Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-11

the only industry, and according to an
enthusiast, all one has to do is to burn
off a piece of ground plant the nuts
twenty feet apart and wait five wears
Tor results. After that he is fixed for
life, with an income safer than govern
ment bonds The nuts are never
picked, but as they mature they drop
Off and this shower of fruit goes on
month after month for a lifetime.
Bananas, pineapples, mangoes, plums
ana oranges grow without the slightest
cultivation.
While ccocoanut growing may have
some disadvantages not enumerated in
the above prospectus, it is undoubtedly
an industry of great possibilities. The
by-products of this tropical luxury are
used in every conceivable way Its san
and meat provide the native with de-
icious food and drink. It's dried meat
is called copra. The shells are valuable
as household utensils and can be made
INTO many kinds of ornaments. Thee
tree provides lumber for the construc-
tion of houses, and the foliage makes
an excellent roofing. There are eighty
three distinct uses to which the sub
stance of this wonderful tree may be
put, ranging from the manufacture Of
toothpicks to the preparation of dye
and hair oil
The custom Of giving concessions a
practice which recently caused so much
trouble for Mr.. Zelaya of Nicaragua,
obtains also in Honduras, though 1t
may not be abused as 1t was in the
neighboring state. One thing the Hon
duraneans have long desired is railway
connection throughout the republic.
With all the large national debt, made
to secure railroad, the capital city of
Honduras still remains without rail
connections with the seaports, and the
journey must be made by automobile
or other conveyance. It is only in re-
cent years that even a good public
highway has been open.
The result is that the Honduraneans
will give almost anything that is de-
manded to get railroad. Recently a
concession of 1000 acres Of land was
made for every mile of railroad the con-
cessionaire would build in one of the
provinces. AS the route for which the
concession was granted presents no
serious engineering difficulties, and the
land through which it passes is fine
banana land, capable Of being made
to yield profit of $50 an acre per year,
the concessionaire may secure for him
self a fixed income of 100000 a year
for every mile of railroad he builds,
even though the line yields him no net
profits during the period he is allowed
to operate it under the concession.
In another instance a concession of
to an American for an annual rental
ton an American for an annual rental
of less than five cents per acre, the
concession to last for a long period,
and the concessionaire to have the
privilege of buying the land at unim-
proved land prices at the end of that
period. Honduras well realizes that its
concessions are tremendously liberal,
and that they offer opportunities for
the making of great fortunes, but it
also understands that Americans and
Europeans will not invest their money
in tropical America unless they are
assured of great returns. Unlimited
natural wealth is of no account unless
there is capital to develop it.
British Honduras is not associated
with Honduras itself except in name.
1t was originally part of Guatemala,
instead of Honduras, as the name
might imply. 1t is British territory by
reason of the English lumbernen who
settled there a hundred years ago. They
saw the opportunity to get themselves
under the protection of the mother
country by claiming the territory in
the name of the crown, and asserted
Britain's title to it before Monroe de-
livered his celebrated pronunciamento
The territory extends as far back into
Oudl6Illdld as lliC luliiDSA A'4~it oSe''NN
reach in their quest for mahogany
Today the section Of country lying
close to the coast has been stripped
of its trees, but there are still plenty
of them inland. Belize, the capital OF
the colony, continues to be the fore
most mahogany market of the world.
Other precious woods are shipped in
large quantities.
Many persons have supposed that
mahogany is a wood of very slow
growth. and some of the best writers
on tropical matters have accepted this
theary. This error is due to the differ
ence of time in which the rings of these
trees are formed. In America and
Europe one ring a year is formed, ana
it was naturally presumed that the
same applied to the mahogany tree
AS a matter of fact, 1t adds three rings
a year, and the tree whose rings indi-
Gated that it was a hundred years old
was. as a matter of fact, only thirty
three years old. The high price of
mahogany is due to the infrequent oc-
currence of the tree and the danger
GUS swamps in which it grows A
single tree is often worth thousands
of dollrs. Most of the work of cutting
hewing and getting the dogs to market
is done by night, the heat Of the day
being too intense for such operations.
Tomorrow-Turbulent Central America:
VII-FertiIe Costa Rlca.