In the northern coast region, notably in Lambayeque and in the province of Pacasmayo, in La Libertad, the culture of rice receives especial attention, with the most satisfactory results. Modern methods are employed by the planters of this zone to increase the production, which now averages two hundred and fifty thousand bags (one hundred and ninety pounds each) annually. The rice of Peru is equal to the best grown in other parts of the world. Two varieties are cultivated, the “Carolina” and the “Jamaica,” the former being more prolific, though the “Jamaica” gives a whiter grain and is more easily hulled. In good years, the harvest amounts to fifteen bags to the acre, and the cost of production, from the planting of the seed to the harvesting and threshing of the grain, is about eight dollars, gold, per acre. The value of the rice crop varies greatly, but the present average is not less than half a million pounds sterling.
FERREÑAFE, A FLOURISHING CENTRE OF THE RICE INDUSTRY.
In the Peruvian rice fields, the harvesting begins five months after planting; the rice is then gathered and sent to the mill to be hulled, the larger estates having their own rice mills, provided with all the latest improvements. The Chiclayo valley, the chief centre of the rice-growing region, is fertilized by the Chancay, Saña and Leche Rivers, and their tributaries. From the Chancay River, at a point called Puntilla, an irrigating canal, the Taimy, crosses the valley, watering the estates in the district of Ferreñafe, which is in the heart of the rice country. From the seaport of Eten, a railway extends inland for fifty miles, passing the principal towns, rice fields and sugar plantations of the department. It is a standard gauge line, and the cars are of modern construction. The port of Eten is interesting chiefly as the gateway to the rich country behind it, though the town itself is constantly growing and improving. The most conspicuous feature of the port, as seen from an incoming steamer, is its long pier, which extends two thousand seven hundred feet out into the sea, and is provided with steam winches having capacity for disposing of seven hundred tons of cargo daily. Similar piers have been built at Pacasmayo, Salaverry, Pisco, and other ports. The railway from Eten, after leaving the port and passing Monsefu and Chiclayo,—the latter the capital of Lambayeque,—traverses the beautiful valleys where the rice fields stretch out like a green carpet along the banks of the river. Great haciendas, of extensive acreage, speak volumes in praise of the enterprise and energy of the proprietors, in a region less than seven degrees from the equator and almost at sea level. Pomalca, Combo, Tuman, Patapo, and other important plantations, are provided with American agricultural implements and have the latest machinery of all kinds in their fields and rice mills. Sugar is also grown in these valleys, the annual harvest amounting to twenty-five thousand tons.
A HOLIDAY IN CHICLAYO.
Although La Libertad is called the “Sugar State” of Peru, Piura its “Cotton Belt,” and Lambayeque the rice-growing centre, yet all these products are cultivated also in the fertile valleys of Ancash, which is one of the richest and most promising departments of the republic, comprising, within its twenty thousand square miles, the regions both of the coast and the sierra. It has excellent harbors, abundance of irrigation, a great variety of resources and a healthful climate. The sugar farms and rice fields of Ancash are chiefly located in the northern part of the state, in the beautiful valley of the Santa River, and in the region of Samanco and Casma. All this territory is particularly adapted to agriculture and is destined to be one of the richest centres of Peruvian industry. The magnificent bay of Chimbote, covering a surface of thirty-six square miles, affords shelter for the largest ships and is one of the best harbors on the west coast of South America; it is free from sandbanks and hidden rocks, and never gets the rough seas that sometimes break over the shores of other ports along the coast of Peru. Before the war with Chile, a railway was under construction to connect the port with the capital, Huaraz, and half the road was completed when the war broke out. All the workshops and factories were destroyed by the invading troops, who set fire to the fields of sugar-cane and blew up the farm houses with dynamite. This catastrophe paralyzed the progress of the valley for some years, but, under renewed enterprise, the outlook is very bright for future prosperity. The railway is being built again and will soon be completed to the capital of the department, thus affording facilities of transportation for the products of the sierra as well as those of the valleys. Abundant water-power is available for engineering and other enterprises.
WORKMEN ON A COAST PLANTATION.
