Sheep are reared over a somewhat wider range,
capital. The second-class ports are Tumbez, Talara, Pimentel,
Chimbote, Samanco, Casma, Huacho, Cerro-Azul, Tambo de Mora,
Lomas and Chala, on the coast, Puno on Lake Titicaca, and
Leticia on the Amazon near the western mouth of the ]avary.
Callao (g 11.) is the chief port of the republic and monopolizes the
greater part of its foreign trade. Its harbour one of the best
on the west coast of South America, has been greatly improved
by the port works begun under the administration of President
Balta. Paita and Chimbote have good natural harbours, but the
others, for the most part, are open road steads or unsheltered bays.
Mollendo is a shipping port for Bolivian exports sent over the railway
from Puno. There were 12 foreign steamship lines trading at
Peruvian ports in 1908, some of them making regular trips up and
down the coast at frequent intervals and carrying much of its
coast wise traffic. Foreign sailing vessels since 1886 have not been
permitted to engage in this traffic, but permission is given to steamships
on application and under certain conditions. The imports
were valued in 1907 at 55,147,870 soles (IO soles=£1 stg.) and the
exports at 57,477,320 soles-the former showing a considerable
increase and the latter a small decrease in comparison with 1906.
The exports consist of cotton, sugar, cocaine, hides and skins,
rubber and other forest products, wool, guano and mineral products.
The most important export is sugar, the products of the mines
ranking second. The largest share in*Peru's foreign trade is taken
hy great Britain, Chile ranking second and the United States
thir
Products.-Although her mining industries have been the longest and most widely known, the principal source of Peru's wealth is agriculture. This seems incompatible with the arid character of the country and the peculiar conditions of its civilization, Lbut irrigation has been successfully employed in the fertile valleys of the coast.
A gmtulture.-Sugar-cane is cultivated in most of the coast valleys, and with exceptional success in those of the Canete, Rimac, Chancay, Huaura, Supe, Santa, Chicama, Pacasmayo and Chiclayo. Some of the large estates are owned and worked by British subjects. The industry was nearly ruined by the Chileans in 188O, but its reco ery soon followed the termination of the war and the output has been steadily increasing. At the outbreak of the war the production was about 80,000 tons; in 1905 the production of sugar and molasses amounted to 161,851 metric tons, of which 1341344 v-ere exported. In 1906 the total production reached 169,418 is cotton, which is grown along
coast, but chiefly in the depart-Four
kinds are produced: rough
island, brown or Mitafifi, and
metric tons. Next in importance
the greater part of the Peruvian
ments of Piura, Lima and Ica.
cotton or “vegetable wool, ” sea
smooth or American. Production is steadily increasing, the export 1900, 17,386 in 1905 and 20,000
having been 8000 metric tons in
in 1906. Local consumption required about 2300 tons in 1905. inundated lan s of Lambayeque
Rice is an important crop in the
and Libertad. It is a universal article of food in Peru, and the output is consumed in the country. Maize is another important food product which is generally cultivated along the coast and in the lower valleys of the sierra. In some laces two or three crops a year are obtained. It is the staple foods everywhere, and little is exported. It is largely used in the manufacture of chzcha, a fermented drink popular among the lower classes. Tobacco is grown in the department of Piura, and in the montafza departments of Loreto, Amazonas and Cajamarca. The local consumption is large and the export small. Another monlaha product is coffee, whose successful development is preventediby difficult transport. A superior quahtv of bean is produced in the eastern valleys of the Andes, especially in the Chanchamayo valley. Cacao is another montaia product, although like coffee it is cultivated in the warm valleys of the sierra, but the export is small. With cheap transport to the coast the production of coffee and cacao must largely increase. Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a product peculiar to the eastern Andean slopes of Bolivia and Peru, where it has long been cultivated for its leaves These are sun-dried, packed in bales, and distributed throughout the sierra region, where coca is used by the natives as .1 stimulant. The Cholos are never without it, and with it are able to perform incredible tasks “ith little food. The common manncr of using it is to masticate the dried leaves with a little lime. Cocaine is also derived from coca leaves, . of the drug is exported. The coca s
cultnated at an elevation of 5000 to
variety are grown everywhere in Peru,
demands their commercial reduction
olives Grapes are produced) in many
the coast, such as Chincha, Lunahuana
and a considerably quantity
hrub is most successfully
6000 ft Fruits in great
but beyond local market
is limited to grapes and
of the irrigated valleys of
Ica, Vitor, Ma]es, Andaray,
