PROVINCE OF BAHIA, 



343 



fresh molasses put to it, and made up into rolls, averaging about fifteen arrobas 

 each. The refuse shipped to Africa is made into rolls of about three arrobas 

 each. 



Leaf tobacco is a monopoly of the crown. After inspection, it takes the ap- 

 proved at a price proportionable to that of the roll, and it is shipped for Goa. 

 The refuse remains with the planter, who is allowed to sell it to the merchants, 

 and it is usually shipped to Lisbon. 



The average crop of cotton for four years, up to and including 1816, was 

 twenty-four thousand four hundred and forty bags ; but the shipments for the 

 year ending on the 1st of October, 1818, amounted to thirty-six thousand 

 one hundred and thirty-nine bags. 



The books of the public warehouses in this city are annually closed on the 

 1st of October, to ascertain the crops of produce ; but at this time some of the 

 old crop of cotton is not received, and it continues partially to arrive till the 

 end of the year. In the month of February the new cotton comes to market 

 abundantly, and in the course of the four following months the main part of 

 the crop may be said to have arrived, with the exception above stated. The 

 quality of the cotton varies according to the place in which it is grown ; part 

 of that sold in Bahia is produced in the southern part of the province of 

 Pernambuco, and is distinguished, also, by the term of foras, as that of 

 Bahia is by dentros. The former has materially the advantage over the lat- 

 ter in point of staple, being longer and more silky, also stronger ; but its value is 

 greatly reduced by the dirty state in which it arrives here, as well as by the 

 frequent tricks of the planters, in putting seeds, and even staves, in the centre 

 of the bags. These abuses have been unattended to, and the cotton inspection 

 of Bahia is almost nominal ; this flagrant neglect of the inspectors, so opposite 

 to that of every other kind of produce, is supposed to be connived at by the 

 governor, upon this ground, that, if the inspection was rigid and the planters 

 were compelled to clean their cotton, they would then send it to the Pernam- 

 buco market, where it would command a higher price, by ranking as Pernam- 

 buco cotton, and thus prejudice the revenue of the town of Bahia, 



The dentros, or those cottons grown within the province of Bahia, are a 

 shorter, and not so silky or strong a staple as the foras, and have another ma- 

 terial fault in being occasionally mixed with stained cotton, but they are much 

 better cleaned, and in this respect they have of late years improved; whilst the 

 foras have become even worse than they were, so that scarcely any difference 

 exists between them as to price. The latter formerly sold at from two to three 



