St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-12-28

Porto Rico. Then there are trees and
shrubs valuable for their gums, as the
nanny. copal and the great trees Of
the high forests, the exudations from
which are used as incense.
Plants, the bark, wood or fruits of
which are used in dyeing and tanning
are the mulberry, wild ginger, anatto,
indigo, myrrh, mangrove and dividivi
Or caesalpinia. All these grow practi-
cally in wild state, as also do the
castor bean, cotton and rice.
The forests contain trees which have
been sought for centuries as precious dye
and cabinet woods, chief among which
are the logwood and mahogany, the
former growing in the littoral forests,
particularly in the islet of Vieques and
The latter ON the hills To these must
be added the fragrant cedar, such as the
Cuban cigar boxes are made from, the
laurel. walnut, oak, locust and many
others The mahogany of Cuba, Santo
Domingo and Porto Rico is held in
higher esteem than that from Honduras,
and logs have been shipped in times
past worth So, 900 each landed in Lon
don.
We send abroad annually $4,000, 900
each for ir7igo and cabinet woods,
which this island can supply for many
years to come, basing future estimates
upon what it has produced in the past.
For raw silk the chief of our govern
ment bureau of statistics, Mr.. Austin,
says we send away $25, 100000 an
nually. In the sheltered valleys of Por-
to Rico's mountains the mulberry finds
congenial home, and the silkworm
likewise.
But these are merely "byproducts. "
The real staples of the island have not
as yet been touched upon. These are to-
bacco sugar, coffee, of which the island
produces, roughly estimated, 7,000,-
600 pounds of the first, 10000 tons of
the second and 1900 tons of the third
According to the Spanish "Estadistica
General del Concrete Exterior" pub
lished in 1897, Porto Rico exported
$646, 566 in tobacco, SO, TAT, S9l in sugar
and So, 7S9, 1888 in coffee. So it would
seem that coffee is the great staple.
Peculiar con- itions of soil, climate and
altitude are necessary to the production
Of perfect coffee, and these are not
found in combination everywhere, even
in the tropics. According to our bureau
of statistics, in 1896 we imported $780,
sos, 900 pounds Of coffee, of which near
ly 1000, 600 pounds came from Brazil,
1000, 600 from Venezuela, 3S, 900, 900
from Central America, "a, 900, 900 from
Mexico, about 10000 600 each from
Colombia and the West Indies and 32, :
100000 from "all other countries I"
Arabia, the ancient home of the aro-
matte berry, is not mentioned, and but
small quantity came from Sumatra
and none from Java.
The coffee of Porto Rico ranks with
the best, and, though this may seem q
sefiection upon our tastes, that is the
reason it goes abroad and is not com
mon in our marts, The finest coffee
plantations, and there are more than
1900 in all in Porto Rico, are in the
interior and the southern and western
portions of the island, located, as q
rule, above an altitude of 600 feet,
, where the heat of the lowlands is not
, telt, where tree ferns and bamboos wave
their luxuriant fronds where streams
dow through tree shaded valleys and
where the diseases Of the littoral region
rarely penetrate.
The coffee tree is tender plant requir-
ing at first shade and protection from
the Winds and these are afforded by
planting rows Of bananas and plantains
for the first and windbreaks of large
trees for the second Coffee will begin
to bear in about three years and con
0 tinue to increase its yield for dozen
years thereafter. lasting perhaps gen.
r grafton. Pie tied at distance of 30 or
? 30 feet apart, the spaces between the
trees may be utilized for vegetables,