The Dickinson press., 1898-10-08
IDEAL GARDEN SPOT.
RESOURCES AND TROPICAL BEAUTY
or PORTO RICO ISLAND.

ses~~xksss11enighly Csltivasas-vasa
Dspaaas1a GaasraasA zs 1sa.a.
The UniteaHa will shortly be in
possession Of tho island OF Porto Rico,
and consequently matter about our new
acquisition 10 interesting. Mr.. Freder-
icksAa Ober, who was the late commits
doner In Porto Rico Of the Columbian
exposition, has contributed to the An.
gust Century an interesting article on
the beauty and resources Of that coun-
try: He says:
SIN the: extreme northeast rises the
highest peaks Of the central oordillera,
in the Luquilio sierra, known a. tEl
Yunque, or the anvil, variously es-
| timatediat from 8, 600 to 4, 800 feet In
height. The hills are of lesser elevation
toward the west and southwest, but the
whole north central country Is rugged
and uneven. Between the spurs from
the main range lie innumerable, seclud-
ed valleys where the soil is Of great
fertility. The impressive features Of
the landscape are the rounded submits
Of the multitudinous hills, which leave
the coast. in constantly rising pillows
that finally break against the oordillera
vertebra, yet all are oultivable and cul.
tivated toHtheir very crests, though the
higher mountain peaks are forest clad.
"Mora than 1900 streams, it is said,
Of which number perhaps 40 OF 80 at
tain to the dignity Of rivers, rise in the
hills and seek the coasts, most Of them
running .northerly, though the best har-
bors are in the west and south. But
portions Of the island in the southwest
are afflicted with drought at times
owing to the precipitation Of the north
east trades against aHhAsI northern hills.
"The higher hills IRE clothed in the
exuberant and divsraifed vegetation Of
the tropical forest, where, tree ferns
flourish. and, great gum trees and noun
tain palms tower aloft; at lower levels
are the cedar and, mahogany, walnut
and laurel, with many others:noted: for
their useful woods. Throughout the is
land are found those trees and shrubs
valuable for their gums, the Nancy,
guaiaoum and copal, while the list Of
medicinal plants includes most of those
invaluableto nj pharmacopoeias which
tropical America has given to the world.
These are the silvestres, NATURES wild
children, but Of cultivated plants there
is no species peculiar to the tropics that
does not flourish here. In the littoral
levels, between the mountains and the
sea, grows the sugar cane, which may
be cultivated up to an altitude ofS3, 600
feet. It was mtroduosd.hete fromtSanto
Domingo, having been brought to Amer
lea either from Spain y the, ganariea.
The annual yield Of sugar Is estimated
at about 70, 900 tons.
"In these fertile lowlandsa also tobAo-
co does exceedingly we'll, and the an
nual production ia said to be quite
1000, 600 pounds. It may be cultivated
on the hills, but the true mountain
lover is the4coffee, which does not do
well below 900 feet, and is at it's best
1000 feet above the sea. It was; first
brought here from Martinique in 1922,
and now yields to the extent ii! 117,000
tons annually. Maize, the true Indian
corn, is indiRenousgsas is the yucca, the
aboriginal staff Of life, : and both grow
everywhere, as we'll as the pineapple,
which is more reliable and more uni
versal than the peach Of our north tenn
perate zone. Cotton and rice are found
at nearly all elevations; the latter,
which .is the chief food Of many labor.
ers, being what is known:as-the noun
tain variety.
Bananas and plantains are wonder.
fully prolific, bearing fruit in ten
months from planting. The plants viz.
tually last go years, being equally long
+ lived with the cocoa palm, which pro.
duces nuts in six Or seven years, and
thereafter during the space Of an ordi-
nary life, its yield being reckoned at
100 nuts q year. The annual product Of
bananas is given as 200, 600, 600. and
Of cocoanuts 5000. 900. The entire
range; Of tropical fruits. is represent.
ed here, such as the guava, lime,
orange, aguacate, ~sapodilla and avocado
pear, while all %subtropio vegetables
may be raised, including those Of the
south temperate zone such, for instance,
as are grown IN Florida.
Observation-Disclosures has not been
80 exhaustively exploited as the vege.
table, but more than traces have been
found Of copper, coal and iron as well
as vast deposits Of salt. The rivers al
one time ran to the sea over beds Of
golden sand, and from the stream today
Gas in the neighboring island Of sante
Domingo, where the first American
gold was disoovered) the natives wash
out nuggets by the crude processes. Of
that distant day when Agueynaba went
prospecting withNhis false:friend Ponce
de Leon"
An English ,Opinion Of Americas Duty.
In our. opinion, the government a
Washington will not he doing thei,
duty to the people Of the Union unless
they insist upon two principles: First,
that Spanish rule shall cease absolutely
and forever In Cuba, in the Philippines
and In Porto Rico, and, secondly, that
America and America alone shall de
4 -AN W. 80 - 80 u - ~ .1A