44 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



house unroofed. In the harbor of San Luis de Apra the U. S. S. 

 Brutus was torn from lier anchoraoc and blown upon the reef, with- 

 out, liowcver, suft'erino- serious injury. 



On the 13th of November following occurred the hurricane which 

 caused the loss of the U. S. S. Voseinite, which was lying at anchor 

 in the harbor. This vessel was swept from her moorings and carried 

 out to sea, where slie foundered. Five of her crew were lost. The 

 sea overflowed the lowlands and Hooded the streets of Agana. Crops 

 of all kinds were destro3'ed and most of the vegetation was stripped 

 bare of foliage. Government ])uildings were injured and many native 

 houses destro3'ed. Of the 255 deaths which occurred on the island 

 during the year 1900, 34 were caused by the hurricane. This destruc- 

 tion was followed, as is always the case, by a dearth of food. It 

 caused our Government to expend nearly $10,000 for the relief of the 

 natives, who received the proffered aid wdth expressions of deep grat- 

 itude." Among the most serious results of hurricanes of this nature 

 is the stripping of coconut trees of their leaves. The inflorescence is 

 formed in the axils of the older leaves and if these are injured the 

 flower buds shrivel up and the tree fails to produce. During the year 

 which followed the hurricane not one ounce of copra, which is prac- 

 tically the only export of the island, was produced in Guam. Coffee 

 and other shrubs and trees soon recover from the effects of a storm, 

 and maize, tobacco, and rice may be replanted. Cacao, however, is 

 often killed outright, and several years are necessary for new plants 

 to begin to bear. 



The records for 1902 show that hurricanes passed near the island of 

 Guam in May, July, September, and October, In examining the 

 Philippine weather records Doctor Abbe was able to identif}^ the 

 stormy periods of Guam as days when typhoons must have passed 

 close to the island. Many of the typhoons which sweep the Philip- 

 pines apparently have their origin in the vicinity of- the Marianne 

 Islands. Doctor Al)be has suggested in his report that a station be 

 established on the island of (xuam for meteorological observations, to 

 be connected by telegraph with Manila. This could not fail to be of 

 great benefit to vessels about to put to sea, giving warning of approach- 

 ing blows and indicating what kind of weather is to be expected. 



HYDROGRAPHY. 



Contour of the ocean's bottom. ^ — In taking soundings with a view 

 to selecting a cable route across the Paciflc the U. S. S. Nero found the 

 ocean bed between Midway Island and Guam to be a great plain from 

 3,100 to 3,200 fathoms deep, somewhat ))r()ken in places l)y submarine 

 reefs and mountain ranges. The lirst thousand miles from Midway, 



"Annual Report of tlie Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1901, pp. 75-76. 



