OLD LAND: PUERTO RICO 249 



parrot, once believed to be extinct, is becoming increasingly abun- 

 dant on the national forest. Scale pigeons, tanagers, and several other 

 species of birds indigenous to Puerto Rico are increasing in numbers. In 

 the deep forest interiors some boa constrictors may be found. But there 

 are no poisonous snakes and few obnoxious insects to cause the visitor 

 concern. 



Tropical plants and trees grow in amazing numbers throughout the 

 national forest. More than 300 tree species, 21 different wild orchids, and 500 

 varieties of graceful ferns, some growing 30 feet tall, have been identified. 

 Many others have yet to be named. On the highest mountain slopes in the 

 Luquillos grow dense dwarf forests. Because of thin soil, excessive moisture, 

 and exposure to strong winds, the trees are no taller than a man, yet they 

 are hundreds of years old and identical botanically to giant trees of the same 

 species on more favorable sites. Many are varieties that exist no other place 

 in the world. Their trunks and twigs are covered with dripping pendants of 

 saturated moss. 



Other recreational areas are necessary to supplement the La Mina 

 development, located in the eastern end of the island, if a well-rounded recre- 

 ation program is to be within reach of the entire population. The Dona 

 Juana area in the high mountains of the Toro Negro Unit of the Caribbean 

 National Forest, opens up similar recreational possibilities of benefit to 

 people living in the central part of the island, especially around Ponce, on 

 the hot dry southern coast. Roads with connecting trails through the 

 Maricao Insular Forest, and a modest degree of recreational development, 

 have opened the scenic and climatic resources of that forest to the people 

 of Mayaguez and other western towns. 6 



Some 40 miles west of Puerto Rico, midway to Santo Domingo, is 

 Mona Island; 14,000 acres of brush-covered limestone, honeycombed with 

 deep caves and walled by precipitous cliffs 200 feet high. Fishing in the off- 

 shore waters is said to be the best in the West Indies. Barracuda, tuna, sail- 

 fish, and king mackerel can be taken by the sportsman. Wild goats inhabit 

 the limestone cliffs and afford good hunting. 



6 There are 688,000 and 602,000 people living within a 25-mile radius of Dona Juana 

 and Maricao Recreational Areas, respectively. 



