THE BRAZILIAN PEODUCT. 129 



The principal ports of Brazil from wMch coffee is exported 

 are Eio de Janeiro', Santos, Bahia, Caravellas, a,nd CeavL The 

 port of Rio exports over three-fourths of all the coffee that Brazil 

 sends abroad. The coffee of the provinces of Minas Geraes, 

 Espirito Santo, and the northei-n portion of San Paulo all has 

 its market in Eio. Santos occupies the second rank in the mag- 

 nitude of its exports. 



The coffee of Brazil varies greatly in color and size. Most 

 of the B.io coffee received here is a small-sized bean, varying in 

 color from a light to a dark green, with some of ^ yellow hue, 

 often denominated Golden Rio. Large quantities are artificially 

 colored, in order to meet the requirements of certain sections 

 where a prejudice exists in favor of some peculiar color. Various 

 chemicals are used in the process, some of which are rank 

 poison, while others are comparatively harmless. By simply 

 washing in clear cold water it may easily be determined if the 

 bean has been artificially colored. The flavor of most of the 

 Rio coffee imported into the United States , is, as has been 

 before stated, quite marked and entirely,, different from that 

 of any other sort ; its smell and appearance, being . also quite 

 distinct and characteristic, preclude its substitution for other de- 

 scriptions. 



In the Eio market the coffee is classed either as high land or 

 bottom land, and is branded as follows : Superior, Primeria boa 

 (good firsts), Primeria regular (ordinary firsts), Primeria ordinaria 

 (low firsts), Segunda boa (good seconds), Segunda ordinaria (low 

 seconds). Bahia coffee, owing to its mode of preparation, does 

 not rank as first quality ; it is branded either S, SS, SSS. 



The planters generally forward their coffee to a commissmio, 

 or factor, who acts as their agent. It is received in all sorts of 

 lots and conditions from many different growers, no regularity 

 being observed in the style of bag or the amount it contains. 

 The factor sells his stock to the dealers or packers (ensaccadores), 

 men that control large warehouses. The coffee is conveyed from 

 the railway depot, in trucks or horse-cars, to a large room in the 

 storehouse, level with the pavement. The sacks of coffee are 

 piled on either side, each being mmibered and further distin- 

 9 



