FARMING ON THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA 



By Dillwyn M. Hazlett 



FROM personal experience and ob- 

 servation extending from Colon 

 to Panama, I can sincerely in- 

 dorse what the Isthmian Canal Commis- 

 sion said in its last report: "In view of 

 the gratifying conditions shown by recent 

 statistics, it may be safely said that the 

 problem of sanitation need no longer be 

 considered a formidable obstacle to the 

 construction of the canal." Any person 

 in the States can go to the Isthmus and 

 do the same kind of work, and as much 

 of it, as at home and enjoy just as good 

 health as at home, when attention is paid 

 to the ordinary laws of health. 



I bought a Panama hat, a pair of leggins, 

 and a khaki suit. For four weeks I rode 



on the railroad, sailed along the coast, 

 rowed up and down the Chagres River, 

 and tramped through the tropical under- 

 growth, frequently myself cutting the 

 way with the machete. And I did not go 

 empty handed. I had either my 8 x 10 or 

 ii x 14 camera and a dozen plates, and 

 sometimes both. I found this no differ- 

 ent from doing similar work in the sum- 

 mer time anywhere. The thermometer, 

 by my own record, never went higher 

 than 86 degrees in the shade at midday, 

 and was as often only 82 and 84 degrees 

 in the shade. There was always a nice 

 breeze and fewer pestiferous insects than 

 I had found in many places in the States. 

 The most perplexing question that con- 



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Pan am an Corn Farm 



Photo by Dillwynn M. Hazlett 



