RIO LECTURE 219 



I plead with the Minister of Agriculture not to let this excellent oppor- 

 tunity pass for the establishment there of a Moco seed farm. The 

 Serido is a cotton zone in which you find united all possibilities for 

 favourable cultivation of very long fibre. According to the information 

 available, it seems that the yield per acre in the Serido is about 25°,, 

 larger than in Egypt, and it must be borne in mind that in that country 

 intensive cultivation A\ith irrigation is resorted to, whilst in the Serido 

 this high yield is obtained with comparatively little or hardly any work: 

 in the Serido the cotton trees last 10 to 15 years, whilst in Egypt they 

 are planted every year afresh. In the one, hardly any cleaning in 

 the field takes place, whilst in the other Aveeding is constantly 

 necessary. 



In the Serido some farmers are already recognising the value of 

 seed selection, and the fibre obtained in this way by them compares 

 favourably with Sakellaridis — the best cotton of Egypt. I have 

 found some bolls of Moco, the fibre of which measured 50 mm. and 

 certainly 45 mm. is quite a common length. This shows that climate 

 and soil are able to produce the very best cotton. A few Brazilian 

 cotton mills spin 80"s and even 125"s with this cotton. 



Another variety which must not be lost sight of is " Rim de Boi,' 

 known at times as '* Inteiro," " Creolo " and " Maranhao." The 

 seed of this variety is peculiar in so far as 7 to 8 seeds adhere together 

 in the shape of a kidney (the Portuguese name of which is " Rim,'') 

 or it may also be compared with the shape of the rattle of the rattle- 

 snake. The fibre of this variety is excellent, strong and of a good 

 colour. The natives prefer this cotton to any other for spinning on 

 their hand spinning wheels. The ginning outturn of this variety, 

 however, is small as the seed is rather heavy and the adherent facets 

 of the seeds cannot bear any cotton. " Rim de Boi '" might be cul- 

 tivated with good success along the Sao Francisco river. 



The annual herbaceous kind^American " Upland "' — is \\ell suited 

 for Sao Paulo, but in the other States it should not be cultivated, 

 except where it lias been found that " Riqueza " does not do well. 

 " Upland " has the advantage of producing " bolls " A\ithin a short 

 time, for instance, in Alagoas or Sergipe this type requires only three 

 months from the planting to the picking and I am told that in Maranhao 

 only H months are necessary. The fibre of this variety is short and 

 therefore it should not be planted where there is any chance of a longer 

 fibre being grown with success. It \\'ould indeed be a real disaster if 

 this herbaceous cotton were planted in the Serido or neighbouring 

 district as has indeed been done in Pombal and Lagoa do Monteiro 

 where the farmers have planted one row of Moco and then one of 

 herbaceous ; this has, of course, resulted in a depreciation of both 

 kinds. Happily, we were able to convene a meeting of the jilanters 

 of Pombal and point out to them the error which they had committed. 

 The quality of soil and climate have, of course, a great deal of influence 

 on the different kinds of cotton. Moco resists the great droughts, 

 and at the same time withstands the floods, whilst most other varieties 

 can onh' exist under the conditions of sufficient moisture. The cotton 

 department of the Government, which is in good hands, under the 

 management of my distinguished friend, Mr. William Wilson Coelho 

 de Souza, will have to decide the varieties which are best suited to the 



