1690 ISLAND DEPENDENCIES 



ISLAND DEPENDENCIES 



1982. A native hut in Porto Rico. 



eases and insects cause but little damage. Oranges are 

 found growing wild throughout Porto Rico, though most 

 numerous through the western mountains, which are 

 planted to coffee. These wild orange trees, grown 

 under the protection of the coffee shade trees, produce 

 a beautiful clean fruit which matures during the driest 

 season and develops an excellent flavor and quality. 

 These wild oranges are given no culture and the fruit 

 is sold on the tree by the coffee plantation owner to 

 packing firms in the western seacoast towns, who box 

 and ship them to northern markets. Until within 

 late years, unexperienced packers have brought Porto 

 Rican wild oranges into disrepute by shipping great 

 quantities of poorly packed or immature fruit, which 

 reached the market in bad condition. The lack of 

 good roads into the interior of the island prevents the 

 marketing of thousands of boxes of fruit annually and 

 allows quantities of boxes to be bought for a few cents 

 a box. While the wild fruit is handled for the most 

 part by the natives of the island, the cultivated 

 oranges and grapefruit are practically all grown and 

 marketed by Americans. 



Pineapples have been one of the most profitable 

 crops in Porto Rico for several years, as the price of 

 the fruit has been high and weather conditions favor- 

 able for production. The old Spanish belief that pine- 

 apples were not profitable except in the locality of 

 Lajas, a town in the western part of the island, was 

 soon disregarded by the American settlers and at pres- 

 ent this crop is found in many parts of the island. The 

 commercial plantings are confined to two varieties, 

 the Cabezona, meaning in English "large-headed," 

 and Red Spanish. The former is grown for canning 

 and the latter for shipping fresh. Most of the Red 

 Spanish variety is grown in sections near Rio Piedras, 

 where the soil is a light sandy loam, and from Baya- 

 mon to Arecibo, where the soil is an open, well-drained 

 .red sandy loam; however, they grow well in many 



other locations. The chief demands of the pine- 

 apple are well-drained, well-aerated soil, abundance 

 of sunshine and a good supply of complete fertilizer 

 where the surface soil is not naturally rich. This 

 crop is practically free from insects and diseases. 

 The plants are very prolific and can be brought 

 into bearing at any season of the year. As the north- 

 ern market shows a preference for Porto-Rico-grown 

 pineapples, the industry bids fair to become still 

 more important. Though the practice varies with 

 conditions, the usual cultivation method is to plow 

 the soil and by plow and hand labor work it into 

 beds a few inches high, leaving ditches to afford 

 drainage. The beds are made wide enough to pro- 

 vide for two to six plants set from 12 to 18 inches 

 apart. Of the 10,000 plants to the acre, which is the 

 number usually set, 90 per cent are expected to bear 

 fruit the first crop. Fertilizer is applied at the time 

 of planting and at intervals during the growth of 

 the plant. As the first crop of fruit matures, suckers 

 spring from the base of the plants and produce a 

 second crop. On the most suitable land three or four 

 crops are allowed to develop from suckers, though 

 seldom more than two are considered profitable. The 

 Cabezona variety is grown for canning principally, 

 although profitable shipments of fresh fruit have been 

 made. In the western end of the island, and especially 

 in the area from Lajas to Mayagiiez, the conditions 

 are especially adapted for the growing of this variety. 

 In this area a great quantity of the fruit is grown and 

 sold to canners by the ton. 



FBUIT SHIPPED FROM PORTO Rico TO THE UNITED STATES 

 AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES DURING THE TWELVE YEARS 

 ENDING JUNE 30, 1912. 



1983. A grapefruit grove in Porto Rico. 



At the present time, the coffee industry is flourishing, 

 as both weather conditions and prices are favorable. 

 Aside from the influence of changing tariffs, practically 

 the only drawback to this great industry is severe 

 storms which once in a series of years visit the island, 

 usually coming in the coffee-ripening season. Porto 

 Rican coffee is not well known in the United States, 

 but throughout the West Indies and in some European 

 countries it is a favorite among coffees and brings high 

 prices, selling for several cents a pound higher at 

 wholesale than Brazilian coffee. The mountainous 

 region of the central and western part of the island 

 is given up mostly to coffee and affords a splendid 

 field for its culture. The best coffee in Porto Rico 

 grows on the well-drained upland areas and reaches 

 its highest perfection at 1,500 and 2,000 feet. 

 Throughout this coffee-growing area, the air is 

 always cool and refreshing and conditions for health 

 are almost ideal. As the coffee is prepared for 

 market on the plantations and can be transported 

 to the seacoast markets or to the main roads lead- 

 ing there by pack animals, the lack of good roads 

 does not hinder this industry as it does others in 

 this section. Throughout the area devoted to coffee 

 the land is cheap, in many localities not exceeding 

 $30 an acre. Coffee may be grown in Porto Rico 



