GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 501 



schools blacks and whites are, so to speak, industrially 

 united. Indeed, there is no antipathy of race to be over- 

 come in Brazil, either among the laboring people or in the 

 higher walks of life. I was pleased to see pupils, without 

 distinction of race or color, mingling in the exercises. 



It is surprising that, in a country so rich ir. mineral 

 wealth, there should exist no special Mining School, and 

 that everything connected with the working of the mines 

 should be under the immediate supervision of the Minister 

 of Public Works, without the assistance of a special office 

 for the superintendence of mining operations. Nothing 

 would more speedily increase the value of the mineral lands 

 of the whole country than a regular geological survey, 

 which has not yet been begun.* 



The Imperial Library at Rio de Janeiro should not be 

 omitted from an enumeration of its educational establish- 

 ments. It is very fairly supplied with books in all depart- 

 ments of learning, and is conducted in a very liberal spirit, 

 suffering no limitation from religious or political prejudice. 

 In fact, tolerance and benevolence are common characteris- 

 tics of the institutions of learning in Brazil. The Imperial 

 Museum of Natural History in the Capital is antiquated ; 







to any one acquainted with Museums which are living and 

 progressive, it is evident that the collections it contains 

 have been allowed to remain for years in their present con- 



* I deeply regret that I could not visit the mining districts of Brazil. Es- 

 pecially would I have liked to examine for myself the Cascalho, in which the 

 diamonds are found. From collections which I owe to the kindness of Dr. 

 Vieira de Mattos in Rio de Janeiro, and Senhor Antonio de Lacerda in Bahia, 

 I am prepared to find that the whole diamond-bearing formation is glacial 

 drift. I do not mean the rocks in which the diamonds occur in their primary 

 position, but the secondary agglomerations of loose materials from which they 

 are washed. 



