The St. Johns herald., 1889-04-25
Hicaragua'S Resources.

has awakened the people in tha little understood country" said { gentleman who has just arrived from Central America. He ha! viewed Nicaragua from ocean tc ocean. and is thoroughly informed on the characteristics of the repub lie and it's people.
 As a general thing Americans have a hay impression that the gov ernment stays in power only by the aid of troops, and that the country is in a continual state of turmoil. That is far from the trutl.. Property is as safe thereas it is in Brooklyn for instance, and education has done a great deal to make the people ap- preciate a settled condition ofafIairs in matters of government.
 Take for instance, the city of Granada, on Lake Nicaragua. That was founded by the Spaniards in 1923, only thirty-one years after the discovery of America by Colum- bus. Although the second in size, it is the first in the republic in point of position, enterprise and riches, and was until recently the capital city. It has been almost totally de- stroyed three times by pirates.
 During three hundred and fifty years the republic has made little advancement, owing to the bad government, and consequent heavy taxes. But with the exception ofa few weeks of turmoil caused by the War of the Uuion,' declared by Guatemala in 1884, the country has enjoyed fourteen years ofpeace.
 "Near.y tenth of the country is covered by the two large lakes, the larger lake Lake Nicaragua) being about one hundred miles long by half as wide. The country is about ns large as the state of Ohio and has 100000 inhabitants. There are P volcanoes in all, but earthquakes seldom occur. Since the desiPUc- ton of old Leon, known as Mono tombo, in 1910, none have been se- rious. The broad valleys are pro- ductive and fertile, the foothills are rolling or level table lands, culti- vated in places to the foot or high up the face of the volcanoes, which usually rise abruptly with even profile, clear cut against the sky, to the height of thousands of feet.
 The climate is splendid, it is warm near the coast but temperate and agreeable on the table lands or mesas,as well as near the lakes. The breezes from the two oceans, and | those produced by the proximity | of such large bodies of water, are seldom absent. Owing to the lay of | the country itproduces the fruits of
  the tropics, and the grains of higher countries grow on the tables lands. | In the department of Chontales the 1 mining industries bid fair to rival | those of Honduras and Mexico. 1 The export of cedar alone, was in 1885 and 1886 nearly 100000 feet. |
 Coffee is of course the principal export, and the average of trees has increased since 1886 fully sol per cent. In Nicaragua and Hon. duras combined the production was 126,96S hundred weight, valued at s1 ,209, ,495, and this year it will, 1t is estimated, be worth S1 ,500,000.
 Referring 10 Granada again, that city is in the center of the civ ilized part of the country. The temperature rarely raises above sol degrees Fahrenheit ,and the climate, for city directly in the tropics, is remarkably healthy. It is at the terminus of the National railroad, ninety-two miles in length that ex- tends from Carnita, on the Pacific, through Leon, Monotombo and Manaqua. The people are largely of Spanish extraction, with few ne groes. Many own the property on which they live and travel exten-