Sections of each of the three states lying north of Pernambuco, Parahyba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará lie within what is termed an arid belt. This seems a very strange occurrence so near the equator. There are, however, droughts there that last for several years, and so greatly impoverish the people that government succour becomes necessary. When I was in Brazil a government commission was just starting for that section to study the question, and see what could be done to introduce dry farming methods. Parahyba, which is a little larger than Alagoas, is perhaps the least affected, but still its climate is generally hot and dry. In the lowlands sugar and rice are cultivated, and in the uplands cereals. Cotton is likewise one of the chief products, and a great many cattle are raised in the interior. The capital city has the same name, and is an interior town connected with the seaport, Cabedello, by rail. Rio Grande do Norte is the most northeasterly state, and was the first land sighted by Europeans on the shores of South America. Its area of twenty-two thousand square miles includes much arid territory where rain is very uncertain. Artesian wells have been tried without much success, and dry farming seems to be the only hope, although the droughts only come periodically. Premiums have been offered for the digging of these wells, and the construction of dams or reservoirs. One of the chief industries outside of agriculture is the production of salt, of which thousands of tons are made each year from the rich saline deposits along the northern shore. Natal is the capital and chief seaport. Although this city is not large to-day, it is very old, having been founded in 1597. Ceará is a progressive state despite famines which have come about every eleven years, and at times have greatly reduced the population, for fevers have generally followed the famines. The inhabitants are workers, and from this state have been drawn the labourers to develop the rubber industry. Ceará was the first state to emancipate the slaves, and in many ways the people have shown themselves progressive. They stick to the home land regardless of famines and droughts, and cultivate their fields assiduously. The cacao of this state is very fine, and the cattle industry is an important one. This state, the size of Illinois, supports a population of nearly a million, of which about fifty thousand live in the capital city of Fortaleza.