t4 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



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

 Bmtns was torn from her anchorage and blown upon the reef, with- 

 3ut, however, suffering serious injuiy. 



On the 13th of November following occurred the hurricane which 

 jaused the loss of the U. S. S. Yosem ite, which wag lying at anchor 

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

 3ut to sea, where she foundered. Five of her crew were lost. The 

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

 jf all kinds were destroyed and most of the vegetation was stripped 

 bare of foliage. Government buildings were injured and many native 

 louses destroyed. Of the 255 deaths which occurred on the island 

 luring 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 

 datives, who received the proffered aid with 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 

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

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

 l;ically the only export of the island, was produced in Guam. Coffee 

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

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

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

 Ix) begin to bear. 



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

 Gruam in May, July, September, and October. In examining the 

 Philippine weather records Doctor Abbe was able to identifj' the 

 stormy periods of Guam as days when typhoons must have passed 

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

 pines apparently have their origin in the vicinity of the Marianne 

 [slands. Doctor Abbe has suggested in his report that a station be 

 established on the island of Guam for meteorological observations, to 

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

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

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



HTDKOGKAPHT. 



CoNTOUK OF THE ocean's BOTTOM. — In taking soundings with a view 

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

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

 J,100 to 3,200 fathoms deep, somewhat broken in places by submarine 

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



a Annual Report of the Assistant Setretary of the Navy, 1901, pp. 75-76. 



