The land connections of Brazil are also extensive. All the other
countries on the continent, save Chili and Ecuador, border on
Brazil. The Guianas and Venezuela, on the north; Colombia and Peru
on the west; Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the
south--eight countries in all.

It is indeed a vast territory. The United States could be placed
within its borders and still there would be left enough Brazilian
territory to make a State as large as Texas.

Almost from the time we sighted land until we rounded the cape
near Montevideo, we could see the mountains along the shore. The
mountains extend far interior and up and down the length of the
country. The climate of the tropical Amazon Valley is, of course,
very hot, but as soon as the mountains are reached on the way
south the climate even in the tropical section is modified. The
section south of Rio, on account of the mountains and other forces
of nature, has a temperate climate, delightful for the habitation
of man. Each of these great zones, the tropical, the subtropical
and the temperate, is marked more by its distinctive leading
products than by climate. Each of these sections yields a product
in which Brazil leads the world. The largest and most
inexhaustible rubber supply in the world is found in the Amazon
Valley region. The central section raises so much cocoa that it
gives Brazil first rank in the production of this commodity. The
great temperate region produces three-fourths of all the coffee
used in the world. Of course, there is much overlapping in the
distribution of these products. Other products, such as cotton,
farinha, beans, peas, tobacco, sugar, bananas, are raised in large