The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-12
IN the World.


ley OF Secretary Knox reform its cur.
rency and give it peace and good GOV
eminent 1t Will be the paradise Of the
North American continent. It is al
"a a Garden Of Eden as far as It's
natural resources are concerned, and
American money is beginning to make
some parts Of II blossom like the FAM
ed rosebush at Pasadena, Cal. i have
never seen land richer than that
which l. came through on my way up
to Guatemala City. / landede at Port
barrios, on the Caribbean sea, and
came up the Motagua valley to the
loot OF the mountains through a
region OF nan I'M jungles as fine
- u to be found on the continent.
F1Ve years 6 that country Was moth
ing but jungle. 1t was a tropical
paradise, with palm trees Ger q, hun
dred feet high and a mass of vegeta-
ton like that of the lower slopes Of
the Hirnalaya mountains or Of the
well-Watered valleys Of Africa. Amer
cans v already cut down about
10000 acres Of that region n have
planted It in bananas.
AS l\came into Port BarTiOs, ] saw
a ship going out which had 1000. 600
bananas in its hold, and was told
that the output for this yea will be
enough TO give three bananas CO every
man, woman and child in the United
States. and leave some to spare. Since
coming here / nave taken a run down
to the Pacific slope. and ! find the
lower lands there exceedingly rich. A
great part Of my journey ON both
sides OF the mountains has been
through coffee plantations. which are
growing fruit superior to that Of Bra
iii and equal to that Of Arabia and
Java.
GuatemaIa in 1912.
Eo,t t~fc~ Y ~~ r%N> ,o< ~ iy
you an idea Of the country. You
can get the size from the book OF
statistics. Guatemala contains over
$4,000 square miles. 1t is as big as
New York, or about equal to the
states Of Ohio and Massachusetts,
combined. 1t is bigger than any 9TH
al Central American republic and it
contains, in fact, about one-fourth OF
al the land between Panama and
Mexico. 1t is three times the size Of
Salvador and twice as big as Costa
RIGA.
Guatemala has more people than
any other Central American state. 1t
has over 1000, 900, but six out Of
every ten of these are Indians, n
Of Spaniards and half-hreeds, who
make the Indians do the work. AL
together there are more Indians here
than the population Of Philadelphia.
and there are a little more than half
as many who are half-breeds or Ladi-
nos. The Indians and Ladinos are
very interesting, and l shall write
more of them in the future.
The Worlds Biggest Relief Map.
As to Guatemala itself we can see
It best at the race track here IN the
capital. This track is known as the
Hippodrome, and 1t inc(oses a mile
ring with various elnD1eMS OF science
and education inside it. Just oppo-
site the grandstand Is q stone temple,
put up by the president in the inter
est Of education, to the goddess MIN
erva, and on one side Of this is the
biggest relief nap Of the world.
This relief mar covers several
acres, and by climbing the platform
ut the side of it we can see Guatemala
in miniature. The map Is made OF
cement, plaster and other materials
which the weather has turned TO
stone. 1t is connected with the water
works. and as We look the man in
charge turns q. crank and real noun
tain water begins to flow through the
miniature rivers and fill the lakes. On
one side we can see the waves Oh the
caribbean sea. and on the other the
waters of a little Pacific ocean dasn
upon the shores. All OF the por.s aIe
marked by landing piers and strips
IF steel wind their way over the
%ountry representing the railroads
Along the Pacific slope you can see
the P~an-American railway, Whlch Is
fast approaching conpletion, and
which,, as soon as Mexico is quiet, vii
give us an iron track from here 10
New York. You can see the ne"
Zines building down toward salvador
and those which cross the mountains
from coast to coast.
4 Tropical Switzerland.
'rhis man shows US the exact nature
Of the country. With the
Of two strips Of lowlands lining He
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It IS al
mountains and valleys. 1t mas seen
cry which is equal to that OF Swltzer.
land, and the beauty about 1t IS Una
it is green all the year ROUND: u Hs
lar..lv volcanic. Guatemala has Is
volcanoes. ranging in height from the