186 



BRAZILIAN COTTON 



often sees fruit and blossom on the tree together ; it takes nine months 

 for the formation of the fruit. The cocoa beans are embedded in a 

 5-cornered oblong capsule, each of which has about 25 beans. The 

 beans are fermented generally during four days and are then dried 

 and can be kept in this state for years. The work connected Avith 

 cocoa cultivation is of the simplest kind and easy to jjerforra. 



Brazil produces the fifth part of the world's cocoa requirements. 



Rubber from the Amazonas, Acre and Para was, before the 

 arrival of plantation rubber, the wealth of these States, but in view 

 of the rapidl}^ increasing yields of the plantations of the British 

 colonies, it is hardly to be expected that Brazil can compete unless 

 thorough reforms are carried out. The output of the world's planta- 

 tion rubber has grown as follows : — 



1913 1914 191.5 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 



Tons . . 48.000 65,000 93,000 120.000 200,000 260.000 300.000 340,000 



In 1920 Brazil's exports amounted to only 23.352 tons, as is 

 shown in the following table : — 



The collection of the wild rubber in the distant forests in Amazonas 

 and Para seems to be unprofitable owing to the high cost of living. 

 Everything required for the sustenance of the " seringueiros " as the 

 rubber gatherers are called, has to be imported and it is often cheaper 

 to import even food from the Argentine and Europe than transport it 

 from Brazilian ports. Some plantations have been started in Brazil. 

 The following is an extract from a recently published Brazilian Govern- 

 ment report : — 



'■ The Heoea Bmziliensis is met with in its native state in the 

 Acre Territory and in Amazonas, Para and Matto Grosso. 

 There are at present numerous ]jlantations in a very pros- 

 perous condition in Maranhao, Piauhy, Geara, Parahyba do 

 Norte, Bahia, Esperito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. This tree 

 produces excellent rubber. 



"The Manicoha is found wild in vast areas of Maranhao, Piauhy, 

 Ceara, Bahia, Minas Geraes, Goyaz and Parana. It is 

 cultivated on a small scale in Bio Grande do Norte, Para- 

 hyba, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Sergipe. 



