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404 
A Glimpse of Porto Rico. 
Like a geni in its deep blue setting lies Porto Rico, the 
easternmost and the smallest of the four Great Antilles. 
It is a volcanic island ninety-five miles long and thirty- 
five wide, and has an area of 36,668 square miles, or not 
far from that of the Yellowstone National Park. It is 
densely settled with a population chiefly white, and is 
very productive. , 
Mr. Robert T. Hill of the United States Geological 
Survey, recently submitted to the Department of Agri- 
culture a paper on the forest condition of Porto Rico, 
from which much interesting information may be gleaned. 
We learn that practically its whole area is now, or has 
been, devoted to agriculture or stock raising. The prin- 
cipal agricultural products are sugar, coffee and tobacco, 
which are chiefly exported, but besides these there are 
the farms on which are grown the crops which subsist 
the population. 
Although Porto Rico has actually been almost de- 
forested, this would hardly be suspected by the average 
traveler. The coffee estates and farms have a forested 
appearance, because coffee requires shade, and can only 
be grown either among natural trees or those which 
have been planted. Moreover, as the coffee bush looks 
like underbrush, the coffee estate has the appearance of 
an open forest with much undergrowth. Sugar and 
tobacco, of course, can only be grown where the forest 
has been entirely cleared off. 
Since coffee and tobacco take a great deal from the 
soil, there are large areas in Porto Rico, formerly de- 
voted to the growth of the staples which will no longer 
produce them, and which have grown up to grass. Such 
areas are often occupied by farms devoted to cattle raising, 
of which there are many engaged exclusively in this in- 
dustry. In all there are 26,650 farms in Porto Rico, or 
nearly 7.4 to the square mile. 
Notwithstanding what has been said, there are certain 
small areas of forest in Porto Rico, though these have 
no great export value, although they are of the greatest 
importance to the inhabitants of the island. The large 
trees are, most of them, hard, heavy woods, which are 
used in construction and for other purposes. Some of 
them would make beautiful cabinet woods. 
There are many species of palm upon the island, and 
as these trees are perhaps the most used by the natives of 
all the forest products, it is necessary to mention them. 
Combined in them are sustenance, clothing and utensils 
for the natives of the tropics. In Porto Rico the leaf of 
the palm is largely used for thatch and sheathing of the 
houses of the poor, and its broad leaves for washtubs and 
other domestic utensils. 
The Palma Moriche (Cocos mauritia) grows in damp, 
marshy soil from sea level to an altitude of 834ft. In 
this palm the Guarannos Indians, who inhabit islands in 
the mouths of the Orinoco, find all that is necessary for 
food, drink and clothing; for building their houses and 
furnishing them; for making their boats, ropes and sails 
for their navigation, and apparatus for fishing and hunt- 
ing. Concerning the uses of the Moriche or Sago palm, 
it has been said that "when the heat of summer has 
parched everything about this tree, travelers find at its 
roots water always cool, which escapes from subterranean 
veins. The most tender part of its fruit center serves as a 
garden vegetable to the natives, and from its young shoots 
they draw the cords which form their fish nets and from 
which they weave their hammocks. It is a refreshing 
nourishment before its fruit is matured, and when ripe 
it makes oil, soap and pastes, which are sweetened with 
honey. With the dry leaves of this plant the Indians cover 
their huts, from its sprouts they manufacture mats, 
blankets, hats and sails for their vessels. The trunk con- 
tains in its upper portion a sweet juice, from which a kind 
of wine is produced. From the trunk, boards and some- 
times small boats are made. A natural texture which 
covers the cluster of fruit before it matures serves as 
caps for men and as skirts for married women. The palm, 
which does not bear fruit, furnishes a mealy pith, which 
is called yuruma. used for making bread and also pottage 
or soup. A tliick, white worm is found in the rotten 
medulla, which is eaten and considered a great del- 
icacy." . . 
