302 



SCIENCE 



rVoL. XV ill. No. 460 



cent of copper. The deposits of lead so far discovered are 

 few, but its presence has been determined in Rio Grande do 

 Sul, Sao Paulo, and Minas Geraes, generally in connection 

 with silver — argentiferous galena — and sometimes with 

 gold. Bismuth and antimony are found in combination 

 with ores of other metals, but not as yet in considerable 

 quantities. 



Up to the present, the deposits of coal discovered are not, 

 relatively, so e.xtensive as those of iron, but its presence has 

 been determined ia Sao Paulo where the borings indicated 

 its existence in quantities and situations that render probable 

 a profitable extraction. In Santa Caterina, in the valley of 

 the Tubarao, bituminous coal exists, and a concession has 

 been granted by the Government for working the beds. The 

 State of Rio Grande do Sul appears to be the most favored 

 in respect to coal deposits. In the Candiota basin, veins of 

 coal crop out, of a thickness varying from four to six feet, 

 but the only mines worked up to the present are those of 

 Arrois dos Ratos, which supply coal to the steamers that ply 

 on the river and to the Government railway. 



Marbles are abundant and widely distributed; they are of 

 various colors, and resist the disintegrating influences of the 

 climate, under conditions destructive of the marble imported 

 from Europe. In Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo are 

 various manufactures of works of marble. Important de- 

 posits of loadstone are found in Minas Geraes. In the State 

 of Goyaz, in the Sierra dos Cristaes (Crystal Range) are 

 found in abundance the well-known "Brazilian pebbles," 

 whose pure quartz is employed in the manufacture of lenses 

 and spectacles. They are found near the surface, usually 

 covered with a coating of iron oxide. In the calcareous 

 caverns of the San Francisco plateau and of the river Velhas, 

 in Minss Geraes, saltpetre has for a long time been collected. 

 One of these grottoes, near Diamantina, furnished within a 

 few days after its discovery forty tons of the pure crystals. 

 G-raphite is also found in considerable quantities in Minas 

 Geraes, one of the deposits yielding 83 per cent of carbon 

 suitable for pencils. 



THE CLIMATOLOGY OF BRAZIL. 



A PAMPHLET by Sr. H. Morize, entitled " Esbo^o de uma 

 Climatologia do Brazil," has been issued from the Observa- 

 tory of Rio Janeiro. The author divides the country into 

 three great zones — tropical, subtropical, and temperate. The 

 ■first, in which the mean temperature exceeds 77° F., embraces 

 the northern part of Brazil, and is bounded to the south by 

 a line running along the south side of the State of Pernam- 

 buco, across Goyaz, and somewhat to the south of Cuyaba. 

 The second lies between the isothermals of 77*^ and 68°, and 

 extends into S. Paulo and Parana, leaving a portion of 

 these provinces, with Sta. Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul, 

 to form the third zone, in which the mean temperature oscil- 

 lates between 68° and 59°. 



The tropical zone may be again divided into three regions, 

 the Upper Amazons, Matto Grosso and the interior of the 

 states on the Atlantic border, and the Littoral. On the Upper 

 Amazons there are two rainy seasons, the principal one last- 

 ing from the end of February to June, and the other from 

 the middle of October to the beginning of January. During 

 the intervening dry season the rivers fall sometimes as much 

 as 46 feet. Sr. J. Pinkas found that the mean temperature 

 was 79°, but the maximum was 103°, which is comparatively 

 low. The heat, however, was very oppressive, owing to the 

 excessive moisture in the air. The prevailing wind blows 



from the south-west, and is frequently interrupted by calms. 

 Towards the end of the great rains the phenomenon known 

 as friagem occurs, which is a sudden fall of temperature 

 produced by an influx of cold air from the Andes. It can 

 only take place on a calm day, and is preceded by a high 

 temperature, an almost complete saturation of the air, and a 

 barometric fall of about .2 inches. 



In the second subdivision heavy rains occur in spring and 

 summer, and the thermometer often rises as much as 35° in a 

 few hours. These sudden changes are produced by the rapid 

 alternations of north-west and south-east winds, the former 

 warm and moist, the latter always very cold. Dr. Morsback 

 gives the mean temperature as 79.25° F. The average rain- 

 fall is 45.9 inches, and the number of raining days 85. In 

 this region also there is a period oi friagem. 



The third subdivision is characterized by rains in sumrher 

 and autumn, and particularly during the month of April. 

 The differences of temperature are much less than in the 

 other subdivisions, 84° P. having been i-eeorded at Vizeu in 

 Parft during December, the warmest month, and 80° F. at 

 the same hour, 9 am., during July, the coolest month. The 

 mean rain-fall is about 58 inches. In the dry season the 

 prairies are withered and scorched by the heat, and the cat- 

 tle that feed on them suffer terribly. Occasionally the rains 

 do not make their appearance at all, and then famine spreads 

 throughout the country. This calamity has occurred six 

 times already diiring the present century. 



The subtropical zone closely resembles the warm regions 

 of the south of Europe. Both the temperature and the rain- 

 fall vary considerably according to the situation. The cli- 

 mate of the third zone is one of the finest in the world, and 

 therefore the States comprised in it have been almost exclu- 

 sively chosen by European immigrants. The rainy season 

 does not occur in the same months as in the other regions: 

 rain falls chiefly in the winter and autumn. As the distance 

 from the equator increases, the transition between the wet 

 and dry seasons becomes less distinct. The meteorology of 

 Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul has already been noticed 

 in the Scottish Meteorological Journal (vol vi., p. 332, and 

 vol. vii., 556). Sr. Morize's paper is very useful for those 

 who wish to study the subject minutely, for he has col- 

 lected numerous records of observations from all parts of the 

 country. 



YEZO. 



The island of Yezo, or Hokkaido, has an area of about 30,500 

 square miles. Its population, said to have been 27,000 in 1869, 

 was, in 1889, 254,805 (including the Kurile Islands), according 

 to the Japanese census reports. The Government, according' 

 to the Scottish Geographical Magazine, is actively develop- 

 ing the country. It is constructing a net-work of roads by 

 convict labor, and intends to form a new capital near the 

 source of the river Ishikari. The plan provides for 17,472 

 colonists, besides 1,920 houses for Tondeu-he. These latter 

 are militai-y colonists, each of wliom receives a grant of about 

 8 acres of land and a house, on condition of servina' in war 

 up to the age of 40. Another town is to be founded on the 

 Sarachi A railway from Sapporo to Mororan has been pro- 

 posed, the harbor at this place being more convenient than 

 that of Orunai, where the coal of Yezo is now shipped. The 

 dwellings of the inhabitants are by no means adapted to the 

 rigor of the climate: those of the military colonists are 

 slightly superior, and consist of two apartments. Cultiva- 

 tion and fishing are the chief occupations. Vegetables, 

 millet, potatoes, wheat, barley, rice, and beet-root are culti- 



