( 350 ) 



As this would be a principal object, and would well reward the labour it occa- 

 sioned, every possible attention should be paid to it. Santa Cruz possesses in- 

 exhaustible strata of shell-lime, and various manures in abundance. 



The quantity of land before-mentioned being inclosed and planted, the next 

 object should be to select a proper number of young cows for milking, which 

 might be augmented in proportion as more land was brought under artificial 

 grass ; five or six hundred would be sufficient for the commencement. The 

 management of them would, I am aware, require more than common attention, 

 and in a concern on so great a scale, some mistakes and disappointments must 

 necessarily occur. Their breed should be an object of peculiar care, and the 

 best of both species should be introduced ; the pasture of the cows should be 

 free from young cattle, horses or mules ; they should be treated with care 

 and tenderness, and live in the strictest quiet. 



The meadows inclosed for their pasture would be very insufficient in time 

 of scarcity (the dry season), therefore the corrals or places for milking the 

 cows should be well supplied with grass, and to these places they would soon 

 be accustomed to come, to be milked and fed. But such practice will appear 

 ridiculous to the present managers, who think it is right that cows should be 

 kept fourteen hours in a pen without food before they are milked, which is 

 certainly analogous to the idea of starving them to make them fat. 



It is impossible to calculate the quantity of milk, butter, or cheese, which 

 might be obtained from five or six hundred cows, as that would depend on 

 many local circumstances, and a variety of experiments would be required, to 

 arrive at any degree of accuracy ; but suppose the above number to give only 

 6oolb. of butter per week ; in England they would give more than double that 

 quantity ; and here it is impossible to calculate what the difference would be in ai 

 quantity of cows fed on artificial grasses, accustomed to be regularly milked, and 

 treated in a manner so superior to that now practised. The augmen^tion pro- 

 duced would exceed any statement I durst give ; for in various parts of Brazil, 

 I have known cows even under miserable treatment yield from two to three 

 gallons, and instances of this kind are not uncommon in the season of abundance, 

 In England, a cow in the vicinity of the metropolis may be eftimated to leave a 

 profit of lol. per annum ; in various parts of the country from 7I. to lol., accords 

 ing to the locality. Here, although land and cattle are dear, yet we find this 

 produce cheaper than in any part of Brazil. At Rio de Janeiro, good salt 

 butter is worth from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per lb. j and I have even known it to sell at 

 nearly double that price j therefore, it is f?iir to suppose, that good fresh butter 



