133 
20 acre clearings in the forest. A tract of land is cleared by 
chopping and burning, no attempt being made to save the timber, 
the young trees are then planted without further preparation of 
the soil, and, if cultivated for a few feet about each tree an 
the rank vegetation kept down, the young trees grow rapidly, while 
the old stumps decay and in about two years have mostly 
disappeared. The ground is then plowed and kept under clean 
cultivation, or, in some instances, smaller crops are grown be- 
tween the trees. Oranges, mandarins and grape-fruit do exceed- 
ingly well and are of very fine quality. emons are not in favor 
on account of the additional work involved in curing them. As 
yet, the citrus industry cannot be said to be on a commercially 
paying basis, on account of the abnormally high rates for the 
very poor transportation facilities now available. 
The forest, which is truly tropical, is made up of a large number 
of hardwood species, several others besides cedar and mahogany 
being of local economic value. The trees are, as a rule, densely 
set, usually long and slender, their tops often interwoven with a 
considerable variety of vines, thus shutting out the light; conse- 
quently, there is little undergrowth, the shrubs being restricted to 
a very few species, while herbaceous plants are rarely met with. 
The tree trunks and branches, however, support a rich growth 
of epiphytes, about twenty species of orchids having been met with 
as well as many bromeliads. Several cactuses also occur fre- 
al palm is common, 
mo 
4 
quently; ferns are rarely seen; th 
especially in the lowest and richest portions of the forest. 
The savanna already mentioned, which is probably not over 
three miles across in either direction, has a deep, rich, black soil, 
covered by several kinds of wiry grass and quite thickly set with 
a common palmetto, some specimens of which are of very large 
size, Clumps of hardwood trees composed of a variety of species, 
many of them shrubby, are also scattered about. These clumps 
usually have one or two larger trees as their nucleus, the com- 
monest being the mahogany, but the West Indian ebony is fre- 
quently the central tree of these groups, and it is also met with 
in isolated individuals. Mistletoes are very abundant and in 
great variety on these trees and bushes ; a purple-flowered orchid, 
