242 The National Geographic Magazine 



improved methods of culture and refin- 

 ing, while diverse agriculture is prac- 

 ticed. Such temperate vegetables and 

 fruits as lettuce and strawberries are 

 grown by the Martinique people upon 

 the higher slopes of the mountains, 

 while upon the English islands the peo- 

 ple do without these things because they 

 say they cannot be grown. Cologne 

 water, rum, and kid skins of an excel- 

 lent quality for gloves, and other minor 

 industries add considerable revenue. 



It is also true, as the Royal Mail 

 Guide stated, that there are no tennis 

 courts or golf links in Martinique; but 

 it has a landscape dotted throughout 

 by homes of a happy peasantry, to say 

 nothing of villas and estates where one 

 can find all the refinement of modern 

 Europe. 



Neither is the administration of' Mar- 

 tinique so bad as painted. Public im- 

 provements abound everywhere, and 

 each commune possesses excellent 

 schools. There are four great public 

 hospitals upon the island and many 

 high institutions of learning. The 

 Lycee at St Pierre had a collegiate 

 faculty which was apparentl}' of excel- 

 lent standing, and in the destroyed citj T 

 were astronomic, physical, and meteor- 

 ological laboratories, such as are found 

 nowhere else in the islands. If the 

 other colonial governments had been 

 as enterprising in this respect, a store 

 ■of knowledge would have been acquired 

 during the present catastrophe which 

 would at least have paid for the mainte- 

 nance of such stations. Much attention 

 was also paid to agricultural science in 

 the Lycee at St Pierre, and some of the 

 publications of its professors on this 

 and botanical subjects are the best in 

 existence. 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 



Notwithstanding the statements of 

 Hearn and other writers concerning the 

 decadent conditions in Martinique, from 

 an economic standpoint, in comparison 



to all the neighboring Windward Isl- 

 ands, it is prosperous and flourishing 

 and far better off in even 7 way. 



There were 1,150 sugar plantations 

 on the island, with 19 central usinesand 

 148 rum distilleries. There were also 

 422 kilometers of track for iron cars. 

 The sugar is of the finest qualit}* of 

 white granulated. Muscovado such as 

 is made in the British islands has long 

 been abandoned. This product is en- 

 tirely consumed in France. 



In 1884 Martinique produced sugar 

 to the value of $4,700,000 ; in 1898, 

 only $2,732,213, the production of rum 

 having increased from $1,600,000 to 

 $1,800,000. 



There were 1,500 hectares in cacao, 

 and the exports were 635 tons, valued 

 at $260,000 ; 6,000 hectares of coffee, 

 producing 3,334,000 kilos, valued at 

 $1,663,000. Campeahy-wood, vanilla, 

 tobacco, indigo, and ginger were also 

 probably grown. 



Martinique imported from the United 

 States horses, mules, salt and smoked 

 meats, butter, oleomargarine, flour, 

 fresh fruits, leaf tobacco, dried vegeta- 

 bles, lumber, coal, glass, vehicles, har- 

 ness, clocks, sewing-machines, furni- 

 ture, buckets, bottles, and lamps. Mar- 

 tinique imported cattle from our island 

 possessions, Porto Rico and Vieques. 



Above all, there are 10,000 proprietes 

 vivrieres, or small peasantry holdings, 

 in Martinique. It is estimated that each 

 of these little properties utilizes three 

 workmen to eacli cultivated hectare. 



These small places yield a variety of 

 culture, but produce little for export, 

 apart from the cacao. A brief glance at 

 one of these permits one to enumerate the 

 principal products. At the side of the 

 house there are trees furnishing fruits in 

 abundance, mangos, avocatas.sapotilles, 

 gayaves, caimites, carossols, star-apples, 

 oranges, mandarines, limes, pample- 

 mousses (a large citron fruit, which we 

 callshaddock), citrons, bread-fruit trees, 

 etc. ; then there are many kinds of banana 



