Authorized Share Capital:Preference shares, £250,000 (in £10 shares).Ordinary shares, £250,000 (in £10 shares).Of these, the whole amount has been issued, viz.£500,000Debentures:Authorized (5 per cent. Prior Lien)£250,000(5 per cent. Mortgage)660,000£910,000Out of which a balance still remained unpaid off847,800Five per Cent. Terminable Notes Authorized andincluding cost of issue45,000Thus the company has a total liability outstanding of£1,392,800
Few of the States in Central America offer greater opportunities or inducements for railway extensions than Salvador, and this in spite of the fact that the country is generally mountainous, and is more than well supplied with rivers, most of which for railway purposes have to be bridged. It must be remembered, however, that Salvador is the most densely populated of all the Central American Republics; the country has therefore been very carefully surveyed, with the idea of railway extension upon a considerable scale.
In the year 1891 the United States Government despatched an Intercontinental Railway Commission to make surveys and explorations, not only in Salvador, but in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The result of such enterprise has been the publication of a voluminous Report, which was issued in 1898, five years after the Commission's return to the United States. The Report is altogether favourable for railway extension in Salvador, and it speaks very highly of the enterprise of the Salvador Railway Company, of which a description will be found in the preceding pages. Previous to the despatch of the American Commission, the Salvador Government had had a survey of the eastern portion of the country made by Mr. Charles T. Spencer, an English engineer of great experience, and who is now General Manager of the Salvador Railway. There can be very little question that at some time in the near future further railway construction will be proceeded with, since the country is so rich in agricultural produce that a means of transportation in addition to and other than that in vogue must be introduced. In many parts of the country the ground is quite favourable to railroad work, the soil beinglargely decomposed volcanic ash, which stands well in cuttings, although there are numerous spurs to be cut through in many of the districts surveyed; these are in general all lava rock or conglomerate, offering good material for ballast. In but few localities are any grades found steeper than 2 or 3 per cent., or any curves sharper than 12°.
A Government concession for the construction of a railway from La Unión to the Guatemalan frontier was granted on June 15, 1908, to Mr. René Keilhauer, who was authorized to construct a line to extend from the port of La Unión, on the Gulf of Fonseca, to a point on the Guatemalan frontier. The line as projected leaves the port of La Unión, and passes or connects with the cities of Usulután, San Vicente and Cojutepeque, unites with the line already built between the capital and Santa Ana, and proceeds to the Guatemalan frontier to make connection with the Atlantic Railway of that country, and which was inaugurated towards the middle of 1908. A branch line will eventually, it is supposed, also run from La Unión to San Miguel, the most important town of the eastern section of the Republic of Salvador, and connection will be made with Ahuachapán to the west, thus furnishing railroad links with all the principal Departments.
The total length of this line will be 360 kilometres, and the contract carries with it the construction of a wharf at La Unión of steel and iron, to be erected in connection with the railroad, and capable of accommodating the freight handling of steamers. The stipulation is made that the survey of the line shall begin "within sixty days of the signing of the contract," and that the La Unión-San Miguel section be completed "within eighteen months"—that is to say, by the endof 1910; but this stipulation obviously has not been carried out. Of the remaining sections of the railroad, 20 kilometres annually are to be put into commission. Government assistance is guaranteed, and free entry for all material at the Customs-house is assured.
Previously Mr. Keilhauer had been granted a concession for the construction of a line of railroad from Santa Ana to the Guatemalan frontier, the duration of such concession being ninety-nine years, and carrying with it a Government subsidy of 3 per cent. per annum of the cost of each kilometre, which was fixed at $20,000 (=£4,000).
The most important feature in this contract lies in the circumstance that it covers the section of the Pan-American line belonging to Salvador, as defined in the Convention which was signed in Washington on December 20, 1907, on the occasion of the Central American Peace Conference. As a matter of fact, work upon this construction was only commenced on April 15, 1910, on the Eastern Division of the Pan-American Railroad, and the occasion was celebrated by official banquets, as is the hospitable custom in Latin-America. It is significant that at the time that the concession was obtained, and before any actual work commenced, the name of Mr. René Keilhauer was used; but from then onwards it disappears, and those of Mr. Minor C. Keith and Mr. Bradley M. Palmer, both of the United Fruit Company, the former being the President, are substituted. Mr. Keith has a firm grip upon several of the Central American Republics, particularly Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala; while he has also extended his tentacles to Nicaragua, with somewhat doubtful beneficial effects to that Republic. Mr. Minor C. Keith is likewise themoving spirit in the railroad from Santa Ana (in Salvador) to Zacapa (in Guatemala). This line has a length of seventy-nine miles, and is of a standard gauge. Although surveys had been undertaken and materials had been ordered at the time of my visit last year to the Republic, nothing whatever had been done towards active construction.
There are some critics of this contemplated line of railway who consider it not alone one extremely costly to construct, but as likely to prove a financial loss to the proprietors when finished and open to traffic. It may be, of course, that this view is unnecessarily pessimistic, but, inasmuch as hereafter the investing public may be invited to take a hand in the enterprise, it is desirable to present the other view for their careful consideration.
Ports and harbours—La Unión—Population—Railway extensions—Lack of British bottoms—Carrying trade—H.B.M.'s Vice-Consul—Port of Triunfo—Bad entrance—Proposed railway—Acajutla—Loading and unloading facilities—Proposed improvements—Salvador Railway connections—La Libertad—Comandante and garrison—Loading and unloading facilities—Cable station and the service provided by Government—The staff of operators.
