156 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



The present (July 1921) prices are : — 



1st Class, 160 $000 lint per " carga " of 8 arrobas = 128 kilos. 

 2nd „ 80$000 to 1001000 „ 

 Expenses for eight arrobas lint : 

 39 $000 for picking wages 

 20 $000 for ginning and baling 



59 $000 



The cotton is sold at present low prices at 160 $000, therefore 101 $000> 

 remain to pay for labour, profit and interest. 



There is further the seed equal to 18 arrobas which, at a very- 

 low price for cattle feeding, is worth 9 $000. Therefore a total gross- 

 profit of 110 $000 per 128 kilos = 390 reis per lb., from which must be 

 deducted the slight amount of labour expended and interest on 

 capital. This applies when the owner cultivates the land himself ; 

 when he has a tenant there remains 50 per cent, for the landlord clear. 

 Planting takes place only every 10 or 15 years and weeding perhaps- 

 once or twice a year. 



The fencing of the property costs as much as the land. There 

 are altogether three kinds of fences, viz. : 



Present cost. 

 " Vara " (wattle fence) = 1 $000 for 2 • 20 metres 



Stone with wattle on the top = 3 $000 for 2 • 20 metres 

 Stone alone = 5 $000 for 2 • 20 metres 



This terminates the tour through the Serido. 



We now proceeded again by motor cars south of the Serido to^ 

 Santa Luzia, which is situated in the State of Parahyba. 



The principal interest in this town is the modern ginning factory 

 of the " Sociedade Algodoeira do Nordeste Brazileiro," which has 

 three large saw-gins of 50 blades, and at the time we visited three 

 roller-gins of Piatt Bros. & Co., Ltd., Oldham, were being erected.. 

 These are the first roller-gins in the north-eastern part of Brazil. 



The company has opened up schools at all their factories for the 

 instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as agriculture, 

 of their workpeople and their children. 



We visited the Fazendas Fechado, Riacho da Varzea Alegre 

 and Riacho dos Gatos. (" Riacho " means brook.) 



In each of these places " Moco " had a length of from 40mm.. 

 to 42mm., and the fields were well picked. There were decidedly 

 more women workers in the fields here than in any part of Rio Grande 

 do Norte. On the Fazenda Fechado efforts are being made to plant 

 nothing but selected seed. 



Sao Mamede : 



This is the next town we visited. It is situated on the river of the 

 same name where the two affluents of the Riacho da Varzea and 

 Riacho dos Gatos meet. 



