Chapter II: Part 2

The dress of the farmer consists of a cotton jacket, white shirt and check pantaloons. His head is protected from the hot rays of the sun by a large broad-brimmed hat. This is made from the grass which grows around his doorway. No shoes are needed.

The dress of his wife is a simple white cotton gown, and his children wear no clothes at all.

The houses or homes of the peasant farmers are nearly all alike. They are built in a few days, from poles and royal palm bark. They are thatched with leaves of the palm or with grass. These huts are usually divided into two rooms.

There are no chimneys, often no windows, and but one door. A very poor house, you think; but then it is only intended for a shelter. It shields them from the damp and cool winds of night and the daily rains of the rainy season. At other times they live outside.

There is no stove, and of cooking utensils there are few. The cooking is done for the most part outside the house, when the weather is dry, on a sheet of iron or in an iron kettle. The food is served in gourd dishes and eaten with gourd spoons.

During the rainy season the people live in great discomfort. The cooking must be done inside the hut at this time. As there is no chimney, the room is soon filled with smoke, which can only escape through the openings under the eaves.

Would you like to see the furniture of one of these poor cabins? It consists of a few calabash shells used for eating vessels; some rude earthen pots; a tin cup, perhaps; two or three hammocks made of the bark of the palm tree, and a machete.

Bunches of dried herbs and gourds dangle on the walls, but there are no pictures, curtains, or ornaments of any kind.

At night the people sleep on the floor, or in hammocks. They spend much of the day also in swinging to and fro in their hammocks, smoking, and playing on their guitars and other native musical instruments.

By the door the family dog and the naked babies tumble in the dirt. Perhaps there is a pig and some poultry; but there is sure to be a game-cock or two.

Near the house is the garden. In this are raised sweet potatoes, beans, squashes, muskmelons, peppers, gourds, calabashes, bananas and plantains.

The farmers we see at work have their oxen harnessed to rude plows by the horns. The ground is so rich it is not necessary to plow it very deep.

An acre of good land here will produce more vegetables and fruit than in most other countries.

Riding through the country we see plantations of coffee, sugar cane or tobacco, and also stock farms. Puerto Rico is fertile from the mountain tops to the sea. It is rich in pasture lands, shaded with groves of palm trees, and watered by hundreds of streams.

Here and there herds of horses and cattle and flocks of sheep graze on the plains. When we approach the flocks of sheep, we discover a very curious thing. The wool on these sheep is not at all like the wool on the sheep raised in our own country. It is more like the hair of the goat.

Cattle are highly valued by the people, not only for dairy and food purposes, but as beasts of burden and draft.

Outside of the large plantations, crops are raised on a small scale; and modern implements and machinery are almost unknown.

Most of the land is divided up into very small farms or garden patches, or is taken up by groves.

In the interior of the country are many little villages, shut out from the rest of the world. We reach them by the narrow horse-trails that wind in and out among the mountains.

THE LABORER'S HILLSIDE HOME.

Perched on the hilltops and sides, shaded by banana trees, are the picturesque little huts of the laborers. Most of them pay no rent. Land owners give them small patches of ground on the hillsides, which they themselves do not care to till, in order to have the laborers near or on the plantations to assist in cultivating or harvesting the sugar cane, tobacco and coffee crops.

Here the peasant laborers build their cabins; and, when there is no work for them on the plantations, they tend their gardens in a haphazard way. By working a little each day they manage to make a scant living.

Five months of the year they labor for their landlords, receiving about fifty cents a day.

The laborer is often paid in plantains. Fifty plantains are a day's pay. On this he feeds his family, for the plantain is the Puerto Rican peasant's bread.

The plantains left are taken to market and sold. One day a week is lost in this way, for the market is often twenty miles away.

Near a stream on the mountain side we see a group of women. Some of them are sitting on stones by the bank; others are standing in the hot sun in midstream, and all are washing.

It is wash day, and they have brought their clothes here to wash them. They have no tubs, wash-boards, clothes-pins, or clothes-lines. Sometimes they have no soap. In place of this, they use the seed or roots of the soapberry tree.

The soap-seed tree bears several months in the year. The seed is inclosed in a yellow skin, and is black, and about the size of a marble. The leaf of a vine, called the soap vine is also used for the purpose of washing clothes.

The clothes are first soaked in the stream or pond, and then spread upon a broad, smooth stone; after which they are pounded with clubs or stones. When they are clean, they are spread out upon the bushes to dry and bleach.

Then the tired women rest under the trees, and chat, and perhaps smoke until evening. When the hot sun has gone down in the west, they make their damp and dry clothes up into huge bundles, lift them to their heads, and plod homeward.

Let us follow them to their homes up on the mountain side. Some of the huts are built closely together. Others are scattered about on lonely ledges. Shall we go inside one of these huts? The woman who has just returned has thrown her burden into a corner.

The fire has been carefully smoldered, and this she now blows into a flame and then proceeds to prepare the evening meal.

About the other cottages are women squatting on their heels, gossiping with one another. In the ditch near by little children paddle about. Their voices are soft and pleasant, and their play merry and good-natured. We hear no quarreling.

