488 
THE VOLCANOES OF GUATEMALA—DISCUSSION. 
appearing, we realized that the trees we thought dead were still alive, and we 
determined to do our best to save at least some of the estate. AVe had a bitter 
struggle, and had to spend an immense sum of money, but we have succeeded in 
bringing the plantation to a state of perfection that it never had before, and the 
crops are, as a rule, much heavier and of better quality than previously. One of 
our greatest troubles was that of sickness, owing to the balance of Nature having 
been upset by the eruption, which, having killed all the birds for some hundreds of 
miles, enabled the flies, mosquitoes, and rats to multiply to such an extent that life 
to man became nearly unbearable. The immediate consequence was an epidemic 
of malaria, which cost more lives than the eruption itself—many times more. It 
has 'passed, happily; the birds having come again, the breeding of these pests 
is checked, and the district again enjoys the excellent reputation for health that it 
deservedly had before. 
I wish to point out that when we commenced work on the plantation after 
the eruption, we did not know very well how to set about it; conditions were all 
changed, former experience was useless. There was no information available, and 
though there was advice in plenty, it was contradictory and not practical at all. 
We and all the planters on the coast were left to invent our own devices and 
methods, ai\d whilst many may have been successful, others have not. Even 
to-day, now that it is all over, and the individual planters have either sunk or 
swum, it is not clear what was exactly the best way, and what was the real cause 
of failure or success. Now, I think that here there is scope for a proper scientific 
investigator, with a taste for seismology, to put on record the eruption itself and its 
after history and effects, especially with regard to agriculture. He would find 
a field of absorbing interest; he might confer great benefit to future victims of 
these occurrences in other parts by telling of our experiments and their results 
as compared with those of other planters on that coast, and he would find a hearty 
welcome at Helvetia, where we should be glad to extend him the usual hospitality 
and good cheer, and tell him as much as we know. I give the invitation from 
no selfish motive, as our results are attained, and we are out of the wood, and it is 
inconceivable that we should have another eruption of this nature in this neigh¬ 
bourhood, seeing that the open vent now acts mildly as a safety-valve. In fact, our 
volcano will now probably rest content with its little fling for a few centuries. The 
common experience of volcanoes, in Central America at least, points to the fact 
that heavy eruptions are never followed by others in that particular district. It is 
generally another volcano that has a turn ; so we consider our situation as par¬ 
ticularly safe and sound, and pity other poor people who have eruptions still 
to come. 
Colonel Church : Guatemala is not a little country by any means. Its area is 
about 47,000 square miles, and it is the most densely populated of any of the 
Central American states. I desire to call attention to the treaty which has been 
made very recently in Washington between the five Central American nations. In 
this, their representatives have agreed to abandon all their differences, to respect 
each other’s territorial possessions, and to end revolutions. Should this lead 
to a federacy of those states, it is of extreme importance to the commercial and 
political world, and to the general peace of the American continent. 
In the admirable paper to which we have listened, one item has struck my 
special attention, and that is the enormous distance to which volcanic dust is 
carried. Dr. Anderson said it was 600 or 700 miles. That reminds me that, 
about six years ago, I was visiting a cousin of mine in the United States, on 
Narragansett bay, near the famous watering-place of Newport. He has a country 
seat there, and he told me that soon after the eruption of Mont Pelee, perhaps about 
