CHAPTER V. 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° 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° and 35° centigrade, averaging 28°. In the zones ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level the temperature fluctuates between 16° and 24°, the average being 20° to 22° centigrade. In the high zones or cold lands the temperature varies from 8° to 15°, the medium being 12° or 13°. In these zones from December to the end of March the temperature drops during the night to 1° centigrade and other times to 3° or 4°.
"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."
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 "Dirección 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.