February  13 
ioS 
FRUIT  FARMS  BEYOND 
THE  FROST. 
A  Good  Opportunity  for  Men  With¬ 
out  Money. 
THE  HONDURAS  COMPANY  writes 
to  The  Rural  New-Yorker  as  follows  : 
“Many  applications  have  been  made  to 
us  for  employment,  and  for  terms  that 
will  enable  people  of  very  limited  capi¬ 
tal  to  secure  plantations  on  the  Perry 
land  grant.  The  only  work  that  can  be 
offered  at  present  is  in  clearing  and 
planting  lands  and  in  cutting  timber. 
For  this  we  will  pay  liberally.  To  ac¬ 
commodate  such  applicants,  we  make 
the  following  offer:  To  all  who  want  to 
buy  of  us,  say  for  illustration,  a  block,  or 
25  hectares  (61%  acres)  for  the  regular 
price  of  $625,  and  wish  to  keep  all  their 
ready  money  for  use  in  improving  their 
purchase,  or  for  caring  for  their  fami¬ 
lies,  we  will  give : 
“  A  credit  for  $50,  as  an  offset  for  fares 
from  New  York  to  the  land  ;  for  clear¬ 
ing  and  planting  8  acres  for  this  Com¬ 
pany,  credit  for  $125  ;  all  the  balance,  or 
$450,  is  to  be  taken  only  from  one-half 
of  the  first  products  of  the  land. 
“  Under  this  arrangement  any  man 
who  can  raise  $60  to  $75  can  become 
owner  of  61%  acres  of  excellent  fruit 
land,  and  can  also,  in  a  few  weeks,  clear 
and  plant  enough  of  that  land  to  support 
a  family  in  comfort.  An  industrious 
man  can  clear  and  plant  an  average  of 
an  acre  a  week.  In  two  months  he  can 
do  the  work  required  for  us  on  the  eight 
acres,  to  make  his  first  payment  on  his 
purchase,  and  in  another  month  can  put 
in  on  his  own  land  enough  sweet  pota¬ 
toes,  cocos  and  cassava,  corn,  peas  and 
beans  to  give  an  ample  food  supply  to 
his  family. 
“  To  any  one  who  will  do  more  clear¬ 
ing  and  planting  for  us  we  will  pay  $10 
cash  for  each  acre  so  cleared  and  planted. 
This  clearing  is  simply  slashing  the  tim¬ 
ber  and  other  growths,  and  burning 
them  where  they  fall.  On  each  acre  so 
cleared  675  banana  matas  or  sprouts  are 
to  be  set  in  225  hills,  fifteen  feet  apart. 
This  work  is  to  be  done  as  soon  as  prac¬ 
ticable  on  arrival  on  the  grant.  We  fur¬ 
nish  the  matas  or  sprouts  for  planting 
land  for  this  Company. 
“  By  working  together,  a  number  of 
men  can  do  the  labor  at  less  cost,  more 
easily,  and  live  more  comfortably  than 
separately.  The  cost  of  a  liberal  supply 
of  food  for  a  man  for  four  months  will 
not  exceed  $28 ;  an  outfit  for  cooking  can 
be  provided  for  $15  ;  the  tools  required 
may  cost  $3  ;^all  shelter  necessary  for  the 
dry  season  can  be  easdy  and  cheaply 
made  from  materials  at  hand  in  the 
forest,  at  a  very  slight  cost  of  labor. 
“A  safe  and  comfortable  steamship 
will  sail  about  February  15„for  Patuca, 
on  the  Perry  land  grant,  and  will  put 
passengers  and  freight  ashore  there 
safely.  All  who  want  stateroom  berths 
at  $50,  will  do  well  to  write  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment.  About  fifty  passengers 
can  be  carried  in  rough  berths  on  her 
main  deck.  They  will  have  the  same 
food  as  will  be  furnished  to  cabin  pas¬ 
sengers.  Fare  will  be  $30.  Each  pas¬ 
senger  will  be  allowed  to  carry  500  pounds 
of  baggage  or  freight,  free  of  charge. 
