Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-09-07
RESOURCES OF PORTO RICO.
Its Crops And Forests Investigated
By Agricultural Department.

IL LIS uOLtS Ou me & OItSL COuulllOuS
Of Porto Rico, soon to be published by
| the department of agriculture, Robert
| T. Hill gives a great deal Of valuable
| information about the island other
than that pertaining strictly to It's
| timber and timber lands. He spent
several months on the island and
| learned much from observation and ex-
ploration and also from conversations
with the natives. No longer is Porto
Rico manttled by forests from the sea
to the brow Of the mountains, but
enough is left Of the primeval forests
to indicate how luxuriant the growth
must have been.
Porto Rico is the eastward continu-
alton of the Antillean chain of uplifts.
1t is the most productive, the most
densely settled and the most estaEb-
lished IN its customs and institutions Of
all the Antilles. The coast line Of $50
miles is void of fringing keys and deep
indentations. Throughout the noun
tains numerous and copious streams
ramify in every direction. The largest
and longest drain into the north coast,
the next largest flow to the west, while
the streams of the south and east sides,
although copious, are comparatively
short
The plaza plains" are the wide, allu-
vial plains found at intervals along the
entire coast. They are usually fan
shaped, with their broader base next to
| in MD 7
stand only a few feet above the ocean.
These plains were formerly old alluvial
river estuaries, which, in late geologic
time constituted bays indenting the
land, and have been reclaimed by the
! general elevation Of the island. Ponce
is situated on a typical piazza plain,
which extends short distance back of
the city up the valley Of the Rio Por-
tugues.
Mr.. Hill has given to certain long
and narrow valleys sometimes occur
ring between the foothills and the
front Of the central mountains the
name of parting valleys" These
valleys are especially well developed
| on the south side OF Porto Rico, such
as the plain Of Saba Grande and the
depressions of Guanica lagoon. The
former is almost exclusively devoted to
the raising of Indian corn. There is a
radical difference between the red clay
mountain soils and the calcareous foot
hill soils, the latter being of the open
teXtured, white limestone type which
abOunds from Florida southwark, but
which is not common in the United
States.
The mountain soil is one of the most
marked features OF the island, and to
it is largely due many of it's agricul-
tural and forest conditions. It resem-
bles the red clay regions Of the South
ern Appalachians, but is derived from
quite different rocks and is apparently
much richer in phosphates and lime.
Decay is so rapid under perpetual
warmth and moisture that the volcanic
rocks quickly rot into soil of this char
acter. The decayed superfcies of the
rocks usually extends down SO or 100
feet, affording a splendid medium for
roothold and penetration. Owing to
this soil the mountains were originally
I wooded and are now cultivated to their
very SUBMITS, their vertical slopes
presenting no obstacle to cultivation
by the natives.
The most productive crops Of coffee
and tobacco are grown upon declivities
upon which the American farmer
would not risk life or limb. Porto
Rico has in many places been overcul-
tlyated. Extensive sugar estates have
been given over to grass and weeds be-
cause excessive cultivation has eX-
hausted the land. The reclamation of
these lands by forestry or scientific
agriculture is one Of the problems pre-
sented to the new owners Of the island
Porto Rico is densely populated, and
the whole area, with the exception of
probably less than 1 per cent, has been
devoted to either agricultural or pas
tOral pursuits. It's three staple pro-
ducts are sugar, coffee and tobacco, the
production Of which takes up one-half
the cultivated land, the remainder be-
ing devoted to the growing of small
products for domestic consumption
The sugar lands are fully occupied.
there being 433 sugar estates, accord
ing to the census Of 1888. The best
coffee anC tobacco are grown upon the
soils Of the interior mountains. The
export coffee requiring strong, itch
soils. is cultivated to the very SUBMITS
of the mountains There are now
about 361 large coffee estates and 4,184
small coffee farms. The plantations
have forestry aspect, due to the fact
that the crop requires much shade,
and natural and planted trees are used
for this purpose. The best tobacco is
cultivated in the mountains. It's Guilt
walton requires deforestation Alto
gether there are $3.50 farms in Porto
Rico, Of which $40, at the last census,
were devoted exclusively to the raising
of cattle
According to Mr.. Hill, there is but
one place in all Porto Rico where there
| is any of the virgin forest remaining,
and that is on the summit of FL Yum
| que, 5000 feet above the sea- The
enormous annual rainfall of 120 inches
protects it, as the steep trails are al
| most impossible. Besides the common
| fruit trees the most conspicuous trees
OF the coast-border region are algor-
roba, bixia, ceiba, wax tree, higuereta,
tamarind, manzanillo, nutmeg, ausubo
and aambovant Of the various kinds