The times., 1899-05-28

He has also been through Central America
and Guatamela. With this experience Mr.
Barris. it would seem. ought to be quail
fed to Judge the value OF the products of
the island which he has just left.
A Travellers View.
THE Isle OF Pines" said Mr.. Barris, "is
sixty miles from the Cuban coast, with
which communication is maintained by
small steamer plying once or twice week
between Batabano and New Corona. 1t is
about ffty-ive miles wide and seventy
miles long, and great tracts of its central
portion lie fifteen hundred feet above the
sea. II takes its name from the great
open pine forests which abound in the
north. Government experts have investi-
gated the northern portion of the island
and / conducted my inquiries in the south
ern part where i was astonished at the
resources that unfolded themselves before
me. In this part of the island there IS an
extraordinary growth of mahogany, cedar,
ebony various varieties of oak, lignum
vitae, and other native woods. ] found
some of these mahogany trees, the most
valuable of the woods that enter into
American manufactures, to be twenty feet
in circumference. Not even in the ma
hogany districts of South America have l
seen anything like them. They are virgin
forests, for, as yet, timber has not been
exported from the island at all. These dis
tricts have not been visited because they
cannot be approached from the northern
coast on account of the great marshes and
I swamps, But if the island is approached
from the south the timber districts can be
easily located.
THE cheaper pine wood growing in the
northern part of the island is suitable for
telegraph poles and railroad ties, and there
is an enormous quantity Of it. Our Amer
ican forests are being fast denuded to sup
| ply the market for timber Of this kind, and
/ believe the pines of this island can be
utilized to stay the ruthless destruction
that has been going on for years in our
Northern forests Its timber and mineral
products, properly developed as they would
| be under American stimulus-not to men,
| tion the tropical fruits that grow in abund-
ance, sugar cane. and tobacco, which can
be cultivated with little labor-will make
the island of great value to this country.
These mahogany forests in the south start
almost from the coast, and the construction
of tramways from the timber districts
would be problem easy Of solution. There
are several good harbors on the south
coast where, 1t is said. vessels drawing
twenty feet OF water can secure j safe an
| chorage.
The Marble Qunrries.
"The marble quarries of the island will,
believe. prove bonanza to the men who
\ take hold Of and open them up. Hitherto
the quarrying has been done only on the
surface, and the quality is not SO good as
will be developed further down. Some of
| 1t is very hard, and has stood the test of
outdoor construction in Havana, while
other varieties are suitable only for inside
finishing. Near New Corona there are i'm
mense mountains OF this marble, and also
of granite that makes excellent building
stone. The marble is both white and col
ored.
"The tropical fruits grow everywhere in
great abundance. Cocoanuts. oranges,
dates. lemons, bananas, figs, lines, and
! pineapples are TO be found In great guam
| titles l gathered cocoanuts from a tree as
rode along on horseback and the oranges
are much better than any / found in Cuba.
| Tobacco and sugar are staple products.
| There are large tracts of high lands
adaptc< 10 grazing. and the water is pure
and plentiful. The island is, perhaps, one
of the healtiest OF all the Islands of the
| Caribbean Sea. case of yellow fever was
never known there, and SO well was this
| fact known that General Lee recommended
1t for a military hospital. | believe the
| island is destined to become a famous
health resort. In the prosperous days OF
| Cuba, Santa Fe, one of the chief of the
small towns on the island, was a popular
and fashionable resort. II is noted for its
| springs of magnesia water. said to contain
| many medicinal properties, especially in
stomach troubles. Some of these springs
are warm, while others are cold. the water
being used for both bathing and drinking"