488 The National Geographic Magazine 



r 



Photo by Walter D. Wilcox 



A FIELD OF CORN IN A CLEARING 



Six months before this picture was taken the field was covered with a dense tropical forest : 



Cochinos Bay, Cuba 



stone made up of shell fragments and 

 corals similar to existing beaches on the 

 western shore of the bay. 



Outside of two or three poisonous 

 plants, these forests contain very few 

 dangers of any kind. The poisonous 

 manzanillo tree spreads its picturesque 

 branches out over the rocky shores and 

 drops its green apples into the sea. Cer- 

 tain fish eat these apples, and in some 

 cases, when caught at the -critical time, 

 have caused fatal cases of poisoning. 

 The milky juice is feared by every Cuban 

 axeman, who will never under any cir- 

 cumstances fell one of these trees, a sin- 

 gle drop in the eye being sufficient to 

 cause total blindness. Snakes are abun- 

 dant, but universally harmless, while the 

 sting of Cuban scorpions and centipedes 

 is little worse than that of honey-bees. 

 One native nearlv ninetv vears old has 



spent forty-five years on his clearing in 

 these woods and is still strong enough to 

 do all his work. 



the change; of seasons 



At the close of winter, in March and 

 April, the forest loses a great part of its 

 foliage, while some varieties of trees shed 

 their leaves altogether. This period 

 marks the close of the dry season. The 

 entire forest when seen from a distance 

 is suffused with a reddish glow, as the 

 old leaves fall and the new ones burst 

 from their buds. This is in many re- 

 spects the finest part of the year in Cuba, 

 an uninterrupted succession of bright 

 sunshiny days, with an ideal temperature 

 both day and night. The forest revels 

 in a profusion of flowers, one kind of 

 tree succeeding another in its time of 

 blossoming, and the air is sweet with the 



