118 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



during our visit through the State. The President of this organisation — 

 Mr. Alberto Moreas Martins Catharins — was in the chair. There 

 were present : the Minister of Agriculture, cotton spinners, merchants, 

 etc. We also called on the Governor of the State and explained to 

 him the reforms required. 



The " Centro Industrial '" comprises all the spinning mills of the 

 State. The President complained severely that they have to import 

 cotton from other States whilst Bahia produces even now more than 

 is necessary for the consumption of the mills. It is said that half 

 the crop is sent to Minas, especially from those parts along the Sao 

 Francisco. This cotton ought to pay the State tax, of 2 • 2 for statistics 

 and 1-5 for agricultural administration, in all 3-7 ad valorem, but 

 very little of the cotton raised there pays this tax for that country 

 is too far away from the seat of control. The " Centro Industrial do 

 Algodao" made an offer to the Government to buy the land and 

 implements for three cotton farms in the State of Bahia, provided 

 that the Federal Government and the State of Bahia each find 200 

 contos. The parties are likely to come to an agreement. 



The classer who grades all the cotton which comes to the Bahia 

 mills is in the employment of the Commercial Association of Bahia. 

 The draw- back in connection with the classification of the cotton is 

 that the price difference of 10 per cent, between the first and second 

 class is not sufficient. In Pernambuco this difference is 50 per cent. 

 As a matter of fact, at one ginnery we noticed a man using a quantity 

 of unripe, matted and damaged cotton, and when I drew his attention 

 to it he explained that this would not cause his cotton to be graded 

 into a lower class than No. 2 and he did not see why he should not get 

 paid for the dead fibres as he had to pay for them. 



The length and uniformity are not taken into consideration in this 

 classification. 



Our journey now took us north towards Sergipe. The rainy 

 season had not yet terminated when we visited these parts and though 

 we had arranged to stop, at several stations and make excursions, we 

 found the roads impassable even for horses. 



Our special train stopped at Alagoinhas, where cotton has 

 recently been introduced. The usual mixture was grown. Cotton 

 is planted in April and in three months it is ready for picking. 

 " Verdao " was again the best variety in the mixture, but it was only 

 28mm. long. The silky character was preserved. The farmer thought 

 that this shortness was due to the fact that this cotton sample 

 represented the end of last year's crop. The yield was given as being 

 2751bs. lint per acre. 



Time did not allow us to visit all the cotton producing districts 

 of Bahia, but we examined the cottons either at the ginneries or at 

 the cotton mills. We came to the conclusion that the " Verdao " 

 variety is, in every case, the best and that the cotton along the Sao 

 Francisco river is better than that found in the other places. 



There are great possibilities in Bahia as regards " VerdJio," and 

 a Seed Farm specialising in this kind of cotton would undoubtedly 

 give excellent results. Another advantage in the State is that cotton 

 grows practically all the year round. 



