TREES VALUABLE FOR FRUITS. 37 



Notwithstanding the abundance of the banana in Porto Rico, no 

 fruit is grown of the variety acceptable for export to our banana mer- 

 chants. This is due to the fact that large and perfect bunches are 

 required for this purpose, which the natives have never taken the 

 trouble to produce. 



Coffee is cultivated with great ease in all parts of the island, 

 although in greater abundance and of better quality in some parts 

 than iu others. It grows rapidly and begins to yield in three years. 

 The stem grows to a height of from 9 to 10 feet, and is ordinarily from 

 4 to 6 inches in diameter, the bark being whitish and smooth, the 

 branches delicate and long, and the leaves, arranged in pairs, are 

 always green, bright, and smooth, without odor, and with no special 

 taste. The flowers resemble the jessamine, and are fragrant. The 

 fruit is somewhat like the cherry. This is gathered by hand, the exte- 

 rior pulp removed, leaving a thin scale around the seed, which is taken 

 off iu water troughs or by pounding in wooden mortars. 



The coffee of Porto Rico is highly appreciated for its flavor by for- 

 eigners, who mix it with the Asiatic and South American products. 

 For this reason it is preferred to that of the other islands, and is much 

 sought after. The production is considerable, with the prospect of 

 rapidly increasing under the change of government. 



Traces of the former culture of the cacao plant, the cultivation of 

 which has been almost entirely abandoned, is still found in many 

 places. It is now cultivated only as a curiosity and in so limited a 

 quantity that it scarcely supplies the demand. It begins to bear fruit 

 three or more years after planting, according to the quality of the soil 

 in which it grows. The branches are bent toward the earth, and need 

 only be cleaned from the weeds in their immediate vicinity. They 

 require much irrigation and warmth. 



The yucca (manioc), which is commonly cultivated throughout the 

 island, is a small tree, from 7 to 8 feet in height and from 3 to 4 inches 

 in diameter. Its bark is reddish, its branches are crooked and knotty, 

 its leaves dark green and cut like the fingers of the hand, and its 

 flowers are yellowish and drooping. The roots of the yucca, which 

 the negroes call magnoc and the Portuguese call mandioca, are grated 

 and pressed to extract the juice, which is a virulent poison. Prom the 

 grated root, which is like sawdust, the cassava bread is made and 

 baked in a slow fire. The poisonous juice after boiling loses its bad 

 qualities and is used as a flavor or sauce in serving fish. 



There is a tall cotton bush or tree upon the island of the species 

 Gossijpium barbadense Linn., of which there are two varieties — one the 

 synonym of G. ptirpurascens Poir., or the red cotton, and the other of 

 G.janiphcvfolium Bello., or the " algodon yucca" of the natives. This 

 island is so well adapted to the culture of these species of cotton that 

 they grow wild in many places. The cotton plant in Porto Rico grows 



