Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . uxury to find what intelligent labor can do here. In the tile-covered mill-house, half a dozen stalwart ne-groes are employed in feeding the great cane-mill, andcarrying away the crushed refuse. Near Santarem we sawthe Indian mill—a pair of squeaking wooden rollers, turnedby four men, with an immense expenditure of breath andmuscle. Certain Brazilian plantations have larger and moreelaborate wooden mills, turned by horse-power, and a fewboast of iron ones, made in the southern provinces. But assures us that his American mill has effected a sav-in
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . uxury to find what intelligent labor can do here. In the tile-covered mill-house, half a dozen stalwart ne-groes are employed in feeding the great cane-mill, andcarrying away the crushed refuse. Near Santarem we sawthe Indian mill—a pair of squeaking wooden rollers, turnedby four men, with an immense expenditure of breath andmuscle. Certain Brazilian plantations have larger and moreelaborate wooden mills, turned by horse-power, and a fewboast of iron ones, made in the southern provinces. But assures us that his American mill has effected a sav-ing of at least twenty-five per cent, over the Pernambucomachine that was formerly used here; and of course, the 154 BRAZIL. daily grinding can be greatly increased with the capacity ofthe rollers.* As on the other American plantations, mdst ofthe cane-juice is distilled into rum, which commands a readysale along the river. Mr. Rhome has introduced improvedsugar-evaporators, and he believes that sugar-making willprove very The Cane-miUs—Old and Ne/- Besides the cane-machine, there is a saw-mill, one ot fouror five on the Amazons ; for the native carpenters are stillcontent to saw their boards laboriously by hand, or hew themout with an adze. From the blocks and chips lying around,our host picks out a dozen beautiful woods—timbers thatwould be a fortune to our cabinet-makers. There is jaca-randd, or true rosewood, and iron-like moirapichiina, and rich * French sugar-machinery is popular near Para, and in the Southern Provinces,where American mills are also used. AMERICAN FARMERS ON THE AMAZONS. 155 hvown />do darco; most elegant of all, perhaps, the moiracoa-tidra, striped with black and yellow ; all these, and fifty others,will take a polish like glass, and some of them are so toughand durable that they are employed to advantage in the placeof brass and iron. The very posts on which the mill-roofis supported are fine cabinet timbers, and the machinery ismoun
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbrazild, bookyear1879
