Nov.  2,  1896. J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
313 
the  collection  and  preparation  of  it  have  been  effected 
by  means  of  native  labour.  The  success  of  the  in- 
dustry is  another  indication  of  the  undeveloped  re- 
sources of  our  West  African  Colonics. — II.  and  C. 
diail,  Sept.  11. 
THE  BRAZILIAN  COFFEE  TRADE. 
AX  IXnuSTKY  WHICH  HA.S  NOT  HAD  FROM 
IIRITI.SH  CAPITAL  ALL  THK  ATTENTION 
IT  DESERVES. 
A conespoiulent  wi'ites  Tlie  wide  disparity 
between  their  financial  standing  as  nations  arul 
their  coimnercial  resources  nmst  often  have  struck 
all  but  the  most  superficial  observers  of  the 
South  American  republics.  The  Argentine  Re- 
public, Brazil,  Uruguay,  and  Paraguay  have  a,ll 
passed  through  a more  or  less  acute  crisis  in 
their  national  finances,  and  are  now  all  at 
varying  stages  of  convalescence.  Brazil,  which 
from  the  ])oint  of  view  of  national  finance,  pro- 
b9,bly  occupies  the  worst  position,  must  be 
awarded,  in  any  comparison  based  on  commer- 
oial  resources  and  potential  national  riches,  only 
the  best  place  of  any  of  the  republics  on  the 
South  American  continent.  It  may  be  some 
such  comsiderations  as  the.se  whicli  have  pro- 
duced the  recent  strength  in  South  American 
securities.  New"  agricultural  industries,  the 
constant  e.vtension  of  e.xisting  sources  of  revenue, 
and  the  almost  boundless  territorial  possessions 
of  Argentina  and  Brazil  are  all  matters  which 
may  well  for  a moment  lead  investor.®  to  dis- 
regard Government  mismanagement  of  national 
fiiTances,  and  look  rather  to  tlie  immense  suc- 
cess which  in  so  many  South  American  fields 
has  over  and  over  again  attended  private  en- 
terprise. 
The  Brazilian  coflee  industry  is  a case  in 
point.  A fertile  soil  and  every  natural  ojipor- 
tunity  have  combined  to  produce  <a  trade  which 
numbers  among  those  engaged  in  it  the  wealtliiest 
men  in  Brazil.  A constant  stream  of  immigra- 
tion from  Europe  keeps  up  a supply  of  healthy 
labour.  Spaniards,  Scandinavians,  but  principally 
Italians  and  Germans,  are  annually  landed  in 
tbeir  tliousands  in  Brazil,  and  rapidly  absorbed 
into  the  multitudes  engaged  on  the  great  coflee 
estates  of  San  Paulo,  The  State  of  that  name 
contains  a population  of  more  than  2,000,000, 
at  least  one-third  of  Avhich  is  foreign  by  birth. 
Of  the  160,000  souls  comprisinjj  the  population 
of  the  city  of  San  Paulo,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
probably  one-half  are  foreigners.  The  State  itself 
produces  tliree-fourths  of  the  entire  coflee  crop 
of  Brazil,  or,  on  the  estimates  of  the  export 
for  1896,  receives  about  £1"), 000,000  annually 
from  this  single  industry.  It  is  obvious  that  an 
industry  of  this  kind  and  magnitude  cannot  be 
considered  as  anything  but  one  of  tlie  staple 
resources  of  the  country  where  it  is  carried  on, 
and  this  the  coffee  trade  is,  in  fact,  to  Brazil. 
The  English-owned  San  Paulo  Railway  connects 
Ihe  great  inland  network  of  Railway.?  in  the  State 
of  San  Paulo  with  the  sea  at  the  jiort  of  Santos. 
As  a result  of  recent  negotiations  with  the  State 
and  Federal  Governments  this  line  is  about  to 
spend  from  £1,500,000  to  £2,000,000  in  doubling  its 
track  and  in  building  new  stations  and  warehouses 
to  meet  the  ever-increasing  demands  of  the  coffee 
trade  upon  it.  Needless  to  say,  various  London 
banks  trading  in  Brazil  have  branches  in  San 
Paulo  and  at  Santos,  its  port;  and  it  is  very 
pertain  that  the  abandonment  of  the  business  done 
by  them  in  the  coffee  province  would  have  a very 
considerable  influence  for  tlie  worse  upon  their 
dividends.  San  I^anlo’s  prosperity  rests  upon  the 
coffee  trade  ; but  it  is  notorious  that  while  German, 
Italian,  and  American  capital  has  been  fi  ecly  inves- 
ted in  coffee  estates,  English  capital  has  not,  up  to 
the  present,  shown  any  inclination  to  How  in  the 
direction  of  that  outlet.  This  apparent  want  of 
enterprise  may  arise  from  lack  of  opportunity  of 
knowing  the  truth  about  the  coffee  industry. 
