, 1886-10-01
sooNs OF TAg TROPICS.


- tbh'
Pea-Abundant Leisure-
Humboldt estimates that an area OF
land producing wheat enough for one
man will yield bananas enough for
twenty-five, and. moreover, h twenty
five ~rntions Of tree food a be raised
with ten times less trouble than the unit
of cereals. In other words. one hour OF
work in the latitude of Acapules will
produce us much as $50 hours of work
in the latitude Of Minneapolis. A ba-
mana orchard once stocked. a boy Of 12
can attend to the rest. h ye trly ex-
cision Of the stem and the harvesting of
the fruit; and many collateral comesti-
bles can be had for the mere trouble Of
gathering them in the forest.
On all sunny slopes of the foothills
the underbrush is matted with the vines
of IL species Of wild pea, Towering in NJ ,rch
and ripening its pods before the end OF
May. With n rake and an instrument
shaped like a wide wooden comb a
couple Of handy girls can gather a years
supply OF those peas in a single week.
And their work seems a pastin1 rather
than a task; they pick peas as a bevy OF
pi%cnickers would pick h~uckleberries. TAX
ing their time, and really to interrupt
their fun for any better fun going. The
poorest sqrttter Of the Gj,cala as can
bask in sunshine unclouded by the shad-
ows of coming evils. Why should he
worry? Are his provisions running
short2 The forrest will furn ish a fresh
supply. HIS his large family been in
creased by a pair of additional twins
The more tho merrier. Is our cabin get
ting crowded? Let's enlarge it to-mor-
row or builI II new one for Juan il he
consents to board the pickaninnies till
he has youngsters OF his owl.
The casuchas. or hutches, of the poorer
classes can be put up in a day with the
help OF n kind neigllbor. and under cover
# a thick patchwork of palm leaves are
tolerabiy rainproof, though not s;orm-
proof; but ever ther solid cabanas of the
welLto-do squatter nave cost him little
but the sum invested in the purchase Of
an ax. The entire structure. roof, doors.
floor. chimney. and walls. is a combine
ton Of rougl-hewn posts and square or
dovetailed shingles. about the size Of q
weather board" (-~clapboard." as they
call it In West Virginia.. fastened with
pegs. There are native carpenters, who
seem TO pride themselves on their skill
in dispensing with iron nails. Weaving.
too. is lone in a primitive fashion, on a
sort Of carpet loom. The Mertizos of the
TERRA caliente tan leather with great
skill, knit their own fishing nets, plat
their own straw hats, and there are fam
lilies who indulge themselves in all their
conceptions of luxury without spending
a cent of money from New Year to
Christmas. A minimum of what a New
J L lglander would call work sufiices to
provide a variety of artificial comforts,
tie beauty of nature supplying all nat
ural wants.
Life thus ceases to be a socage duty.
The problem of existence becomes man.
ngeable by easy-going methods, leaving
abundant leisure to be abused by sloth,
or utilized by a p%rovident love OF indie
pendence. In the mountains of southern
Mexico there is. indeed, M. lack of men.
C%aucusians and Motizos, who carry their
heads as high as any descendants of the
BRUSH non-conformists who sought a
freehold in the wilds of the Alleghenies.
Daring his wanderiu IS in Spanish Amer
lea, Garibaldi fell in with IL Mexican
officer who so fully shared his socia
views that the two friends resolved I,
retire from n world OF fun kies and pas
the rest OF their lives on n lonely noun
tain farm, not far from Cordovu, in til,
state of Vera Cruz. Uader the impulse
of a strong appeal to his ruling passion,
Garibaldi finally returned to his native
land, but his friend stuck to his post,
declining Office, and content to educate
his sons in the spirit of a principle
which Denis Diderot condensed in the
aphorisIn; Que cette Wis est trop courte
pour ramper tous les coions meprisa-
bles." Self-independenco is not an ex-
elusive product OF the higher ATTITUDES.
DIR. Felix l.. Oswald.