Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-03-17
BACK FROM LAND
OF CHEVY CHiCLE
Beside Mahogany, British Hon
duras Sends U. s. 100000
Pounds for Base of Gum.

New York March Isl Robert
Boatman came up yesterday from Be
lie. the capital of British Honduras.
and according to Mr.. Roatman. the
biggest town you will strike on the
east coast Of the continent south of
Vera Cruz until you reach South Am
erica.
Mr.. Boa tnan is an American, and he
is in the business of exporting ma
hoganv and chicle. Most of the ma
hogany and practically all OF the CHI
Gle they turn ont down there comes
to the United States. last year this
country chewed up 1000, 900 pounds Of
chicle in the form of chewing gum.
| Chicle. according to Mr.. Boatmar. was
| originally brought TO this country as
| a sub stitute for rubber.
There is one other product of the
country" said Mr.. Boatman yesterday
at the Imperial. "logwood. or dyewood.
which is mostly shipped to Europe.
OF mahogany between & 100000 and
| 5000 000 feet were sent out last year.
| of which almost three fourths came to
the United state. There are three
American firms operating down there.
! ! have been there seven years. There
are freight lines to England. but 10
| ship to New York we have to charter
| Il steamer.
"A great quantity OF the forest lands
of British Honduras is owned by per-
sons who get a royalty for cutting
over their lands. The logs are hauled
to the rivers by oxen and then tloated
down to Belize for Honduran mahog-
any. unlike Cuban. Will noat. Some
of the mahogany Is brought from
places 200 miles in the interior. All
the mahogany trees in the neignhor-
hood of Belize were cut down years
aGo.
'Chicle comes from what Is called by
the Spanish the 'sapute, and by the
English the sapodilla, a fine looking tree
with heavy red wood. When it is tapped
a white milky substance exudes. This Is
evaporated by boiling and the product Is
shlpped in blocks. ! have not heard OF
any other use for it than to make chew
ing gum. The chicle industry is one OF
the biggest in Belize.
There is very little agriculture in the
country. The town Itself is given up 70
the exporting business. There are more
Scotch than English in the place. a few
Germans. a few ANericans, in fact He
lie Is almost as cosmopolitan a place at
youll find anywhere. There are some
Turks and Armenians back in tho bush
and some of them are very prosper GUS
The country is healthy. We try TO avoid
the mosquito, who Ia more than neigh
borly, and most OF all we have to be tom
perate to keep him from harm,ng US Il
he bites. | remember a big Texan cam,
down there several years ngo who insist
ed upon maintaining his habits of tn,
temperate zone. He said that nny mos
quito that bit him would he poisoned
Well a mosquito did bite the Texan, ant
1t was the Texan that died We dom
go in much for mosquito netting on IN,
houses, but Of course ono has TO sleel
under a mosquito bar.
Food Is rather restricted In variety
Rice and plantains ara the staples
Potatoes and other vegetables have I
be shipped from elsewhere As for meal
occa sionally on OK gets too old to d
any more hauling and they bring mir
down to Belize. and slaughter him. an
that is the principal article we get in tn
way Of meat.
For amusement there are the go
links, and then we have a Eymkhana o
national holidays. and on New Year
day we have horse racing. Some of tn
, residents have summer cottages on III
Gays ten miles out.
Just now they are starting . ne
industry-banana growing. The colon
Is building narrow gauge railroa
into the interior. 1t has been hnishe
Y for twenty-five miles and taps goo
0 agricultural lands. Land 10 being bougi
= up in small tracts. One English compan.
l. however, owns One-thrd OF all the Ian
@ in the colony. or something like $50 O
4 square miles, There are no settlement
y In the Interior but the English compan
z talks about giving some Of its land wa
3 to attract settlers There Is PRACTICAL
none Of that land under cultivation"