DUTCH GUIANA 1889 



As a rule, the wind-blown dust from city 

 streets and country roads is low-flying. Ex- 

 cepting in times of high winds, only a very 

 small proportion is carried higher than 100 

 feet, and, fortunately, small insects such as 

 flies, ants in their winged stage, and mosqui- 

 toes rarely reach this altitude unless blown 

 upward by the wind. Perhaps the dangers of 

 communicable disease from wind-blown street 

 dust have been exaggerated; certain it is, how- 

 ever, that dust is unpleasant and uncomfort- 

 able. What is still more important is the 

 fact that much of it is preventable. Tarring 

 or oiling dirt roads and washing hard-paved 

 streets will reduce the amount of flying dust 

 to a minimum. J.B. 



DUTCH GUIANA, ge ah'nah, a tropical, only 

 partially explored South American colony be- 

 longing to the Netherlands. In 1667 it was 

 given to the Dutch by England, in exchange 

 for New Amsterdam, the present Nev York 

 City. North of 



Dutch Guiana 

 lies the Atlantic 

 Ocean ; on the 

 east, the River 

 Marowijne, or 

 Maroni, divides it 

 from French Gui- 

 ana; on the west, 

 the River Coren- 

 tyn separates it 

 from British Gui- 

 ana, and on the 

 south inaccessi- 

 ble mountain for- 

 ests divide it LOCATION MAP 

 from Brazil. Cov- The position of Dutch Gui- 

 t ana in the continent, show- 

 ering an area of ing the proportion of South 

 49,845 square America it occupies, 

 miles, it is a little larger than Mississippi, but 

 its reported population of 86,100 in 1911, 

 which does not, however, include negroes and 

 Indians of the forests, is only one-twentieth 

 of the population of that American state. 

 Dutch Guiana is sometimes called Surinam, 

 after its chief river. 



The Land. The coastland of Dutch Guiana 

 is flat, mangrove-covered swamp land, but in- 

 habited portions are protected by dams and 

 drained by narrow canals. The interior is 

 mountainous and thickly forested. Numerous 

 streams keep the land well watered, and the 

 soil is fertile, but only a small portion is un- 

 der cultivation. The country's most impor- 

 tant waterway, the Surinam and its branches, 

 119 



DUTCH GUIANA 



drains central Dutch Guiana. About ten miles 

 from the mouth of the Surinam lies Parama- 

 ribo, the capital, supporting nearly half the 

 population of the country. 



So hot and moist is the climate that, be- 

 sides natives, the population consists chiefly 



COMPARATIVE ARKAS 



The text compares Dutch Guiana with Missis- 

 sippi. Comparison with a northern state shows 

 it to be about 600 square miles larger than the 

 s-'tate of New York. 



of peoples of countries with similar conditions 

 to combat Indians, negroes, Chinese and 

 Japanese. There are fewer than 1,000 Euro- 

 peans. 



Resources. Sugar, cacao, bananas, rice, 

 maize and coffee are grown, chiefly on planta- 

 tions on coast lands and lower river courses. 

 Those products furnish the principal wealth of 

 the country, as the forests, though filled with 

 trees of value, are still unexplored. Gold is 

 found and mined, and the yearly output is 

 estimated at over $400,000. The imports of 

 Dutch Guiana, however, always exceed its 

 exports. 



Government and Religion. Executive pow- 

 ers are in the hands of a governor (assisted by 

 a council of three members) and a vice-gov- 

 ernor. The governor is president of the coun- 

 cil; all are named by the sovereign of the 

 Netherlands. The colonial assembly, or states, 

 is the legislative body. Members of that body 

 are chosen locally by electors, in the proportion 

 of one for each 200 electors. Dutch Guiana 

 is divided into thirteen districts ami numerous 

 communes. The official language is Dutch, 

 but English is also used. Three cantonal 

 courts, two circuit courts and a supreme 

 court at the capital administer justice. 



All religions are permitted; the people are 



mainly Mohammedans, Hindus, Moravian 



Brethren and Roman Catholics, there being 



but a small number of Lutherans and Jews. 



History. Since 1667, when Dutch Guiana 



