The workers in this State pursue their occupations amidst the fairest surroundings, and in an environment well calculated to induce happiness and contentment. The air is clear, the climate mild, the sun shines brightly, the scenery is varied and cheerful, whilst the social element so necessary to civilised beings is full of charming diversity. The capital of the State takes second place amongst the cities of Brazil, and like the Federal capital has in recent years undergone many changes. Much of it has been already rebuilt, and more is undergoing alteration. New buildings, imposing and exhibiting the latest styles of architecture, have largely replaced the old Portuguese colonial houses which, although solid, were rather lugubrious and forbidding. The replanning of the city has the enthusiastic support of all the inhabitants, and not a few of the more prosperous citizens have evinced a public-spirited generosity in their contributions to the beautifying of their city. The work that has already been done, and that still going on, is worthy of the magnificent site which the city occupies between two great mountain ranges, the Serra do Mar and the Mantiqueira, the peaks of the latter rising from 2000 to 2500 feet above the level of the sea. Two rivers take their rise in these hills, the Paranapanema which flows in a westerly direction and forms the boundary between Parana and São Paulo States, and the Tieté which in a north-westerly direction flows right through the latter State. Both these large rivers are but tributaries of the Parana, the great waterway of the interior of the continent. The State extends over an area of more than 112,000 square miles, and its climate varies in the different zones, which have strongly marked and differing characteristics. The low-lying lands which border on the coast at the foot of the eastern Serra are marshy swamps, a region of damp heat uncongenial to man but excellent for the cultivation of rice. The humid, steamy air of the littoral is in strong contrast to the agreeable conditions on the plateau upon which the capital stands. The intermediate region of the Serra do Mar is covered with dense vegetation, subject to heavy rains, whilst mists continually envelop the hills, and the sun shines but seldom through the thick vapours. Frost and hail are not uncommon on the Serra, and even snow is not unknown. [Illustration: THE ROAD TO SÃO PAULO FROM RIO.] But it is the plateau between the Serra and the Parana that possesses the most favourable climate, for although the temperature varies slightly it is always agreeable and pleasant, being neither too hot nor too cold. This plateau is perhaps the most fertile and productive in the great continent, which abounds with favoured regions, and its great prosperity gives some indication of its popularity with European settlers.