The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-25
which might not be irrigated at small expense
from mountain streams.

tnht inc poor man snOulu Keep away iron
the island. unless no goes thither will
some definite commission TO execute. A
present there are but few things which al
American can find to do there sufficiently
lucrative to provide him with the staff OF life
One Of these things Is to enlist ms a recruit II
the army ut $50 a month, and tho other IL tc
| drive Government mule wagon at $40 {
| month and ratiuns. There Is nothing else oh.
tainable. unless he can speak Spanish. in which
event he may become an interpreter for the
| army. or, possibly. II he can mix drinks we'll
| he may secure the place OF bartender IN one OF
| the new saloons. Until Congress has adopted
now laws for Porto Rico and imported capital
| has developed the resources OF the island there
is no room in 1t FOR clever. poor Americans. II
| appears that prices have risen. although the
| exchange Of silver Is in favor OF the
United States. At tho 1nglaterra Hotel in
| San Juan nnd.also. at the Hotel de France
in Ponce. which are the leading hostelres In
those two cities the daily charge for ~ o'clock
breakfast. q O'Clock dinner and sleeping room
In So. 20. The consumption OF coffee. eggs and
bread in the early morning brings tho bill UP
to 81 % in Spanish, or about s.. IS In American
currency. The service one receives in return
would. in the United Statcs be considered
overpad Mt $50. 1t would. we aro told, be
difficult to live even in n private boarding
house anywhere on the island for less than $50
Spanish, per month. On the other hand. thin
clothes are very cheap. Suits OF scrvlceabe
linen and colored stufIs are made by the tailors
for $3.50 to $40 Spanish money. Fine dress
goods command moro than American prices
Shirts. collars. cuffs and underclothes are
as costly MS they arc in tho United
States. and not nearly 30 well made. Good
hand-cobhlcd shoes may be obtained for 81 to
50 Spanish. and fine French shoes may be OBJ
tanned for half az much more. Food is at once
dcarcr and cheaper than it is in tho United
States. according as II Ia an imported or home
product For a tiny pat OF butter you pay 10
cents. and milk. which can only be got in the
morning. is ten cents quart. Cooked eggs
are from to lOcents apiece in the city Coffee
is 10 cents a cup. and chocolate 20 cents
Claret costs 80 cents a quart. and brandy 81 a
bottle. A drink OF rum. on the other hand. can
be secured for 2 centavos. Oranges are two
for a centavo, and five OF the best bananas. tho
so-called lady fingers. cnn be bought for tho
same coin.
Assuming that an American settler In Porto
Rico has capital to invest. let us inquire in
what lines OF business he may embark with a
fair assurance Of seeing his money returned
with interest 1t seems that coffee. sugar and
tobacco raising offer tho best fields for invest
ment Fruit growing is. as yet. undevcloped.
but There is no doubt that every kind Of tropi-
cal fruit may be brought to perfection in the
rich. well-watered soil. Cattle raising will,
hereafter. attract money makers in a land
where hundreds of thousands of animals may
be reared at a minimum expense. Dairy farm
Ing is another employment of capital which
has future, Notwithstanding the drawbacks
OF hot climate and the present premium up-
on ice. Canned butter now sells for from GO
cents to 81 a pound and cream is unknown,
while cheese is annually imported to the
amount OF n million and quarter pounds
As for numbering. there are no extensive tracts
covered with virgin forests, and the balance OF
trade in wood is likely to be largely in favor OF
the United States. Even wood for fuel is be-
coming scarcer every year and commands
from peso to peso and half for a small on
cart load Of about third Of cord
The three chief agricultural STAPLES OF Porto
hico should he examined in some detail.
Coffee raising ranks first among the insular
industries. There are several features which
commend the life Of coffee planter TO an
American investor. In the first pace coffee
must needs lie raised in the higher attitudes,
thus arordng cool. healthiul place of resi-
dence. Secondly. in the hills and mountains
there Is always an abundant water supply
Again. not much technical training Is required
to raise coffee successfully: this ia not true of
sugar or tobacco. Finally the life is an ensior
one for the proprietor. because he travels in
the shade OF the forest which shelters his
coffee trees from the sun as he makes
his overseeing tours. Two hundred dol
lars an acre for wel-grown trees with
adequate shade above them has hitherto
been considered n round price for plantation,
though us much as $500 has been paid under
Spanish domination. Tho price varies ac-
cordnG to location and topography. and again.
according to tho age Of the trees and the con-
dition OF the soil. The clearing Of virgin soil
Tor coffee raising in Porto Rico represents
much labor, but 1t is a far easier undertaking
than in Cuba, where dense tropical jungles arc
encountered. The author says that 81. 900 600
pounds is aconservative estimate Of the amount
OF coffee exported from the island in 1897. 1t is
evident that the industry is in its infancy COM
pared with its possibilities under the stimulus
OF American capital. Not more than 100000
acres are under cultivation. and the methods
employed for handling the crop ere very prmi-
tive. The quality 81 Porto Rican coffee, never
tholess, is held in high esteem on the continent
OF Europe France has always been the largest
purchaser OF its high grades and Spain Of tho
poorer grades. Cuba in some years has bought
more than any foreign country. In the United
states hitherto this coffee has not been sold
except IN small quantities. our coffee buyers
refusing to handle 1t at the high prices asked for
1t and obtained abroad In flavor it is as fine as
the best mixtures of Old Government Java and
Mocha: It has less of the punRent acridity OF
the Mocha and is stronger than the Java.
The value OF tho coffee produced in Porto Rico
In 1876 was computed at Sl337a.OOO. The
value OF the sugar and moasses exported or
consumed at home in the same year was only
about S5OOOOOO. 1t Is. therefore, q mistake
to suppose that tho raising OF tho sugarcnns
and the manufacturing OF its products form the
chief industry OF Porto Rico. Fifty years ago
tho soil returned nearly double the crop attain-
able to-day. Thus in 1917. II was possible TO
raise from 5000 pounds Of sugar per acre on
the poorest lands TO as much as 5000 or 1000
pounds at the best. This was ACCOMPLISHED
with little resting OF the soil. and moreover Mt
that time tho ratoons sprang up from the stock
cane for six or seven years in succession. To-
day but little land on the island yields more
than 1000 pounds Of sugar. and the average Ia
nearer the ton mark. The cane now grows from
the ratoonS only four or five years. and then
lands must be rested for four or five years be-
fore repAnting. Undoubtedly the existing
methods Of sugar production arc improvements
oVerthc earlier ones, yet even now there nrc but