BRAZIL 



BRAZIL 



History. We do not know when brass first 

 came into use. Some authorities think it was 

 discovered in the thirteenth century, but others 

 are of the opinion that it was not known 

 until about 200 years later. The brass men- 

 tioned in the Bible is believed to be some 



variety of bronze which was probably produced 

 by smelting an ore that contained two or more 

 metals. The word is also used in Scripture to 

 denote strength. In modern slang, "brass" 

 has meant for many years undue boldness or 

 shamelessness. W.F.R. 



RAZIL, brazil' , UNITED STATES OF, in 

 area one of the greatest republics in the world, 

 comprising almost half of the continent of 

 South America, and now one of the most 

 rapidly developing nations. It is almost as 

 large as Canada or Europe, including European 

 Russia, and larger than the United States and 

 its island possessions, exclusive of Alaska. Of 

 the other twelve countries of South America, all 

 but Ecuador and Chile touch Brazil on the 

 north, west or south; it is bordered on the 

 northeast, east and southeast by the Atlantic 

 Ocean. Its greatest extent north and south 

 approximately equals that east and west, the 

 former being 2,660 miles, the latter 2,700 miles, 

 while the total area is about 3,258,200 square 

 miles. 



Brazil has regular steamship connection with 

 the principal American and European ports. 



Rio de Janeiro, the capital, is 5,204 (nautical) 

 miles from London and 4,748 miles from New 

 York; Para, on the northern coast, is 4,153 

 miles from London and 2,915 miles from New 

 York; it is 4,144 miles from Pernambuco, the 

 easternmost port of Brazil, to London, and 

 3,678 miles to New York. Ocean vessels have 

 an average speed of from twenty to twenty-one 

 nautical miles an hour, and cover approxi- 

 mately 500 miles a day. It would therefore 

 take about ten and a half days to make the 

 trip from Rio de Janeiro to London, and about 

 nine and a half from Rio de Janeiro to New 

 York. 



The People and Their Cities. While all the 

 other republics of South America are of Spanish 

 origin, Brazil was first peopled by the Portu- 

 guese; and the Portuguese language, ennobled 

 by the great works of Camoens and Lobeira 



COMPARING THE AREAS OP BRAZIL, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 



