The farmer and mechanic., 1915-07-20

q a street car with seats running under
.iieHl from one end of the car to the
other and with a double bench back |
TO back running through the center
of the car.
nave spent much time in the
thlrd-class cars. They are patron
lied almost exclusively by the Para
Suayans. and as a rule the passengers
are women rather than men Nearly
all the women are smoking. and I |
saw girls of from six to sixteen with
Dig cigars in their mouths There are
women smoking cigars at the stations |
ana cigar peddlers come to the win |
dows and offer you punches of cigars
at'the rate of about cent apiece The
tobacco smoke is often so thick in
the cars you could cut it, and the fair |
smokers would be very attractive were.l
it not for the big cigars in their
mouths.
Let me give you some of the pic
lures made from the car windows
as / rode through the heart Of this
faraway land. We shall start at
Asuncion. the capital of Paraguay 1t
is city Of 100000 people on the
banks of the Paraguay river. It is
close to the river and half hour or
less takes us far into the country
Here the scenes are much like those
ital the country is settled. There are
grasslands with patches of woods
scattered here and there through
| them The cultivated fields are few
The country is mostly made up Of pas
| lures upon which sheep and cattle
| are feeding.
Here and there over the landscape
! you see the low One-storied houses Of
| the rich farmers and the huts or
| Sh oI of ho 1or
are painted red or white. Some have
long verandas in front of them with
cement columns uphOlding the roofs.
| Many have palm trees about them and
now and then above the palms is seen
the wheel of an American windmill
flying around through the air The
roofs are of red tiles which shine
brightly under the sun. Sometimes
one sees a roof of thatch which has
J a velvety hue.
In going onward you pass one OF
two cities. You ride through Para
quart an1 after some hours reach Villa
Rica, city Of 10000 or more. There
are many villages. The little houses
run along the sides of roads, which
are unpaved and unsidewalked. The
soil of the roads is red and they make
strips OF brick dust running through
the green fields Only the larger
towns have buildings Of cement OF
brick.
The villages are largely Of shack:
O | rooted with thatch or red tiles. Som,
: Of the shacks are built like our los
> cabins. having room at each ent
. . and an open space in the middle witt
! a roof covering the whole. Often onl,
4 One-third Of the house will be clOSet
! in. the other two-thirds consisting onl.
: of roofs upheld by posts. The climat
; here is like that of southern Florid
= and no artificial heat is required.
AS we ride through the country w
q see many huts that seem to have bee
painted bright red. AS we come close
- we find that they are made OF pole
= chinked with mud. Red is the colo
= Of the best lands Of Paraguay, an
- the contrast between the red soil an
:, the velvet gray Of the thatch is won
: derfully beautiful. In some respect
- the country houses make me think {
those of japan.
& A striking feature of the countr
r. is the orange tree. 1t is to be see
,e thatched huts. There are orange tree
it in the thickets, and the great golde
q halls shine out of some of the tree
r as you ride through the woods. Pars
"a quay is about the only place upO
I'd earth that the orange grows wild. TT
birds carry the seeds ard the tre,
Mt are to be found everywhere.
te And such oranges. They are ;
ne sweet as honey and loaded with juic
u They are not especially large and
st far I have found none without seed
IN They have a thin skin of bright We
is low which contains SO much oil tn
an you can squeeze a piece of the peelir
ee and little bubbles will come out {
a. the surface. You can take mate
opI Eobt tboSa h,1hh1ac
IT, There are oranges for sale at all
is the stations Bare-foOted wOmt
nd | bring them to the car windows
II great baskets which rest on the
be heads. Almost anywhere, you can g
nd all YOU can eat for the asking.
'of have often had ten for a cent. :
As one of the railroad stations | offer
n A medic, worth about half Of one
. | to a neHdlAr saving In q