Now their mother calls them to bring in some sticks for the fire. When these are added to the flame, the firelight shines out in the darkness and guides the father on his homeward way.

He has been working on the coffee plantation near, and is now climbing the narrow, winding path up the hill with his load of plantains. Perhaps the wife will cook some for supper.

The children satisfy their hunger, and then creep into their corner or hammock and are soon fast asleep.

Out in the darkness we hear the tinkle of a homemade guitar. Now another, and then another, takes up the Spanish or Indian air. Perhaps the beater of a drum is added to the little band of musicians which has gathered in an open space near the small village.

The natives compose much of their own music, and wild, strange melody it is. It seems to inspire one with a wish to dance. The Puerto Ricans are very fond of this amusement, and when they hear the music of the band, they gather around for a frolic.

Once a week, at least, they gather for a dance; and this, with their cock-fighting and gambling, is almost their only form of amusement.

Few of these people can write or read. They have no books and can not afford to buy even a newspaper.

The life of the peasant in Puerto Rico, you see, is not an easy or pleasant one; but he does not suffer from cold or hunger, as do the poor in northern countries.

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GLIMPSES OF OTHER CITIES.

We have now a very good idea of San Juan and of rural life in districts near it.

So let us travel about the island a bit, for glimpses of other parts of the country, and of the other important cities.

The most comfortable way to do this would be to make the voyage around the island on board the ship, going ashore for sight-seeing when the ship makes port for freight.

But this would give us no opportunity to see the interior of the island; so we make up our minds to endure poor roads in order to enjoy the mild adventures that fall to our lot (as all good travelers should do).

We decide to celebrate the seventeenth of November, the anniversary of the discovery of the island, at the place where the ship of Columbus first touched land over four hundred years ago.

We find no Pullman cars on the railroad which leaves San Juan for Aguadilla; but the novelty of the ride takes the place of the luxuries to which we are accustomed at home.

The train goes leisurely along at the rate of sixteen miles an hour. We are glad that it goes no faster, for it gives us an opportunity to see the beautiful country through which we are passing.

The line follows the coast most of the way. Upon one side are frequent views of the ocean, and upon the other a constant panorama of wonderful scenery.

ARECIBO.

A ride of four or five hours brings us to Arecibo, a town of 7,000 people, on the north coast. It is the headquarters of the sugar industry, and the chief town of one of the most fruitful regions on the island.

The harbor is very poor, being little more than an open roadstead. Into this harbor empties a small stream called the Arecibo. Goods are transported on this river, to and from the town, in flat-bottomed boats, with the aid of long poles and by much patient pushing.

Along the river are valuable plantations of sugar and coffee, as also fine pastures.

Arecibo boasts one of the most handsome and artistic plazas on the island. These plazas are usually paved with stone and devoid of vegetation; but this one has a small park in its center, surrounding a beautiful fountain.

The cathedral, which faces the plaza, is larger than usual, and more modern than most of the church buildings in the West Indies.

AGUADILLA.

After a night spent in Arecibo we wish to hasten on to Aguadilla, but the railroad, we find, will not carry us so far. It ends at Camuy, a few miles west of Arecibo. Here we take a carriage for the remainder of the journey.

The old-fashioned coaches are drawn by small ponies, and these brave little animals carry us up hill and down hill, through deep mud holes, over rocks, into and out of ruts, at a terrific pace.

We wonder that the carriage does not break and spill us out. The driver lashes the poor beasts until it seems as if his arms must be lame, but our protests have no effect on him.

Aguadilla, a quiet, peaceful little city of 5,000, lies on the western coast. Here Columbus landed in search of water when he made his second voyage.

He found a clear, rippling spring, with the water filled his casks, and continued on his way. On the shore stands a cross marking the spot where his boat's keel touched the sand.

The town has beautiful trees, and is surrounded by choice grazing-lands. It is noted for its fish, sugar-cane, sweet oranges, and lemons.

The cultivation of sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco and cocoanuts furnishes the industries of the neighborhood. We find the three establishments for the preparation of coffee for market very interesting places to visit.

MAYAGUEZ.

Leaving Aguadilla for Mayaguez, we take the tramway which connects the two towns. It is the only one on the island, and the people are very proud of it. But oh, what a ridiculous little road!

It is a narrow gauge, not more than forty-seven inches wide. The cars are quite diminutive, and do not carry more than ten or twelve people. We can ride the length of the road, about two miles, for five cents.

We see long lines of patient oxen plodding their way to the city, pulling clumsy carts piled high with oranges. Mayaguez is the market to which the best oranges in Puerto Rico come.

Large, sweet, and luscious we find this fruit, the principal food of many of the people.

It grows wild by the roadside, in the valleys, everywhere except on the hillsides. Such quantities of oranges! It seems as if enough of the fruit is grown in Puerto Rico to supply the whole of the United States. Yet very few oranges are sent away from the island. They can not be shipped profitably until good roads are built.

The city of Mayaguez claims a population of 20,000 people. It has, probably, 12,000 to 15,000. It is the great western shipping port, is the third largest city, and the prettiest and most attractive city in Puerto Rico.

Mayaguez is very different in appearance and customs from the other cities. We can scarcely realize that we are on the same island.

