part, unknown species of trees." Further inland the higher
country becomes more open and the forests are less luxuriant. Giant
cacti and spiny scrub abound. Then come the _catinga_ tracts, and,
beyond these, the open _campos_ of the elevated plateau, dotted with
clumps of low growing bushes and broken by tracts of _carrasco_, a
thick, matted, bushy growth 10 to 12 ft. in height. Formerly this
coast region furnished large quantities of Brazil-wood (_Caesalpinia
echinata_), and the river valleys have long been the principal source
of Brazil's best cabinet-wood--rosewood (_Dalbergia nigra_), jacaranda
(_Machaeriumfirmum_, Benth.), vinhatico (_Plathymenia foliosa_,
Benth.), peroba (_Aspidosperma peroba_), cedro, &c. The exotic
_mangabeira_ (mango) is found everywhere along the coast, together
with the bamboo, orange, lemon, banana, cashew, &c.

Of the great inland region, which includes the arid campos of the
north, the partially-wooded plateaus of Minas Geraes, Goyaz and Matto
Grosso, the temperate highlands of the south, and the tropical
lowlands of the Paraguay basin, no adequate description can be given
without taking each section in detail, which can be done to better
advantage in describing the individual states. In general, the
_carrasco_ growth extends over the whole central plateau, and heavy
forests are found only in the deep river valleys. Those opening
northward have the characteristic flora of the Amazon basin. The
Paraguay basin is covered with extensive marshy tracts and open
woodlands, the palms being the conspicuous feature. The vegetation is
similar to that of Paraguay and the Chaco, and aquatic plants are
specially numerous and luxuriant. On the temperate uplands of the
southern states there are imposing forests of South American pine
(_Araucaria brasiliensis_), whose bare trunks and umbrella-like tops
give to them the appearance of open woodland. These forests extend
from Parana into Rio Grande do Sul and smaller tracts are also found
in Minas Geraes. Large tracts of _Ilex paraguayensis_, from which
_mate_, or Paraguay-tea, is gathered, are found in this same region.

The economic plants of Brazil, both indigenous and exotic, are
noticeably numerous. Coffee naturally occupies first place, and is
grown wherever frosts are not severe from the Amazon south to Parana.
The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes are the
larg