Frozen meat, a new industry, escaped taxation until September, 1916, when Rio put on a tax of about one-hundredth of an American cent per pound, a delicately weighted burden, which a vigorous industry can stand perfectly well if it is not multiplied too much. _Principal Banks in Brazil_ Certain strong banks, as the three of British origin (London and Brazilian, London and River Plate, and the British Bank of South America), have branches or agencies at several places, the two first possessing establishments in every important town; the National City Bank of New York has three Brazilian branches (Santos, Rio and S. Paulo); the French-Italian Banque Française et Italienne and the (French) Crédit Foncier have several branches besides the establishments in Rio and S. Paulo, as also have the (German) Banco Alemão Transatlantico, Brasilienische Bank für Deutschland, and the Sudamericanische, the (Spanish) Banco Español del Rio de la Plata, and the (Portuguese) Banco Nacional Ultramarino, and the (Italian-Belgian) Italo-Belge. The Banco do Brasil is the strongest Brazilian bank, with headquarters in Rio and many branches. In addition to the houses spreading all over Brazil each State has its own banking firms established in the capital. In banking power the Federal Capital, Rio de Janeiro stands first, with a capital of nearly 46,000 contos of reis; S. Paulo is next, with banking capital of over 13,000 contos; Rio Grande do Sul comes third, with over 11,000 contos, Minas Geraes following, succeeded by Bahia and Pernambuco, Pará and Amazonas. The chief banks of Rio, in addition to the three British, one American, and other foreign banks above mentioned, as well as the Banco do Brazil, are the Banco Commercial do Rio de Janeiro; the Banco do Commercio; Banco do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Mercantil do Rio de Janeiro; and the Lavoura e Commercio do Brasil. São Paulo, besides the foreign establishments, has the Commercial do Estado de S. Paulo; Banco do Commercio e Industria de S. Paulo; Banco de S. Paulo; Banco de Credito Hypothecario e Agricola do Estado de S. Paulo; the Banco de Construcções e Reservas, and the União de S. Paulo. Among the local banks doing excellent service are the Hypothecario e Agricola do Estado de Minas Geraes (headquarters in Bello Horizonte); the Provincia do Rio Grande do Sul; Banco do Porto Alegre; the Banco do Recife (Pernambuco); the Commercial do Pará; Credito Hypothecario e Agricola do Estado da Bahia; Banco do Ceará; Banco do Maranhão; but many other places also have comparatively small banks, and in addition there are many private “Casas bancarias”—financial houses—strongly entrenched, doing sound and useful work. CHAPTER VII THE WORLD’S HORTICULTURAL AND MEDICINAL DEBT TO BRAZIL