The streets are macadamized, wide, shaded by trees, and lined with handsome shops and residences. The sidewalks are narrow,--only two can walk abreast on them.

The town is well provided with public buildings. It has also three hospitals, a home for the destitute, a public library, good waterworks, is lighted by electricity, and possesses the only street-car line on the island. The principal plaza is a park of grand old shade trees. It contains a majestic statue of Columbus.

The citizens are, many of them, coffee planters who have estates near the city. Each family of the better class dwells in a home of its own, instead of living in second stories.

The poor people of the town are not so poor, or unclean, or shiftless, as the poorer classes at the capital.

PONCE.

To reach Ponce, the next city we wish to visit, we must use carriages as well as railways. It is on the southern side of the island.

Ponce is the largest city in Puerto Rico, having a population of over thirty-seven thousand people. The main part is built on a plain about three miles from the seashore.

A fine road connects it with Playa, the port, where are found a good harbor, large wharves and the more important government offices.

Ponce has wide, clean streets, handsome buildings, and attractive homes. Many quaint and picturesque old buildings line its avenues; but in the newer parts of the town and in the suburbs the buildings are modern.

It has a military hospital and barracks, two other hospitals, a home for the old and poor, gas works, and an ice machine. There are also establishments for hulling coffee, drying coffee, distilling rum, manufacturing carriages, and grinding sugar. (See illustrations on pages 54 and 69).

The large central plaza has pretty gardens and a cathedral.

There are three manufactories of chocolate for the use of the people in the surrounding country. Sugar, coffee, oranges, pineapples and cocoanuts are brought here to be shipped to the United States and other countries.

Near the city are white-gypsum quarries; also medicinal baths, to which many invalids and travelers go.

The only Protestant church in the West Indies is the Episcopal church here.

On the outskirts of Ponce is an old cemetery, in which many famous Puerto Ricans of an early day were buried. It is quite different from our idea of a cemetery. It is one solid mass of masonry built into the side of a hill. In this are narrow vaults, one above the other.

The openings of these vaults look much like bakers' ovens. The bottom vaults are used first, and when a body is laid in one of them it is sealed up and the name of the deceased graven on the outside. The next member of the family who dies is placed in the vault above; and so on, each family having a tier of vaults.

As carriages and hearses are rare objects in Ponce, the coffin is sometimes carried on the shoulders of men. The procession is often composed of those attracted by curiosity, rather than the friends and relatives of the deceased.

The people of Ponce are wide-awake, progressive and anxious to better their condition. They are also more hospitable and friendly than in other towns.

It was here that the American army under General Miles proceeded in 1898, after landing at Guanica. The troops received a hearty welcome from the inhabitants.

The people were glad to be relieved from Spanish rule, and wished to have their land annexed to the United States.

A proclamation of welcome was issued to the soldiers, feasts were spread, and the stars and stripes floated from many house tops.

THE MILITARY ROAD.

Now we are ready to return to San Juan, going northward over the great military road, one of the finest highways in the world.

It is macadamized, is fifty feet wide, ninety-seven miles in length, and smooth and even as a boulevard. It crosses mountains which reach a height of almost four thousand feet. It winds in and out among the coffee-covered hills, giving us a fine view of the green mountains and the deep valleys below.

Looking down we see patches of sugar cane and tobacco; groves of bananas, cocoanut, and palm trees; hedges of strange growth; unknown plants and vines, and fern-covered rocks.

Here and there is a rude cabin surrounded by bread-fruit and banana trees. We pass picturesque little towns with blue and yellow houses and quaint churches, their spires towering upward. In fifteen hours we would reach San Juan, but we delay our journey in order to obtain a closer view of the scenery and of the homes of the people.

Many happy hours we spend on the plantations in the country.

During these country rides and visits we get our knowledge of the animal and plant life of the island.

Let us stop, then, for a few days, at a country home by the seashore.

A COUNTRY HOME.

The residence of this home we find to be of good size and divided into rooms by partitions that reach only half way up to the roof. This is to give a free circulation of air. The house is thatched with palm leaves, and has a wide veranda running around it.

Mosquito curtains are used to keep out the swarms of sand flies and mosquitoes that make the night uncomfortable.

All doors and windows are closed before sunset and not opened until the moon is well up. Then large fires are lighted around the house to drive the mosquitoes away. This is for our benefit, for the natives do not mind these insects as much as we do. But we have other midnight visitors.

Large fireflies fly in at the open windows and light up the room with their fairy lamps. And such wonderful fireflies, over an inch long!

The people, the children especially, are very fond of these fireflies and frequently keep little cages of them for pets. They feed them on sugar-cane juice and bathe them as if they were birds.

Little crabs rattle gaily over the floor and sometimes crawl into our shoes, where we find them in the morning; friendly but ugly lizards croak from the walls and roof, where they pass the night hours in catching insects.

These lizards are found in and about most of the houses and are harmless, useful little fellows. They are six or seven inches long, of a pale, yellowish color, mottled with brown.

Instead of taking a morning bath in our rooms, we take a dip in the warm sea water. We find it hot, even very early in the morning; and as we walk to the shore in our bathing suits, we make a large palm leaf do duty as a sunshade.

