24 



Madeira produces wine (some 5,000 pipes of 420 litres) of 

 different varieties. The old brands are disappearing. They were 

 introduced by the first Portuguese explorers, who brought them 

 from the Greek Archipelago and the Mediterranean Islands. 

 What Madeira might yield in grapes and raisins for the London 

 market has not yet been realised by the agriculturists. 



Sugar cane is being grown in a very small area (2,000 

 hectares), comprising the best soil on the sea side. The sugar 

 percentage is very high and some 5,000 tons of sugar are produced 

 annually by a big English factory. As a branch of agriculture 

 it seems artificially maintained by a series of protectionist 

 measures. Sugar growing in Madeira is very expensive, compared 

 with Africa for instance. White labour is dearer than coloured, 

 and in Madeira agricultural machinery has not yet been 

 introduced. Whether it is economic or suitable is a matter for 

 scientific investigation and this has not yet been earned out. 



Banana growing is very remunerative', but the banana is not 

 being thoroughly exploited. 



Fruit growing is neglected. Strawberries, for instance, ought 

 to be exported all the year round. 



Tomatoes have found a very good market in England but their 

 production is still comparatively small. Early vegetables and 

 beans are cultivated on a small scale, 



Agriculture has been confined to the vineyards and to sugar- 

 cane and has neglected the very interesting field that might be 

 exploited in the way of early fruit and vegetable exports for the 

 European markets, where flowers would probably fetch remunera- 

 tive prices. 



There are more than one thousand varieties of plants in the 

 Island. Some of the native woods are valuable. 



The harnessing of waterfalls might change the face of the 

 Islands in a short period. 



At present, owing to lack of transport, life is absurdly 

 expensive, and communications practically restricted to> alpinists. 



Stock breeding is conducted on a very small scale and nothing 

 has beten done to improve the grazing lands. 



The production of milk is small (6-12 litres per day each 

 cow) ; the amount of butter is estimated at 500 tons per annum. 



The embroidery industry is foremost in Madeira. It occupies 

 50,000 women out of a total population of 200,000. 



The exports to the United States were valued at $2,500,000 

 U.S. in 1920. 



The wicker basket industry is valued at 7,800,000 escudos 

 per annum. 



The Madeira people emigrate to the United States, to thp 

 Sandwich Islands, and to South Africa. The average rate of 



