302 



COTTON SUPPLY. 



Chap. XVIII. 



vineyards, in the departments of Moquegua and Arequipa ; 

 and in the valley of Tambo, near Arequipa, there are 5000 

 olive-trees and seven mills. 



Now that the question of cotton-supply is attracting so large 

 a share of attention in England, it is gratifying to be able to 

 state that landed proprietors on the coast of Peru have seriously 

 turned their attention to the subject, and that in 1860 the 

 cultivation of cotton was becoming a favourite speculation. 

 The soil and climate of these coast valleys are admirably 

 adapted for its growth, and, though the quantity that could 

 be drawn from them would be insignificant when compared 

 •with the vast demands of Manchester, yet the quality is good, 

 and they will supply one out of many sources which may 

 hereafter render us partially independent of the Confederate 

 States. The estates of Don Domingo Elias and others, in the 

 valleys of Yea, Palpa, San Xavier, and Nasca, yield 800,000 

 lbs. of excellent cotton. I visited these cotton estates in 

 1853, and found that the cotton was carefully picked, and 

 packed by screw presses, A great deal of cotton is also 

 shipped from the port of Payta, which sells in Liverpool at 

 8d. to 9ii. the lb. ; and in the vaUey of Lambayeque,^ be- 

 ween Payta and Lima, cotton cultivation has lately been 

 undertaken on a very large scale. In 1860, in the four 

 districts of Talambo, Cayalti, Collus, and Calupe, there were 

 abeady 600,000 plants in the ground, and in neighbouring 

 estates extensive tracts of land had been prepared for cotton 

 by the house of Zaracondegui and others. At Talambo, in 

 the valley of Pacasmayo, there are many Biscay an families, 

 numbering in all 176 souls, who are exclusively engaged in 

 cotton cultivation ; and the yield in that district in the first 

 year was 800,000 lbs. In the province of Chiclayo 700,000 

 plants were put in the ground during 1860, and land was 



7 This province also yields gi-eat 

 quantities of tobacco, sugar, rice, and 

 maize ; and the adjoining province of 



Truxillo produces cochineal, which was 

 introduced by Mr. Blackwood. 



