now abandoned. La Paz (26,000), near Lake Titicaca, is the largest city in Bolivia. The best cinchona bark is obtained here.

CHILI.

BOUNDARIES.--West by the Pacific; north by Bolivia; east by the Argentine Republic; south by Patagonia. AREA, 116,000 square miles; POPULATION, 2,250,000. Most of the inhabitants are of Spanish descent The principal EXPORTS are copper (which is very abundant), silver, hides, tallow, wool, and hemp.

CHIEF TOWNS.--Santiago (150,000), the capital, is situated near the Andes. Valparaiso, on the Pacific coast, is connected with the capital by a railway. It is a place of great trade.

LA PLATA, OR THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

BOUNDARIES.-West by Chili; north by Bolivia: east by Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic; south by Patagonia. The AREA is nearly 900,000 square miles; the POPULATION, about 2,500,000. Most of the inhabitants are of Spanish descent. The chief EXPORTS are wool, hides, tallow, horns, bones, jerked beef, and horse-hair.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Buenos Ayres (290,000), on the south side of the estuary of the La Plata, is a place of great trade. Cordova is situated on the road to Potosi. Mendoza, on the slope of the Andes, is the principal centre of trade between Buenos Ayres and Chili.

PARAGUAY.

Paraguay lies between the two great rivers Parana and Paraguay, Its AREA is about 75,000 square miles; its POPULATION, about 300,000.

Asuncion, the capital, at the junction of the Paraguay and Pilcomayo, trades in tobacco, sugar, and Paraguay tea

URUGUAY, OR BANDA ORIENTAL.

Uruguay lies east of the Uruguay river, south of Brazil, and north of the estuary of the La Plata. Its AREA is about 66,000 square miles; POPULATION, nearly half a million.

Monte Video (73,000), the capital, on the northern bank of the estuary of the La Plata, exports hides, tallow, wool, essence of meat, &c.

PATAGONIA.

This large country, which extends from La Plata to the Strait of Magellan, is claimed partly by Chili, and partly by the Argentine Republic. The inhabitants are a race of tall savages, who live by hunting. The AREA is estimated at 400,000 square miles; the POPULATION, about 30,000.

Punta Arenas ("Sandy Point "), on the Strait of Magellan, is a port of call for ships.

THE WEST INDIES.

The West Indies consist of a large number of islands which extend in a curved direction from the coast of Florida to the delta of the Orinoco. They may be divided into three principal groups, namely, the Bahama Islands, south-east of Florida; the Greater Antilles, east of the Gulf of Mexico, and north of the Carribbean Sea; and the Lesser Antilles, east of the Carribbean Sea. The total AREA is estimated at about 93,000 square miles, and the POPULATION at about 4 millions, of which only about one-sixth are whites.

a It is the only country in South America which has no seacoast.

b The West India islands lie between 100 and 27° north latitude, and between 590 and 850 west longitude.

1. The Bahamas or Lucayos Islands are about 500 in number, but many of them are mere coral reefs and islets. a The principal islands of this group are Great Abaco, Great Bahama, Andros, New Providence, Eleuthera, Guanahani or St. Salvador, and Long Island. Guanahani is the island on which Columbus first landed, and to which he gave the name of St. Salvador.

2. The Greater Antilles comprise the largest of the West India Islands, namely, Cuba, Hayti, or St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto Rico. The chief towns of Cuba are Havannah, Matanzas, and Santiago; of Hayti, Cape Haytien, Port au Prince, and San Domingo; and of Porto Rico, San Juan. Of these islands Cuba and Porto Rico belong to Spain; Jamaica to Great Britain; and Hayti or St. Domingo is at present divided between two Negro republics, namely, the Republic of Hayti, and the Dominican Republic. To the former belongs the western, and to the latter, the eastern division of the island.

3. The Lesser Antilles may be said to comprise the remainder of the West India Islands. They are subdivided into two groups-1. The Leeward Islands, the largest of which are Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Bartholomew, Barbuda, St. Christopher, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadaloupe, Mariegalante, Dominica, and the Virgin Islands (the principal of which are Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Anegada). 2. The Windward islands, the principal of which are Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbadoes, Grenada, Tobago, and Trinidad-to which may be added, Margarita, Buen Ayre, Curaçoa, and Oruba in the Spanish main (off the coast of Venezuela). BRITISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS.

The Leeward Islands were united as a federal colony in 1871. For the Dutch West India Islands, see page 312; for the French, page 283; for the Danish, page 309.

a These low groups are called Keys or Cays.

