BAH I A 117 



Why the mill charges the man two per cent, commission I do not 

 know, as the mill uses the cotton. 



This is a peculiar district. The main crop takes place in June, 

 but there is not a single month in the year when cotton is not picked. 

 Shrubs bear almost every month, as after every shower new blossoms 

 form. There are many showers throughout the year. 



This ginner pays 4 $000 for clean cotton and 3 $000 for dirty 

 cotton ; in one week he had received as many as 700 odd lots, from 

 one lb. to 4401b., totalling 7,3101b. All are mixed up. This shows 

 the necessity for a uniform seed for the whole district, otherwise mix- 

 ture of all kinds must take place, as the ginner cannot keep such small 

 lots apart. 



The railway freight from Bomfim works out at 102 reis per kilo, 

 i.e., more than pre-war rate of freight from the U.S.A. to England. 



Near to the town of Bomfim we found an abandoned house with 

 garden in which there were some 50 trees of cotton, mostly " Inteiro," 

 largely infested with pink boll- worm, but the fibre was fully 42mm. 

 long, some 45mm., strong and silky. 



3km. outside Bomfim the Federal Government is on the point of 

 establishing an experimental cotton station. 



The railway journey from Bomfim takes one through enormous 

 stretches of once cultivated, but now abandoned, land overgrown 

 with shrubs and cacti of all kinds. Near Ituiba the train passes for 

 miles through a narrow valley and on the top of either side is a table- 

 land which is said to be suitable for cotton. This district suffers 

 from drought every five or six years when the only food for the cattle 

 to be found around are the many cacti, the thorns of which they break 

 off with the horns. 



QUEIMADAS : 



Gin with 20 saws (working four years without sharpening). Kero- 

 sene engine 3 h.p. "' Verdao " cotton is liked best. 36 to 38mm. 

 in length. Usual mixture of all kinds ; cotton is brought in from 

 " Monte Santo," 8 to 10 leagues away. 

 Santa Luzia : 



There are three gins, one with 30 saws, another with 20 and the 

 third with 40 ; two driven with kerosene engines and one with steam 

 (wood as fuel). " Verdao " good, 34mm. ; it is not much attacked 

 by pink boll- worm, but " Inteiro "is. 



The crop begins August to September and whenever there is a 

 shower a new crop comes on. 

 Serrinha : 



One gin with 72 blunt saws. Kerosene motor. — The fibres are short 

 and weak and the cotton musty ; it seemed intentionally damped.- — 

 The picking is in August and September. — This was formerly a large 

 cotton district but owing to the low price the acreage has been 

 reduced considerably. 



A zone of great importance is Morro de Chapeo, which sends the 

 cotton via Jacobina per rail to Bahia ; we could not visit the district, 

 but we saw the cotton in the Bahia mills. 



In the State of Bahia (Sao Salvador) I was invited by the " Centre 

 Industrial do Algodao " to give a lecture on the impressions gained 