Ports and harbours—La Unión—Population—Railway extensions—Lack of British bottoms—Carrying trade—H.B.M.'s Vice-Consul—Port of Triunfo—Bad entrance—Proposed railway—Acajutla—Loading and unloading facilities—Proposed improvements—Salvador Railway connections—La Libertad—Comandante and garrison—Loading and unloading facilities—Cable station and the service provided by Government—The staff of operators.
The western arm of the Gulf of Fonseca forms the capacious and land-locked harbour of La Unión, which is situated on the south-western shore, four and three-quarter miles above the entrance. On the north side of the bay are extensive mud-flats that contract the channel in places to less than a mile in width, while another in front of the town uncovers at half-tide, virtually cutting off all communication with the shore. This flat has encroached upon the anchorage since Sir Edward Belcher's survey was made, diminishing the depth slightly, and shifting the channel a little to the northward. A small pier facilitates landing at high-water, and on the outer end of it a light is sometimes shown; but it is of minor value, being dimmed by the lights in the town behind it. Coffee, cotton, hides, and balsam of Peru (so called, although it comes from Salvador), are exported. Beef, poultry, and oysters, can be obtained at reasonable rates. As ships find great difficulty in watering here, it is recommended to anchor and fill up at the spring, one mile below Chicarene Point.
Steamers coming to La Unión are given the following directions:
"If bound for La Unión, keep to port of all the islands, and steer to come between Conchaguita and the western shore under the volcano of Conchagua. When fairly in mid-channel, the entrance to the harbour will be seen ahead between Punta Sacate Island on the right and Chicarene Point, which terminates the eastern slope of the volcano on the left. Steer nearly for the Point, and even bring it a little on the starboard bow if the flood-tide is running, as it sets across the shoal north of Conchaguita. As the point is approached, open it a little from the north end of Punta Sacate and run past, giving the island the widest berth, as there is a rocky patch making out from the south-west point. It has been recommended to keep Chicarene Point close aboard, but a steamer drawing 15 feet touched a rock in doing so; therefore a safe rule would be to keep a little to the westward of mid-channel. During the springs the tide runs through the pass at the rate of three knots an hour."
"If bound for La Unión, keep to port of all the islands, and steer to come between Conchaguita and the western shore under the volcano of Conchagua. When fairly in mid-channel, the entrance to the harbour will be seen ahead between Punta Sacate Island on the right and Chicarene Point, which terminates the eastern slope of the volcano on the left. Steer nearly for the Point, and even bring it a little on the starboard bow if the flood-tide is running, as it sets across the shoal north of Conchaguita. As the point is approached, open it a little from the north end of Punta Sacate and run past, giving the island the widest berth, as there is a rocky patch making out from the south-west point. It has been recommended to keep Chicarene Point close aboard, but a steamer drawing 15 feet touched a rock in doing so; therefore a safe rule would be to keep a little to the westward of mid-channel. During the springs the tide runs through the pass at the rate of three knots an hour."
The port of La Unión is the largest in the Republic, but, in spite of this fact, landing is sometimes difficult, and until some constructional improvements are made it will continue to be so. At present it is necessary to disembark from the steamer on to a launch; from the launch descend into a small row-boat, and from the small row-boat transfer to a "dugout." Even then the traveller is not at the end of his trials, since he has to leave the dugout for a ride on a man's back through several yards of surf before he can reachterra firma.
La Unión has a population of 8,000 people, including a garrison of 1,000 troops. It carries on a considerable amount of trade, chiefly in coffee exportation and foreign goods importation, in spite of the difficulties of approach by sea. The advent of therailway is likely to add to this volume of traffic, if only to a limited extent. It is noteworthy, however, that the people of La Unión are by no means enthusiastic regarding the approach of this railway, and they speak very pessimistically as to its prospects. In conversation with one of the leading citizens, I was informed that the railway "is hardly likely to prove profitable, since it is in the hands of the wrong people" (namely, an American group); and the case of the railway at Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, which is controlled by some of the same entrepreneurs, is quoted as an example of what may be expected. So indifferently are passengers treated in connection with the Guatemala Railway, which is under the jurisdiction of the United Fruit Company of Boston, U.S.A., that no one now will travel upon it if he can possibly avoid it. It is quite probable, in view of the much-improved steamship service offered by the Salvador Railway (from Acajutla to Salina Cruz, Mexico), that this will continue to be the principal means of reaching the United States and Europe and for transmitting cargoes.
La Unión was at one time a port of call for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company of Liverpool, which, however, withdrew their service in 1898, apparently finding the competition with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company of San Francisco too keen, and the carrying business insufficient. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company sold out their interest to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and since then—much to the regret of all shippers and passengers alike in the Central American ports—its boats have not been seen at La Unión.
In fact, no British steamers have called there exceptan occasional Leyland or a Lamport and Holt steamer sent to load coffee, and the reappearance of the British flag has been entirely due to the efforts of the Salvador Railway Company.
The Pacific Mail Steamship's Company's freight charges are now $3 gold (12s. 6d.) per ton for carrying coffee from La Unión and other Central American ports to San Francisco, U.S.A., but they formerly charged $8 (33s. 4d.) per ton. The considerable reduction is due to the severe competition which this octopus-like company has had to meet with from both the Kosmos Company and the Salvador Railway.
