COTTON CULTURE IX THE PROVINCE OF BAHIA. 67 



species of fungus was found in the specimen sent for examination, but 

 that it is impossible to say whether the disease is caused by the fan 



We made observations on and inquiries in regard to the direction of 

 winds, the ravages of locusts, and insects injurious and beneficial to ag- 

 riculture. Mr. Koebele captured a large number of moths at night upon 

 the flowers of a species of Cleome that grew abundantly about our house. 

 Among the noctuids were a very few cotton moths. The collection we 

 made of these insects was obtained almost entirely by breeding them 

 from the larvae. The moths first bred from larva- feeding on cotton 

 were unlike those so injurious to the cotton plant in the United States, 

 but later we found another kind, though not in such numbers, which is 

 identical with that of the Southern States. The planters informed me 

 that it was the latter and somewhat larger of these two larvae that does 

 the greatest damage to cotton in Brazil. Up to the time of our depart- 

 ure from Bonito there were but few of these caterpillars to be found. 



Having completed the work at Bonito as nearly as possible in the 

 time at our disposal, we left that place on the 7th of February for Per- 

 nambuco, on our way to Bahia, taking with us a collection of insects, 

 which we estimated at about 10,000 specimens. 



Between the time of our arrival in the city of Pernambuco and our de- 

 parture, our time was occupied in arranging our collection for shipment 

 to Washington, and in making .preparation for further field work in the 

 province of Bahia. 



We arrived at the city of Bahia March 11. As was to be expected, 

 we learned that the cotton-growing part of the province of Bahia was 

 far inland, and that though this port formerly exported large quanti- 

 ties of cotton, there is no export at present, and even the few cotton 

 factories in the province are obliged to import their raw material from 

 Pernambnco, Alagoas and Sergipe. 



The Baron of Guahy. President of the Commercial Association, kindly 

 furnished me with the official statistics of the exports of cotton from 

 Bahia since 1862. These statistics show that the exports of cotton from 

 Bahia fell from 7,000,000 kilograms in lSbS to nothing in 1880. 



in the commercial reports of one of the leading daily papers of Bahia 

 I noticed the following in regard to cotton, the paper bearing the date of 

 March 14, 1883: 



Imports: Cotton. 863 bales from Aiagdas and Pernambnco, principally on account 

 of different cotton factories. 



Dnder the head of exports it is remarked : 

 Cotton : No exports from this ]»ro\ ince. 



Taking such facts into account, the great distance from Bahia to that 

 part of the province in which a little cotton is grown for domestic pur- 

 poses, the clearness of transportation to such places, and the shortness 

 of the time at our disposal, I thought it best to abandon all thoughts 

 of a trip into the interior. My decision was also strengthened by the 