When we dress for breakfast we examine our clothes very closely, for the centipedes have a disagreeable way of taking strolls over one's clothing and the bedding.

Our breakfast consists of turtle eggs, bread fruit, plantain and cocoanut milk. Our meals are served on the veranda, and there we spend the most of the day. Hammocks are swung from the beams, and, lying in them, we drink in the cool sea air and feast our eyes upon the beautiful surroundings.

In the shallow water near the shore we find great pink conch shells. The fish in them we have made into soup for our dinner, and very good soup we find it.

Sometimes we go out in the mountains with our host hunting for game, or for mountain cabbage for our dinner. Perhaps others would like to know what this mountain cabbage is, and we will tell them. It is the bud of a palm tree, a part of the trunk of which, when young, is edible. When cooked, it looks like very white cabbage; but the flavor is finer and more delicate. It is sometimes eaten raw, as a salad.

The meat for our dinner consists of fish, and the flesh of the armadillo, the agouti and the iguana.

These animals are queer looking creatures. As we wish to see them in their haunts in the woods and fields, we will accompany our host on some long walks and drives, in order to find out more about them.

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ANIMAL LIFE.

When Columbus visited the West Indies, he was delighted by the beauty in and about them. "I know not," he said, "where first to go; nor are my eyes ever weary with gazing on the wonderful verdure. The singing of the birds is such as to make one wish never to depart."

The wonderful beauty of the country of which he spoke is unchanged; but we listen and look in vain for the singing birds. The hunter's gun has caused the disappearance of large numbers of the birds. Those remaining are found only in the forests.

Columbus spoke also of the flocks of parrots "whose bright wings obscured the sun"; but we seldom see the brilliant plumage of these birds on our excursions.

BIRDS.

There are said to be about one hundred and fifty kinds of birds on the island of Puerto Rico. Among these are the mocking bird, the wild canary, the sugar bird, the thrush, the humming bird, the owl, the hawk, the dove, the cuckoo, the oriole, the nightingale, and the Guinea bird. During the migrating season, many other birds fly over from other islands.

Flamingoes and other water birds are numerous on the coast.

There is a parrot market in every port, however, and this is a popular place of resort. Here are cool trees and drinking stands, or booths, where cocoanut milk and cool drinks are sold.

The birds are not usually confined to cages, but are left to climb about the booths. The natives love these birds and make great pets of them. The birds are tame and quite accomplished in the art of begging. When the passer-by extends his hand, they walk into it for the sake of the gifts which they know will come.

But the bird which is oftenest seen is the fighting or game-cock. The streets and market places are full of these. They are the pets and often the most valued possessions of their owners.

OTHER ANIMAL LIFE.

The scorpions, centipedes, wasps, sand flies, fleas and mosquitoes manage to make things lively for us much of the time.

One enterprising and annoying insect, the chigoe, or "jigger," is able to bore a hole through the sole of a shoe and attack the foot.

There are no poisonous serpents or dangerous wild animals in the country; so we travel about through field and forest without fear.

The boa, which is occasionally seen, is huge and alarming in appearance; but it is looked upon as a friend rather than an enemy. It is of great service to the farmer in clearing his place of rats.

The largest native animals we find to be the armadillo, the agouti, and the iguana.

The agouti is a little animal resembling a rabbit. It lives on vegetable food, and finds a home in the rocky hillsides and on the borders of the woods. As game is not plentiful, it is sometimes used for food.

The armadillo and iguana are preferred for food, however. It is not an easy matter to catch an armadillo. It has a shell on its back, and into this it promptly retreats at the first sign of danger. It has a long, pointed snout and strong, sharp claws. It can dig a hole in the ground almost as fast as a man can dig with a pick and spade; so, when an enemy appears, it digs a hole and buries itself from sight. It is not a troublesome animal. It lives chiefly upon beetles, grubs and worms, which it hunts by night.

The iguana is a lizard which feeds on fruits and vegetables. It grows to three or four feet in length, and is an ugly looking creature. It will not fight unless you compel it to do so. It does not live in the water, but in trees, bushes, and in the cracks and fissures of rocks. Sometimes hunters build fires at the entrance of their hiding places and smoke them out. The flesh, when cooked, resembles chicken or veal, and is a popular dish with the natives.

But the most delicious meat of all comes from the land crabs and the crayfish. These are caught in great numbers when the crabs migrate from the mountains to the coast. Once a year they make this journey, for the purpose of depositing their eggs in the sand.

The sea fisheries are important to the people of Puerto Rico. The coast waters and fresh water streams swarm with fishes of strange shapes and gaudy colors.

Among these are the shad, sardines, Spanish mackerel, dolphins, flying fish, sting rays and sharks. The sponge, the manatee and the whale are also found near the island.

Suppose some one were to ask you to what kingdom the sponge belonged. Could you tell? Many years ago people believed that it belonged to the vegetable kingdom; but it is now known to belong to the animal kingdom.

The animals attach themselves to rocks, shells and other hard substances below water.

Mussels, clams and sponges are cultivated to some extent. Mollusks are useful in many other ways than as food. Their shells are used for making buttons, parasol handles and shirt studs. Sometimes they are used for making roads. Many shiploads of these shells are brought to New York from Puerto Rico and other parts of the West Indies every year.

