SAO PAULO 71 



in Sao Paulo, is able to extend the growing of cotton on sound com- 

 mercial lines. 



Santos, the great port of the State, which some 25 years ago was 

 famous for epidemics of yellow fever, has cleared out all mosquitos, 

 and with them this terrible disease has disappeared. There has not 

 been a case of yellow fever in Santos for several years, and to-day it 

 is probably the finest seaside resort in the whole of South America. 



There are extensive quays, provided with the latest automatic 

 transporting machinery and other modern appliances for the lifting 

 of coffee, etc. 



SAO PAULO COTTON 



In the course of these chapters wages are frequently stated in 

 Brazilian currency. It would be misleading to convert these into 

 European equivalents, as the rate of exchange affects the cost of living 

 of the agricultural labourer only to a very small extent. These people 

 live on nothing but the products of the soil in their immediate neigh- 

 bourhood ; their clothing is often made on the spot ; their furniture 

 is of the most simple kind, consisting frequently of a few boxes, bed- 

 stead or hammocks. In short, they are a self-contained community. 

 The rate of exchange does not affect their cost of living or only very 

 gradually, if at all, and consequently the wages remain more or less 

 the same whether the rates of exchange are high or low. It is similarly 

 the case with property, its value is only slowly affected by the exchanges. 

 These remarks apply to the life ujj-country. 



There is only one kind of cotton grown in Sao Paulo and this is 

 the annual American Upland. Various types of this cotton are grown 

 but they all belong to the one family. The average length of staple 

 in Sao Paulo may be fairly assessed as being 28 to 30mm., i.e., one 

 inch and slightly more. Soil conditions vary considerably, but 

 generally speaking Sao Paulo is one of the most fertile areas in the 

 whole of the world. Rain conditions are satisfactory and well suited 

 to cotton growing with a defined interval of a dry season. The 

 phenomenal yields obtained are a better guarantee of the suitable 

 conditions than volumes of figures of rainfall and soil analysis. 



The State of Sao Paulo has three distinct cotton zones, viz. : — 

 I. — Sorocabana, the oldest of the State, where cotton is supposed to 



have been cultivated for the last 150 years, but certainly since 



the War of Secession. This district is situated west of the 



city of Sao Paulo. 

 II. — Central Zone, where the staple crop is coffee. 

 III. — North-Western Zone, to which Matto Grosso adjoins ; this is 



only recently being developed and has immense possibilities. 

 All the three zones were visited by us. 



I. SOROCABANA ZONE 



It was estimated that in 1920 the crop from this zone reached 

 200,000 arrobas of 15 kilos, but in 1921 it amounted onlv to about 

 150,000 arrobas. 



Principally small cultivators grow cotton here and the methods 

 of cultivation are very primitiv^^. The soil is generally prepared in 



