The Indianapolis journal., 1903-10-21

multi-daily shipments. but as the trade. OF
Porto Rico is developed the steamship
companies will provide frequent enough
sailings.
"As TO quality. the Porto Rico orange is
a good AS any other. OF course. there are
good and bad oranges in the island Just as
elsewhere, but am sure II is reasonapie
statement that the average orange OF Fofto
Rico is superior TO the average orange
grown in any of the citrus belts OF the
United States. But the quality OF an orange
depends largely on the grower. he can, II
he understands orange culture and mas d
favorable climate make the kind OF orahse
the public wants. There is deal OF oase-
less prejudice for or against the Iruit Oh Oh
certain districts. l have known persons
who would buy no other orange than that
grown in Florida, to eat Jamaica orange
out of a Florida wrapper and pronounce IL
the queen or fruit The ordinary lruil eater
enjoys illusions lust a. the tobacco smoker
does. On the whole. though. fruit Will sen
on its merits and without reference 10 the
stencil mark on the case or the legeho oii
the wrapper
This winter there will be thousands OF
boxes of Porto Rico oranges from WHO
trees shipped to The American market, anu
they Will sell side by side with the OrclidIu
fruit of California. Cultivated oranges from
Porto Rico will make a strong impression
on the market three or nve years hence.
Many groves have been and many are being
planted in the island. And yet the industry
has scarcely been begun.
mot everybody VINO puts his money In
the orange business in Porto Rico will win.
Many fortunes will be made. and wealth
of dollars will be dropped by the unskilifui
and the unwary. 'Wild-cattlng Is aireany
going on, and stock is being bought py
Americans in orange growing companies
that will never grow an orange. But then
people buy stock in gold and copper mining
companies and in rubber, vanilla and ma
hogany plantations that are worthless.
There are a good many Americans in
Porto Rico of no particular credit 10 tnelr
country. and these persons are so omen,
sively conspicuous in their evil ways ana
ruffianly in their disregard of the customs
and habits of thought OF the natives tndt
thousands of the islanders hold an unJust
opinion of the American character. But the
American in Porto Rico who has the Sc
rious intention TO live right, treat the ma
tive as a man, deal square and make
money in legitimate way is coming TO the
front
1.-The coffee of Porto Rico will soon make
itself felt in the United States market.
There is no better coffee in the world out
side of Arabia than that grown in our
island. Millions of Americans who beleve
they drink coffee three times day would
not know coffee If it were poured out to
them. Tons of ehicory, roasted beans and
peas are being drunk for coffee, while the
Porto Rican berries go to waste Porto
Rico's coffee Is strong in tannin, and the
American palate will not tolerate this. The
berry is shipped green to the United States
| and roasted by the American or light
process, which does not remove the tannln
| This astringent quality is overcome by the
! French or dark roasting process, and
| plans are evolving to give Porto Rican cof.
| fee this treatment and build uD demand
| for it in the United States by the distribu
! ton of samples
Before the American occupation tbs
| islands coffee found market in Spain, bu
| this market was closed when the mother
| country put heavy tariff on Porto Rlcar
! coffee. Within a few years, though, the
United States will buy every pound of cof
| fee that Porto Rico can grow for export.
There are several thousand acres planted
| in cotton for the first time in twenty-fiv,
| years The quality is good and the yielC
| fair. With proper cultivation ii is destined
/ to be paying crop. Sugar is the none,
crop of the island. The acreage has beer
/ largely increased since the American occu
| patton, but king sugar will have to tak'
second place when the cultivated Port,
Rico orange groves come into bearing