Diario las Américas., 1958-04-22
Know thv
Neighbot
by ANTONIO RUIZ

BRAZIL - Brazilian forests.
which spread over an area of
about 865 million acres, or over a
million square miles, are rich in
timber, cellulose, oil-bearing fruits,
gums, resins, balsams, wakes, fl
berS and medical herbs. An in
creaSing knowledge of the proper
ties of these plants is bringing to
light a new source of wealth to the
country, as is the case of carnau-
ba wax, guarana vine, oiticica oil
and many other products.
The tropical forest is more opu-
lent on this continent than in
Africa. Charaeteristically hot and
damp, it is scanned with great
waterways, vegetation is dense and
tenacious, the few open spaces be-
ing covered with grasslands, ex-
cellent for raising livestock. In the
south, there is abundance of pine
woods, constituting a substantial
source of wealth, for the standing
timber is estimated at 200 mil
lion trees, and the humber is Of
fine quality.
The natural pastures are suitable
for stock-raising, particularly in
the prairies and savannahs of Pa
rama, Rio Grande do Sui, Mato
Crosse, Santa Catarina, Bahia,
Amazonas and Para, with capa-
city for the grazing of millions of
head of cattle.
To preserve the forest and en-
courage their renewal the govern
ment comes to the aid Of the land
owners and timbermen, whose zeal
is encouraged by granting awards
for merit, assistance even being
carried to the point of fully finan-
cling new plantations. With much
the same end in view, various ma
tional parks have been created
along the lines of the famous Vel
lowstone Park in the United
States. Scientific preservation and
the study of wild life were at the
heart of the idea, and great tracts
of beautiful country are now set
apart as a vivid store Of, Natures
gifts to each particular region.
Two of those parks, Italia and
Terezopolis are located within
easy reach of Rio de Janeiro, but
the largest of them, Iguazu, is
in the State of Parana, where the
most spectacular waterfall in Bra
iii leaps foaming into space. By
decree of Jan. 8, 1851, new regula-
tons were issued with the view OF
improving Brazilian Forest Service
in a number of ways and extending
its scope along strictly objective
lines. The new service covers the
Botanical Garden, the Technical
and Administrative Council, the
Section OF National Parks, the
Section of Forest Protection, and
the Forestry Section attached to
the Ministry of Agriculture.
The river system of Brazil is one
of the most extensive in the world,
and gives great facilities to exploit
alton in large scale of the forest
resources of the country. The
watershed rising to an apex near
the Sierra dos Pirineus, in the State
of Goias, forms part of the great
MASH" which eventually may
prom to be Of great importance,
for the rivers spread out in all
directions and most of them are
navigable.
The principal waterways OF the
country are travelled by special
craft which cover long distances to
ensure interchange OF regional
products. The San Francisco and
Purus, rivers are navigable for
more than 1000 miles each, the
Araguaia and the TOcantina for
half that distance, and the Parana
for $40 miles, while boats can make
their way up the Amazon for the
whole length of its course of lear
ly 1000 miles. As to hydroelectric
power potential, a minimum estim-
ate of the resources of Brazil is
for a total of twenty million HIP,
Spanish Version Page 8