CLIMATE AND IMMIGRATION.
The population of Guatemala according to the general census of the
Republic taken at the beginning of 1904 was 1,842,000. This was the
actual enumeration, but as there were many cases in which a complete
account was not possible the inhabitants probably number 2,000,000. Of
those enumerated by races 750,615 were Ladinos, and 1,091,519 were of
the aboriginal race. The Ladinos are the descendants of the white race
and of a mixture of European and Indian. The Indian population is
principally engaged in farming and in small commercial enterprises in
the interior. The Ladinos are much more energetic. The natives of the
high and cold regions are the most vigorous.
For many years it has been the aim of the Guatemalan government to
attract foreign immigration. Under President Estrada Cabrera's
administration systematic measures for this purpose have been taken and
the policy of encouraging immigrants and colonists, especially from the
United States, has become a settled one. Practically one-half the
fertile territory is yet uncultivated for want of tenants and there are
many agricultural industries which require a very small amount of
capital while they assure independence to those who follow them.
The first question asked is whether the natives of the temperate
regions, Europeans and North Americans, can live and work in the
climate. The answer is that there are large areas suitable for them
where they may engage in coffee-growing, dairying, stock-raising and
similar occupations.
The districts known as the Highlands or "Los Altos" are at an average
elevation of 5,000 feet and comprise some of the most inviting sections
of Guatemala. The uplands include Quezaltenango, Solola, Quiche,
Huehuetenango, Totonicapam, and San Marcos.
THE THREE ZONES.
Usually in describing the country it is divided into three zones. The
_tierra caliente_, or hot lands, comprise the coast of the Atlantic and
the Pacific ocean.
The _tierra templada_, or temperate zone, covers the central plains
which range from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea level.
The _tierra fria_, or cold zone, comprises the highlands as noted above.
The year is divided into two seasons, the winter or rainy season lasting
from May till October, and the dry season. The hottest months are March
and April and the coldest ones December and January. Except along the
coast the average temperature throughout the year is about 72 deg.
Fahrenheit. The climate on the coast is rendered endurable by the
refreshing sea breezes which blow for several hours every day. Many
people who live in the uplands in the rarefied atmosphere find it
agreeable and beneficial to their health to spend a few weeks every
season on the coast lands. The climate would be hot and moist except for
the variations caused by the mountains which oppose themselves not only
to the prevailing winds but also in rainfalls to the humidity of the
air. The winds are from the east and north, although along the Pacific
coast there are southern and southwestern winds at certain times in the
year. In regard to rainfall the general rule is that the regions
confronting the moist winds from the ocean have abundant precipitation
while those defended by mountain ranges from the sea winds are dry.
The climate taking the country as a whole is an unusually healthy one.
Fevers are not common and when they exist are confined to the warm and
humid coast regions. No peculiar climatic disease exists in Guatemala
and the country rarely suffers from epidemics. This is largely due to
the strict sanitary measures which are enforced by the government.
A POETICAL AND PRACTICAL DESCRIPTION.
The following account of the climate in popular language is given by a
well-known authority:
"The territory of the Republic belongs to the torrid zone comprised
among the intertropical countries which are exempt from the
rigorous winters of the countries of Europe, North and South
America, and the Far East. The vegetation which droops in the dry
season recovers a marvelous exuberance in the season of the rains.
In every part it is encountered then rehabited in the most splendid
garb of nature. The tropical countries at this period certainly are
the motherland of all the plants which are cultivated throughout
the world when as in the case of our Republic there are hot,
temperate and cold zones in which the vegetation is perpetual and
flourishes in the regions which possess perennial springs of
flowing water to moisten the cultivated lands in the season of the
drouths.
"The knowledge of the climates is of the highest importance for the
agriculturist. It is his guide in the experiments for acclimatizing
exotic plants which he seeks to introduce into his properties.
"The climate of a locality varies through the background of the
mountains, through its sloping direction, its nearness to the sea,
to the lakes, and to the selvas; through the direction and the
forces of the periodical winds.
"Setting out from the low coastlands and ascending to the regions
of the Altos or highlands, the naturalist admires successively the
exuberant vegetation of the tropics and that of the cold countries.
"On account of the topography of the territory we have in the
different zones of the Republic different climates characterized by
our two seasons--that of the rains, our winter, and that of the
dryness, our summer; characterized too by the intensity of the heat
in the low zones of the coasts and by the crisp cold in the high
plateaus of our mountains; by the force and duration of the
periodic winds of the Northwest which in certain regions of the
Republic blow with a violence harmful to agriculture.
"The temperature in the low zones fluctuates between 26 deg. and 35 deg.
centigrade, averaging 28 deg. In the zones ranging from 3,000 to 5,000
feet above sea level the temperature fluctuates between 16 deg. and
24 deg., the average being 20 deg. to 22 deg. centigrade. In the high zones or
cold lands the temperature varies from 8 deg. to 15 deg., the medium being
12 deg. or 13 deg. In these zones from December to the end of March the
temperature drops during the night to 1 deg. centigrade and other times
to 3 deg. or 4 deg.
"The rains commence in May or June and continue until the middle of
November. They are most violent from July to October. In the months
of September and October there are sometimes storms and copious
rains which last almost continuously from one to two weeks.
"Heavy dews are numerous and at times very copious in the summer in
the low zones close to the sea, the lakes and the big marshes and
also in the higher zones through the condensation of the vapors
which absorb the sun's rays and become more condensed on reaching
the colder regions of the atmosphere.
"The northeast winds are periodical and blow almost without
interruption throughout the summer and with great violence on the
coasts of the north and in the eastern sections of the country. The
winds on the south coast are much milder and those in the western
sections are insignificant.