The annual export of coffee from La Unión amounts to 150,000 sacks, all of which are carried to Europe (Hamburg, Havre, etc.), the Kosmos Company taking by far the greater part. Day by day the Pacific Mail Steamship Company loses ground and popularity throughout Central American ports owing to its extortionate charges (where there is no competition), to its indifferent management, and, above all, by reason of the gross discourtesy with which its clients are sometimes treated by the uncouth and half-savage officials whom it employs.
British interests at La Unión, such as they are, are represented by Mr. John B. Courtade, His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul; and this gentleman also acts as French, Chilian, and Norwegian Consul. Mr. Courtade, who is a Frenchman by birth, has been a resident of La Unión for thirty-three years, and he is one of the best-known and most-respected inhabitants of the place. The "palatial" offices which enshrine H.B.M.'s Vice-Consulate will be noted with satisfaction by the patriotic.
Between La Unión and La Libertad is situated the port of Triunfo, which is 60 miles from the latter, and 156 miles from the former. Triunfo, however, has a very poor natural entrance, owing to the heavy surf which is continually breaking on the shore. It is to this port, nevertheless, that an American syndicate are about to construct a railway, with the idea of handling the large quantity of coffee which is grown in the neighbourhood, and consigned to this port for shipment abroad. So dangerous was Triunfo formerly considered as a landing-place, that Lloyd's had been advised by their agents not to issue insurances, but to allow shippers to take the risk. With the contemplated improvements at the port, however, in conjunction with the railway, Triunfo will probably be ranked with La Unión as a safe and convenient port. At present the steamers of the Salvador Railway Company call there on their way to and from Corinto to Salina Cruz.
During last year the Government encouraged measures to maintain a first-class service of loading and unloading cargo at the various ports, while attending also to the embarking and disembarking of passengers, recognizing the necessity of putting both these branches of service upon a more satisfactory footing. Serviceable and commodious port-boats have been provided for each of the Comandantes at La Unión, La Libertad, and Triunfo. The latter port is now used, as mentioned above, for the shipping of coffee almost exclusively; and it is through El Triunfo that is exported the produce of the bountiful coffee harvest yielded by the Department of Usulután, which represents more than a third part of the whole of the Republic's coffee produce.
Acajutla, the port of Sonsonate, is an open bay about sixty-two miles to the east of San José; it is sheltered from the south-east by the Remedios reef, a dangerous and extensive shoal, extending from a point of the same name. The salt water here is considered injurious to cables and copper. Ships anchor in 9 to 11 fathoms. Landing is occasionally difficult, and ought to be effected in a good boat. Merchant vessels load and discharge their cargoes by means of bongos, or large craft in the shape of whale-boats. A substantially-built pier, fitted with cranes, facilitates the landing, although at times the surf renders it hazardous. By giving short notice, fresh provisions may be obtained in large quantities from Sonsonate. The active volcano of Izalco, on a north-east by north bearing, forms a good leading mark for this part, and Point Remedios, long, low, and thickly wooded, may easily be recognized.
The sea-bathing at Acajutla contributes to the attraction of the place. Nowhere upon the coast of these Central American countries will a smoother or wider sand-beach be found; and at all times of the year, while at most hours of the day, women and children are found disporting themselves in the swelling and sometimes boisterous surf. The comparative freedom from the attacks of sharks and other predatory fish is also a great benefit, although there are stories current of men and women having been seized and carried away by these prowling tigers of the sea. An "old inhabitant" of some twenty-five years' residence, however, informed me that he had never known of a case where death had ensued, and, while he himself had heard of the shark stories referred to, he had no personal knowledge of their accuracy.
The sanitary conditions of Acajutla are at present poor, and it is scarcely surprising to hear that cases of fever and other maladies exist in certain seasons. All this could easily be changed by a more strict municipal supervision, and an ordinance which rendered penal the perpetration of the prevailing habits of the people. Such deadly fever-dens as the local "hotel," for instance, should be swept away without remorse or hesitation, and a system of house-to-house inspection introduced. In view of the fact that many foreigners as well as natives have, of a necessity, to spend a certain amount of time in the port, awaiting their steamers proceeding north or south, it is the bounden duty of the local authorities to see that their lives are not endangered by pestilential conditions existing in the town. The small but important colony of hard-working port and railway officials should also be considered, and especially as among them are some few Europeans who are not accustomed to the unsanitary system in vogue. I have little doubt that, once the attention of the Salvador Government is directed to this matter, some improvement will be introduced, and, once introduced, will be carefully maintained.
SpencerMr. Charles T. Spencer;General Manager of the Salvador Railway. Appointed May, 1911.
Mr. Charles T. Spencer;General Manager of the Salvador Railway. Appointed May, 1911.
Mr. Charles T. Spencer;General Manager of the Salvador Railway. Appointed May, 1911.
AmayoDon Juan Amayo;Governor of the Department of Cuscatlán.
Don Juan Amayo;Governor of the Department of Cuscatlán.
Don Juan Amayo;Governor of the Department of Cuscatlán.