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PLANT LIFE.

Puerto Rico seems to us to be one big flower garden. All kinds of fruit grow wild and most wild plants blossom and bear fruit several times a year.

Cultivated fruits, flowers and vegetables are planted several times a year in order that a fresh supply may always be at hand. Flowers bloom every month of the year, but are most plentiful in June. Ferns, in some instances, grow to spreading trees, with graceful drooping fronds. Many plants have colored leaves which are as brilliant as the flowers themselves.

Everywhere grow trees and shrubs valuable for their fruit or for their medicinal qualities.

The leading crops are sugar cane, coffee and tobacco. Over one-half of the exports consists of coffee, and a little less than one-fourth, of sugar. Cacao and fruits make a large part of the remainder.

Rice forms the chief food of the laboring classes, and this grows, not on the wet lowlands, as in our country, but on the mountain sides.

Bananas and plantains are two of the important food products. Next to these, the yam and the sweet potato form the diet of the natives.

Among the fruit trees we find cocoanut palms, tamarinds, prickly pears, guavas, mangoes, bananas, oranges, limes, cacao (or cocao) trees and lemons.

Among the spices found here are the pimento, or allspice, nutmeg, clove, pepper, mace, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla.

The hills are covered with forests, which, yield valuable timber and dye woods. Among these are mahogany, cedar, ebony, and lignum-vitae trees. Logwood and other dye materials are common.

Many varieties of the palm flourish here,--the cocoanut palm producing fruit in greater abundance than in any other country of the West Indies.

THE COCOA PALM.

The most abundant cocoanut groves in the world are said to be found on Puerto Rico and the other islands of the Antilles. This tree usually grows near the coast, for it loves the salt water; but it is sometimes found on the hill slopes a short distance inland.

"The tree grows to a height of from sixty to eighty feet, lives a hundred years, bears a hundred nuts each year, and is said to have a hundred uses for man."

The trees bear such heavy burdens of fruit that it seems impossible that so slender a trunk could hold such a weight of fruit in the air. The fruit is expensive when it comes to us, because of the difficulty in climbing the trees, gathering the nuts, and removing from them the heavy fibrous husks.

Here is a negro gathering cocoanuts. Let us watch him. He climbs the tall tree, dragging a rope after him. About his waist is a belt in which is thrust a machete.

He hacks off a bunch of the nuts and attaches it to the end of the rope. It is then lowered to another negro or to the ground. The nuts are in bunches of a dozen or two, and are covered with a green, smooth, shining covering.

After the bunches of nuts are all removed from the tree, the climber throws down the rope and comes down hand over hand.

These nuts are so large that a single one often yields two glasses of milk.

We found that the natives made boats and furniture, as well as houses, from the trunk of this palm tree. They extract from its roots a remedy for fever. The foot stalks of the leaves are made into combs. The leaves are used for thatching huts and in making baskets, mats and hats.

The fibrous material at the base of the foot stalks is used for sieves, and woven into clothing. A medicine is made from the flowers, and from the flower-stalks palm wine is made. From the juice is made sugar and vinegar. From the fruit or nut, water, jelly and meat are obtained. Oil is extracted from the kernel; and the refuse is used for food for fowls and cattle, as well as for manure.

From the husks ropes, brooms, brushes, and bedding are made. The shells are used as lamps, cups, spoons, and scoops.

It has been called the poor man's tree because it gives him food, drink, medicine and material with which to build his home.

The tropics could not do without the palm. It is more to that region than the pine is to the north.

THE CALABASH TREE.

Another very useful tree to the natives is the calabash, or gourd tree. It provides him with many household utensils. In height and size it resembles an apple tree. Its leaves are wedge-shaped and its flowers are large, whitish and fleshy.

The fruit is something like a gourd and often a foot in diameter. The shell of the fruit is so hard that it is not easily broken by rough usage or burnt by exposure to fire. It is used instead of bottles, cups, basins, dishes, pots and kettles, and to make musical instruments.

Sometimes the calabashes are polished, carved, dyed or otherwise ornamented. The pulp of the fruit is used as a medicine.

THE TRAVELER'S TREE.

One of the most curious and beautiful trees on the island is the traveler's tree. It is so named because it contains in its leaves and at their bases a large quantity of pure water.

By piercing the leaves with a spear or pike the water is drawn out, and found cool and refreshing. It often relieves the thirst of the traveler in this warm country.

BREAD FRUIT.

Among the fruit products used in large quantities are the bread-fruit and bread-nuts. These trees grow very large and have wide-spreading branches about fifty feet from the ground.

The leaves are, very broad, and the fruit looks something like an ovoid osage orange as large as one's head.

The fruit is best when picked green, and baked in an oven or in the ashes, after paring away the outer skin or rind. When done it resembles a browned loaf of bread. It is very good and, wholesome, too; but it tastes more like baked plantain than bread.

The bread-nuts look on the outside like the bread-fruit, but the inside contains a great mass of closely packed nuts like large chestnuts. These are not good raw, but are fine when baked or boiled.

