The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-04-18
The resources Of the country are vast

f The resources of the country are vas
and various, and its products may be in
creased with scarcely any other limits
I than the labor expended upon them
, There is evidence OF mineral wealth il
, several parts of the Island. The Gcol
, ogist's expedition report the existence o
! ores of iron, copper and gold, with de
posits of Ignite rock, salt and petrole
, um. Iron ore is abundant, easy of ac
, cess, and will doubtless be made availa
BILE for cheap production of pig iron
, The copper ores are of a very fair de
] gree in richness, and the bids have beer
opened 10 slight extent. The reported
j coal in the SANTANA peninsula and neigh
borhood Of Puerto Plata was examined
, and found to be Ignite, and of little
! value as fuel compared with Pennsylva
| mia or English coal. The gold regior
is extensive, and, though worked an
GENTLY, is at present but little known
1t invites athe patient exploration by
practical miners. The salt deposits in
! the mountains near Neba are believed to
be extensive and valuable. The salt can
be quarried out in large transparent
blocks. and chemical analysis made for
the Commissioners shows it to be OF suf
fcient purity for commercial purposes.
Summarily and practically viewed for
agricultural purposes, there are five clas-
scs of lands in San Domingo, viz:
i l. Mountain slopes and valleys These
are uniformly rich, and productive, ex-
|eept in limited regions where rain is de-
ficicnt, as on the southern slope coast
range, northeast of Monte Christi
2, The extensive region of Llanos, ly-
] ing east and north of San Domingo
City ard South of the Cibra range. This
! is all sdmirable pasture land. A large
portion of IT is capable of profitable cul-
tivation. 1t is intersected by wooded
valleys and groves containing much ex-
cellent timber. ia2H 8
8. The rolling plain Vega, which is
generally wooded and is the finest body
Of agricultural ground on the Island.
4. The Doglands, like portion of the
plains of Azua and the valley of the
Yagin, where rain is partly or wholly
wanting from Typographical causes
These lands can be made fertile by arti-
fetal irrigation.
s., The red clay lands, mostly along
the coast, underlaid by correlation lime
stone. These are wholly covered with
timber. They are not generally very
rich or deep, but are susceptible of prof
table cultivation. The vicinity of San
to Domingo City is fair average speci-
men of this class of soils.
There is hardly any portion,,of the Is
land that is not capable of cultivation,
and taken as whole is one of the most
fertile regions on the face of the earth.
The agricultural products include all the
tropical fruits and vegetables, as we'll as
commercial staples. Sugar cane is grown
most profitably on low lands, and yield
much greater than in the island of ia
maica,I even though aided by artificial ir-
rigation. Fifteen annual cuttings from
the original root are common, aud an
abundance of fuel gives Santo Domingo
an additional advantage over neighbor-
ing islands in this branch uf industry
The mountain regions are especially
adapted for the culture Of coffee and
cusco, and valuable fibrous plants. The
products OF wax and honey are surpris
ingly large, thousands of hives of honey
being destroyed for sake Of the wax
alone, Wild ginger and indigo grow
everywhere in the greatest profusion, and
cotton raised near Azua. Gnchona is
successfully raised on higher mountains,
and many vegetables and fruits Of the
temperate zone also produced in abund-
ance. The country everywhere Is adap-
ted to the cultivation of tobacco, and
three crops Of Indian corn can be raised
annually !; though the most valuable nat
ural grain is a species Of rice. More
than forty distinct varieties of tropical
fruits are found growing wild. The
grasses Of San Domingo furnish abund.
ant forage Of the best quality. Immense
herds of cattle feed on the great sayan-
mas, and though they were multiplied
tenfold, could not exhaust the abundant
pasturage, and can be bought for one
cent per pound on hoof. Goats abound
in the more arid districts ;and in the for
ests swine thrive and are found in great
numbers, Sheep are very few. Poultry
plentiful. Wild guinea-fowl have been
seen in many parts of the island, Hor-
ses are raised in great numbers, and only
marauding expeditions have prevented
the great development Of the business
Of stock raising. ~
One of the most remarkable agricuE
tural features of San Domingo is the di-
verslty Of the natural growths in differ
ent localities, which will give rise to ex
tensive internal commerce Insects and
obnoxious reptiles are not found more
abundant than in the interior of our old
States. In the forest product, which are
in astonishing variety, including the
choicest cabinet woods, oak, pitch, pine,
lienum vitae, and an immense stock OF
medical and commercial woods, many
houses being built of mahogany. The
fisheries, once fourishing, have during
the latter years fallen to neglect, AT an
earlier period in the history of the island
more attention was paid to the marine
resources, aud turning fishery was car
ried on around all the shores Of the is
land, supplying the home want for salt
fish, and allowing an export to other
colonies. Both the surrounding seas
and rivers of the island are well stocked
with fishes Of many kind. The black.
fish, or grampus, small member of the
whale family, are somewhat abundant on
the northern shore, where several scores
are caught every year, and their blubher
dried down for oil. The turtle, both OF
the green edible species and the haw's
bill, are abundant in deep sea few miles
from the land. W
San Domingo, according to all testi-
mony, is generally healthy country. es-
peciaily in the interior, among the noun.
tains, where white men labor safely and
successfully. stA
! To strangers it presents no greater