They are the pets and often
the most valued possessions of their owners.
OTHER ANIMAL LIFE.
[Illustration: THE ARMADILLO]
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.
* * * * *
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.
[Illustration: BRANCH AND FRUIT OF THE CACAO TREE.]
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.
[Illustration: A PUERTO RICAN SUGAR MILL.]
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.