ANNOTTO.

We have often heard people speak of butter and cheese being colored, but did not know that the dairyman was obliged to send to the West Indies for his dye. The bush which provides it is called the annotto or annatto. It grows to the size of the quince tree. The leaves are heart-shaped; and the rosy flowers are followed by fuzzy red-and-yellow pods, something like chestnut burs.

These small burs are filled with a crimson pulp containing many seeds. This pulp is immersed in water a few weeks, strained and boiled to a paste. The paste is made into cakes and dried in the sun. Then it comes to our country and appears upon our tables in butter or cheese.

Can you tell me where bay rum comes from? We have often wondered, and find here an answer to the question. It is furnished by the bay tree, which grows here. The leaves are distilled and the oil extracted from them to furnish this perfume for the bath.

SPICES.

Spices, in some form, are served every day upon our table; yet few of us know where they come from, or where, how, or upon what they grow.

We have heard of the Spice Islands, perhaps, and we just take it for granted that they all grow there. We are very much surprised, then, to find many of the spices in Puerto Rico.

ALLSPICE, OR PIMENTO.

The pimento spice is native to this soil. The groves of these trees are beautiful. The trees grow to a height of thirty feet, their stems are smooth and clean, and their leaves glossy.

The trees bear fruit when about seven years old. The berries are gathered green and dried in the sun. The branches to which the berries are attached are broken off by boys and thrown to girls and women, who pick off the berries, and take them to the drying places. One tree sometimes bears a hundred pounds.

The tree likes the hills and mountains along the sea, a hot climate and a dry atmosphere.

THE NUTMEG TREE.

The nutmeg tree grows to a height of thirty to fifty feet. The ripe fruit looks somewhat like the apricot on the outside. It bursts in two and shows the dark nut covered with mace, a bright scarlet. This is stripped off and pressed flat. The shells are broken open when perfectly dry, and the nuts powdered with lime to prevent the attacks of worms.

The tree bears the sixth or seventh year,--the nuts becoming ripe six months after the flower appears. Twenty thousand nuts are sometimes gathered from one tree.

Other important growths we find to be pepper, which begins to bear when five years old and may bear for thirty years; the vanilla bean, which proves to be very profitable when properly cared for; and cacao, which requires eight years to come to full fruitage, but is an invaluable plant.

MINERALS.

Puerto Rico has no mines or minerals of any consequence, except a little iron. Foundries for magnetic iron have been established at Ponce, San Juan and Mayaguez.

Gold, silver, copper and coal are known to exist in small quantities beneath the surface, but not in sufficient amount to be mined.

The island is well supplied with limestone, which makes an excellent building material. Marble, also, is easily obtained. Along the coast are occasional marshes where salt is prepared for market.

OUR JOURNEY'S END.

Our month in Puerto Rico is drawing to a close, and the good ship which is to bear us homeward is waiting in the harbor.

We make a last farewell tour of the shops in San Juan, and buy a few gifts for the friends at home: a green parrot to please sister; a tortoise-shell comb for mother; a cane for father, a native hat for brother, and a calabash drinking bowl for the school museum.

It is with reluctant steps that we make our way to the ship. The clear sky, the perfect climate, the constant verdure, the wonderful plants and trees, and the beautiful mountain scenery make Puerto Rico one of the most attractive lands to be found anywhere.

Although the roads are in a deplorable condition, a new system has been planned, and will probably be soon completed.

Though the country may lack school buildings, the cities and towns are better provided with other public buildings than most places of the same size in the United States. And the eagerness with which the people seize upon the statements that their children are to be given the same opportunity for an education as children in the United States have, indicates that the schoolhouses will soon dot the island.

The streets of the smallest villages are paved, and all contain some place of recreation and attempts at ornamentation. Each village has one or more public squares laid out with trees, walks, flowers, seats, and usually with a band stand in the center.

We do not find these improvements in all our own small towns. But the people need better schools, more nourishing food, and improved methods of farming. Sanitary measures need to be introduced into the homes and communities. Harbors need to be dredged, that ships may come closer to land. The water power of many rushing streams needs to be chained and made to generate electricity, to grind corn, to hull coffee, to cook food, to pull cars, and to light cities.

There should also be fountains, baths, and sewers; the land in certain sections should be irrigated, and the streams should be bridged, that means for travel and transportation may be afforded.

Perhaps all this will be done, ere we visit this island again. At any rate, we sincerely hope that this may be the beginning of a new and better day for Puerto Rico.

* * * * *

REFERENCE BOOKS.

"Our New Possessions," by Trumbull White. Cloth, 676 pp........$2.00
"Puerto Rico and Its Resources," by Frederick A. Ober.......... 1.50
"The West Indies," by A. K. Fisk. 414 pp....................... 1.50
"Porto Rico," Hall............................................. 1.00
"Porto Rico," Rector........................................... 1.25
"Porto Rico," Dinwiddie........................................ 2.50
"Porto Rico," Robinson......................................... 1.50
"The West Indies and the Main"................................. 1.75
"At Last" and "A Christmas in the West Indies," Kingsley.......
"Three Cruises of the Blake," Alexander Agassiz. 2 vol......... 8.00
"Down the Islands," Palon...................................... 2.50
"The West Indies," Fiske....................................... 1.50
"In the Wake of Columbus," Ober................................ 2.00
"Due South," Ballou............................................ 1.50
"The Foreign Commerce of Our Possessions," etc., Treasury
Department, Washington.....................................
"Porto Rico," National Geographic Magazine, '99, 25 cts.
a number; per year......................................... 2.00

These books may be obtained from A. FLANAGAN Co., Chicago, Ill., at price given. Considerable reductions may be secured, if several volumes are purchased at one time.

