The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-01-07

was sold by the yard 1t was cured
VILE rum and molasses and twisted up
in rones about 100 feet long and as
thick as your finger. 4 half cents
worth OF this tobacco would equal the
amount contained in the ordinary pock
CT plug OF an American chewcr.
Since then tobacco has gone up and
science has come in to help raise it..
our Department of Agriculture has in
troduced the methods OF Cuba and
now a great deal is grown under tents
of chcesccloth This Is especially so
OF the tobaccos which are used for
cigar wrappers In some OF the val
leys there are so many tents that at
distance they seem 10 be filled with
snow The chcesecloth is stretched
over poles which uphold network of
wire about ten feet from the ground.
The people are using fertilizers and
they are taking care as to the sclcc-
ton OF seeds. They pay more for their
work In the factories, but wages are
far lower than with up, and they make
cigars and cigarettes at Il very high
price.
Uncle Sans Best Fruit Garden.
another thing that Is paying we'll is
fruit. This is new Industry for Porto
Rico. 1t amounted TO practically moth
ing at the time We took hold OF the
island. something like 100000 worth
OF oranges being annually exported
Now the orange exports alone amount
to six times that sum. and the total
fruit exports are something like ST.
100000 a year.
We are now taking 100000 worth of
fresh pineapples from Porto Rico every
twelve months. and these arc the fin
est sold in our markets. Some OF
thcm are as big as peck measures, and
! they arc sweet and full OF juice, Pine
apples grow all over Porto Rico One
! sees great beds of them in the val
leys and along the foothills of the
| mountains. They are not carefully
cultivated and grow almost Wild Tho
pineapple expectations have incrca scd
100000 during the last year.
The grape fruit business has also in.
creased enormously. and it Will COM
pete seriously with that OF Florida anI
Cuba. The freight rates from Porto
Rico 20 New York are said to nc low
er than from Florida 10 New York. and
the Cuban grapefruit has to pay a
duty, while the Porto Rican comes in
free. Moreover. the Porto Rican grape.
frnit is said to he far better thar any
other. and il stands shipping we'll
Moncy In Cocoanyt. mud Coffee
\ great deal of money is being made
in cocoanuts Thousands OF trees ara
b-nE planted along tho coasts. and
they bring in OH the average dollar
per tree every year One man makes
$4,000 n year out of his cocoanut
orchard.
laid out on the ground and after a
short time each sends down a sprout
from one of the little eyes at It's end
At the same time n root shoots out and
goes down into the ground and with
in few months the sprout grows 10
tho height OF your waist. The root
can now he broken off, and the nut
planted where the tree is TO stand. It
is set out SO as to give almost 200
trees to the acre, and 1t begins to
hear at hvc years. The nuts ripen all
the year round. They drop off them
selves and the men have only to &c
daily from tree to tree to pick them
up There is q steady market for
them. great quantity being dried for
copra.
Another big crop OF the future is
coffee. This was formerly one OF the
chief resources of thc island. but in
1922 there was terrible hurricane
which uprootcd the trees and practical
Is destroyed fhe plantations. since
then new coffee trees have been set
out ani the exports last year We're
over S5.000.dp0 In value. which is about
five times what they were in 1901.
T he best coffee IS raised in the high
lands at an elera ton Of from i.50O TO
5000 feet above the sea. The china lie
is so hot that tine coffee has TO be
grown under shade. and 1t is growing
the shade trees that has caused the
delay IN the reproduction OF the plan
tations.
Another difficulty is the rains. which
arc so frequent that the coffee is liable
to be wet when drying. The trays
upon which the beans are laid have to
be watched. and taken in whenever
, IL rains. They cannot be left out at
| night on account OF the dow. For this
reason 1t costs more to raise coffee In
Porto Rico than in Brazil. but the cof.
&c IS far better. and It ought to bring
almost double the price OF Brazilian
coffee.
understand that the Porto Rlcans
are about to organize campaign tc
| introduce this coffee into the United
States. They havo already establishes