The yagua, or cabbage palm, grows on the plams and m 
Jhe forests. It is very useful for covering houses, is tall, 
of ash color, and has the figure of a well-formed column; 
its pedestal is perfect, the trunk being larger in the middle 
and tapering to the point where the leaves appear and 
form a cornice, from which springs another column no 
less perfect, about 7ft. high and 2^ft. in circumference, of 
an emerald-green color, smooth and lustrous. The upper 
column of the yagua palm is denuded of its bark every 
month, and this is called hoja de jagua (lamina or leaf 
of the yagua). The bark is flexible, very durable, and 
serves to cover houses and divide their interiors, to make 
chests and boxes for storing clothing and for transportmg 
rice and coffee. On a journey the leaves are taken as a 
protection from heavy rains, and they serve many other 
u.ses. 
The palm most highly prized by the Porto Ricans is 
called the "Palma de gravia" (or grana?), the "Royal 
palm." ■ Growing to looft. or more, its slender trunk is 
crowned near its summit by leaves. A great shoot,_ deli- 
cate and pointed, from 10 to 12ft. in length, constitutes 
the upper end of the trunk. At the base of this terminal 
portion a fruit cluster from three to four hands m 
length, divided into different branchlets, grows out about 
once a month. This cluster is full of a green, olive-shaped 
fruit, larger than the filbert, the interior nut being covered 
with' a green substance. This fruit of the royal palm is 
very useiul in fattening swine, which is the only use made 
of it. In the other islands they extract an oil from this 
fruit which is very good for lights and other uses. The 
central nart (the heart) of this palm is cooked and eaten 
like cabbage, and is sometimes prepared as a salad. The 
Indians call it the "pira" (pile or pyre). In Porto Rico 
it is rarely used, although it has an agreeable taste. 
The palms called "coyures" are taller even than the 
royal palms ; the fruit grows in clusters, but is smaller, and 
the hard, round nuts, much like the above, serve as food 
for swine. At the foot of the trunk of this palm is formed 
a tuft like a pedestal, composed of a mass of small roots, 
from which grow thick fibers. These reach to the upper 
portion of the palm and form the stem through which the 
sap passes. The negroes extract from this palm a vinous 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
liquid which is very agreeable and healthful. It is used 
as a specific in cases of fever. 
The palm called "corozo" (oil palm) is very common. 
Its tall trunk is entirely covered with sharp thorns three 
fingers in length. At the top it is crowned by very long 
fronds. Its fruit is in small clusters, composed of nuts as 
large as eggs, whose yellow covering is very hard and 
bursts when ripe. The inner nut is white, divided into 
three parts, less solid than the outer shell. Its taste is 
agreeable, but it sours in a short time. In Porto Rico the 
corozo serves as food for swine, but foreigners extract 
from its nuts an oil which is medicinal, and useful for 
many purposes. 
The coco palm is found in great numbers on the plains 
and coasts, and is a profitable plant for cultivation. The 
external sheath of the Cocoanut is composed of a multi- 
tude of fibers which form a nap of a reddish color, which 
is excellent for calking boats, as it resists water better 
than tow, and endures longer. The Indians make a 
cordage from this fiber, and sails for their boats, and in 
the dockyards of Guayaquil, Ecuador, they use no other 
calking material in repairing vessels. Beneath this ex- 
terior fibrous covering is another, the color of chestnuts, 
which is very hard, and, although elastic, is easily broken. 
A fine oil is made from the meat of the cocoanut, which 
is used for lighting and cooking. The Indians make an 
intoxicating drink from the sap of 'the cocoanut tree, which 
at first has a bitter-sweet taste, afterward becoming sour. 
In Porto Rico the nuts are utilized by drinking the water 
from them when young, by making sweetmeats from the 
meat, and by manufacturing drinking cups and other 
utensils from the outside shell. Frotn the trunks of the 
trees the best palm boards are made for houses, be- 
cause of their resistance to the inclemencies of the weather. 
There are masses of fiber at the base of the leaves, which 
appear like bunches of tow or bast. These are the fibrous 
remains of dried leaves which have lost their fleshy 
portion, and appear like pieces of cloth woven from thick 
tow. This is used for filtering and sifting. 
Hardly secondary to the palms in point of usefulness is 
the bamboo cane. This beautiful plant may be seen every- 
where, growing in graceful, feathery clumps. Its stem 
is used for fence posts, telegraph posts and construction of 
the huts of the peasant. The individual joints are also 
used for utensils, flower pots, and for propagating the 
cocoanut seed. 
