322 The National Geographic Magazine 



other regions. Next in order follow 

 the aromatic vanilla, the cocoa tree, all 

 sorts and varieties of medicinal plants, 

 palms with their many products, hard- 

 wood, and woods of every variety and 

 description, the quina tree, from which 

 quinine is manufactured, etc., etc. The 

 zoology of the Montana or forest region 

 is as varied as its botany. I ma}' men- 

 tion as peculiar to this zone the savage 

 pig or jabali, the puma or Peruvian 

 lion, the South American bear, the 

 crocodile, the boa, and the monkey. 

 Its mineralogy has been treated already 

 in speaking of our mines and mining. 



The policy of the government and 

 legislation with regard to these lands is 

 most liberal. Rubber lands or forest 

 land in general may be purchased or 

 leased at really nominal prices, namely, 

 purchased at $2.50 for two and a half 

 acres or leased at 50 cents yearly per 

 two and a half acres. Free grants are 

 made for lots not to exceed five acres. 

 Our legislation in general, especially 

 with regard to civil rights, does not 

 make any distinction between the Pe- 

 ruvian citizen and the alien. 



The future development of the coun- 

 try depends, however, on the opening 

 of the Pacific route and the continuity 

 of both rail and water transportation. 

 Four hundred miles of railroad are to 

 connect a port on the Pacific, say 

 Payta, with Puerto Menendez on the 

 Maranon. From the latter point and 

 within a radius of 1,000 miles there are 

 about 5,000 of navigable rivers, mostly 

 within Peruvian territory. Payta is 

 about 2,300 miles from New Orleans. 

 Thus the heart of South America will be, 

 when the canal is completed, about 3,300 

 miles from the nearest port in this 

 country. 



As commerce results, the products of 

 our tropical zone will have to find a 

 market in the temperate zone. Where 

 will this market be? It will surely be 

 at the nearest center of consumption; 

 and as the United States will take this 



position when the canal is completed, 

 our export trade is bound to be with 

 this country. On the other hand, we 

 are and shall be consumers of manufact- 

 ures and other products, and while we 

 today are principally supplied with the 

 European article, will this be the case 

 tomorrow, when the manufacturing cen- 

 ters of this country will be 3,000 miles 

 nearer to us than any others ? 



Thus, in my opinion, there is no ques- 

 tion as to the commercial relations be- 

 tween the United States and South 

 America, nor as to the sure preponder- 

 ance of this country over all others in 

 the trade with the republics to the south. 

 If this means something today, it will 

 mean more in 20, 40, or 60 years from now , 

 when our new countries will be flooded 

 with immigrants and consequently with 

 more consumers of American goods. 



The Panama Canal will give us life. 

 Peru is no longer to be in a remote cor- 

 ner of the globe. While today all the 

 traffic with this country, for instance, is 

 made via the Straits of Magellan, with 

 a distance of 9,000 miles, tomorrow it 

 will be done through Panama, with a 

 distance of 3,000 miles only. While 

 today it is impossible for us to attract 

 immigration to our shores because of 

 high rates produced by monopoly at the 

 Isthmus, and monopolies in the traffic 

 at both sides, it will no longer be so to- 

 morrow, when the canal destroys the 

 monopolies, when it will be free to all, 

 and all compete for the traffic, with the 

 result that low rates are established. 

 Where, as heretofore, transit at the 

 Isthmus has been not only inconvenient, 

 but dangerous, because of unhealthy 

 conditions and bullets of revolutionary 

 outbreaks, the work of the United States 

 government in the near future will in- 

 sure health and order on the Isthmus and 

 make the transit through Panama no 

 longer an inconvenience, but a veritable 

 pleasure trip. 



To close my remarks, I wish to show 

 you graphically our progress since peace 



