212 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



in Brazil are probably more favourable to cotton cultivation than in any 

 other part of the world, yet Brazil does not produce, at the best; more 

 than 700,000 bales (500 lb. each) of cotton against the 12/16,000,000 

 bales in the U.S.A. 



In the first instance, there is a shortage of labour but with 

 impending immigration from Europe, which promises to be large during 

 the next few years, this disadvantage will be somewhat reduced. 



In Sao Paulo and the North-east of Brazil the yield per acre is 

 larger than in any other country of the world and the Moco fibre of the 

 Serido (Rio Grande do Norte) is undoubtedly equal to that which 

 Egypt produces. 



Allow me to call your attention to these extraordinary possibilities 

 which your rich country possesses and I, for my part, wUl undertake to 

 bring to the notice of the cotton spinners in Europe the qualities of 

 Brazilian cotton, which to a great extent are to the present day prac- 

 tically unkno\A'n and I trust you will have an opportunity of seeing, 

 after the publication of my Report, that many spinners will make their 

 first trials with your cotton. 



Our visit has attracted general attention throughout the country, 

 especially where cotton is grown : all the newspapers have dealt with 

 the Mission and have constantly reported its progress and I take this 

 opportunity of expressing our cordial thanks for the service which the 

 Brazilian Press has rendered in this direction. My thanks are also 

 due to the merchants and traders, planters and small farmers — in fact, 

 to all the inhabitants of the cotton zones visited by us, as everybody 

 with whom we came in contact manifested the keenest interest in our 

 work, and I trust that one of the results will be a better understanding 

 between the consumer and producer of cotton. 



Besides the shortage of labour, which is especially noticeable in 

 the North, there are various factors which have prevented Brazil 

 from occupying that place which nature destined for her as a world 

 supplier of Cotton. You have no cause whatever to complain of any 

 shortcomings of nature, but you must recognise the utter laxity 

 displayed by those whose duty it is to grow and handle the Cotton. 

 Once you have overcome your own personal shortcomings there is 

 no reason why Brazil should not become one of the largest sources of 

 supply of Cotton. With the exception of Coffee it may be said that 

 there is no product of Brazil which is sold in the markets of the world 

 at the same high level as the products from other countries, the reason 

 of it being the absence of classification by grower and merchant. 



Seed Farms. — There is, without exception, a complete absence 

 of uniformity of fibre amongst Brazilian Cottons. After having visited 

 more than 1,000 cotton fields I can state that we have not found ten 

 plantations where any effort has been made to separate the seed and 

 3 to 5 varieties are grown together everywhere in one and the same 

 field w-'th the result that a picking gives short and long fibres, coarse 

 and silky ones. The buyer must make his price for the shortest fibre 

 and for this reason the farmer does not often receive a lucrative price. 

 We saw fibres of 20 mm. close to a plant producing 40 mm. and the 

 price which will be paid for that cotton will certainly be based on the 

 20 mm. cotton, whilst if the long staple cotton had been planted 



