The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-21
AMAZON VALLEY BUSINESS PICKS
 UP AFTER WAR

Para, Mouth of Amazon River, Oct.
 2o-(By The Associated Press)-
 Business conditions in the Amazon
 Valley are beginning to recover from
 the disturbance of commerce caused
 by the war. Rubber estate owners,
 and business men generally, realize
 that the competition of Oriental
 e'plantation'' rubber which has forced
 the market price of that article down
 to about the actual cost of gathering
 "wild' Amazon rubber is really
 blessing in disguise, since it is bring
 ing about the development of the
 other natural resources left untouch-
 ed so long as rubber monopolized all
 attention in the valley. Foodstuffs that used to be imported from abroad,
 or from other parts of Brazil, are now being raised locally.
 A party headed by Henry s. Flem- ing, of New York. which has been 1n- vestigating the commercial possibiH- ties of the Amazon Valley, has re- turned to this city after a two month tour of the Amazon and some of it's principal affluents, nearly 5000 miles of rivers being covered in the course of the trip. MT. Fleming is | receiver of an American company | with extensive docking, shipyard, and | nav gation property at Para.
 The main river was ascended for | over 2,5O0 miles, as far as Iquitos, Peru, and also the Javary, Purus, | Negro, Xingu, Moju, Tocantiins and other rivers for varying distances. A
 vast amount of valuable information and data has been gathered as a re-
 suit, which is being placed free Of | charge at the disposal of American manufa cturers, importers. exporters ! and others interested in the develop
 ment of the Amazon Valley. Many inquiries have recently been made by ! Americans seeking information re- garding lands available for cattle raising, grain growing, and minerals, | which indicates an awakening inter | est in the United States in regard to | the Amazon country.
 According to MT. Fleming the most i encouraging sign noted on the trip
 was the increase in the production of 1 food-stuffs of all kinds Mandioca corn, sugar cane, rice, beans, bananas, melons, fruits of many species, and l occasionally tobacco and cotton, have been planted in small patches along | the river banks near the towns and i settlements. Before the war prac- | ticaIy all foodstuffs had to be inn ! ported as the wage paid rubber gath erers was so high as to make labor ! prevailable for agricultural work. | Most of this planting is done on the | low-Iying banks of rivers, and at | least two crops of corn, beans, man. | dioca, etc, are gathered between l floods.
 One of the staple products most | affected by the rubber boom was . the lure of high wages, most of the | large cacao plantations had to be abandoned; today they are being | cleaned and restored and new trees l are being planted.
 Local cotton men are optimistic as | to the future of Amazon cotton,
 which is said to be of excellent quail | ity and long staple. There are large, I immense areas of the Amazon Valley suitable for cotton growing, and in many places, notably Iquitos (Peru), I Santarenn, Monte Alegre, this is now being produced in increasing quanti- | ties Last year was the first that any I concerted effort was made to grow | cotton, but the idea seems to have taken on with many land owners. The Amazon Valley is said to be the
 greatest undeveloped region in the
 
 natural resources, of inmense value, with commercial possibilities. which are as yet untouched. The soil is said
 to be extraordinarily fertile. The for
 ests offer woods of inexhaustible va riety, many of the cabinet woods are | of rare value. Of vegetable oil nuts, l a tenth part only is known to the out
 side world. Rosins, gums, spices, me
 dicinal plants, flores abound, in in
 finite variety. Kapek grows along
 the banks of most of main rivers, but
 not pound of it is exported to the United States, although America inn
 ported 100000 pounds last year from far away Java. There are mineral
 ized areas said to contain coal. iron. gold, silver. and precious metals of
 many kinds. They have not yet been
 prospected.
 1 Many merchants up river, with
 whom The Associated Press core
 spondent spoke. in Iquitos, Manaos, Fonte Boa, Itacoatiara, Obides. San ttarem and Monte tAlegre look for
 close business relations with the United States They point out that