German  labour  may  attract  German  capital  and 
Italian  immigration  Italian  capital  ; Avhile  the 
American,  well  aware  of  the  enormous  iipports 
of  Brazilian  coffee  into  the  United  States,  is  not 
slow  to  invest  his  capital  at  the  fountain  head  of 
the  trade. 
Still,  with  the  tenure  of  jiroperty  absolutely 
protected,  and  ajiublic  peace  which  is  only  occa- 
sionally disturbed  by  brawls  between  the  various 
races  congregated  in  the  State,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  British  capital  is  now  moving 
to  a much  greater  extent  than  has  in  the  past 
been  the  case  in  tlie  direction  of  Brazilian  coffee 
estates.  A loan  of  £80,000  on  a portion  of  one 
of  the  estates  is  a conijiaratively  small  transac- 
tion. What  may  in  time  come  to  pass  will  pro- 
bably be  tlie  placing  of  some  of  the  larger  estates 
entirely  in  English  hands,  with  English  capital . 
behind  them.  Given  a productive  estate,  with  a 
good  plant  and  railway  service  of  its  own,  as  w'elL, 
as  a good  connection  with  the  State  lines,  well 
stocked  with  trees,  with  facilities  for  the  plant-; 
ing  of  more  as  the  business  extends,  and — what  is’, 
most  important— a good  record  of  increasing  pro- 
fits in  the  past,  and  British  capital  would  not, 
be  .slow  to  avail  itself  of  the  opportunity  of  in- 
vestment. A venture  of  this  kind  would  offer  a 
security  almost  equal  to  that  of  real  property  in 
this  country,  with  potentialities  of  profit  in- 
finitely greater.  A .Brazilian  coffee  com i)any,  ca- 
pitalised in  a fair  [iroportion  to  the  extent  of  the 
jiroperty  acquired,  ought  to  be  able  to  pay  a steady, 
dividend  of  15  per  cent,  on  its  ordinary  shares,  and 
to  create  a strong  reserve  fund  at  the  same  time. — 
Financial  Netvs,  Sept  9. 
TEA  IN  AUSTRALIA. 
Teas. — A little  demand  fer  Ceylous;  200  chests 
sold  at  5^cl,  and  100  chests  of  fine  sold  at  Is,  250’ 
quarter-chests  of  Kaisow  buds  also  placed ; 500  half- 
chests of  Indian  sold.  The  second  sales  of  new 
season  Foo  Chow  teas,  ex  Sikh,  were  held  on  27th 
August,  by  Messrs.  Geo.  Crespin  and  Son  and  Messrs.. 
Fraser  and  Co.  The  biddings  were  not  brisk,  and 
results  were  disappointing  to  importers,  prices  ruling 
low’.  At  the  two  auction  sales  3,893  chests  and  half-- 
chests  sold  up  to  Old  for  S.O.P.,  Panvougs  to  6Jd.  At 
the  auction  held  on  the  1st  Septemb  er,  676  packages 
were  offered,  409  packages  sellir  g up  to  the  follow- 
ing prices  : For  pekoe,  lOd  ; broken  pekoe,  10|d  ; 
broken  orange  pekoe,  lOjd  ; pekoe  souchong,  6|d.  The 
Acme  packages  sold  up  to  lOjd. — Leader,  Sept.  6. 
Scientific  Expert  for  theTea  Industry. — An 
occasional  corrcspoiKlcnt  in  the  Home  and  Colonial 
Mail  ba^;  contributed  an  interesting  article  on 
this  subject  whicli  ([uote  on  another  page, 
ff’he  writer  does  not  consider  that  tea-making 
comes  within  the  realm  of  science  so  fully  as  is 
generally  sup])osed,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
thinks  it  right  that  practical  men  should 
have  the  aid  of  skilled  scientists  and  that 
Ibis  migbt  be  proiluctive  of  great  results  even 
in  mannfacture.  Oonqilimentary  reference  is 
made  to  Ceylon  in  the  course  of  the  article. 