Among the most useful of the plants found is the 
"emajagua," or "majagua." This is a small tree, or 
rather a shrub, from the short trunk of which sprout forth 
many long, straight twigs, From the fiber of these twigs 
ropes are made for all uses, especially for the rigging of 
native boats. Formerly this was the only cordage em- 
ployed for the latter purpose, as it is very durable, al- 
though rough and difficult to handle. 
No less useful and common is another small tree known 
as the higuereta (Racinus communis Linn.), also called the 
Palma-Christi, which abounds on the coast. This tree 
is smaller than the last mentioned and has many knotty 
and twisted twigs, the leaves being divided into five lobes. 
It produces a bunch of berries similar to the coffee, which, 
when boiled, yields very clear oil. This serves as an 
illuminating oil, giving a clear light without odor and 
without smoke. It is also much used as a purgative, as a 
remedy for fevers, and the Indians apply the leaves for 
relief from headache. Only the negroes make any use of 
it in Porto Rico. In some gardens of Europe this plant 
is cultivated as an ornament. 
The tamarind is found in the plains and in the forests. 
It grows equally well on the warm coasts and in the 
cool mountains.' The tree is very large and spreading. 
Its trunk reaches loft. in circumference. The wood is 
hard and red in color. The fruit has a pleasant taste, 
neither sweet nor sour. Diluted with water, it forms a 
delicate and wholesome beverage like that of the lemon, 
and is considered by some even more agreeable. Sweet- 
meats are made of the fruit; also remedies for fevers, 
vicious humors, scurvy, etc. 
Porto Rico is especially well adapted to the growth of 
citrous fruits. The wild or Seville orange in the country 
is an indigenous tree, which would prove a source of con- 
siderable revenue if properly appreciated by the makers of 
jam and marmalades. Of the cultivated oranges there 
are two principal kinds which the people call "naranjos" 
and "chinos." The former term is applied to oranges in 
general, and the latter to an especially fine :.nd sweet 
variety. No attempt has been made to cultivate the orange 
as an exuort product. Such trees as exist are the result of 
casual planting for shade, ornamental and family use, just 
as an American may set out an occasional peach tree in 
his yard. The art of orange culture as practiced in 
Florida and California is unknown. When one considers 
the perfection and abundance of the Porto Rican orange 
and the demand for that fruit in this country, it_ js 
obviou.s that its culture offers a most profitable opening 
to the American investor. Limes, lemons, grape fruit, 
shaddock, tangerines and other varieties of the citrous 
family can be cultivated with profit. _ _ _ 
Although the banana is not properly a tree, still it is 
the most useful and the most cultivated fruit of the 
island, constituting the staple food of the inhabitants, 
especially ihe working classes. One is hardly ever out 
of sight of these plants, as they are grown around every 
hut and upon all the estates. They grow to a height of 
from 12 to 15ft., and their trunk is a large roll of leaves 
in sheathlike form, one within another, having neither 
wood nor bark. The leaves are green, smooth, lustrous 
and beautiful. Each stalk of the banana plant yields one 
bunch of fruit; this contains from 80 to 100 or more 
bananas. When the fruit is cut the plant is also cut. 
although it is renewed from the foot stalk three or four 
times, each shoot producing its bunch of fruit each 
year. 
The species of banana called platanos or hortones are 
the most common and useful. When green and roasted 
they serve as bread ; when ripe they are eaten raw, fried 
in butter, prepared in the Spanish dish called the olla- 
podrida, and baked. A very strong vinegar is also made 
from them. There are several other varieties of banana 
("congos," "guineos," "cambures," "dominicos" and 
others) which are raised in the immediate vicinity of the 
houses; these plants differ from the hortones, being 
lighter green with smaller, sweeter fruit, more mellow and 
delicious in taste. All these species of banana are bundant 
and delicate in taste, according to the quality of the_ soil 
in which they grow. Generally, they are planted in a 
ti^ov. 18, 1899. 
rich, humid soil, and require no other cultivation than to 
be freed from the weeds surrounding them.* 
Notwithstanding the abundance of the banana in Porto 
Rico, no fruit is grown of the variety acceptable for ex- 
port to our banana merchants. This is due to the fact 
that large and perfect bunches are required for this 
purpose, vvhich the nativ^ 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 in others. It grows rapidly 
and begins to yield in three years. The stem grows to 
a height of from 9 to lof t., and is ordinarily from 4 to 6in. 