Whatever prospect is in store for the port of Acajutla depends to a great extent upon the success of the new shipping arrangements in connection with the Salvador Railway, and these, as I have already pointed out elsewhere, are making consistent and steady progress. It is but a small place, and, although very picturesquely situated upon a typically tropical coast, it is at some seasons found rather trying, especially to Europeans. The surrounding scenery, like all the country in Salvador, is attractive to the eye, the long line of blueocean, fringed with its lacelike foam, for ever gathering and breaking in dazzling green and white waves upon the smooth and sandy beach; the brilliant green of the mangrove, the cocoanut palms, and the banana patches lend vividness of colour, while the distant mountain-peaks, innumerable and fantastic of shape, give the port of Acajutla a decidedly romantic aspect.
Although during the dry season a strong and cool wind blows for several hours of the day, and at sunset changes to a pleasant land-breeze, blowing sometimes steadily, and at others decidedly gustily, during the night, the hours of darkness never seem so long nor so trying, on account of the heat, the dryness, and the mosquitoes, as is the case in so many parts of South and Central America. Some day, maybe, this place will be taken in hand by the speculative builder, and as great improvements effected as have been introduced at Panamá, at Puerto Limón (Costa Rica), and at San José, in the same Republic, but on the Pacific side of that Republic. Acajutla is just as open to, and capable of, improvement and reformation; between the enterprise of the Salvador Government and the Salvador Railway Company there is no reason why this port should not eventually become one of the most important in Central America.
La Libertad is the second of the three Salvadorean ports, as already mentioned, Acajutla and La Unión being the other two. It is a small but well-formed roadstead, but does not invariably offer good shelter to the largest vessels, since sudden rollers come in which are apt to snap ship's cables unless with a long range. The foreshore is narrow, and is backed up by some lofty hills—scarcely high enough to be called mountains, however—which are partially cultivated, andform a pleasing setting to the Port itself. The buildings are few as yet, but such as there are they seem to be well constructed and of superior character both outwardly and inwardly; the usual style of Latin-American architecture is followed in regard to the one-story edifice, except in the case of the Comandancia—official residence and office of the chief authority—which is a large wooden edifice of two stories, the lower portion forming the quarters of the garrison, and the upper part the residence of the Comandante. About 100 men form the garrison, the regiment quartered there being the 5th Artillery. They possess several pieces of modern ordnance, which they know how to handle with great expedition and efficiency. The guns are kept exceedingly clean, and frequent drills serve to keep the artillerymen both smart and interested. The Comandante of the Port, Captain Angel Esteves, is quite a young man, possessed of a very pleasing face and figure, as well as of charming manners. He has travelled in the United States, and speaks English fairly well. He expressed to me his intention of shortly visiting England in order to study military matters, and "to see a country of which he had always heard great accounts, and for which he entertained a profound admiration."
The streets of La Libertad are mostly paved with hewn stones, and the whole place, consisting of but 700 or 800 inhabitants, is kept in excellent sanitary order. A market is held here every week, and a considerable amount of local trade is carried on from day to day. The extensive warehouses and Customs sheds are also well filled with foreign goods received from different ports of Europe and the United States; but while as many as three or four ships call there everyweek, I understand that these do not include any British bottoms other than the steamerSalvador, belonging to the Salvador Railway Company. The Comandante informed me that during the two years that he had been in La Libertad he had not seen another British vessel at the Port, the vessels calling there being either American, German or French.
A large amount of coffee is exported from La Libertad, the bags arriving out-bound from San Salvador, the capital, which is only eight leagues (about twenty-four miles) distant, and the journey usually being performed in a day and a half by ox-waggon, or in three or four hours on mule-back.
Between the Capital and the Port are situated two towns—Zaragosa and Santa Tecla—both of some importance. Around both also are located many coffee and sugarfincas, such as that of La Laguna, near San Salvador, the property of Herr Fédor Deininger, of whom I have made mention elsewhere in this volume, and who is one of the wealthiest, as well as one of the most enterprising, coffee-planters and sugar-manufacturers living in Salvador.
La Libertad possesses a strong and well-designed iron pier, some 450 feet in length, with two large covered warehouses, steam-cranes, and all the necessary apparatus for loading and unloading lighters. There is a double set of rails running from the pit-head to the Customs-house, and a fair equipment of flat-cars and platforms-cars. The warehouses are kept scrupulously clean and airy, everything being maintained in admirable working condition.
The pier and the wharf were constructed by a local company some forty years ago, and the concession which covered that period having only expired lastyear (1910), the pier and everything connected with it have now become the property of the Salvadorean Government. It is not intended, however, to make any additions or alterations to the structure, which is in all respects equal to the port's requirements at the present time. In all probability La Libertad will not much increase in importance as a port, in view of the extensions at Triunfo and at Acajutla, which already possesses a railway to the Capital, and of La Unión, which ere long will also have one to the interior of the Republic.
La Libertad must nevertheless always count as of some consequence, if only on account of its being the one cable-station in the Republic of Salvador, and which serves at the same time as a receiving-station for Costa Rica, the one Central American Republic which has no cable-station of its own. La Libertad shares with Colón the monopoly of despatching and receiving all the cable-messages from Central America and the United States. Its cable extends to Salina Cruz, in Mexico, messages being thence transmitted to Galveston, U.S.A. La Libertad's cable, although in constant use, is regarded more as a "stand-by" in the event of a breakdown on the Panama line, an eventuality of by no means infrequent occurrence, especially in time of political trouble and when the fierce Atlantic storms prevail. A full equipment is therefore always maintained, although the active staff employed consists of but two individuals—Mr. A. H. Hooper, an American of great linguistic ability and remarkable literary judgment, and a young Danish telegraphist, Fédor Michaelson. Both officials are expert instrument-operators, and in depending upon the La Libertad station as a substitute or a "stand-by,"the Cable Company are leaning upon no hollow reed. Messrs. Hooper and Michaelson are highly competent officers, the latter, indeed, being one of the quickest and most accurate operators that I have met with in any part of the world.
