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  ANNUAL, 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1922. 
  

  

  portation 
  of 
  so 
  great 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  a 
  staple 
  article 
  entails 
  a 
  large 
  

   trade 
  balance 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  Coffee 
  plantations 
  lend 
  a 
  

   pleasing 
  aspect 
  to 
  the 
  landscape, 
  and 
  give 
  the 
  impression 
  of 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   istence 
  of 
  primeval 
  forest 
  in 
  a 
  region 
  where 
  all 
  the 
  natural 
  covering 
  

   of 
  trees 
  was 
  removed 
  years 
  ago. 
  The 
  coffee 
  plant 
  is 
  a 
  denizen 
  of 
  the 
  

   forest 
  and 
  requires 
  shade 
  for 
  protection 
  from 
  the 
  sun, 
  hence 
  it 
  is 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  plant 
  trees 
  for 
  its 
  shade. 
  Unless 
  familiar 
  with 
  coffee 
  

   cultivation, 
  one 
  may 
  travel 
  for 
  miles 
  through 
  a 
  region 
  given 
  over 
  to 
  

   its 
  growth 
  and 
  yet 
  be 
  unaware 
  that 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  actually 
  under 
  culti- 
  

   vation, 
  for 
  the 
  coffee 
  bushes 
  are 
  scarcely 
  noticeable 
  beneath 
  the 
  

   shade 
  trees, 
  unless 
  they 
  happen 
  to 
  be 
  loaded 
  with 
  the 
  clusters 
  of 
  

   spicy-fragrant, 
  waxy-white 
  blossoms 
  that 
  they 
  bear 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  

   of 
  the 
  year. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  fortunate 
  for 
  Salvador 
  that 
  the 
  prevailing 
  crop 
  is 
  such 
  a 
  

   one 
  as 
  coffee 
  and 
  not 
  wheat 
  or 
  corn, 
  which 
  would 
  necessitate 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  clearing 
  of 
  the 
  land. 
  In 
  spite 
  of 
  their 
  substantial 
  appearance, 
  

   many 
  of 
  the 
  hills 
  and 
  mountains, 
  like 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  plains, 
  are 
  nothing 
  

   but 
  beds 
  of 
  volcanic 
  ash, 
  finely 
  packed, 
  and 
  so 
  hard 
  in 
  a 
  vertical 
  

   exposure 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  almost 
  unaffected 
  by 
  weathering, 
  but 
  when 
  

   cleared 
  of 
  vegetation 
  they 
  sometimes 
  melt 
  away 
  after 
  heavy 
  rains 
  

   almost 
  like 
  snow. 
  In 
  certain 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  the 
  hills 
  have 
  

   been 
  greatly 
  eroded 
  by 
  running 
  water 
  and 
  rain, 
  resembling 
  the 
  

   "bad 
  lands" 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  United 
  States. 
  Enormous 
  gullies, 
  sev- 
  

   eral 
  hundred 
  feet 
  deep, 
  are 
  separated 
  by 
  knifelike 
  walls 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  

   yards 
  in 
  thickness, 
  which 
  gradually 
  — 
  and 
  not 
  too 
  gradually 
  — 
  dis- 
  

   solve 
  away. 
  If 
  it 
  were 
  not 
  for 
  the 
  extensive 
  planting 
  of 
  trees 
  neces- 
  

   sary 
  to 
  shade 
  the 
  coffee 
  plantations, 
  the 
  whole 
  country 
  would 
  

   shortly 
  become 
  unfit 
  for 
  cultivation, 
  and 
  in 
  no 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  

   is 
  there 
  greater 
  need 
  for 
  conservation 
  of 
  trees 
  and 
  other 
  natural 
  

   vegetation, 
  or 
  for 
  efficient 
  substitutes 
  for 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  Salvadorean 
  climate 
  is 
  tropical, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  altogether 
  

   satisfy 
  the 
  generally 
  accepted 
  ideas 
  of 
  what 
  a 
  tropical 
  climate 
  ought 
  

   to 
  be. 
  It 
  is 
  hot 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  parts, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  mountains 
  it 
  is 
  de- 
  

   lightfully 
  cool 
  and 
  pleasant. 
  The 
  most 
  marked 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  

   climate 
  is 
  the 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  into 
  two 
  seasons, 
  dry 
  and 
  wet. 
  

   From 
  April 
  until 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  October 
  there 
  are 
  frequent 
  rains, 
  and 
  

   often 
  heavy 
  ones. 
  Sometimes 
  there 
  are 
  temporales 
  or 
  prolonged 
  

   rainy 
  periods 
  that 
  last 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  two 
  weeks, 
  but 
  in 
  general 
  there 
  

   are 
  brief 
  showers 
  almost 
  every 
  day 
  or 
  night, 
  with 
  good 
  weather 
  the 
  

   greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  time. 
  It 
  is 
  during 
  the 
  rainy 
  season 
  that 
  most 
  

   of 
  the 
  crops 
  other 
  than 
  coffee 
  are 
  planted 
  and 
  cultivated. 
  From 
  the 
  

   first 
  of 
  November 
  to 
  April 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  rain, 
  except 
  for 
  an 
  occasional 
  

   insignificant 
  shower. 
  Soon 
  after 
  the 
  cessation 
  of 
  the 
  rains 
  the 
  ground 
  

   dries, 
  and 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  elapse 
  before 
  the 
  roads 
  are 
  deep 
  in 
  dust. 
  

  

  