1899. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



233 



of the south coast. The first is a region 

 of great and constant humidity, high alti- 

 tudes and stiff clay soils ; the other a 

 region of dry calcareous soils, seasonal 

 aridity and low altitude. The transition 

 between these vegetal zones is very 

 abrupt and immediately noticeable as 

 soon as one passes from one of these 

 regions to the other. It is true that the 

 rainfall is less on the south coast and the 

 country in general more arid, but there 

 is also an immense difference in the 

 capacity of the two geologic soils for 

 retaining moisture and for root penetra- 

 tion, the clay soils being always satur- 

 ated, while the limestones are porous 

 and dry. 



The climate of Porto Rico, although 

 in general warm and humid, has a milder 

 temperature and a greater constancy of 

 moisture on the highlands than in the 

 lowlands, while upon the latter there are 

 occasional periods of drought. Accord- 

 ingly, the mountains are constantly clad 

 with fresh green verdure (consisting of 

 such remnants of the primitive flora as 

 have escaped the destruction of man) 

 and cultivated trees, while the flora of 

 the border region has at times a dry and 

 yellow aspect. 



The Mountain Woodlands. 



The general growth of the mountain 

 region consists of deciduous trees of 

 many species, freely intermingled with 

 shrub and grass, and above 1,000 feet 

 with tree ferns. In some places the 

 undergrowth is made up largely of ferns 

 of numerous species, many of which are 

 so tall and dense of growth as to consti- 

 tute a veritable jungle. 



Much of the mountain landscape is 

 now occupied by cultivated crops of 

 coffee, tobacco, fruit trees, shrubs, etc., 

 broken by verdant pastures of tall Para 

 and Guinea grass, which constitute the 

 staple forage of the island. There are 

 many large cultivated shrubs and bushes, 

 attaining the size of a peach tree, which 

 give an aspect of primeval wildness to 

 one who first sees the country ; hence, 

 it is that some of these mountainous 

 portions of the island which have the 



aspect of thick primeval forests, when 

 first viewed from a distance by the trav- 

 eler from the temperate climes, are really 

 the most highly cultivated. 



Such wooded lands are often occupied 

 by the coffee plantations. The coffee 

 bush, which attains no great height, is 

 always accompanied by an overgrowth of 

 dense shade (the first essential to the life 

 of the coffee bush), so that the latter has 

 the appearance of an underbrush in the 

 midst of high forest trees. The writer has 

 often found it difficult to convince a fellow 

 traveler that he was in a coffee planta- 

 tion and not a jungle, until a tree could 

 be found full of the bright red berries 

 which distinguish the coffee plant. In 

 fact, a Porto Rican coffee plantation, 

 with its accompanying shade trees, is an 

 artificial forest. 



In preparing a coffee plantation, the 

 native forest is either thinned of all 

 except the highest trees or completely 

 cleared of all growth and new trees 

 planted for the express purpose of 

 affording shade. These trees grow so 

 rapidly that, by the time the coffee bush 

 reaches maturity at the end of seven 

 years, they are very tall forest trees, 

 giving a dense shade above the bush. 



The mountain trees are, of many genera. 

 They are largely hard woods, occurring 

 singly or in varied associations, and not 

 as collections of a single species, such 

 as the Pine forests of the United States. 



The Forest of El Yunque. 



Single specimens or small groups of 

 trees, however, which have been spared 

 the woodman's ax, may be found through- 

 out the upland portion of the island. In 

 one place, however, the original forest 

 has been preserved. This forest is upon 

 the summit of El Yunque, the highest 

 peak of the island, situated near the 

 northeast end, and has been protected 

 by its inaccessibility. Although the 

 mountain is hardly over 3,200 feet in 

 altitude, it is constantly bathed in mois- 

 ture, and the steep trails to its summit 

 through red clay and mud are almos 

 impassable for man and beast. T 

 forests on El Yunque consist of 



