minals. Of course
thousands of them drifted to the great centers of population and Brazil
has had and is still having her share of race troubles.

Many of the workers on the coffee plantations at present are Italians.
They come in large numbers to work on these estates. Each family is
given a certain number of trees to look after; sometimes a single family
will take care of several thousand trees. They have to do a lot of
hoeing and weeding. The soil is almost red and these workmen take on
largely the color of the soil as their faces and clothes are stained
with red dust and water. Families are furnished houses to live in and
they live their own lives as if they were in their home country.

After coffee and rubber comes sugar. For many years Brazil furnished
more sugar than any other country; now there are a half dozen countries
ahead of her in the production of sugar. This is largely accounted for,
not so much because of inability to produce, as because of the
antiquated methods in use. There are places in the country where it is
said that the same variety of sugar has been grown for two hundred years
and that without any attempt on the part of the planters to restore the
soil.

One of the first things ever exported from Brazil was tobacco. This weed
has been grown there ever since the country was discovered. Modern
methods of culture are now being used so more of it will be produced
than ever. They say, too, that Brazil produces as fine a quality of
tobacco as Cuba. Cotton is also produced in large quantities.

The Brazilians are an interesting people. I like them. They are always
courteous and polite. Men often tip their hats to each other and kiss
each other's hands. In Rio de Janeiro nearly everyone is well dressed.
The women are good looking. The Brazil people are more friendly than
any other South American people. The language, except among the Italians
and other foreigners, is largely Portuguese while in practically all
other South American countries the people speak Spanish.

Although Brazil has millions of acres of the best timber in the world I
never saw a wooden building in their great capital city. In Rio, nearly
every automobile factory in the United States is represented. In this
land of rubber they have no manufacturing plants to utilize it. Wages
for common laborers are low and yet the people only work part of the
time. In coaling a ship the men will work like beavers for a couple of
hours and then