In La Libertad a number of press and Government messages from all parts of the world are received every day, and sometimes almost all day. The instruments used include Muirhead's automatic transmitter, which will send 200 letters per minute, and Sir William Thompson's patent recorder, as well as a complete fault-finding apparatus, which enables the officials to at once trace the seat of any breakdown which may occur to the cable, and thus despatch the repair-ship to the necessary spot. While visiting the La Libertad cable-station, I witnessed several messages being despatched and received (and actually corresponded with Salina Cruz, Mexico), the average speed being a little over fifty words in three minutes, or, say, seventeen words a minute received and recorded.
At this cable-station above mentioned, a service of cablegrams received for the Salvadorean Government averages 2,000 words a day. The service is supplied free of all charge by the Government to the Salvador newspapers, and is greatly appreciated by the reading public. The source of supply is New York, and the Correspondent responsible is the New York Correspondent ofLa Prensa, the great Argentine daily newspaper, which enjoys the proud position of possessing the most palatial offices of any newspaper in the world. The news-cables are very informative, and are at the same time commendably free from political bias or personal opinions—a rare recommendation indeed, considering the land of their origin.
Agriculture—Government support and supervision—Annual productions—Agricultural schools—Cattle-breeding—Coffee—Sugar—Tobacco—Forestry—Rice—Beans—Cacao—Balsam—Treatment by natives.
Agriculture—Government support and supervision—Annual productions—Agricultural schools—Cattle-breeding—Coffee—Sugar—Tobacco—Forestry—Rice—Beans—Cacao—Balsam—Treatment by natives.
It is only natural, in a country where agriculture forms one of the most important sources of revenue, that the Government should have directed its particular attention to the supervision and control of the industry. The Land Law of Salvador consists of no fewer than 245 separate articles, which are contained under eight different "titles," as follows: Title I.: Concerning the government and control of the industry, and which contains six chapters; Title II.: Concerning persons who devote themselves to agricultural industry, containing five chapters; Title III.: Concerning rural property, which contains four chapters; Title IV.: Concerning live-stock and game, consisting of four chapters; Title V.: Concerning public roads, containing but one chapter; Title VI.: Forest culture, containing three chapters; Title VII.: Water for public use, containing two chapters; Title VIII.: Concerning administrative justice and guarantees afforded to rural property, consisting of two chapters. This Land Law is a model of common sense, and shows evidence of much ability in construction; it might well serve as a model for similar executive ordinances in other countries, not excepting that ofGreat Britain, where agricultural legislation and Governmental assistance are sorely needed.
The Government of Salvador exercises its control over all agricultural matters, firstly by the Executive, through the medium of the Department of the Interior; secondly, through an Agricultural Board; thirdly, through Departmental Governors, who are assisted by Local Boards; fourthly, through municipalities, with their Mayors and Agricultural Committees; and, fifthly, through the services of Rural Inspectors, Special Assistants, and Commissioners. It is to be observed that the Land Law of Salvador, while of an administrative character, leaves in force the Civil Code of Civil Procedure, even in those questions especially relating to rural property, without prejudice to the few provisions relating to these codes, and which can be regarded as additional or modifying provisions.
The annual amount of agricultural produce exported from the Republic of Salvador may be put as follows: Coffee, 30,000 tons; Sugar, 70,000 cwt.; Rubber, 500 cwt.; Balsam, 1,300 cwt. These figures, however, are exclusive of the considerable amounts of each commodity consumed in the country, and which likewise comprise large quantities of cereals, such as corn, beans, rice, wheat, etc. The Government is encouraging the cultivation of henequén, orSisal agave, as well as cotton, maize, and other useful plants, which will figure to some degree in future returns from the Department of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Councils and Committees of the Department, besides contributing to the development and increase of agriculture, also assist the scientific improvement of the crops, circulatingamong cultivators all those provisions which they judge to be opportune, and as likely to conduce to the prosperity of the industry. A step in the path of agricultural progress is the creation and maintenance of the School of Agronomy, which is carried on upon a plantation of some 200 manzanas in extent, where there is water in abundance. The farm is located between the cities of Sonsonate and Izalco, and lies at 450 metres elevation above the level of the sea. The school building is constructed on a tableland, which occupies the most elevated part of the plantation, and consists of all the usual departments considered to be indispensable for an establishment of its kind. It possesses laboratories for the study of, and experiments in, chemistry and botany, and a small model dairy, provided with all the necessary apparatus, instruments, and tools. The total cost of the institution and its equipment amounted to $64,498.19. It was inaugurated on June 4, 1907, and in the month of September of the same year student classes were opened, and they have since been maintained, under the direction of the Agronomical Engineer, Don Félix Choussy, without interruption. This school ranks as one of the most pronounced successes which the Government of the Republic has achieved.
