Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-12-15
FARMING THE TROPICS
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN

x-ASHINGTON Dec. lin these days of soaring
wv food prices a great deal of attention is being
y directed to the tropics the future source of
great part of the worlds The tropics have been
called the bread basket the earth for the eomlns
generation, perhaps for this The luxurlant
of tropical vegetation the steaming climates "heie
plants and trees grow visiby over night, the more VI
less idvc life of the native these ATTITUDES who Is
supposed to exist almost without eXertlon because
go forth and obtain his meals dor the uoupe
picking them all pointed to as mere suesesttols "
what tropics oring forth under sclentinc anu
intensive cultivation.
These matters are being brought to timely climax
b two movements running by side, both of which
are rapidly approaching point where they seem 10 aA
possible and demand readJustment OF the place "
tropc ATTITUDES in tc the worlds food supply
One of these is the steady rise In the price
of MANY foods Such high prices continual hard
shin to great of society and the obvious way
to relieve the situation is to open new sources Oh
supply to channels of food production OPEN
to increase worlds available food stores by drawing
new foods and foods from lands now lying IDLE
Such found in immense tracts IN the tropics
in a region which has always been considered TO De
one of great fertility and great possibilities in the line
of agriculture
The second movement, the which seems to make
the relief high food prices possible through hep
from the equatorial regions is what is often spoken OF
as the conquest of the tropics Some men who nave
studied the situation enthusiastic over the
riches of the conquered tropics that they see 'e
solution of the worlds whole food problem in these
favored attitudes
The great probIem in the conquest the tropics
has always been a problem health. The European
or North American. native of temperate zones has
found great difficulty in living in health IN uopcai
ragions Fevers have drained his energies until he
became too languid to take advantage OF the rich
opportunities spread before him by nature Europeans
have held immense tropical country for many
years without doing much more than exploit the
natfves-certainly without working any perceptlole
change the problem of producing FOOD Tor nation
or a people. In the Belgian Congo, for example,
hold a
Africa but this tract has never been Of any
advantage to Europe producer of foodstuffs The
climate such that attempts to farm on large
scale have never been seriously considered
The great change in the view of the tropics came
with the building Panama canal American SAN
tary measures vigorously enforced, proved that by
taking the proper precautions the white man may I'VE
and work in the tropics as well as MS native zones
While admitting that such tracts Central Africa
nresent greater difficulties than Panama for their
favers are more virulent ailments. such
the sleeping found there and not on the
American continent, many persons saw in this first
victory at the beginning of march that would
only end with the domination of the European
over tropcaI climates well tropical peoples.
And by this throwing open of great fertile tracts of
land to cultivation, the worlds food problem
might be solved
There are several considerations that to bear
ont this view For thing, of staple foods
and other AGRICULTURAL products had their origin in the
tropics and of them, of course, are grown no
where else today. Among those that grown on
much larger scale In temperate zones Ho"' but hau
ropic origin cotton, corn beans squash potatoes
sweet tomatoes The other class includes
such products and Spices bananas, pine
apple cane, and so on All of these were
originally tropical plants, and the question naturally
arises why they cannot all be raised in the tropics
today as we'll in the temperate zones.
Another factor that to point great possibn
tiles in tropical agriculture is the development of
better means of transmission and transportation
facilities in general. The automobile and the small.
efficient relatively useful in tropical
agriculture in that of the There
seems to ground for the view that the combi
nation of improved sanitation and machinery will open
the tropics the of immense food supply.
The question is of such general interest impor-