MOUNTAINS.-The Blue Mountains, Jamaica; Copper Mountains, Cuba; Volcano of Morne Garou, St. Vincent; Volcano of Souffrière, Guadaloupe. See page 118.

OCEANIA, OR OCEANICA.

Oceania is a term used by modern geographers to denote a fifth great division of the globe. It may be conveniently divided into 1. Australasia; 2. Malaysia or the Indian Archipelago; 3. Melanesia; 4. Micronesia and Polynesia. The AREA of Oceania is esti mated at 4,000,000 square miles, and its POPULATION at 30,000,000.

I. AUSTRALASIA.

Comprises the large island-or rather continent of AustraliaTasmania or Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Auckland Islands, Chatham Island, Bounty Island, Antipodes Island, Campbell Island, and several others.

AUSTRALIA.

The vast island or continent of Australia forms the main portion of Australasia. It is 2,500 miles long by 1,800 broad, and its AREA is estimated at 2,944,000 square miles, that is, it is equal to more than three-fourths of the continent of Europe.

In fact, Australia should be considered as a fifth Continent; and all the islands nearer to it than to Asia should be classed as belonging to it, that is, as Australian Islands.

It lies between the parallels of 10° 40' and 39° 12′ S. L., and between the meridians of 1130 and 1530 16' E. L. Its eastern and southern shores are washed by the South Pacific Ocean; its western and northwestern, by the Indian Ocean; and on the north it is divided by Torres Strait and the Sea of Timor from Papua and the Indian Archipelago. The western coasts of Australia were discovered by Dirk Hartog, the captain of a Dutch merchant ship, in the year 1606, who gave it the name of New Holland; and it was subsequently visited by several navigators, including Dampier; but its eastern shores were first traced by Captain Cook in 1770, who then took formal possession of the country in the name of Great Britain. To the country he gave the name of New South Wales, and to the first place where he landed,

a Australasia means Southern Asia.

Botany Bay, from the beauty and variety of the flowers and plants which he observed in every direction. In 1788, Botany Bay was selected by the Government as a place of transportation for criminals; and this was the first British Settlement in Australia. This settlement was called New South Wales; but till convicts ceased to be sent to it, it made little or no progress as a colony. This took place in 1840, and since that period, and especially since the discovery of the Australian Gold-fields in 1851, the population of this, and the adjoining coloniesparticularly Victoria-has been rapidly increased by the influx of immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, and indeed from all parts of the world.a

The greater part of the interior of Australia is yet unexplored; but those portions of it which have been visited are said to be dry and barren plains. The most elevated mountain range extends along the east coast. In the eastern, south-eastern, and south-western parts of the continent there are large tracts of fertile land. The climate is in general dry and healthy; the northern parts, which are within the torrid zone, are of course hot. A scarcity of fresh water, whether in the form of rivers or lakes, forms a marked characteristic of the Australian continent.

Both the vegetable and animal productions of Australia present the most striking contrast to those of other parts of the world. The native trees are all evergreens; and the forests consist chiefly of acacias, gum-trees, and gigantic ferns. There are no native fruits capable of being used as food, except a few berries; but many European and tropical food plants have been introduced, and are now cultivated with success.

The largest animal native to Australia is the kangaroo, which belongs to the marsupial order of quadrupeds. There are none of the larger beasts of prey; the most formidable is the native dog or dingo, which resembles a wolf, and commits serious ravages on the flocks of the settlers. Reptiles and insects are numerous. The most remarkable animal is the Duck-billed Platypus. This curious mammal has webbed feet, is destitute of teeth, and is furnished with a duck-like beak. It is about twenty inches long, and is covered with brown fur. It is found only in Australia. Among the vegetable anomalies are cherries with their stones on the outside, and trees which shed their bark instead of their leaves.

All the domestic animals of Europe have been introduced into Australia and thrive wonderfully. Horses, oxen, and sheep are now reared in vast numbers in all the Colonies; and rabbits and hares have, in some cases, increased so as to become nuisances.

a In 1810, the whole white population of New South Wales (which was then, and up to 1829, the only colony in Australia) amounted to but 8,300 persons. The white population in Australia at present (1881) is over two million and a quarter. The aborigines are rapidly disappearing. In 1881, as far as known, they were supposed to number 50,000. The same year there were 34,000 Chinese and 5,000 South Sea Islanders in Australia.