It would be difficult to find any locality in South America, not excepting the Argentine Republic or Uruguay, where the breeding of cattle could be engaged in, nor where finer butcher's meat can be grown more successfully, than upon the magnificent pastoral ranges of Salvador. Cattle are not only abundant, but they seem to thrive with practically little or no attention. The meat secured is of a delicious and firm nature, but, unfortunately, as in all tropical countries, it mustbe cooked and eaten the same day that the animal is killed. The natives do not deem this any objection; but Europeans, who are accustomed to the taste of tender and juicy meats, do not so generally approve. The price of beef is moderate in extreme, and it can be found on sale in the markets all the year round.
Sheep are somewhat scarce, and they do not appear to thrive here as they do in some parts of Mexico or in Argentina. I should not consider Salvador a good sheep-country, and the breed is not in any way encouraged. Possibly the heat of the plains is a bar to any great success attending the raising of these animals, while, on the other hand, mutton is not a popular diet with the people, who are not in any case very heavy meat-consumers. On the great majority of small estates, and even among the poorest of the people, hogs are very largely bred, and some fine specimens are to be met with. Among poultry, fowls and turkeys, again, are numerous, and generally of excellent quality, large and plump birds being obtainable for very moderate prices at all times. In this case also it is customary to cook and consume the birds a few hours after they have been killed, so that a tender fowl is not often met with. I noticed but few ducks or geese, and the latter birds may be regarded as somewhat of a rarity. Quantities of wild-fowl, however, find their way to the market, and there they fetch moderately good prices. Immense flocks of duck are found at certain seasons of the year feeding and breeding upon the many inland lakes, and they afford excellent sport to the few guns which break in upon their almost undisturbed repose. These quiet and peaceful lagoons, in their entrancing scenic surroundings, form an ideal spot for the sportsman, sincethey would be found an almost untouched field for his amusement.
Salvador, from the conformation of its surface and the nature of its soil, is essentially an agricultural State. The basin of the River San Miguel, that of Sonsonate, and the valley proper of the Lempa, no less than the alluvians bordering on the Pacific, are of an extraordinarily fertile character and especially adaptable for the production of tropical staples. Around the Bay of Jiquilisco and the port of La Libertad, cotton has been cultivated with success for the last sixty years, but it is only up to within comparatively recent years that the principal products of the State have included indigo, sugar and maize. In many respects the State of Salvador differs agriculturally from the South and other Central American Republics. In the first place, there is but little unappropriated land to be found in it, nearly the whole being the property of private individuals; secondly, the people are active and intelligent—naturally so, and not merely by education; they are unquestionably industrious. Certainly they are the best cultivators in Central America; and under favourable circumstances—that is to say, during periods of political tranquillity—they can find abundant employment for their labour.
HotNative Habitation in the Hot Country.
Native Habitation in the Hot Country.
Native Habitation in the Hot Country.
SugarNative making sugar from a primitive wooden mill.
Native making sugar from a primitive wooden mill.
Native making sugar from a primitive wooden mill.
Indigo, or, to give it its native name, "jiquilite," for long constituted the chief article in the exports of the country, but in point of importance it has had to give place to coffee. Indigo is found in practically all parts of Salvador, but especially in the districts of Zacatecoluca and San Miguel, and some idea may be obtained of the great space of ground which is, or rather which used to be, appropriated to indigo, when it is stated that it takes about 2 cwt. of the green plant to yield8, 10 or 12 ounces of indigo; on the land which is found most suitable to it, 12 ounces are seldom exceeded, but there are records which show that in favourable seasons, upon taking an average of five years, upwards of 12,000 serrones (1 serron=150 pounds) have been produced in the entire Republic. A quantity such as this, in former times, would be valued at $3,000,000 in the European markets; but as long ago as the year 1850 the value of the product had become greatly reduced, and it would not even then have realized one-half that sum. To-day, when aniline dyes take the place of indigo, it would be difficult to place anything like an accurate price upon such an amount of produce, nor to suppose that it would be marketable at all. How much the production has fallen off in later years can be seen when it is said that the total amount produced in 1891 was only 7,889 serrones, and in the year following, 9,587 serrones.
Indigo is produced from an indigenous triennial plant,Indigofera Añil, which is its botanical name, and the plant flourishes luxuriously upon nearly all kinds of soil. The land requires comparatively little preparation, being merely burnt and slightly ploughed. The seed, which is scattered broadcast, is sown in the months of February and April, and the growth of the plant is so rapid that by the end of August it has attained a height of from 5 to 6 feet, and is then fit for cutting. The product of the first year is but moderate, and it is at this stage called "tinta nueva," the strength being reserved for the second and third years, when the product is known as "tinta retoño." When the crop is ripe, the process of manufacture is carried on daily without interruption until the whole of the cropis garnered. Just as the plant requires little attention and no skill, so the manufacture of the indigo calls for neither a very difficult nor any expensive process; all that it needs is that it be cut promptly and at the proper period, otherwise it becomes worthless. This means that the proprietors of the larger estates must have an ample and a reliable supply of labour at hand, which desideratum cannot be implicitly relied upon in the present condition of the market.
Next to indigo, coffee ranks second in importance in the country's agricultural products; the very finest berry is grown in the Republic. It may be found in practically all parts, wherever the land rises between 1,500 and 4,000 feet above sea-level. The choicest and most productive plantations are located in the Departments of Ahuachapán, La Libertad, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana and Sonsonate. The berry is also grown in Usulután, La Paz and Cuscatlán, many hundreds of thousands of additional trees having been planted throughout this part of the country during the past two or three years.
