92 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



frost which every now and then devastates }iuge eoflee plantations ; 

 before the frosts come the cotton is picked and. of course, only annual 

 kinds are grown. 



The coffee shrub is from two to four metres high, its leaves are of an 

 oval shape, bright dark green, the flowers are at the base of the leaf 

 stalk and form into fiery red cherries, in each of which are generally 

 two coffee beans. The shrub grows best in a temperature })etween 

 15° to 27° C, but withstands even slight frosts for short periods. The 

 flowers form from Sej^tember to December and the cherries ripen 

 towards May. The coffee shrub grows in every State of Brazil from 

 Ceara down to Catharina, but as shown, Sao Paulo is the predominating 

 coffee region not only of Brazil, but also of the world. The finely 

 pulverized humus soil, known as " Terra roxa," of volcanic origin, 

 which is found in extensive tracts in the Central and also in the 

 North-Western parts of the State, is considered the ideal land for 

 coffee plantations. The shrub suffers severely from strong winds, and 

 frost above 1° C. are fatal ; the latter occur frequently in the low lying 

 areas, for which reason plantations are generally on high land, about 

 300 to 600 metres above sea level. 



The seedlings are reared in a shady nursery at the fringe of the 

 forest ; the value of a small plant ready for transplanting is one milreis, 

 Avhilst the fully developed shrub is considered worth 3 milreis. Thus 

 a coffee plantation of the size of that of Conde Prat, with about 900,000 

 shrubs represents a big value. The largest coffee planter is Francisco 

 Schmidt who started life in Brazil as an ordinary field labourer ; his 

 company owois now 52 estates, the capital is 15,000 contos. 



The shrubs are planted in straight lines, 3-5 X 4-5 metres apart, 

 the soil requires to be kept free from weeds ; on a properly conducted 

 plantation five cleanings are made, and the shrubs are regularly 

 pruned. After the third year the shrubs begin to bear and continue 

 generally for 30 to 40 years, but we saw some much older trees, one 

 was said to be 120 years old. Weeding is generally done by means 

 of the primitive hoe, though on some estates intercultivators are used. 

 The soil underneath the shrubs is swept and any early ripening cherries 

 which fall off can thus be collected. Often big sheets are spread out 

 during the picking to catch the dropping cherries. Many hands are 

 required for the actual gathering, old men, women and children have 

 to help, indeed the whole countryside is busy during the picking season. 



A family of " colonists," as the tenants or labourers on a 

 " fazenda " are called, looks after 1,000 coffee trees and all the 

 crops grown between them. The terms on which these people are 

 engaged are : " An annual payment of 150 milreis is made per 1,000 

 coffee trees. The cotton planted between the row is included in 

 this wage. The gathering of the coffee-cherries is paid at 500 reis 

 per 50 litres. When called upon to do day-labour, they are paid 

 3S000 per day. Cotton picking is paid extra at 1 $500 per 15 kilos 

 seed cotton. Each family is allowed to have a row of Indian corn 

 and a row of beans for their own use." 



Immigrants and labourers from other parts get their railway 

 fare paid, if they remain two years on the fazenda. Medical attendance 

 is charged to the colonist at 500 reis per member of the family, per 



