PERXAMBUCO 129 



On the bales turned out by the hydraulic box press of this firm 

 the railway company makes an abatement of 20 per cent, on the freight 

 owing to the greater density. 



This ginnery was established as a result of a concession granted 

 by the State of Pernambuco, one of the conditions being that pure 

 8?ed for planting purposes must be suppHed without charge to planters 

 in the district and the firm has promised to distribute only one variety, 

 vix., " V^erdao." One of the employees of Trajano de Medeiros & Co., 

 Mr. Oscar Kruger Piquet, was with the Mission for the greater part 

 of the tour. 



At the time of our visit to Garanhums this firm was adding an 

 extensive cotton seed oil mill to the ginnery. 



The total output of the zone has been placed at 15,000 to 20,000 

 bales of 75 kilos per year. 



The arroba of seed cotton in this district has 20 kilos. 



Garanhums is the centre of what might be called the southern 

 zone of Pernambuco's cotton districts ; as we proceed north the cotton 

 becomes of longer staple. 



We visited Limoeiro and here inspected another modern ginning 

 factory belonging to the '"Sociedade Algodoeira do Nordeste Brazileiro." 

 It is on exactly the same lines as the factory at Garanhums. It has four 

 gins with 80 saws and is made by the Munger Huller Gin Co., Dallas, 

 Texas. But there is here a box bale press of greater power (gin com- 

 press) turning out bales of 220 kilos 20in. by 25in. by 59in. with an 

 average density of 311b. per cubic foot. 40 bales are pressed daily 

 and the railway companies make a concession on these bales of 40 per 

 cent, and the steamship companies of 50 per cent, on the normal rates. 



The ruling prices for first-class cotton here were 9 $000 per 25 kilos 

 (one arroba =25 kilos here) ; second-class 4|500. This is for fair 

 quantities but 1 $000 less per arroba is paid for small lots. On an 

 average the cotton which entered at this gin measured 24mm. to 

 26mm., but there were also the following, all mixed up : — 

 Moco : up to 40mm. weak. 

 Verdao : from 30 to 35mm. strong. 

 Annual or Herbaceous : up to 20/ 22mm. 

 Quebradinho : up to 37 /38mm. 

 The farmers are present when the classification is made. 



At another ginning factory in this little town were three gins 

 with 35 saws ; we noticed a delinting machine and found that a 

 labourer was putting some linters into each bale of cotton. This is 

 a distinct breach of the Cotton Protection Act, but evidently the 

 owner had acted in ignorance as he innocently told us that in one 

 season when he had discontinued this practice he had lost 30 contos. 



The bales pressed at this second factory weighed 80 to 90 kilos 

 and measured 49in. by 34in. by 21in. The density was 19-5lb. per 

 cubic foot. 



We also visited Messrs. Trajano de Medeiro's ginning factories 

 at Caetano and at Safe. They are up-to-date saw-gins but as some 

 long staple cotton is entering these districts, it is desirable that they 

 J 