“Passengers  going  by  this  steamer 
will  arrive  at  Patuca  in  the  pleasantest 
season  of  the  year,  in  time  to  select  good 
lands  and  do  the  required  clearing  and 
planting  early  enough  to  secure  the  full 
benefit  of  the  showers  of  June. 
1  ‘  Any  who  wish  to  take  advantage  of 
this  offer  will  do  well  to  send  at  once 
for  a  ticket,  and  thus  make  sure  of  their 
berths.  They  should  not  forget  that  the 
sum  of  $50  will  be  credited  to  their  ac¬ 
count  as  an  offset  for  fare  to  Patuca,  and 
as  a  payment  on  land  they  may  have 
bought  or  will  buy  of  us.” 
WHERE  AND  WHAT  THE  PERRY  GRANT  IS. 
The  Perry  land  grant  is  most  advan¬ 
tageously  situated  in  the  middle  of  the 
department  of  Mosquitia,  in  the  north¬ 
east  corner  of  the  Republic  of  Honduras. 
It  is  900  miles  north  of  the  equator,  900 
miles  south  of  New  Orleans,  and  is  nearly 
1,000  miles  nearer  to  New  York  City  than 
are  the  fruit  fields  of  California,  and  can  be 
reached  in  less  time  than  is  required  to 
go  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  and 
at  less  cost.  The  grant  has  a  coast  line 
of  100  miles  on  the  Caribbean  sea,  and  is 
60  miles  from  north  to  south.  It  con¬ 
tains  more  than  a  million  acres  of  the 
best  fruit,  agricultural  and  timber  land 
in  Central  America.  Four  navigable  and 
several  smaller  rivers  flow  across  the 
tract,  to  empty  into  the  system  of  salt 
water  lakes  or  sounds  that  extend  almost 
across  the  northern  part  of  the  grant, 
and  make  four  good  harbors.  No  spot 
on  the  whole  grant  is  more  than  fifteen 
miles  from  navigable  water,  over  which 
can  be  carried  the  products  of  the  land 
to  steamships  that  will  deliver  them  in 
ports  of  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
CLIMATE. 
The  climate  of  Honduras  is  mild,  and 
more  equable  than  that  of  any  region  in 
THE  RURAL N 
the  United  States.  During  the  greater  part 
of  the  year  the  northeast  trade  winds, 
cooled  by  their  passage  across  the  Atlan¬ 
tic  ocean  and  Caribbean  sea,  blow  over 
the  land,  keeping  the  temperature  below 
that  of  summer  in  the  Northern  States. 
The  mean  temperature  throughout  the 
year  for  the  whole  of  Honduras  has  for 
years  averaged  74  deg.  F.  The  extreme 
range  has  been  from  46  deg.  F.  on  the 
mountains  in  the  interior  in  remarkably 
cold  winters,  to  97  deg.  F.  in  exception¬ 
ally  hot  summers.  Observations  cover¬ 
ing  a  year  show  that  at  the  mouth  of 
Black  river  on  the  Perry  grant  the  ex¬ 
treme  range  was  from  62  deg.  to  96  deg. 
F.,  a  variation  of  34  deg.,  giving  a  mean 
of  79  deg.  F.  At  Patuca  the  hottest  four 
months  of  the  year  showed  a  mean  tem¬ 
perature  of  84  deg.,  with  a  range  reach¬ 
ing  from  72  deg.  to  94  deg.  In  April, 
1891,  the  warmest  month  of  the  year,  the 
extreme  range  of  temperature  was  from 
72  deg.  to  86  deg.  It  is  always  comfort¬ 
able  in  the  shade,  and  the  nights  are  cool 
enough  to  make  blankets  a  comfort,  but 
frost  is  absolutely  unknown. 
RAINFALL. 
In  Mosquitia  (so  named  from  the  Span¬ 
ish  word  “mosquete,”  a  musket),  where 
the  Perry  grant  is  situated,  light  showers 
begin  falling  in  May  and  gradually  in¬ 
crease  in  frequency  and  duration  until 
the  middle  of  June.  In  October  the  fall 
rains  begin,  and  last  until  November  or 
December.  They  usually  pass  quickly, 
leaving  the  sky  sunny  and  the  ground 
watered  only  enough  to  force  luxuriant 
growth  of  crops. 
