542 
THE TROPICAL AisrmtJtJLTumsr 
[February 2 , 1891. 
useful quality of uniting closely when a heated 
iton is simply passed over it, and our correspondent 
tells us that he has seen the edges of two isieces 
of this material so united. This facility will be 
much appreciated when it is compared with the 
labour of soldering the ordinary lead lining. Trial 
shipments are, we are told, to be made with this 
lead foil, and we hope they may have successful 
results. “ When one door shuts another opens ” 
goes the old saying, and we should welcome the 
assurance that we have to give up the hopes enter- 
tained of several lead papers hitherto tried, we may 
have the alternative before us of another possible 
solution to the difSculty our tea-growers now 
experience. 
-♦ 
ANOTHER CASE OE THEFT OF CACAO 
FROM THE WARIAPOLA ESTATE; 
MATALE. 
R. S. Fraser of Wariapola, Complainant, vs. Bandia of 
Hapuwida, Defendant. 
Charge. — That the defendant did commit theft of 
five cacao pods (unripe) of the value of R125 property 
of complainant. 
Robert Scarlett Fraser sworn. — This aconsed was 
caught stealing in my cacao -garden. His father was 
convicted of stealing cacao in my garden and was sent 
to jail for six months. The accused pleaded guilty and 
stated that he was drunk and did not know what he 
was doing. [The learned Magistrate thought it best to 
examine 'Mr. Fraser as to the story of the accused of 
being drunk. I saw the accused soon after he was 
caught. My conductor and watcher caught him. He 
lives in a block of land adjoining my cacao fields, 
but there is a paddy-field intervening at one end. 
He was not drunk in the least when he was brought 
up, though at times he simulated drunkenness. When 
he had occasion to speak, he spoke very freely. 
There was no smell of liquor on him. He walked per- 
fectly freely and spoke freely and when standing stood 
pert . t!y steady but kept his eyes closed. Cacao is 
coesta. dy stolen from my estate without any trace of 
the thieves. 
Judgment — I find the. accused guilty under the 
368th clause of the Ceylon Penal Code. The cacao 
pr duced is perfectly unripe cacao; and though the 
value i- not great the extreme prevalence of the oSecce 
in Wariapola demands the highest punishment I can 
give, i find the accused guilty and sentence him to 
undergo rigorous imprisonment for a term of six 
months. — (Signed) J. H. Eaton, P.M. Dec- 29th, 1890. 
In the case wherein Mr. W. S. Marshall, the superin- 
tendent of the Vicarton estate, charged his kanaka- 
pulle, Supaiyah, with neglect of duty and disobedi- 
ence of orders, the accused was sentenced on both 
counts to two months’ rigorous imprisonment. The 
accused has given notice of appeal. Full particulars 
will follow. 
MR. SCOTT BLACKLAW ON BRAZ IL. 
CASABRANCA— Cori'EE cultivation — a heavv rearing 
estate— THE COLONISTS AND TllEIR WAGES— MOCOCA 
llIiANCH OF RAILWAY— PROVISIONS— SAG JOSE— END OF 
THE RAILWAY .JOURNEY — TRAVELLING ON MULEBACK — 
TROLLIES — ROADS — AN ADVANCING TOWN — “ COMETS ” — 
lilO PARDO — GUAXUPE — LAUOUR SUPPLY— GOVERNMENT 
ELECTIONS — THE EMPEIiOll’S PALACE — THE PROVISIONAL 
GOVERNMENT — EXCHANGE. 
Rio, Nov. 2nd. 
Caeabranca is a considerable town on the Mogyana 
Railway, 171 mik s by rail from Sao Paulo. Coffee 
planting was boguii hero about 1878, and as formerly 
mentioned the principal pionoors here were the Prados. 
