1012 The Naturalist Brazilian Expedition. [O 
Allowing a difference of thirty per cent for the inferiority of 
the Brazilian coal and the greater labor required in using it, it 
would still have the advantage over the English coal in 
much greater, and if the difficulty of the bar could be over i 
it might even pay to carry it to Rio de Janeiro and the Rio d 
Janeiro; but the house being unable to comply with the condi 
tions did not accept the contract.) ba 
I am unable to compare the Rio Grande coal with that of Santa 
Catharina, but from such information as I can obtain, it appeal 5 
that the mines of the latter province suffer the disadvantage of 
being too far from navigable waters, and especially from ge 
ports. The Sao Jeronymo coal, on the contrary, requires only a 
short railroad transit, and it can be loaded directly at the river 
banks near Sao Jeronymo; large steamers, as I have said, ascend 
to this point. yee: 
The iron ore bed, of which I have spoken, appears on the st 
face about two kilometers south of the coal mine, in the bed ofa 
stream ; the ore here is of reasonably good quality, but I do 
think it would repay the cost of working, especially as the 
does not appear to be fitted for the reduction of metals. 
the surface the unweathered layer is comparatively poor 1 
It would appear, in fact, that a boring made beneath the coal 
bearing rocks again appear, but those on the surface ane 
in the series than the section of the Arroio dos Ratos mi 
three trial borings have failed to reach profitable coal. ) 
last boring at Xarqueadas, twelve kilometers east of São Jer 
mo, traces of petroleum were obtained. ' a 
The coal rocks in this basin are much obscured by $ ruj 
of a dark, fine-grained basaltic rock, which is occasi 
umnar; it is well seen about two kilometers S. W. of 
* 1 In practical questions relating to coal, the field geologist labors under 
advantages, his opinion being in fact far less valuable than that of a Co! 
i The data on which the above paragraphs are based have been 
T, 
collected from many sources, and used with much caution. 
