18 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



is highly fertile and productive. Sugar and 

 rice are the staple industries, while coffee, 

 hides, bananas, and wool are also exported. 



Steamers connect the islands with the 

 American continent, Australasia, and China. 

 In 1897 there were 62 registered vessels be- 

 longing to the islands, of 34,066 tons ; of 

 these, 21 of 28, 510 tons were built in England. 

 There are about 100 miles of railway in the 

 islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu. There 

 are telegraphs in the islands of Maui, Hawaii, 

 between Hawaii and Oahu, and round the lat- 

 ter island ; total length , 250 miles ; nearly 

 every family in Honolulu has its telephone. 

 In 1897 the total number of letters, etc., trans- 

 mitted and received by the Post Office was 

 5,079,872 ; there were 73 post offices. Postal 

 savings banks, 1897: depositors, 10,620; 

 amount, $953,981. Honolulu is lighted by 

 electricity, and has lines of tramways. The 

 various islands will shortly be connected by 

 telegraphic cable. 



PORTO RICO. 



Area, Population, Etc. The island 

 of Porto Rico (added to the United States by 

 Spain in accordance with the Treaty of Paris, 

 signed Dec. 10, 1898, and ratified by the 

 Senate Feb. 6, 1899, and by the Queen Regent 

 of Spain March 17), according to a recent re- 

 port of the British consul (Foreign Office, 

 Annual Series, No. 1,917, 1897), has an extent 

 of about 3,668 square miles 35 miles broad 

 and 95 miles long. The population, according 

 to an enumeration made in 1900, was 953,243 



Government. An act providing for a 

 civil government for Porto Rico was passed 

 by the Fifty-sixth Congress, and received the 

 assent of the President, April 12, 1900. 

 Under this act a civil government was 

 established, which went into effect May 1, 

 1900. 



Geographical Formation. The island 

 is traversed from east to west by a moun- 

 tain range, dividing the island into two 

 unequal portions, by far the longest slope 

 being on the north, so that the rivers on that 

 coast are much the longer. From this chain 

 several branches diverge toward the north 

 coast, giving it a rugged appearance. The 

 most of the population is situated on the low- 

 lands at the sea front of the hills. For lack 

 of roads, the interior is accessible only by 

 mule trails or saddle paths, and it is covered 

 with vast forests. 



Rivers and brooks are numerous, forty-seven 

 very considerable rivers having been enumer- 

 ated. They are short and rapid, especially on 

 the Caribbean slopes, which are steep and 

 abrupt. The mountains intercept the north- 



east trade winds blowing from the Atlantic 

 and wring their moisture from them, so that 

 the rainfall of the north section is very copious. 

 South of the mountains severe droughts occur 

 and agriculture demands irrigation, but such 

 work is unsystematically carried on. 



The northeast coast is broken and forbid- 

 ding ; that of the south safer. The chief port 

 on the north coast is the capital, San .Juan. 

 On the west is the important harbor of Maya- 

 guez. On the south side are Guanica, Ponce, 

 and Guayama. The island of Vieques, which 

 lies off the east coast of Porto Rico, is 21 

 miles long and 6 miles wide. 



Climate. The climate is hot, but much 

 alleviated by the prevailing northeast winds. 

 A temperature as high as 117 Fahrenheit has 

 been recorded, but it seldom exceeds 97 Fah- 

 renheit in the shade during the hottest hours. 

 At night it sinks to 68 or 69. The rainj 

 season lasts from August to December, and the 

 rainfall' is at times so copious north of the 

 mountains as to inundate cultivated fields and 

 produce swamps. The mean annual average 

 rainfall is 64^ inches. The prevailing diseases 

 are yellow fever, elephantiasis, tetanus, marsh 

 fever, and dysentery. 



Productions. Porto Rico is unusually 

 fertile, and its dominant industries are agri- 

 culture and lumbering. In elevated regions 

 the vegetation of the temperate zone is not 

 unknown. There are more than 500 varieties 

 of trees found in the forests, and the plains 

 are full of palm, orange, and other trees. The 

 principal crops are sugar, coffee, tobacco, cot- 

 ton, and maize, but bananas, rice, pineapples, 

 and many other fruits are important products. 



The principal minerals found in Porto Rico 

 are gold, carbonates, and sulphides of copper 

 and magnetic oxide of iron in large quantities. 

 Lignite is found at Utuado and Moca, and also 

 yellow amber. A large variety of marbles, 

 limestones, and other building stones are de- 

 posited on the island, but these resources are 

 very undeveloped. There are salt works at 

 Guanica and Salinac on the south coast, and at 

 Cape Rojo on the west, and these constitute the 

 principal mineral industry in Porto Rico. 



Inter-Commuiiication. Railways are 

 in their infancy, and cart roads are deficient. 

 There are 137 miles of railway, with 170 miles 

 under construction, and 470 miles of telegraph 

 lines. These connect the capital with the 

 principal ports south and west. Submarine 

 cables run from San Juan to St. Thomas and 

 Jamaica. 



Cities. The capital of Porto Rico is San 

 Juan Bautista, founded by Ponce de Leon. 

 It is situated on the small island of Morro, 

 connected with the mainland by the San 



