Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-29
IMPORTED PINE TREES GROWING IN AN ANDEAN MOUNTAIN

of the leading men of the west coast
republics the conversation is quickly
directed into discussion of the needs
of those countries for foreign capital,
and articularly for American capital.
A brief account of some of the lines
along which Peru expects to develop is
necessary to give the American reader
an idea of the attitude of Peruvian pub
lie opinion toward American trade with
that republic.
In May Of this year the republic OF
Peru took the initial step leading to
her ambition to become an agricultural
country. President Benavides signed
j contract with a New York firm of
engineers for the construction of a doZ-
en- irrigation projects on the coastal
desert of Peru. Millions will be eX-
pended on this experiment before any
of the ground will be.ready. for plant
ing.
The plan is to bring water from the
Andes where it is abundant, down to
the coast, where the rain never falls.
The signing of the contract. made pos
sible by loan recently obtained by
the Peruvian government was the most
important event in the internal devel-
opment of Peru since the construction
of the two railways from the coast to
the upper Andean plateau.
The American who travels down the
Peruvian coast, seeing day after day
a 6reary- monotony of desert so arid
that not even cactus grows there. and
then penctEateS into the mountains
with their treeless valleys and bare,
forbtdding peaks. can usually get up
little enthusiasm on the subject or
Peruvian agriculture.
Yet many Americans who live in
Peru think there are agricultural pos
sibilities there much beyond the pres
ent state of development; while the
average Peruvian of the educated class
believes that the ultimate future of
his country lies in filling the soil. just
as the immediate future will consist
in exploiting the mineral resources of
the mountains.
There seems to be no question that
considerable areas of the coast desert
need only the application of water to
become regions of great fertility and
productivity. The intensity of crop
production along the banks of the few
streams that flow from the mountains
to the Pacific ocean shows great fer
tility in the soil.
There is said to be no finer sugar
land on earth than some of that along
these Peruvian streams. On u short
railroad trip from the port town of
Salaverry to Trujillo. attractive
little city north of Lima and dozen
miles inland from the ocean, l saw crops
"
a small river comes down from the
mountains. Much of the year it's mouth
Is dry, all the water being diverted
into the irrigation bitches.
Climatic conditions in this region.
which is all well within the torrid
zone, are nearly ideal The air is tenn
pered to a delightful GOODNESS by the
waters of the cold Humboldt current.
which washes the entire peruvian
shore as far north as Cape Blanco-
The annual temperature variation is
very slight. and the result is that the
country is practically without crop
seasons. the maturity OF plants de-
pending merely upon the time when
they are planted.
At Trujillo in a thirty-minute ride
saw newly planted Indian corn, the
blades just breaking through the
ground: other corn just going into
tassel: still other fields of corn heavily
silked and ripe. and. finally, fields of
recently been plucked. In the north
ern part 6f Peru. near Patta and Piura,
the Indians are able to make a living
by frrigating in primitive fashion with
buckets of water carried from a small
stream that cuts green line across
Lima there is wide area watered
by bitches leading from the Rimac
river, and giving that city an album
dance Of fruits and vegetables.
Z
The objections offered by practical
men to the present reclamation plan
of Peru are that the money provided
now will likely be insufficient to bring
the projects to completion, and also
that it will be difficult to get good