86 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



The average prices at which land has been sold are : 

 1913—1917 100 $000 per alq. (5-6 acres). 



1918 150S000 „ ,. 



1919 200S000 ,, ., 



1920 250$000 ,, ., 



Out of the 1,700 families, only one has given up possession of 

 the land — got the money returned and left. Three other families 

 have left the district, but have let the land to their friends. This 

 is a good sign and speaks well for the management and the fertility 

 of the land. There has not been a single dispute about ownership 

 of land. 



Land ownership in Brazil is a difficult point ; the original titles 

 are made out on the basis of maps, boundaries, etc., but these maps 

 have proved often to be wrong. The country has not yet been 

 thoroughly surveyed and we have found mountain ranges 30 miles 

 from the place indicated by the maps. The courses of rivers are also 

 frequently not properly marked on the maps. 



Though this colonization company may charge comparatively 

 high prices for the land, yet the buyers have security of title and 

 other advantages such as roads, an established community, etc., which 

 are worth a good deal. 



There are now on the estate 700 kilometres of cart-roads, few of 

 them lit for a motor, but efforts are being made to improve them. 



Whilst the Japanese in other parts of Sao Paulo — working as 

 tenants — are not considered satisfactory labourers, yet as proprietors 

 of land on this estate they give every satisfaction. The Japanese 

 colonists are all concentrated in one part of the estate. 



The crops grown by the people are coffee, cotton, Indian corn, 

 beans, etc. The land is only 400 metres above sea-level and for this 

 reason agriculturists consider coffee a risky crop as frost is more 

 likely to attack low-lying ground. COO metres is considered the safe 

 line. In 1918 all the coffee trees in this district were cut back 

 by the frost (the same as in most districts in the south) but the manager 

 had the trunks of the trees cut down under the soil and the old trees 

 grew up again very vigorously ; these trees, after two years and eight 

 months now yield heavily. The Company has a coffee plantation of 

 its own, called " Agua Branca " of 1,055 " alqueires " ; the colonists 

 looking after this are paid at 130 milreis per year for every 1,000 trees 

 and 600 reis for gathering 50 litres of the berries ; the colonists working 

 this coffee plantation are allowed to plant, on their own account, Indian 

 corn and beans between the trees. For additional day labourers they 

 have to pay 4 $500 j^er day, if he is a colonist on the estate, and if 

 he is an outsider 5 milreis, plus food (=2 milreis). This is very high 

 in comparison with the rest of the State but everything is dear here. 

 On the " Cafezal " there are 300,000 trees and this year they hope to 

 increase the number to 400,000. The crop is earlier here than in the 

 south and was being gathered at the time of our visit, early May. 

 200,000 trees, two years and eight months old, had produced 25,000 

 " arrobas " of 15 kilos. Coffee yields here 125 " arrobas " per 1,000 

 trees, which is 25 per cent, higher than the best in the south. On the 

 fazenda of the company they had an exceptional cotton crop in 1919— 