The coffee-tree is a tender shrub, and needs careful attending and protection from the sun from the time of planting, and even for a lengthy period after it has begun to produce crops. It required a great many years to convince the cautious inhabitants of Salvador that there was money to be made in growing coffee, and up till some fifty years ago little attention was paid to the industry, since few opportunities existed for disposing promptly of a whole crop. The stimulus which latter-day transportation offers was wanting, as was the world-wide demand for the coffee-berry which has since been met with. Since the industry was first seriously entered upon, the resources of the State have beengreatly augmented, and the welfare of a large labouring class has correspondingly increased.
I was informed upon one estate, orfinca, that the trees in Salvador were sufficiently matured when three years old to produce a fair crop, and that this yield continued to increase until the seventh year, when it reached its maximum. It is calculated that the outlay for labour and expenses in producing coffee amounts to between 21⁄2d. to 3d. per pound, while the retail price varies from 5d. to 1s. It may be taken, on an average, that one-half of the annual crop is consumed in the country, and that the remainder is exported. There is a general opinion prevalent among experts that Salvadorean coffee is superior in quality to that of Brazil, or even to the Blue Mountain (Jamaica) berry; while as to the pre-eminence of the aroma over both of these rivals there can be no question whatever.
Sugar-cane growing is an industry for which the genial climate and the bounteous soil of Salvador are admirably adapted, and the cane is cultivated to a greater or less extent in all of the fourteen different Departments. As I have pointed out in another part of this volume, when describing sugar machinery (see Chapter XII.), there is a great need of improved equipment, which, were it provided, would probably serve to double, and even in some cases to treble, the amount of this particular product. But even with the imperfect reduction work which is carried out upon nine-tenths of thefincas, sugar is produced to such an extent as not only to abundantly supply the home requirements, but to provide a considerable share of the country's exports. The greater part of the sugar used in the country is turned out in the shape of small blocks or cakes, weighing about 2 pounds each, andbearing the name ofpanela, similar to that produced in Brazil and Mexico. A large quantity of this stuff, which looks and tastes very much like toffee, while it also resembles the maple sugar of North America, is used in the manufacture of native rum. Conical-shaped loaves of compact white sugar, weighing from 25 to 40 pounds each, are also manufactured, but are mostly made for export.
In the "golden days" of California, the greater part of the rum which was consumed upon the gold-fields came from Sonsonate in Salvador, being packed in 14 and 15 gallon casks and greybeards of from 3 to 6 gallons, suitable for easy transport to the Californian diggings.
For some years past Salvador has been gaining a reputation for the excellent quality of its tobacco, and there are several manufactories established in the Republic, which are doing remarkably well. One of the best known for cigars is that of Señora Josefa B. de Diaz, the amiable proprietress of the Hotel América, at Cojutepeque.
Half a century ago Salvador was exporting tobacco to Mexico, and had been doing a fair amount of trade with that country even in the time of the Spanish dominion. The tobacco production collectively in all the provinces of the Republic yield a net revenue to the Government of more than £500,000 annually; but the method of administering and collecting the taxes in former times helped as much as anything else to retard the industry. For instance, under the old régime a general system was subscribed, and scrupulously adhered to, which precluded people from raising tobacco, except when they should obtain a licence to do so from the authorities; and the growers, underone of the many irritating conditions attached to the official permission, were bound to deliver the entire crop, after it had been dried and prepared, into the Government factories at a stipulated rate per pound; it was then retailed to the community at a fixed price, and yielded the substantial revenue referred to. Later on each province passed its own laws for regulating this branch of the public income, and, inasmuch as these laws were neither uniform nor permanent, great confusion prevailed and much loss was incurred, while an immense amount of smuggling went on, as may well be believed.
The Government of Salvador of recent years has adopted quite different methods, and has done much to encourage the industry, such, for instance, as importing tobacco-seed and distributing it gratis among cultivators, with the idea of promoting the culture of the plant; while at the same time it has imported native cultivators from Cuba for the purpose of teaching the method of growing and working the tobacco as practised on that island. In spite of this free and valuable instruction, I am afraid that the methods of handling the tobacco in Salvador are often found to be decidedly primitive, the growers allowing the leaves to dry in the sun without detaching them from the stalks, the latter being cut a few inches above the ground. They are then piled in stacks from 6 to 9 feet in diameter and from 3 to 4 feet in height, heavy weights being placed on the top, and the whole covered over with a thick layer of banana leaves. Fermentation then ensues, and by this action the colour and aroma of the leaves are brought out. Only by guesswork is it decided when the process is complete, and the tobacco is then taken from thestack, exposed for a short time to the air, whereafter the leaves are detached from the stalks, sorted, and tied into bundles, and then sent to market. It will be recognized that the choiceness of the tobacco and its excellent quality must be very high when they can withstand successfully such a crude treatment as this. How much more valuable might the plant's product become as a commodity, and how much higher would be the revenue yielded, were modern methods of treating the leaf to be introduced!
In some sections of Salvador tobacco-growers have resorted to an ingenious method of ridding the tobacco-leaves of destructive insects and worms that feed upon the tender young plants at certain periods of their development. A kind of turkey, known locally under the name of "chompipe," a bird which was brought originally from the West Indies, and is capable of being easily domesticated, is kept in flocks of considerable size in the vicinity of the tobacco-fields, and at certain hours of the day these are driven through the fields in order to rid the tobacco-plants of worms and insects.