TEACHER'S SUPPLEMENT

* * * * *

A LITTLE JOURNEY TO PUERTO RICO

* * * * *

SPECIAL SUGGESTIONS.

Children love to read or hear of the people of other lands, and the tactful teacher will wrap her information about the natural features of a country in the "sugared pill of stories."

Books of travel are helpful and interesting in linking together fact and story. From them the child comes to feel a sympathetic interest in the ways of people unlike those he knows.

By emphasizing the idea of continuity of beliefs and customs, we impress the child with the most important lesson history and geography hold for him,--that all countries and peoples are closely related and have mutual interests.

"The acquisition of this feeling of the inter-relationship of the nations of the world, while starting the child out with a broad view of life, will in no wise lessen his love for his own country."

Too often the lonely little stranger in our midst--the foreigner--is viewed with heartless curiosity, or contempt, and subjected to ridicule. Patriotism to many a child means nothing more than a belief that our own country is the best, our own people the smartest, and that we can whip any and every other nation on the globe.

Do the children know that the "blood that boils so hotly against other countries is drawn from the very same sources that feed the veins of our seemingly alien neighbors"?

If any teacher imagines that her pupils have a definite idea of the meaning of patriotism because they are able to sing "America" and the "Star-Spangled Banner," let her read Marion Hill's story, entitled "The Star-Spangled Banner," in McClure's Magazine for July (1900).

THE TRAVEL CLASS.

Nothing in the study of geography is more interesting or helpful to pupils than the taking of imaginary journeys. It makes geography a _live_ subject.

Suggest that your pupils organize a Travel Club, and that some of the trips be personally conducted.

Maps and a globe should be in constant use. The home should be the starting point. Railroad circulars, maps, and time-cards for free distribution will be found valuable. Pupils should be taught _how to use_ these maps and time cards.

Give pupils a choice as to routes or roads over which they are to travel. Each pupil, however, should be able to give a reason for his preference for any particular road, and must know the number of miles and the time required for the journey. The road or route voted upon by the majority may then be decided upon, and preparations made for the trip.

Find out the best time to go to each particular country, and the reason. What clothes it will be best to wear and to take with one. About how much money it will be necessary to spend on such a trip, and when and where this money should be changed into the coin or currency used in the country we expect to visit.

A _Guide_ may be appointed to obtain time-tables, maps, railroad guides, the little books of travel, or other descriptions of routes and of the parts of the country that are to be visited. (Further suggestions in regard to these "helps" will be found elsewhere in this book.)

The principal features of the country passed through may be described, if time permits; also the more important cities. Note the population, occupations, productions, together with anything of special interest or historical importance associated with the city or locality.

The _Guide_ takes charge of the class in the same way that a tourist guide would do. He escorts us from the home depot to the city, state, or country, pointing out the route on a map suspended before the class.

Arriving at the city or country, he takes us to the various points of interest, telling as much about each as he is able, and answering questions pupils may wish to ask. If the guide can not answer all questions, the teacher or some other member of the party may.

When the guide has finished with a topic or section, other members of the party may give items of interest concerning it.

A different pupil may act as guide to each city or part of the country visited, and each pupil should come to the class with a list of questions about the places.

Every pupil in the class may take some part, either as guide, or as the class artist, musician, librarian, historian, geographer, geologist, botanist, zoologist, or man of letters.

A _Historian_ may tell us of the history of the country, and answer all questions of historical interest.

A _Geographer_ may tell of the location on the globe, of the natural land formations of mountains, canyons, prairies, rivers, etc., and of the climate resulting from these. He should illustrate his remarks.

A _Geologist_ may assist, and show specimens of minerals and fossils, or pictures of these.

A _Botanist_ may tell us of native plants, useful or ornamental, and show pictures of these if possible. A _Zoologist_ tells of the native animals, their habits and uses.

The geographer, geologist, botanist, and zoologist direct the work at the sand table, and assist in reproducing the country in miniature.

The _Merchants_ and _Tradesmen_ tell us of the products for which their country is noted, and show samples of as many as it is possible to secure. They also tell what they import, and why.

A _Librarian_ or Correspondent may visit the library for information sought by the club. He must be able to give a list of books of travel, and be ready to read or quote extracts referring to the places visited on the tour.

He or his assistant may also clip all articles of interest from papers, magazines, and other sources, and arrange these, as well as the articles secured by other pupils, in a scrapbook, devoted to each country.

The _Artist_ and his assistant may tell us about the famous artists and their works, if any. He may illustrate his remarks with pictures, if he can obtain or make them.

The _Club Artist_ may also place upon the board in colored crayons the flag, the coat of arms, and the national flower of the country.

