The  internal  commerce  of  the  country  is  conducted  generally  by
private  navigation  companies.  The  principal  one  of  the  twenty-eight  which
now  ply  Brazilian  waters  is  the  English  Amazon  Company,  of  which  men-
tion has  been  made.  Besides  following  the  main  stream  of  the  Amazon
up  to  Tabatinga,  on  the  frontier  of  Peru,  a  distance  of  1,800  miles,  it
ascends  some  of  its  greatest  tributaries,  employing  four  steamers  on  the
Madeira,  four  on  the  Purus,  and  two  on  the  Negro.  During  one  year
its  boats  touched  at  120  stations,  conveyed  14,000  passengers  and  20,000
tons  of  merchandise.  The  same  service  is  performed  by  various  com-
panies on  other  tributaries  of  the  Amazon ;  also  on  the  San  Francisco
and  other  streams  flowing  into  the  Atlantic,  on  the  Plata,  the  Parana
and  the  Paraguay.
The  most  precious  stones,  the  most  valuable  metals  and  the  finest
woods  are  all  natural  products  of  Brazil.  Maize,  rice,  cotton  and  coffee
are  great  crops  —  that  is,  with  proper  management  they  could  be  made


452  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS.
SO.  Here  are  somes  tatements,  well  authenticated:  Maize  yields  from
150  to  400  fold  ;  rice  as  much  as  1,000  fold  ;  wheat  from  thirty  to  seventy
fold  ;  an  acre  of  cotton  gives  four  times  as  much  as  in  the  United  States  ;
on  an  area  of  five  acres  one  man  can  easily  cultivate  2,000  coffee
trees,  which  will  give  him  an  average  crop  of  6,000  pounds,  worth  about
$400.  For  field  and  plantation  labor,  Brazil  depends  upon  the  negro.
But  since  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  they  have  been  flocking  to  the
cities  to  serve  as  domestics,  and  the  former  trade  in  staples,  which  never
was  in  any  proportion  to  what  nature  intended,  is  on  the  downward
grade.
THE  CARIES  AND  ARAWAKS.
