The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-07-07
is ON
the INCREASE.
Advance In Prosperity Remark
able In Porto Rico.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS GAIN
Agricultural and Industrial Pursuits In
Better Shape Today Than Ever Bsa
fore-Eradication of Hookworm Has
Wholesome Effect.

OI E1OOhWOTFTl tO6N
Wholesome Effect.
A remarkable advance in the pros
perity Of Porto Rico is shown in a re-
port of the agricultural experiment sta
ton on the island, just published by
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson. The
total trade of the island, exports and
imports, in 1901 was $17,5OO,OOO This
increased in 1910 to 6S,6OO,OOO. 1t is
stated that this expanding trade has
greatly affected not only all the indus.
tries of the island, but has materially
increased the living standard
The whole prosperity of the island.
says the report, is founded on the soil
and climate The natural resources
have long ago been exhausted by IL
population that is thicker than that ot
any state in the Union except two
The gold mining which was a natural
resource has dwindled to nothing. The
population, in spite of being Dense is
scattered over the island rather than
centered in the towns. Therefore the
agricultural population is large, and
the material prosperity of the people
depends on the soil.
Big Exports of Sugar.
The exports of the island in 1910
tOtaled $3T, ,960,219. OF this $24,0O0OOO
was in sugar and molasses. The sugar
crop has always been one of the chief
pal Of tIA
strip of land around the seacoast has
been devoted to sugar culture. Since
the American occupation of the island
the sugar industry has made phenome-
nal growth, and future expansion must
be by methods of more intensive cul.
tivation. The industry is so paying
that the planters want to raise sugar
all the time, and this is deprecated by
the department, which is trying to in
augurate system of crop rotation as
being a better and more conservative
system for the soil
While the exports Of coffee from the
island last year We're 5000, ,G02, there
was less than $4,000 worth of it sold
in the United States This is said to
be due to the fact that the coffee is
a very high grade black coffee, such as
is used largely abroad for after dinner
coffee and for which there is Il com
paratively small demand here.
Much Tobacco Sent Out.
Tobacco and its manufactures were
exported to the amount of $5.TG3, PHI
There also has been large increase in
the shipments of fruit. The exports of
wild oranges five years ago amounted
to. $125,311, and last year the fruit ex-
ports totaled $1,416,947, of which
oranges made up $5S2,7 ,716.
The most curious result of prosperity
has been that the live stock exports.
which few years ago were three or
four hundred thousand dollars, have
stopped entirely. The island is now
large importer of not only all sorts of
live stock, but of dressed and cured
meats. The price of horses and all
sorts Of work animals has advanced
materially, and the people are eating
so much more meat than they are rails
ing that meat has to be imported.
The general condition of the people
is much better than formerly, largely
in response to the eradication of the
hookworm, while the soil has been
made to respond more freely to i'm
proved methods of culture.