60 JOURNAL OP FORESTRY 



the translation of the prospectus ". . . of the difficulties of tnms- 

 portation of the products to Antonina (a small port on the coast of the 

 State of Parana). Transportation costs absorbed large sums, making 

 the business of exportation impractical." With the opening of a rail- 

 way in 1887 from Paranagua, an important port in the State of Parana, 

 to Curitiba, an interior town in the heart of the pine region, the ques- 

 tion of the exportation of Parana pine again became one of note. In 

 that year two steam sawmills were set up at a place along this railroad. 

 These mills were equipped to turn out a daily production for the two 

 of approximately 60,000 feet board measure. It was the intention of 

 the operators of these mills to introduce the Parana pine into the mar- 

 kets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, 

 and the River Plate region further south. The annual consumption for 

 these markets was estimated to be the equivalent of $1,620,000, U. S. 

 currency. Hitherto these markets had been supplied by timber from 

 the United States and Europe, and the importers, particularly in Rio 

 de Janeiro, resented and fought fiercely the introduction of this ne\ 

 timber, although it was claimed shipments could be made at a mucl 

 lower' rate than the foreign product. 



In the year 1892 the consignments of Parana pine for construction 

 purposes to Sao Paulo amounted to about $162,000, U. S. currency, 

 and during the period from January, 1896, to June, 1899, the con- 

 signments to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo amounted to an equivalent 

 of $282,416, from which the State of Parana collected a revenue tax 

 of $11,916. This does not seem like a very large increase over the 

 1892 production for Sao Paulo and is probably due in part to the 

 strong opposition met in the markets of Rio de Janeiro from the 

 promoters of foreign pine. 



In the State of Parana at the present time it is estimated that there 

 are over 100 sawmills engaged in manufacturing lumber of various 

 sizes from Parana pine, but considering the number of mills, the output 

 is startlingly low and the reason seems to lie in the question of trans- 

 portation. 



Since transportation plays such an important part, and yet is so woe- 

 fully lacking, though promises to improve, it might be well to discuss 

 the situation, particularly with reference to this region. Rail transport 

 is as yet impossible for all practical purposes due both to the high rates 

 and uncertainty of movement. Water transport is not much better. 

 The ports of Paranagua and Antonina, in the State of Parana, are the 

 chief ports for the exportation of Parana pine lumber. Both are 

 touched but by very few ships, and practically the only steamers are 



