The principal points to be attended to in making sugar are, first, that the canes be all ripe, and well cleaned from trash and leaves; next, that they be immediately crushed, and not suffered to lie in heaps to heat; and thirdly, that the rollers, and all the passages for the liquor, be well cleansed by washing as often as necessary.
A greater quantity of sugar is shipped from Bahia than from all the other parts of Brazil united, and in general it is of a very good quality; that from certain plantations is particularly so. It is not however, esteemed of so strong a body as our best from the West Indies[69].
The tobacco of this capitania is peculiar to it; and, by an exclusive privilege, no other part of Brazil was allowed to cultivate the same sort. It has given rise to much commerce, and has enriched many families. It was the most esteemed sort, not only in Portugal, but in Spain, and all her colonies, where it has been sold at great prices. Great quantities of it were consumed in Barbary; and on many parts of the coast of Guinea the demand for it was such that it was almost impossible to carry on trade for gold, ivory, gums, and oil without it. The mode of growing and manufacturing it is as follows:—First, a good piece of ground is prepared, the finer dressed the better; the seed is sown broad-cast, and when the plants are about six weeks or two months grown, they are transplanted into ground prepared as before. In eight or ten months they arrive at their full growth, and when ripe the leaves are taken from the stem, which frequently grows from four to seven feet high. They are laid upon the ground, or, in preference, upon any support which will preserve them from absorbing moisture, and admit a free circulation of air underneath. When they become in a slight degree withered, they are twisted with a strong winch, the end of one leaf uniting with the other, and the twist is coiled into a roll weighing from thirty to forty pounds. By this operation the juice of the leaf is expressed, which is viscid, and when oxidated becomes of a black color, not unlike molasses. The tobacco, after this last operation, is fit for commerce.
It is an object highly worthy the attention of the Portuguese government, to introduce other modes of curing tobacco. There can be no doubt that the soil and climate are congenial to it, and, were it properly prepared, it would probably equal any in Virginia, and become as great an article of commerce among the northern nations. Should such a commerce be pursued, how many cargoes of this commodity alone would arrive in our ports, and from thence be distributed to the different markets of Europe!
Cotton has of late been grown here in considerable quantities, and has been sent to England at nearly the same price with that grown in Pernambuco, and its plantations are daily increasing and improving[70].
Here are many plantations of coffee, but it is not esteemed so fine as that from Rio de Janeiro. Rice is produced in tolerable quantity, and its quality is superior: but the husk is so difficult to separate from the grain, that a great part is bruised in the operation, and is thus rendered of less value. The method of cleaning it is bad. Why not apply such mills as those used in Carolina, of which there is now one working at Maranham by steam, that has improved the quality of rice so materially, that it now sells in Europe for nearly the same price as the North American.
The beautiful dye-wood, called Brazil-wood, is shipped from this port and Pernambuco, of a quality much superior to that of Rio de Janeiro. This is one of the articles prohibited from general commerce, being the property of the royal household. Fustic in small quantities is brought from the interior.
The indigo made here is so far inferior to that imported from India as scarcely to be worth mentioning. It is owing to the great quantity of lime in it. There is a general opinion among all who make indigo, that some part of the process is very prejudicial to the health of the negroes, who frequently become sick, and often die while employed in it, which is most probably owing to deleterious gas which escapes during fermentation.
Bahia has a considerable trade with all the ports on the coast, from whence are exported various articles, the prices of which are continually fluctuating. A great number of fine brigs and smaller vessels are employed in this trade.
Produce to a considerable amount was exported to the River Plata, from whence a great quantity of hides and tallow were returned.