BRAZIL 



Brazil extends from latitude 9° south to 30° south. It is 

 bounded on the north by British, French, and Dutch Guiana, 

 and Venezuela ; on the west by Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, 

 Bolivia and Paraguay ; on the south by Uruguay and Argen- 

 tina ; and on the east by the Atlantic ( )cean. It is 

 mountainous, with vast stretches of undulating country 

 with wide valleys containing rich pasture. It covers an area 

 of 3,292,693 square miles, with a population of over 23 

 millions. 



According to statistics published by the Ministry of Agri- 

 culture, there exist 30,000,000 cattle, 7.000,000 horses, 3,207,000 

 asses and mules, 10,000.000 goats, 7.500,000 sheep, and nearly 

 18,500,000 pigs. 



The richest pastoral states are Rio Grande do Sul, Minas 

 Geraes, Sao Paulo, Matto Grosso, Goyaz, Piauhy. 



The urgent world demand for beef has given the live-stock 

 industry of Brazil a tremendous impetus, and the development 

 of live-stock raising and the packing-house industry will 

 probably make great strides within the next few years. 



Until recent years no serious attempts had been made by 

 ranch-owners to improve their cattle breeds or the general 

 conditions of the grazing lands. Entire lack of transportation 

 facilities and consequent low soiling prices gave no stimulus 

 to the industry. The completion of many new lines of rail- 

 roads, and the recent great increase in the price of live cattle 

 all over the world, have given the greatest impetus to the 

 cattle industry, with the added fact that more attention is 

 being paid to the conditions of production and converting 

 into meat products. Until recently the losses among cattle 

 annually were enormous, due to diseases and the lack of proper 

 attention on the ranches. Salt is scarce, as the country has no 

 natural deposits, and this aggravates the situation in the case 



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