Mav 1, 1913.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



399 



great annual crop experiment in rubber in another South 

 American country; of rubber planting in Trinidad, in the 

 Guianas and the Colombias, etc., etc. One who knew the Ama- 

 zon country well told at length of Commodore Benedict's enter- 

 prise for connecting Para and Monaos by wireless; of the money 

 and effort expended ; and then when success was attained, of 

 the decision of the Federal government that the states of Para 

 and Amazonas had no right to give tele- 

 graph concessions, such being the property 

 of the Federal government. Another told 

 of the rubber concession of the Commo- 

 dore's twenty miles from Para at Moju, 

 with a wealth of detail that proved that he 

 had never visited it. That Brazil should 

 treat the enterprising American generously, 

 and appreciate the value of his undertak- 

 ing all were agreed. 



The monotony of the voyage was also 

 broken by deck sports, fancy dress balls, 

 the Captain's Dinner and a visit from Nep- 

 time as we crossed the Equator. The 

 "King of the Sea" was a big German- 

 American drummer who secured the posi- 

 tion chiefly because of his size. It trans- 

 pired at the last moment that he never 

 had crossed the line, and as a finish to the 

 ceremonies he was ducked in the same 

 tank to which he had condemned his vic- 

 tims, and this in spite of his wrathful pro- 

 tests. 



Finally we sighted Cape Frio, — pictur- 

 esque, forest clad, with its lighthouse 

 perched far up on a shelf of rock. Then followed a rocky shore, 

 beautiful in its array of mountain tops, steep ravines and wooded 

 slopes, and a little later we sighted the "Sugar Loaf," "Corco- 

 vado," and other peaks that mark the entrance to the greatest 

 harbor on the South American coast. We steamed into port 

 just as night fell and dropped anchor far out from shore. At 



Dr. L.\uro AIuller. 



Minister of Foreign Affairs. 



to have been secured by a friend, who bade us welcome to Rio. 

 He, in the first place, advised that we have our luggage ex- 

 amined on board, thus avoiding two or three days' delay at the 

 customs. A few milreis properly placed quickly accomplished 

 this, and we were off. Personally I should have enjoyed staying 

 where I was a bit longer and taken my fill of the beautiful 

 shore view^ For night though it was, the great semi-circle of 

 lights that marked the long boulevards 

 that follow the sweep of the shore was 

 fascinatingly beautiful. So also were the 

 mountain peaks, shadowy, to be sure, but 

 rising in, around, and back of the city, 

 some with lights far up on their wooded 

 sides, some dark, cloud-capped and for- 

 bidding. 



Did I mention that although it was the 

 month of February, it was midsummer 

 and quite like a July night at home? Not 

 ' ppressively hot, not nearly as hot as New 

 Vork or Boston can be, but comfortably 

 warm. 



We went first to the Estrangeiros, an 

 excellent downtown hotel, but as the Car- 

 Tiival season was near at hand, there was 

 no choice of rooms, so we changed to the 

 International, situated 2,000 feet above the 

 city in the forest reserve that is within the 

 city limits, and were most comfortably 

 housed. The first thought of the .-^nglo- 

 Saxon visitor to Rio is the supposed dan- 

 ger from yellow fever. This is due to the 

 time, now happily long past, when the city 

 was more or less a pest hole. The scourge has, however, been 

 stamped out forever, in all probability, and there has not been 

 a single case, so it is said, for the last ten years. Americans 

 and English do not seem to appreciate this fact, and those who 

 for business or professional reasons are slated to live in Rio 

 for a period of months or years, are likely to have forebodings. 



J. SlM.\0 D.\ CosTA. 



Dr. Pedro de Toledo, 



Minister of Agriculture. 



Dr. J. C. Willis, 



Director of the Cotanic Gardens. 



once two swift police boats, showing no lights, and moving with- 

 out sound were circling our boat, keeping a score of noisy 

 launches at a distance, until the doctor and the customs had 

 taken possession. After a long wait the launches that had come 

 for passengers were allowed alongside, and one of them proved 



For example, one scholarly gentleman told me that before ac- 

 cepting his billet he had carefully specified that he should be 

 required to be in the city only during the day, that his nights 

 should be spent at Petropolis, a mountain resort a few miles dis- 

 tant. On his arrival in Rio, however, upon learning of the true 