"Under this drouthlike action the vegetation withers in the hot and
dry zones. It flourishes most in the districts which possess
perennial springs of running water for fertilizing.
"In the season of the rains there are strong hurricanes of southern
winds which cause damage to agriculture, but happily they are not
frequent.
"From the description of the varied climates of the Republic it
will be seen that they are adapted to the cultivation of the
richest tropical plants and for all the agricultural and industrial
produce which is cultivated in the cold and temperate zones of the
entire world.
"Besides, its vegetative season is one of perpetual cultivation,
and in the plantations which possess water for irrigating the
cultivated lands three crops a year can be raised in the hot zones
as well as the temperate regions, and two crops of the cereals,
wheat and Indian corn, in the cold regions; that is to say, the
feeding of 30,000,000 inhabitants is possible besides fruits for a
very extensive exportation."
AIDS TO AGRICULTURE.
In a country so largely agricultural as Guatemala is the measures for
the encouragement of farming may be taken as a means of judging the
interest shown by the government. On this point President Estrada
Cabrera in a recent message said:
"Agriculture as the prime factor of our richness has been the
object of special attention during the last seven years of my
administration. In order to broaden and improve it there has been
established in the capital the General Department of Agriculture
and in the districts and municipalities Boards for the same
purpose. This Department has been authorized to publish a
periodical _The Bulletin of Agriculture_ which is given over
exclusively to important farming studies. Seeds and plants have
been brought from other countries and distributed among our farmers
in order to establish new sources of production. Strict orders have
been issued to secure the cultivation of the largest areas possible
and also for establishing common seed grounds. Regulations have
been made for the exploitation of rubber. In every possible manner
the importation of farm tools and agricultural machinery has been
facilitated. Contracts have been made for the exploitation of the
woods in the forests of the north. Schools of agriculture have been
created in order to further the study of these subjects by the
issue of special bulletins under the direction of the Department of
Agriculture."
[Illustration: STREET IN ESCUINTLA.]
LEADING POINTS OF IMMIGRATION LAW.
A general immigration law was passed several years ago which has been
supplemented by other laws since that time. At the outset immigration
contracts with the Chinese are prohibited and the latter are not to be
accepted as immigrants. The purpose of this is to insure white
immigration and to prevent cheap coolie labor of a temporary character
interfering with settlers who wish to establish themselves permanently.
Immigrants are described as those foreigners having a profession,
occupation or trade, whether day laborers, artisans, workingmen in
factories, farmers or professors, who give up their own homes to come
and settle in Guatemala and accept their transportation to be paid
either by the Guatemalan government or by an immigration company.
Immigrants also include the foreigners whose transportation is not paid
by the government or by private companies. The wearing apparel and
household furniture, tools, domestic animals and other possessions of
immigrants are entered at the custom-house free of duty.
An important provision authorizes the government to grant gratuitously
to immigrants lots of public lands in certain districts provided that
the immigrants bind themselves to cultivate within two years the third
part of the land granted. For this purpose zones of tillable land are
set apart in the districts named.
Immigrants are exempted for a period of four years after their arrival
from service in the construction or repair of the public roads and from
the payment of municipal taxes. They are also exempted from military
service except in the case of foreign war. They enjoy all the rights and
privileges granted by law to Guatemalan citizens.
PUBLIC LANDS FOR SETTLERS.
Under a general law a body of official engineers was created for
surveying and distributing the uncultivated public lands and fixing the
prices therefor. The price varies according to the nature of the land,
whether it is for grazing, raising cereals; whether capable of raising
sugar, banana, etc.; whether adapted to coffee and cotton, or whether it
contains forests. Public lands may also be granted to immigrants
gratuitously. Information on these points can be had through
correspondence with the Department of Agriculture called "Direccion
General de Agricultura," in Guatemala City.
President Estrada Cabrera's land policy has been directed especially to
prevent great areas from being kept out of cultivation. He has dictated
many measures with the purpose of breaking up the huge estates that
often are uncultivated for want of capital and making them productive
through the encouragement of small capitalists or farmers.
The general system of highways and cart roads as well as of the
railroads has been devised for this purpose.
With regard to colonization and immigration the policy of securing the
benefit of the favored soil to settlers has been indicated in the
correspondence with various companies and individuals. In a report by
the Director of Agriculture he declared that immigration from North
America would be very pleasing to Guatemala and would strengthen the
cordial relations existing between the two countries. That the
immigrants will be well received he was assured. Their practical
character would be especially valuable in developing the resources of
the country. The Director, however, called attention to the fact that in
many places of the country the geological conditions were not similar to
the prairies of the United States where in the beginning very much could
be accomplished on a large scale by machinery. In many of the districts
open to settlement in Guatemala much of the work of clearing would have
to be done by hand. That is one reason why encouragement is given to the
individual settlers instead of to companies.
To broaden and strengthen the present immigration law the Department of
Agriculture has recommended that certain lands be thrown open to
settlement on the following conditions:
1. The government shall make the plan for the colony dividing the lands
into lots of one caballeria (112 acres).
2. The settler shall take immediate possession of the lot which is
granted him.
3. The government shall aid the removal of the colonists from their
present place of residence to the point where they intend to settle.
This aid to be extended under conditions which will insure its
repayment.
4. The colonists on taking possession of their land shall obligate
themselves to begin cultivating some of the following articles: rice,
corn, beans, coffee, cacao, vanilla, rubber, cotton, hemp, etc.
5. The government shall designate from among the colonists some one who
shall give general instruction with regard to the farming.