THE  PATUCA  VALLEY. 
The  Patuca  or  (Juayape  river  receives 
many  large  tributaries  before  it  reaches 
the  Perry  grant,  through  which  it  flows 
to  the  sea.  It  is  the  Mississippi  of  Hon¬ 
duras,  being  by  far  the  largest  and  most 
important  river  in  the  republic.  Formed 
in  the  department  of  Olancho  by  the 
union  of  several  mountain  streams,  some 
of  which  are  noted  for  their  gold  wash¬ 
ings,  it  flows  through  one  of  the  richest 
and  most  beautiful  regions  in  all  Central 
America. 
SOIL. 
The  soil  of  the  Perry  grant  is  varied. 
On  each  side  of  the  rivers,  bottom  lands 
stretch  back  to  grass-covered,  rolling 
savannas.  Near  the  mouths  of  the  rivers 
the  alluvial  lands  extend  a  considerable 
distance  back  from  the  streams,  and  in 
places  they  are  low,  and  admirably  suited 
to  rice  growing,  and  would  yield  a  luxur¬ 
iant  growth  of  sugar-cane.  Farther  up 
the  rivers  the  lands  are  higher,  and  un¬ 
surpassed  BY  ANY  IN  THE  WORLD  FOR 
GROWING  BANANAS.  The  soil  is  a  rich, 
deep,  sandy  loam,  well  mixed  with  vege¬ 
table  mold ;  beneath  this  is  a  porous, 
reddish  stratum  which  seems  to  be  most¬ 
ly  volcanic  ashes ;  it  is  easily  worked, 
and  forms  a  most  desirable  subsoil  for 
the  deeper  roots. 
PROFITS  OF  BANANA  GROWING. 
The  profits  from  the  cultivation  depend 
on  the  skill  and  business  ability  of  the 
planter,  on  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  on 
nearness  to  market  and  on  other  condit¬ 
ions.  A  plantation  at  San  Pedro  is  re¬ 
ported  by  its  owner  to  yield  only  two 
bunches  of  bananas  per  acre  per  week, 
or  104  per  annum.  For  these  he  gets 
thirty-one  and  one-fourth  cents  per 
bunch,  or  an  average  of  $32.50  per  acre. 
If  the  cost  of  cultivation  and  harvesting 
be  put  at  $10  per  acre  there  wall  be  $22.50 
left  as  a  profit  on  each  acre. 
One  of  the  U.  S.  Consuls  who  has  long 
lived  on  the  north  coast  of  Honduras 
wrote  that  the  cost  of  clearing,  planting, 
cultivation  and  harvesting  one  manzana 
(100  yards  square)  of  bananas  will  be  $35. 
To  this  is  to  be  added  $4.25  for  interest  on 
the  investment  and  $7.50  for  matas  or 
sprouts,  making  a  total  of  $46.75.  He 
said : 
‘  ‘  This  plantation  the  first  year,  or  prob¬ 
ably  in  ten  months,  after  planting  the 
suckers,  will  yield  750  bunches  of  bananas, 
which,  at  the  present  price  of  seventy- 
five  cents  each  here,  will  give  $562,  or  a 
net  profit  of  $515.75  on  an  investment, 
with  interest  added,  of  $46.75.”  This 
gives  a  net  profit  of  $234.43  per  acre. 
The  issue  of  El  Diario  Nlcaraguense  for 
February  18,  1888,  published  in  Granada, 
Nicaragua,  states  that  the  cost  of  prepar¬ 
ing  the  land,  planting  and  caring  for 
forty-four  and  one-half  manzanas,  or 
ninety-two  acres,  and  the  interest  there¬ 
on  was  $5,833.  The  income  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year  was  $7,980  for  12,000 
bunches.  Deducting  the  outlay  and  20 
per  cent  for  unmarketable  fruit  there  re¬ 
mained  $551  net  profit  in  cash.  To  this 
was  to  be  added  the  value  of  the  improve¬ 
ments  on  the  land  and  of  buildings,  tools, 
etc.  The  annual  outlay  after  the  first 
year  was  $3,896,  and  the  average  yearly 
profits  were  $12,064,  or  at  the  rate  of  $131 
per  acre. 
