RIO LECTURE 211 



was sent to deliver a paper, at the conclusion of \\hich he suggested 

 that a delegation should visit our country and this proposal was 

 accepted. 



In the following year, at the International Cotton Congress at 

 Zurich, this decision was confirmed and the Mission arrived in April 

 of this year. Thus we had the pleasure of welcoming the Mission 

 composed of Messrs. Arno S. Pearse. General Secretary of the Federa- 

 tion, Max Syz and Fritz Jenny, Swiss Delegates, representing large 

 industrial concerns in that country. 



Of the importance of this visit one may form an idea if one con- 

 siders the great shortage of raw material which the Cotton Spinners of 

 the Old World have experienced under normal conditions and are 

 likely to realise again within a short time. 



As soon as the Mission arrived the Ministry of Agriculture en- 

 deavoured, by all means at its disposal, to assist it in its projected 

 tour through the Cotton States in order that the result might be a 

 satisfactory one. We are, therefore, here to listen to the considera- 

 tions of the Cotton Growing Industry, which the Mission may have 

 to make and we recognise from the outset that, especially from an 

 economic point of view, the existing apparatus in this country 

 may be somewhat defective. " 



His Excellency asked Mr. Pearse to address the meeting and he 

 did so in the following words : — 



" Your Excellency, Minister of Agriculture. Mr. President of the 

 National Agricultural Society and Gentlemen : At the outset I must 

 appeal to your indulgence, not only because I am a foreigner, who is 

 not as yet thoroughly versed in your language, but also because I 

 come here to give you a few hints after a short journey in the interior 

 of the States of Sao Paulo, Minas, Bahia, Alagoas, Sergipe, Pernam- 

 buco, Parahyba and Rio Grande do Norte. 



My words may, ho\\ever, be of some use because it frequently 

 happens that those who are strange to a place notice that which 

 escapes the attention of the residents, due to the fact that they have 

 become too familiar with the obtaining conditions. Furthermore, 

 I must state that I am not here on my own initiative but on the kind 

 invitation of your esteemed President. 



Unfortunately, it was impossible to inspect closely all the cotton 

 districts of each of the States visited : to do this would have required 

 many years, but we have certainly examined the conditions of the 

 principal cotton zones of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba 

 and Pernambuco, Avhich produce the largest quantity and best quality 

 of Brazilian cotton. I may even be so bold as to state that nobody 

 has ever visited so many cotton fields in these different States as this 

 Mission has done. Our object after inspecting the fields was to gather 

 together the cultivators with a view to explaining to them the short- 

 comings of their present method of cultivation, so that our tour should 

 not only be instructive to ourselves but also be of some educational 

 value to those who till the soU and look after the handling of the raw 

 material. 



The area suitable for cotton cultivation in your country is larger 

 than that of the U.S.A., and the conditions of climate and soil obtaining 