A _Photographer_ may be appointed to provide or care for the photographs and pictures used in the class talks. The photographs may often be borrowed from tourists or others. Pictures may be obtained from magazines, railroad pamphlets, the illustrated papers, or from the Perry Pictures, and mounted on cardboard or arranged by the artist in a scrapbook with the name of the country on the cover.

If the members of the travel or geography class are not provided with the "LITTLE JOURNEYS," the teacher should have at least two copies. The pictures from one of these books should be removed and mounted for class use. They may be mounted on a screen, or on cardboard, and placed about the room or grouped in a corner. They should be allowed to remain there during the month, that all the pupils may have an opportunity to examine them.

Another pupil may collect curiosities. Many families in each neighborhood will be able to contribute some curio. Pupils in other rooms in the building will be interested in collecting and loaning material for this little museum and picture gallery.

Coins and stamps may be placed with this collection. Begin a stamp album, and collect the stamps of all the countries studied. The stamps of many countries show the heads of the rulers. One of the most attractive of these is the United States postage stamp showing "Columbus in Sight of Land."

The album should be kept on the reading table with the scrapbooks, in order that pupils may have access to it during their periods of leisure.

Dolls may be dressed in the national costume or to represent historical personages.

This form of construction work may be done outside of school hours by pupils under the direction of the historian and artist. The dolls, when dressed, may be made the centers of court, home, field or forest scenes arranged on the sand table.

A _Musician_ or musicians may tell us of the characteristic music of the country, and of famous singers or composers. She may also sing or play the national song or air of the country, if there be one.

The singer should be dressed in national costume, if it is possible to secure it, or to make it out of calico, paper, or some other cheap material.

A _Man of Letters_ may tell of the famous men and women of the country through which we are traveling, and may visit their homes with us. He may call attention to the literature of the people and give selections from noted writers, from or about the places visited.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRIP.

With maps, guide-books, time-tables and notebooks before us, we look up the steamer lines and routes and decide when, where, and how to go. (Good maps will be found in the railroad guide-books).

City newspapers publish once a week the lines of steamboats and their times of sailing. The steamboat agents also furnish advertising matter giving other necessary and interesting information.

When we have decided upon our route, we telegraph ahead for our staterooms. Now let us plan for our baggage. What kind of a trunk must we take? Why a steamer trunk? How large must this be? What will we do with this trunk when we leave the boat? (We are advised to leave it and part of its contents at the ship company's office. They will store it until we are ready to take the return trip). How many pounds of baggage are we allowed on the steamer?

What other baggage shall we take (hand bags)? Why not small trunks? (Because every pound of baggage must be paid for in some countries.) Many countries have not our convenient system of checking baggage. What else will we need? (Traveling rugs.)

What clothes must we take? First, we must take warm clothes for steamer wear, which may be packed away when we arrive. Then we must take traveling suits for train wear, and thin clothing to use after arriving at our destination.

We have promised friends at home that we will inform them of our safe arrival immediately. How can we do this? By mail? Is there not a quicker way? How many know of the cable? How many have ever sent a cablegram? Can we cable from Puerto Rico? How much will it cost? Our guide-books give us all this information.

We must have guide-books, phrase books, toilet articles and writing materials. These should be packed in linen or canvas bags, because more easily carried about than heavy leather satchels.

Our guide must be able to speak Spanish, for that is the language of the Puerto Rican people.

If one of our party acts as guide, we must be careful to select a polite, tactful, and, above all, a patient and good-natured person. Why?--Because his patience will be severely taxed many times during this trip.

Arriving at the city from which we are to sail, we visit points of interest, the docks especially, and compare our steamer with others, learning what we can about all the ships in the harbor.

If our lesson is well planned, we can accomplish a great deal the day we sail.

CLASS WORK.

After two or three conversational lessons, let pupils begin their diaries (composition books). In these may be written descriptions of what they see, hear, or read about the place being studied or visited.

In most schools will be found one or more pupils who have been upon or crossed the ocean. Let them give both oral and written descriptions of the voyage.

In giving accounts of these journeys, have pupils describe the incidents and details of everyday life on ship-board. They may tell of the ship, its furnishings, rigging, engines, officers and crew.

Let them also describe the dining room, the meals, and the manner of serving.

They may further describe a stateroom or berth, and picture their fellow passengers in words or drawings.

It will greatly cultivate their power of expression to tell how the time on board the vessel was passed, and to narrate any interesting occurrences of the voyage. They may describe the ocean by day and by night; also its appearance in a storm.

Many will be interested in descriptions of the birds that were met and of the fishes that swarmed about the ship.

If time will not permit each pupil to give oral descriptions or to write compositions on each topic, assign a different topic to each pupil. Bind all papers together, when finished, to keep with scrap-books devoted to the country visited.

These diaries or reproduction stories may be illustrated with pictures clipped from illustrated papers and other sources or by original drawings.

Try to secure specimens of seaweed to be exhibited to pupils during the lesson on the sea voyage. Ask pupils to secure ocean shells, sponges, pictures of sea birds, and specimens or pictures of other animal and plant life in the ocean.

AFTERNOONS ABROAD.