DRIED  BANANAS. 
Drying  bananas  offers  a  way  better 
than  any  other  known  for  marketing 
bananas  The  average  weig'ht  of  ripe 
bunches  from  good  land  may  be  assumed 
EW-YORKER. 
to  be  50  pounds.  Two-thirds  of  this  may 
be  lost  in  drying,  leaving  17  pounds  of 
dried  fruit  per  bunch,  which  at  16  cents 
per  pound,  the  price  actually  obtained, 
was  equal  to  $2.72  per  bunch.  Deducting 
cost  of  land,  clearing,  planting,  weeding, 
cutting,  drying,  boxes  and  packing,  a 
clean  profit  of  $2.19  per  bunch  remains 
for  the  grower. 
WHAT  A  SMALL  OUTLAY  WILL  DO. 
To  show  what  may  be  done  with  a  very 
small  outlay,  let  it  be  assumed  that  the 
first  crop  will  give  only  200  bunches  per 
acre,  or  1,200  bunches  from  the  six 
acres  which  the  buyer  is  to  plant  within 
twelve  months,  and  also  assume  that 
these  will  sell  for  only  fifty  cents  a  bunch 
instead  of  sixty-five  to  seventy-five  cents 
now  paid  on  the  coast.  One  who  buys, 
say  twenty-five  hectares,  or  sixty-one  and 
three-fourths  acres,  at  $25  per  hectare, 
would  in  the  first  year  pay  : 
25  per  cent,  of  purchase  price  of  the  land . $156.25 
Clearing  and  planting  0  acres  @  $15 . !!!"!!  93^5 
Total  cash  outlay . $250.00 
When  the  first  crop  shall  have  been 
harvested  and  delivered,  and  not  until 
then,  is  the  cultivation  to  be  paid  for,  at 
the  rate  of  $10  per  acre.  The  unpaid  part 
of  the  purchase  price  is  also  to  be  paid 
from  the  proceeds  of  the  products  of  the 
land.  The  account  would  then  stand  : 
INCOME. 
1 ,200  bunches  @  60  cents .  $000 . 00 
1,350  plants .  1,350.00 
22>6  hectares  land,  cost  price .  502.50 
V4  hectares,  cleared  and  planted .  15G.25 
Total . $2,068.75 
Deduct  above  outlay . $250.00 
Cultivation  and  marketing .  62.50 
Interest  one  year  at  7  per  cent,  on 
*150 .  31.50 
Unpaid  part  of  purchase  price _  450.00 -  794.00 
Net  profit  of  first  year . $1,874.75 
SUGAR-CANE. 
Sugar-cane  is  very  productive  in  this 
part  of  Honduras.  The  stalk  grows  large 
and  is  tender  and  full  of  juice.  As  it 
grows  year  after  year  without  replant¬ 
ing,  little  labor  is  required  to  raise  large 
quantities  of  cane.  Sugar  of  large  and 
hard  crystals  and  syrup  of  high  grade  are 
made  of  this  cane.  It  is  easily  worked 
and  contains  a  larger  percentage  of  sac¬ 
charine  matter  than  is  found  in  the  cane 
of  the  United  States.  Honduras  sugar¬ 
cane  received  the  highest  award  at  the 
New  Orleans  Exposition,  in  competition 
with  cane  from  all  sugar-making  coun¬ 
tries. 
COTTON. 
The  cotton  plant  is  indigenous  to  Hon¬ 
duras.  Cotton  from  Honduras  was  intro¬ 
duced  in  the  West  Indies  and  is  esteemed 
above  others.  It  forms  a  tree  twenty  or 
more  feet  high,  yielding,  year  after  year, 
a  good  staple,  fine  and  strong. ,  The  quality 
of  Honduras  cotton  compares  most  favor¬ 
ably  with  that  produced  anywhere  else. 
A  successful  cotton  spinner  of  Janesville, 
Wis.,  says  of  this  fiber:  “The  cotton 
has  an  unusual  amount  of  4  beard,’  a 
quality  that  is  very  desirable  for  spinning 
purposes.” 
SARSAPARILLA,  VANILLA,  ETC. 
