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APPENDIX. 
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Bj' M-ny of conninrisou, T give the quantities conveyed pei- second liy the Bhiue near 
Maimheim : — 
At low-water level . 
At medium-water level 
At high-water level 
Cubic Feet. 
19,600 
58,624 
196,000 
The surface of ground drained by the different rivers is, after the existing maps : — 
Bj’’ the Guapore 
By' the Mamm'6 
By the Beni . 
By the Lower Madeira 
English Square Miles. 
193,85.5 
199,468 
141,320 
220,175 
754,818 
Wliich shows clearly that the mighty Beni, until now, has been treated illiberally 
by map-makers, though its origin in the high well-watered Cordillera, which also 
supplies the Mamore with a disproportionately great quantity of water as compared 
with the GuaiJoro, ought to have been taken into account. 
Though out of several proposals made by us for the improvement of the ways of 
communication, only oiu- plan for an economical railroad wa.s finally adopted, the 
estimates of the other projects may be of some interest to scientific readers. They 
were : — 
1) The oon.structiou of inclined planes, at all the larger rapids, to track the 
vessels ; such as are in use in North America and Pru.ssia. 
2) The canalisation of tlie river with sluices. 
3) The construction of a railroad along the bujik. 
The e.xpenditure required for the first project (which, with a considerably increased 
trade, might soon have proved insufficient) was estimated at 900,000 milreis, or 
2.340.000 francs. The second, tho execution of wliich would have been attended with 
ahnost insurmountable difficulties, was estimated at 21,000,000 milreis, or 54,600,000 
francs; and the third, which actually' has been begun, at 8,500,000 milreis, or 
22.100.000 francs. 
As tho length of the raih'oad to be constructed, with a minimum of gauge, is only 
.iliont 171 miles (on ea.sy surface, on the whole), tho estimate may' appear rather 
high, even for Brazil ; but in thinly-peopled countries, hitherto entirely cut off from the 
rest of the world, aud into which it wiU be necessaiy to import everytliing, with the 
exception of the timber, and workmen especially, the cost of various operations, 
particularly of constructive works like bridges, will swell to enormous sums. 
In tho total absence of reliable official returns, the number of souls living along the 
main river and near the extensive lake-like lateral branches (c.y. tho Uaupes) can be 
estimated only roughly; and we jilace it between 5,000 and 6,000, the haJf-civilisod 
Mundrucus and Miiras included. 
They subsist chiefly by the preparation of India-rubber, the collection of Para nuts, 
and other fruit of the forests, aud on the produce of small cacao and tobacco plantations. 
Therefore supplies of jirovisions of all kinds (even of the mandioca root, which grou-s 
with scarcely any trouble) fail to be obtained in sufficient quantities in the most fertile 
valley in the world, and must be imported from afar. 
For the singularity of tho fact, I mention here that an alqueire of mandioca flour 
(about one and a third bushels) costs, at Eio de Janeiro and Para, 2 — 3 milreis 
(4s. 6d. to 6s. 9d.) ; in Bolivia 1 (2s. 3d.) ; and on the Madeii-a 12 — 14 (27s. to 31s. 6d.) 
Proportionately high prices affect other products, the sugar-cane to wit, which would 
thrive excellently'. If the caoutchouc industry may be called a gold mine, agriculture 
would proi e equally' remunerativ'o as it did in California at the time of the gold fever. 
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