The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-06-25

'Vare2, a. hlSH School graduate at Inc
school instruction.:
| Puerto Rico consists of three geological
formations. First, system OF deeply
| ribbed mountains; second lower hills,
and third, playa plains, consisting of al
luvial soil an old estuaries.. 1t is rough
ly estimated that niDe-teDths of the ISL
and Is mountainous and the remaining
tenth is of the foothill and playa char
acter The central mountains are COM
posed of volcanic rock, intersected by
dykes of a hard black lava, and masses
| of crystalline limestone There are no
| extinct volcanoes, and IL is improbable
| that there were ever any active ones
| The foothills are composed of limestone
and marls deposited by repeated SinklngS
| and upheavals in early ages. This rock
varies in texture, but most Of il is suit
able for building purposes. and some
makes an excellent road Gaping. The
soil, formed by the disintegration of this
rock. is good, although somewhat clayey.
The playa deposits are alluvial, and
usually consist of rich. chocolate-col-
ored, SANDY loan which is fortified every
year by large freshets. Iron ore has
been found n considerable quantities;
| also some copper and lead. There are
seams of Ignite and plumbago in the
western cordillera. Gold is found in the
streams, and the early Spaniards did
some placer mining, but it is not profit
able now. The Indians used to dive in
| the rivers and bring up handfuls of peb-
| bles, which they examined for small
nuggets The mother lode has not been
| found, and probably the United States
Geological Survey will locate it when the
island is thoroughly explored. There are
numerous mineral springs, the most ia
nous being at Coamo, near Ponce. The
| limestone hills are riddled with wonder
! full caves tenanted by millions of bats.
and often containing subterranean riv-
ers These have not been explored, but
| it is said that they rival those of Ken
| lucky in splendor.
Puerto Rico lies well within the trop-
les, bat it's climate is greatly modified
I by the prevailing northeast trade-winds.
At the same latitude ips2entral America,
the heat cannot be endured by an unac-
climated person. In winter the atmo-
sphere is very damp, almost clammy. The
annual relative humidity averages about
IS per cent in San Juan. The annual tenn
perature on the north coast ranges in
different years from rs to 80 degrees
Fahrenheit. The mean monthly temper
allure ranges from rs degrees in January
to So degrees In August. The maximum
temperature on record is SO degrees and
the minimum 81 degrees. which indicates
a uniform climate. The inhabitants of
the highlands in the interior enjoy a eli
mate about ten degrees cooler than that
of the coast. The mean annual temper
ature in the mountains is as low as u
degrees. The nights are very cool
throughout the year. The average an
nual rainfall at San Juan is 60 inches.
On the south coast the average is 20
inches, and on the north side 1t ranges
from IS to 123 inches annually. AT Cabo
Rojo, in the southwest no rain fell for
three years. In April and November the
rain sometimes falls in torrents for two
weeks, making the roads impossible even
for the peasants on foot. 1t is very warm
in August and becomes cooler in No
vember, when the wind blows steadily
from the northeast and east. The dews
are very heavy, and thick mist may
be seen rising in the morning, to be dis
persed by the rays of the sun. Our SOL
diers suffered less from sickness when
In Puerto Rico than when living In bar