Large  quantities  of  sarsaparilla  are  ex¬ 
ported  from  Honduras.  It  brings  the 
best  price  in  the  market,  and  is  immensely 
profitable. 
The  vanilla  of  Honduras  is  considered 
the  best  known,  and  brings  a  higher  price 
than  any  other.  It  grows  wild  in  many 
parts  of  the  republic. 
The  tobacco  plant  produces  large, 
broad  leaves,  which,  properly  cured,  make 
tobacco  said  to  be  equal  to  the  finest 
Cuban  grades. 
VALUABLE  WOODS, 
A  great  variety  of  woods  useful  for 
building  purposes  abound  in  Honduras. 
There  is  an  abundance  of  yellow  pine 
and  of  cedar,  cypress,  mahogany,  rose¬ 
wood,  lignum  vitae,  sandalwood,  white 
and  black  ebony,  walnut,  sapodilla,  mul¬ 
berry,  copaiva,  live  oak,  tuno,  mangrove, 
ironwood,  locust,  liquidamber,  acacia, 
algarroba,  copal,  rubber  and  many 
others,  suitable  for  various  uses,  and 
santa-maria,  which  is  much  like  black 
walnut,  and  better  suited  for  houses 
than  pine,  being  easy  to  work  and  less 
liable  to  attacks  of  insects  and  decay. 
OTHER  PRODUCTS. 
Besides  these  mentioned,  there  are 
other  sources  of  income  which  will  give 
to  settlers  on  this  grant  from  50  to  500 
per  cent  per  annum  on  the  capital  re¬ 
quired  for  their  development  and  man¬ 
agement.  Some  of  them  are  such  as  can 
be  carried  on  profitably  in  temperate 
zones,  but  the  greater  number  and  most 
profitable  are  of  a  kind  which  can  never 
come  into  competition  with  products  of 
regions  where  frosts  occur.  The  settler 
need  never  raise  crops  which  can  be 
grown  in  the  United  States,  though 
many  of  them  would  yield  well.  He  can 
afford  to  import  flour,  corn  and  calicoes 
produced  in  the  north  by  the  aid  of 
machinery  and  underpaid  toil,  while  he 
devotes  his  attention  to  raising  those 
things  which  bring  high  prices,  cost  a 
minimum  of  toil  and  thought,  and  can 
never  be  grown  near  the  great  markets. 
DUTIES  AND  TAXES. 
Settlers  on  the  Perry  grant  are  for 
twenty-five  years  exempt  from  export 
duties  on  all  things  grown  on  or  made 
on  the  Perry  grant,  and  from  import 
duties  on  all  things  imported  for  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  enterprises  on  the  grant, 
and  for  the  personal  use  of  the  colonists. 
The  National  Government  of  Honduras 
has  solemnly  pledged  itself  to  warrant, 
protect  and  defend  all  persons  or  com¬ 
panies  to  whom  E.  W.  Perry  may 
transfer,  sell,  or  assign  his  rights  and 
privileges,  “in  the  safe  and  peaceable 
possession,  use  and  enjoyment  of  all 
property,  rights,  privileges  and  exemp¬ 
tions  he  or  they  may  lawfully  acquire, 
and  in  the  safe,  free  and  peaceable  pur¬ 
suit  or  development  of  any  art,  industry 
or  enterprise  which  he  or  they  may  law¬ 
fully  establish  under  the  terms  of  this 
grant  or  contract.” 
The  conveyance  to  the  Company  is  ab¬ 
solute,  and  covers  all  the  land  rights, 
privileges  and  exemptions  granted  to 
E.  W.  Perry. 
The  Honduras  Company  gives  to  each 
buyer  a  contract  for  a  deed.  Deed  in  fee 
simple  will  be  given  as  soon  as  full  pay¬ 
ment  for  the  land  shall  have  been  made. 
There  will  be  only  two  transfers  between 
the  National  Government  and  the  buyer 
from  this  Company. 
FRIENDLY  ATTITUDE  OF  HONDURAS. 