These turkeys do their work so well that the smallest insect fails to escape them, and yet they pick them off with such care that the tender leaves remain free from injury. Without the use of these fowls, labourers must be employed to go through the fields at stated intervals to pick off the insects and worms from the leaves; and this method, aside from being tedious and unsatisfactory, often damages the leaves through rough handling, causing defective development and a reduction of their value as a marketable product.
I found, in my travels through the country, other classes of agriculture being pursued besides those which have been mentioned. For instance, india-rubberis a distinctly profitable branch, in spite of the primitive methods pursued in collecting it, and which are still, for the most part, in vogue. The Government has made many earnest efforts to improve conditions and to teach the people how to both cultivate and to collect the precious material, but it is not possible to congratulate those who pursue the industry upon the amount of success attained. I have been shown the extensive forests of promising-looking rubber-trees growing in the provinces of La Paz, La Unión, San Miguel, and Usulután; but when I inquired into the methods followed by those who are employed in collecting the gum, I found the most wasteful system in force, and the work generally conducted in a desultory, indifferent manner, with the result that it hardly paid to follow the occupation at all. Under properly organized labour and systematically managed, rubber-growing ought to, and no doubt one day will, become a valuable feature of the country's industries.
Then, again, rice is cultivated, but not at all scientifically. Nevertheless some fairly good crops are annually gathered in, mostly of the upland variety, and grown upon the tablelands and hillsides. Very little rice, comparatively speaking, is exported, the greater part of that produced being consumed locally. Some of the neighbouring Republics take a small quantity of the grain from Salvador, but as a rule these States grow their own supplies, and need but little importation. It seems a great pity that, with land so eminently suitable for rice cultivation, so little—and that little of such poor quality—should be annually produced in Salvador.
Cacao is one of the leading products of this much-favouredcountry, and it can be found growing more luxuriantly in Salvador than in any of the Central American States. Very little attention is given, however, to the method of cultivation, in spite of the fact that cacao is one of the oldest agricultural specialities of this country. History shows that at one time Sonsonate and San Vicente were famous alike for the quantity and the excellence of the cacao grown there. Such plants as are cultivated now are utilized almost entirely in the country in the manufacture of chocolate, etc., and this product figures but insignificantly among the country's exports.
Beans—known here, as in all Latin-American countries, asfrijoles—form a large proportion of the humbler people's daily diet. They are large, brown, and flat in appearance, very nourishing, and very palatable when properly cooked. They are grown all over the Republic, and seem to flourish even in poor-quality soil. Indian corn, or maize, wheat, potatoes, sweet-potatoes, yams, and other vegetables in great variety, flourish here, and one is reminded of a famous cultivator's exordium upon the merits of Jamaica: "You have," said he, "but to tickle the ground with a hoe, and it at once smiles a yam."
Except in Brazil, which probably stands unrivalled among the South American States as a precious-wood-yielding country, I know of no State possessing finer timber forests than Salvador. I have ridden mile upon mile through magnificent timber-tree lands—the cedar, the mahogany, the ebony, the granadilla, and many other valuable cabinet woods; but upon inquiry as to what is being done with all this precious material provided by a bountiful Nature, I was informed that it is rarely marketed, although it is cutoccasionally for local building purposes. Many of the larger private houses and public buildings in San Salvador are constructed of native woods, and one is struck with the beauty of their grain and their extreme hardness, while they will mostly take on a high polish. In the lowlands there is an extremely large variety of dye woods to be met with; but here, again, the great forests are left almost untouched, many of them being as trackless as the day that they came into being. The only tree among these latter of which use is made is themora, or fustic of commerce. The pine-forests are also just beginning to be exploited, and one or two successful lumber enterprises have been started. The Salvadorean forest pine is fully equal in durability, in quality, and in appearance, to the Southern Statesceibaand other pine-woods.
The pride of place in the forestry of the Republic belongs to the beautiful and valuable balsam-tree—theMyrospermum Salvatoriensis—yielding what is known to the Materia Medica as "balsam of Peru." The Indian appellation for it ishoitzilixitl. Why is it called "balsam ofPeru" if it is the "balsam of Salvador"? I am told, because the precious gum was exported as an article of commerce to Peru from Salvador in the early days of the Spanish Dominion, and thence found its way to Europe. As a matter of fact, it is to be found growing in no country of the worldbutSalvador, and there in only a few parts of it. "La Costa del Bálsamo" is to be seen marked upon any map of Central America, lying to the seaward of the great volcanic range of mountains; and here it is that the trees are met with, standing together in so close a mass that the daylight seldom enters, and sunlight never. The whole district is inhabited by Indians,who have come to regard the place as their own undisputed territory. They live entirely upon the product of the balsam-tree, hewing down huge planks of this and other woods, which they market to great advantage. The balsam is their main source of wealth, however; and although to-day the annual product falls short of what was realized, say, half a century ago, it still figures very largely in the annual exports of the country. Strangely enough, the tree cannot be cultivated in any other part of Salvador, although the climatic conditions, the soil, and the physical characteristics, may be found suitable. Similar experiences are found in Jamaica, where the pimento-tree is to be met with in one particular locality only, and nowhere else, even careful planting proving quite useless to alter or improve upon the conditions which have been dictated by Nature.