The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

The scarcity of laborers and the need of more capital in Piura, as elsewhere in Peru, has caused much land to remain idle which is capable of producing great wealth. But, as a noted authority on this industry, Señor Victor Marie, says in his book, Cotton Production in Peru, there is no reason why the laborers of the sierra should not be induced to come to the coast, and, by kind treatment and judicious training, be employed to serve the interests of its agriculture better than imported labor. Señor Marie adds: “How much the country would gain by the instruction and education of these strong sons of the sierra, a robust, docile and laborious race, who need only to be well organized, and guarded against the evils of alcoholism!” It is suggested that, if given homes, with a little piece of land to cultivate as their own, and gently treated, many families would gladly abandon their mountain farms for the milder climate and more certain abundance of the coast. At present, the laborers from the sierra who are employed on the haciendas of the coast, work during only a part of the year, going back to the mountains as soon as the harvest is gathered. They cannot be counted on to return every season, nor is it at all certain how long they will remain. But, in opposition to Señor Marie’s suggestion, it might be urged: “Why take the mountaineer from his native soil, which is capable of cultivation far beyond what it yields at present and is the favored zone for such products as potatoes, maize, wheat, barley, and other cereals?” The adoption of means toward better organization and the reduction of alcoholism in the sierra, such as is recommended for the coast, might result in the improvement of agricultural development in these mountain districts, a consequence equally important to the country.

The richest cotton-growing region of Peru lies in the vicinity of Sechura and Catacaos on the Piura River, and in the lower valley of the Chira, where the lands have been formed by alluvial deposits and were formerly covered with forests of mesquite, called algarrobas. Here the Peruvian cotton attains its finest development and is so easily produced that good lands require to be irrigated only once a season to ensure a bountiful harvest. Sowing is a simple process which consists in dropping the seed into holes ten or fifteen feet apart. It is not necessary to plough the ground, and irrigation ditches carry from the Chira and Piura Rivers all the water required for fertilization. In the spaces between the cotton plants are grown melons, pumpkins, and the indispensable maize. The first harvest appears eight months after the seed is sown, though it is usually small, seldom amounting to more than four hundred pounds to the acre. The production increases each year following, up to the fifth or sixth year, when the crop reaches an average of more than half a ton to the acre. On the plantations of Mancora and in the beautiful chacaras of Monte Viejo, Los Dos Altos, Cumbivira, Chato, Casa Grande, Monte Negro, and others, the Peruvian cotton grows to perfection. In the valley of the Chira, where there is the greatest abundance of water and the only problem presented to the cotton-grower is how to make the best use of it for irrigation, the future of this industry offers brilliant prospects. Within the past few years its cultivable lands have been greatly increased, especially in the campiñas of Sullana and Querecotillo, and on the San Francisco, Chocán, Mallares, Saman and other haciendas.

ALGARROBA TREES ON A PIURA PLANTATION.

Much of the material that is sold in foreign markets as pure woollen is made of Peruvian cotton, which is of a very rough fibre measuring from one to two inches in length. On the plantations near the coast the cotton is rougher than in the interior, and is called in English markets Full Rough Peruvian, the most valuable of all the native fibres. When carded it looks so much like wool that only an expert can tell the difference; and after being woven into cloth, the distinction between the two products can hardly be determined, except by chemical analysis. For this reason Peruvian cotton has been called “vegetable wool,” and has been used in the manufacture of materials to serve the same purpose as the real wool.

The native cotton plant is a hardy shrub which, if allowed to reach its full height, grows to from ten to fourteen feet, though the planter usually prunes it down so that it does not exceed six or seven feet in height. The Peruvian cotton plant will live twenty years, and will bear its harvest crop after four or five years’ growth. It is the custom, however, to sow fresh seed every three or four years, as, when the plant becomes old, its harvest grows lighter each year and it is liable to “blight,” or to the attacks of parasites. The cotton fields of Piura are generally free from the ravages of insects, the only annoyance of this kind being a visitation of the arrebiatado, an insect which appears chiefly in the rainy season. As rain falls only once or twice in a dozen years, this evil is a minor one. Besides, the arrebiatado does not attack all varieties, the Egyptian, or Upland, as it is known in the United States, being free from its onslaughts.

The cotton-pickers on Piura plantations find occupation at all seasons of the year, though two principal harvests are gathered, those of St. John’s Day and Christmas; the former lasts from June to October and the latter from December to March. Men, women, and children may be seen in the cotton fields filling their sacks in the shade of the bush, which at harvest time is thick with leaves and tall enough to afford abundant shelter. Here and there are groups enjoying a little gossip as they pass one another on their way to and from the field. At the various stations along the railway, the scene is not unlike that which is met with wherever the cotton plant flourishes. The pickers of these valleys are less joyous and garrulous than are the negroes of a Mississippi or Georgia plantation,—the melodies of Dixie are more musical than the tristes of these less volatile laborers,—but there is always the charm of tropical skies and luxuriant nature to brighten their faces with a smile of good-humored content.

IRON BRIDGE OVER THE PIURA RIVER.

When the cotton is ready for market, it is loaded on donkeys and sent to the nearest railway station to be shipped. As the donkey’s load must not exceed three hundred and sixty pounds, it is customary to have the cotton put up in bales of from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty pounds, two bales being a full load for one of these carriers. In Piura, Sechura, Catacaos, and in various towns of the Chira valley, the large importing houses of Peru have purchasing agencies, and these establishments are equipped with cotton gins and presses for cleansing the fibre and preparing it for transportation. The cotton seed is nearly all exported to Europe, where it is sold for five or six pounds sterling per ton. The prices of cotton vary according to the harvest, and to the prices current in the world’s market, though the cotton of the Piura valley is sold always for upward of eight cents, gold, per pound. The price has risen considerably within recent years and continues to advance, as the product gains in favor in the markets abroad, especially in New York, where Peruvian cotton is constantly growing in demand.