242 FOREST OUTINGS 



out of the cane lands to steep slopes of the mountainous interior where they 

 practiced the destructive "conuco" system of clear, plant, and abandon. The 

 land has been unable to withstand the mining methods practiced for so many 

 years. And of the forests — also mined- — not enough is left to supply the local 

 demands for charcoal. Today the soil is, in the main, tired, thin, and poor; 

 and where the soil is thin and used up, society wilts. 



The Puerto Rican is one of the most mixed races on earth, but his envi- 

 ronment has made him homogeneous. It has helped to subdue the warlike 

 spirit, antipathies, the lust for gold, and to make these islanders tolerant. 

 The gregariousness, the simple hospitality, the high-walled plazas are the 

 growth of a crowded land. 



Ponce de Leon found Puerto Rico a land where "the vine is always fruited 

 and the weather always fine." He called it the "gate of riches." Dense 

 forests covered the land, rivers ran clear, and game was plentiful. Today 

 these forests have disappeared, with the exception of some 15,000 acres of 

 virgin cover in the Caribbean National Forest. Brush, crop, and pasture 

 land have taken their place; yet the island is blessed as few countries are 

 with natural beauty. It is like a pretty peasant girl with the carriage of a 

 queen and the raiment of a dirty child. It is a land of contrasts. 



Since October 18, 1898, when formal possession was assumed, when the 

 American Flag was raised over fortifications where the emblem of Spain had 

 flown for nearly four centuries, the new has mingled increasingly with the 

 old. Oxcarts plodding patiently over modern highways turn aside for high- 

 speed busses. Radios blare up-to-the-minute news from buildings centuries 

 old. From the penthouse of a modern, expensive apartment one can look 

 over an ancient plaza to the thick age-blackened walls of a sixteenth century 

 Spanish fort. The battlefield where in 1625 the Spanish drove the Dutch 

 invaders back to their ships is a nine-hole golf course now. 



American efficiency was suddenly introduced. A postal system was in- 

 stalled, freedom of speech restored, a resident police force organized, medieval 

 methods of punishment abolished, and Spanish currency was replaced by 

 American money. Free public schools advanced literacy. English was taught 

 and today many speak it fluently. Public health service and medical centers 