For  various  reasons,  Honduras,  like 
other  Central  American  republics,  for 
years  gave  little  or  no  attention  to  the 
development  of  her  resources.  Her  agri¬ 
culture  as  well  as  her  commerce  was 
almost  wholly  neglected.  In  recent  years 
affairs  have  greatly  changed.  The  ad¬ 
ministration,  backed  by  a  strong  pro¬ 
gressive  party,  is  doing  all  in  its  power 
to  advance  the  social  and  political  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  people. 
It  understands  clearly  that  agriculture 
is  the  only  sound  basis  of  national  pros¬ 
perity.  President  Bogran  lias  long  been 
the  most  active  and  powerful  advocate  in 
Central  America  of  wise  development  of 
the  agricultural  industry.  He  has  given 
repeated  and  emphatic  assurances  of  his 
stanch  and  earnest  friendliness  toward 
enterprises  like  this,  having  for  their  ob¬ 
ject  the  utilization  of  the  immense 
natural  riches  of  the  country. 
The  people  of  the  republic  are  natur¬ 
ally  very  friendly  to  this  movement,  as 
it  must  enhance  the  value  of  their  own 
property,  and  give  employment  to  many. 
They  understand  the  benefits  of  ad¬ 
vanced  methods,  of  improved  stock  and 
of  better  commercial  facilities.  Amer¬ 
ican  capital  and  thrift  receive  special 
encouragement  and  protection  from  the 
government.  As  showing  the  feeling 
of  the  government  toward  this  enter¬ 
prise,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  that  the 
strongest  possible  promises  of  support 
have  been  frequently  and  recently  given 
to  the  Company  by  the  highest  officials. 
In  order  to  promote  the  development  of 
Mosquitia  it  has  been  separated  from  the 
department  of  Colon,  and  the  governor¬ 
ship  of  the  new  department  was  tendered 
to  Mr.  E.  W.  Perry,  the  originator  of 
this  undertaking,  and  founder  of  The 
Honduras  Company. 
VALUE  OF  LAND. 
The  true  value  of  land  to  the  producer 
is  gauged  by  the  net  value  of  the  crops 
which  that  land  will  yield.  Farms  that 
give  an  averag-e  net  income  of  from  $2  to 
$5  per  acre,  as  do  lands  in  the  United 
States,  are  worth  little,  if  any,  more  than 
$30  to  $50  per  acre,  the  sum  upon  which 
the  profits  will  pay  a  good  rate  of  interest; 
but  land  which  gives,  year  after  year, 
form  crops  which  are  more  certain  than 
corn,  wheat  or  almost  any  great  staple 
in  other  countries,  20  per  cent  interest  on 
$375  to  $1,500,  is  surely  worth  these  fig¬ 
ures — and  this  the  fruit  lands  of  Mosqu¬ 
itia  can  be  made  to  do  by  the  use  of  a  little 
skill  and  work.  Unimproved  fruit  land 
in  California,  1,000  miles  farther  by  rail 
than  Honduras  is  by  sea  from  New  York, 
sells  for  from  $250  to  $800  per  acre  ;  yet 
those  hig-h-priced  lands  must  be  irrigated 
and  cultivated  at  great  cost ;  their  pro¬ 
ducts  must  pay  extravagant  rates,  and 
pound  and  rattle  along  for  weeks  over 
railroads,  through  blistering  heats  and 
freezing  cold,  to  reach  market — yet  Cali¬ 
fornia  planters  grow  rich. 
The  value  of  land  depends  on  its  pro¬ 
ductive  capacity  ;  on  its  nearness  to  mar¬ 
ket  ;  on  the  advantages  of  that  market ; 
and  on  the  probable  rise  of  values  in  the 
near  future.  The  Patuca  valley  lands 
certainly  rate  as  high  on  these  four  points 
as  any  lands  in  existence.  Here  the 
settler  plants,  and  in  less  than  a  year 
has  a  productive  plantation  from  which 
he  can,  with  scarcely  any  further  outlay, 
continue  to  reap  large  crops,  for  which 
he  can  get  ready  money  at  home. 
To  be  continued,  next  month  ;  or  get 
fuller  particulars  at  once  by  addressing 
THE  HONDURAS  COMPANY,  18  Broad¬ 
way,  New  York,  or  Chicago,  Ill. 
