That occupation of virgin ground and its being made use of 
constituted the act of possession, the first step towards acquir- 
ing the property. In order to definitely assure the dominion of 
the lands selected, it became necessary to obtain a title of owner- 
ship from the Government of the State in which these lands 
were located, this being drawn up only after that the respective 
marking out and survey by an authorized engineer or sur- 
veyor, the depositing of the respective plans, the verification 
that no anterior rights or claims existed on the part of third 
parties, as also the payment of the respective taxes being satis- 
fied, which last averaged about 5$000 per hectare. 
Only after that all these formalities had been complied with, 
was the concession granted definitely, and the possession con- 
sidered as complete. The title deeds of the property with the 
respective specifications is registered in special blocks, which 
will serve as proof in case of future dispute and will furnish 
authentic documents in place of the property-titles. that may 
have been mislaid or lost. Once the concession legalized and 
the possession marked out, the property rights are considered 
irrefutable. : 
The dominion of the lands being assured, their usefulness 
will depend upon the co-existence of two essential factors— 
labor and capital. 
In the regions of the Amazonian valley, sparingly peopled 
by the want of direct immigration, the work is done by the 
natives and principally by Cearenses, people from Ceara. 
Under the general designation of Cearenses are comprised 
the populations of the northeast of the country from Bahia to 
Piauhy, a strong race endowed with rare energy. Having 
immigrated from their native state fleeing from privations to 
which the periodical dry seasons reduce them, they arrive com- 
pletely without the means of subsistence, it being necessary for 
the owners of the “seringas’” who contract their services to take 
measures for their transport, alimentation and maintenance in the 
seringaes until with the delivery of the rubber collected, they 
find themselves in a position to liquidate the debts that they 
have contracted and the expenses that have been occasioned. 
On the other hand in their turn the owners of seringaes not 
disposing of capital are placed under the necessity of raising 
loans with which to defray the exploitation of their lands. These 
resources are furnished them by the traders, part in money and 
part in merchandise, these traders being known as aviadores 
whilst the proprietors are called patrons or aviados. 
.The extensive credits opened by the traders constitute acts of 
confidence, being guaranteed more by the activity and initiative 
of the proprietors of the seringaes, than by their respective 
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