248 NICARAGUA AND THE ISTHMIAN ROUTES 



Grey town for the years 1890, 1891, 1892, and a portion of 1893. 

 The Nicaragua Canal Commission took observations at a num- 

 ber of points during the year 1898, in connection with other 

 meteorologic and hydrographic measurements. An examina- 

 tion of the records and diagrams shows in a striking manner the 

 fact that along the east coast there is no definite dry season. 

 The maximum rainfall }^et measured was that for the } r ear 1890, 

 when nearly 300 inches of rain fell at Greytown, and the year 

 1892 showed nearly as much. In the region of Lake Nicaragua 

 and on the west coast there is a distinct dry season from about 

 December 1 to the middle of May, when rain seldom falls, and 

 never in large quantities. The total rainfall on the east coast is 

 much greater than on the west, both from the absence of any 

 dry season and from the heavier monthly rainfall, the mean so 

 far observed at Rivas being under 70 inches, while that at Gre}'- 

 town is about 250. This fact is easily explained by the direc- 

 tion of the trade winds, which, blowing with remarkable persist- 

 ency and uniformity from the Caribbean sea, are robbed of the 

 greater part of their moisture in passing over the mountains east 

 of Lake Nicaragua. The gap formed in these mountains by the 

 San Juan, however, allows a portion of the moisture to be car- 

 ried past, even during the dry season, so that at Fort San Carlos, 

 where the San Juan river leaves Lake Nicaragua, rain is liable to 

 fall any month in the year, though in quantities far less than 

 on the Atlantic coast, while on the east and south shores of Lake 

 Nicaragua, a few miles north or south of Fort San Carlos, no 

 rain falls in the dry season. 



Although Nicaragua is almost entirely covered with dense 

 forest growth, the really useful timber is not abundant. A dis- 

 trict on the Atlantic slope near Bluefields affords large quantities 

 of }^ellow pine of fair quality, which, however, is not yet easity 

 accessible. The only timber yet used to any extent for lumber 

 is the cedar, which is soft, straight-grained, easily worked, and 

 durable. The trees are scattered and not plentiful. The lum- 

 ber is mostly sawed by hand. The timber of greatest value is 

 the mahogany, which is cut for export to be used as an orna- 

 mental wood and in cabinet making. The monopoly of its ex- 

 port is conceded to an American firm. The wild cotton tree is 

 sometimes used in making canoes. A number of the forest 

 woods found in Nicaragua are heavy and so hard that it is im- 

 possible to drive nails or spikes into them, but they are exceed- 

 ingly durable. A variety of dye-woods is found in various parts. 



