140 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



the branches, cutting them off clean as with j^riining shears, but 

 goats (which are very numerous) do a great deal of damage because 

 they pick out all the young shoots, they " desolham " the cotton, 

 i.e., lit. they take out the eyes. 



Insect pests are not as severe as one might imagine at first thought, 

 seeing that the trees provide shelter during winter : this absence of 

 severe plagues is probably due to the intervening hill sides. There is 

 only intermittant cultivation, as the crests of the hills are not culti- 

 vated ; thus many miles separate one plantation from another. 



The plantations are all carefully fenced by a wattle, of closer 

 basket work than in Pernambuco. Cattle are grazing freely on the 

 hills and therefore the fields have to be protected. 



Picking is not performed as carefully as it ought to be, the people 

 are apt to leave the cotton too long open ; it may be due to shortage of 

 hands, but I noticed that in Parahyba there were women engaged in the 

 picking, whilst in Rio Grande do Norte, very few women were to be 

 seen in the plantations. Indeed the cotton fields of Parahyba were 

 picked clean at the same time that the neighbouring fields in Rio 

 Grande do Norte Avere covered with open cotton, much had been 

 shed and pickers were rarely to be seen. Some of the Brazilians in 

 our party stated that the " Parahybano "" was always considered 

 a more industrious man than his neighbour. 



As regards the necessity of establishing roller-gins in place of the 

 old " Eagle " saw-gins, I have written in detail in Chapter iii. 

 Suffice it to say here, that such an innovation would mean an increase 

 of at least 25 per cent, on the value of the total crop, as the fibres 

 would be longer and the grade would be improved. There ought to- 

 be nothing but roller gins in the Serido. 



In these general remarks I must mention the open-handed hos- 

 pitality of the people. Wherever one arrives at night, even without 

 previous notice, one is heartily welcomed. The best of the food which 

 the " Sertanejo " has is put before the stranger and sleeping accommo- 

 dation is found. They are very kind people. In these parts everybody 

 uses a hammock instead of a bed, a very convenient and comfortable 

 substitute, always free from insects, which is a great advantage over 

 a bed in tropical countries. During the day the hammock serves as 

 saddle blanket. In each farm there is generally a large room, walls 

 are mostly uncovered clay, carnauba palm trunks hold up the 

 structure and in every upright beam there are found hooks for fastening 

 up the hammocks. Two or three hammocks may be tied to one hook, 

 spreading out at different angles, thus many people can be accommo- 

 dated in a comparatively small space. 



Life in the " Sertao " is quite safe now ; until recently this has not 

 always been the case, and the old farm houses have still loop-holes 

 for the rifles, indeed they are constructed like a small fortress. 



There is a distinct desire on the part of many cultivators in these 

 parts to use selected seed for planting, several complained that they 

 could not obtain pure strains. The people realize the advantages 

 they can obtain from good seed. Some cultivators we met were 

 selecting the best plants in their fields with a view to preserving the- 

 seed for planting purposes. 