The Faxenda of Antonio Prado, late miuistt r of Agri- 
culture, is not far from the town. 1 have mentioned 
that coffee is only planted on high lands, that is on lands 
at four or five hundred feet above the level of the sur- 
rounding country. Unless planted on these, coffee gets 
killed by the yearly visitations of frost in the cold 
months, extending from May to September. This 
Fazenda, named Santa Veridiana, has thus a command- 
ing aspect, and the green hills closely covered with 
coffee trees are seen from a long distance. There is 
over a thousand acres in cofiee, and tho cultivation is 
entirely done by European colonists, Germans, Italians, 
and Portuguese. Bach colonist family is given a solidly 
built house covered with tiles, and is also given pasture 
for cows and land, outside of the patch of coffee which 
is set apart for each family to treat, — to plant provisions. 
As this is a heavy bearing estate, seldom giving less 
than ten owt. per acre, and as the colonist is paid accord- 
ing to the quantity of coffee picked, it is very popular 
amongst colonists. Judging by the number of houses one 
sees from the railway there cannot be lessthan 100 fami- 
lies. In good bearing coffee, a colonist family of five 
persons will pick from 1,20(J to 1,500 boxes, of 50 litres 
each, in one season. The price paid to the colonist is 
twenty ponce (Is 8d or 800 reis) for each box of 50 litres 
(nearly a bushel and a half) of cherry. They have also 
the produce of the land, which each family cultivates 
for growing provisions. While they make butter and 
cheese, which they sell in the town, they also rear fowls, 
fatten pigs, and indeed each in himself is a farmer on a 
small scale. If the mother he thrifty the family can 
be kept from the provision-growing and and house alone, 
and the £130 or so received for coffee picked and 
weeded is saved money. Many of the colonists on 
this estate are rich and have money out at interest. 
This year (1889) the ciffee estates along here are 
giving a heavy crop, but as the season has been a 
dry one all over the country, next year’s crop will 
be a light one, as there have not been rains to send 
out young wood for the October blossoming season. 
The most of the estates here are in good order, but 
it is said they are shorthanded for crops this year 
(1889) and a good deal of coffee will be lost 
and if not lost much will be gathered from under 
the trees and thus give an inferior quality. There 
are many more large coffee estates near Oasabranoa, 
From here the main Hoe goes on to Ribeiro Preto 
direct west, and a branch goes north-west to Mococa. 
on the boundary between S. Paulo and Minas, 
As our journey at present goes by ti e last named 
branch we will notice it first. Starting ii urn Sao Paulo 
at G a.m. we arrive by train at Casabzanca at 2-30 
p.m,, having travelled at the rate of 20 miles au 
hour including stoppages. I pity the traveller who 
has not taken something to eat with him, for there 
is such a confusion when changing at Campinas — 
from the 5ft. 3in. gauge to the 3fr. 3Jin. — that he 
has no time to eat anything there, and the Poitnguese 
saui-agea which one sees for sale at some of the 
stations are suggestive of grease, fat pork, and 
garlic, a kind of food which the average Briton 
cannot stomach. Some of our sandwich loaf, how- 
ever, remained. All the same we were glad 
when arriving at Casabranca to be told that there 
was time for the passengers going by the “Mococa” 
branch to have dinner. The black-beans, rice, beef 
steak, and fowl, the last two being the only kind of 
cooked food from which the strong flavouring bulb I 
have mentioned is excluded, were ravenouily eaten by 
us, and our Brazilian fellow-passengers had a fair 
“ set to ” at the joint of fat pork, mixing in their black- 
beans a cooked farinha made of Indian corn. If I 
can remember I may describe the way of making this 
baked flour later on. 
A two hours’ ride on the train takes na to Sao Jose 
do Rio Pardo. This part of the line goes principally 
through far-stretching oampos covered with illnk grass, 
and in some places studded with small stunted trees, 
of a kind which seems to resist the action of the yearly 
fires, for every dry season these campos are set on 
lire if not by accident then cut of pure mischief. 
There are however some stock farmers who believe in 
the yearly burning doing good, as cattle, horses and 
sheep greedily eat tho young grass which seems to 
shoot up even without tain. The ground however 