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 exterior pulp 
removed, leaving a thin scale around the seed, which is 
talcen off in water troughs or by pounding in wooden 
mortars. 
The coffee of Porto Rico is highly appreciated for its 
flavor by foreigners, who mix it with the Asiatic and 
South American products. For this reason it is pre- 
ferred to that of the other islands, and is much sought 
after. The production is considerable, with the prospect 
of rapidly increasing tinder 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 8ft._ in 
height and from 3 to 4in. 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. From 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. _ 
The Antilles are comparatively free from harmful ani- 
mals and poisonous plants, but there are a few species of 
the latter with which the traveler should become 
acquainted in order to avoid unpleasant consequences. 
Three of these are alleged to be especially injurious — the 
guao tree, the manchineel bu.sh and a small herb called 
the tibey. 
The tree called guao (Comodadia), called by the Mexi- 
cans teilathiam, although useful for the juice extracted, is 
poisonous; it is alleged that it benumbs the person who 
rests under its shade and causes the hair of animals to fall 
off which rub against its trunk. It inflames for some days 
the hands and eyes of carpenters who work it. It is em- 
ployed for making beds, because it drives away the chinch 
(or bed) bug, and its juice kills the wood borer which 
grows in articles made of wood. 
The alleged effects of the guao tree upon man and 
animal have just been related, but more serious still are 
said to be the results of resting in the shade of the man- 
zanillo or manchineel. This tree spreads throughout the 
seacoasts and river banks, is covered with regular leaves, 
its stem almost 2ft. in circumference, its bark smooth and 
delicate, the flowers rose tinted ; it is loaded with small 
applelike fruit of a pleasant appearance and odor; the 
leaves resemble those of the pear tree; the entire tree is 
full of a milky juice, which exudes in the heat of the 
sun. According to current belief, as frequently related 
to the writer, the incautious traveler, attracted by the 
beautiful appearance of the manzanillo, reposes in its 
shade, soon finds himself poisoned, and if the lacteal 
substance falls upon him from the leaves, or if he touches 
the leaves, he suffers as from an application of some 
blistering substance, It is also said that a fish which eats 
the fruit becomes infected, the gills becoming yellow and 
black, and one who eats the fish in this state is said to 
fall into a profound lethargj', with a general relaxation of 
aUl the limbs, according to the quantity of fish he has 
eaten. This effect, according to popular belief, continues 
twenty-four hours, and frequently results in death.^ The 
use of brandy or other spirituous liquors or the drinking 
of sea water is considered beneficial as an antidote. 
A small herb called the tibey, the flower of which re- 
sembles the lobelia, grows in the meadows and pastures 
of the island. Its poison is said to be so active that a 
horse or other animal eating of it dies in a short time. 
The natural instinct of the animal teaches it to avoid this 
dangerous plant as soon as the odor reaches him. 
The cowhage abounds upon the limestone soils of Porto 
Rico. This is a tropical climbing plant, with beanlike 
pods, very much resembling huge brown caterpillars. 
They are covered with a multitude of fine poisonous^ hairs, 
which, when disturbed, irritate the skin like the sting of 
nettles. 
*Oviedo says "that the banana was "brought to the island of^ 
San Domineo from the Gran-Canaria 5n 1516 by the padre friar 
Tomas de Barlanga, of the Order of Predicadores, and that frfm 
there they have been conveyed to the other islands and to the 
Continent, and that they originated in India, where they are called 
tnusas." 
Eight Years of Satisfaction. 
Cheriton, Va., Nov. 12, 1899,— Forest and Stream Publishing 
Co.: Inclosed please find check for $7.50 to insert my ad. again 
this year. Your paper has done me more good than all the other 
advertisements that I ever had. For eight years we have adver- 
tised with you, and the trade your paper brought me eight years 
ago, when our firm was Cobb & Spady, comes to my place now as 
regularly as the seasons come around. S. Lucirs Cobb. 
[He must have been satisfied, to have advertised eight years; 
and they must have been satisfied, to have gone there eight years.] 
The FoRBST AND Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday. 
Correspondence intended for publication should roach u« at the 
latest by Monday and as much earlier at practicabte, . _ 