Moquegua and Locumba, and the fruit is manufactured into wines and brandies. Excellent clarets and white wines are produced, and the industry is steadily increasing Olives were introduced early in colonial times and are cultivated in several coast valleys, especially in the provinces of Caniana (Arequipa) and Moquegua. The fruit is commonly used for the manufacture of oil, which is consumed in the country, and only a small part is exported. Were large markets available, other fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes and bananas would undoubtedly be extensively cultivated In the szerra region, wheat, barley, oats, quinua (Chenopodzum gumoa), alfalfa, Indian corn, oca (0xalis tuberosa) and potatoes are the principal products. Wheat is widely grown but the output is not arge. Barley and oats are grown for forage, but for this purpose alfalfa has become the staple, and without it the mountain pack tra1ns could not be maintained. Quinua is an indigenous plant. growing at elevations of 1 3, 500 ft. and more; its grain is an important ood among the upland natives. Potatoes are grown everywhere in the sierras, and with quinua are the only cro s that can be raised for human food above 13,000 ft. Yuca FMamhot utzlzsszma), known as cassava in the West Ind1es and mandzoca in Brazil, is also widely cultivated for food and for the manufacture of starch. There are good pastures in the sierras, and cattle have been successfully reared in some of the departments since the early years of Spanish occupation, chiefly in Ancachs, Ca]amarca, ]unin, Ayacucho, Puno, and some parts of Cuzco. The development of alfalfa
cultivation is extending the area of cattle-breeding somewhat and is improving the quality of the beef I t produced. The cattle are commonly small and hardy, L V” 'wk and, like the Mexican cattle, are able to bear unfavourable conditions.
exclusively for their wool. The “ natives, " or descendants of the early importations, are small, long-legged animals whose wool is scanty and poor. Since the end of the 19th century efforts have been made to improve the stock through the importation of merinos, with good results. Sheep ranges under the care of Scottish shepherds have also been established in the department of ]unin, the stock being imported from southern Patagonia, England and Australia. Goats are raised in Piura and Lambayeque for their skins and fat, and swine-breeding for the production of lard has become important in some of the coast valleys immediately north of Lima. Horses are reared only to a limited extent, although there is a demand for them for military purposes. The government is seeking to promote the industry through the importation of breeding mares from Argentina. Mules are bred in Piura and Apurimac, and are highly esteemed for mountain travel. The chief breeding industry is that of the llama, alpaca and v1cunaanimals of the Auchema family domesticated by the Indians and bred, the first as a pack animal, and the other two for their wool, hides and meat. The llama was the only beast of burden known to the South American natives before the arrival of the Spaniards and is highly serviceable on the difficult trails of the Andes. The alpaca and vicuna are smaller and weaker and have never been used for this service, but their fine, glossy fleeces were used by the Indians in the manufacture of clothing and are still an important commercial asset of the elevated table-lands of Peru and Bolivia. The export of wool in 1905 exceeded 3,300,000 lb. The rearing of these animals requires much patience and skill, in which no one has been able to match the Indian breeders of the Andean plateaus.
The natural products of Peru include rubber, cabinet woods in great variety, cinchona or Peruvian bark and other medicinal products, various fibres, and guano. There are two Forest inds of rubber supplied by the Peruvian montafza Products forests: jebe (also written hebe) or seringa, and cauchothe former being collected from the Hevea guayanensis, or H. braszlzenszs, and the latter from the Castzlloa elastzca and some other varieties. The Hevea product is obtained annually by tapping the trees and coagulating the sap over a smoky fire, but the caacho is procured by felling the tree and collecting the sap in a hollow in the ground where it is coagulated by stirring in a inixture of soap and the juice of a plant called vetzlla. As the species from which Ceara rubber is obtained (Hancorzna speczosa) is found in Bolivia, it is probable that this is also a source of the Peruvian caucho. The Hevea is found along the water-courses of the lowlands, which includes the large tributaries of the Maranon, while the caucho species flourish on higher ground, above 00 ft. elevation. Owing to the export tax on rubber (8 cents per kiibgram on 'ebe and 5 cents on caucho) it is probable that the official statistics df) not cover the totagproduction, which was returned as 2539 metric tons in 1905, valu at £913,989. The export of cinchona, or Peruvian bark, is not important in itself, being only oé tons, valued at £1406 in 1905. The best bark comes from the arabaya district in south-eastern Peru, but it is found in many localities on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The Peruvian supply is practically exhausted through the destructive methods employed in collecting the bark, and the world now depends chiefly on Bolivia and Ecuador The forests of eastern Peru are rich in fine cabinet woods, but their inaccessibility renders them of no great value. Among the best known of them are cedar, walnut, ironwood and caoba, a kind of mahogany. Many of the forest trees of the upper Amazon valley of Brazil are likewise found in Peru. The palm family is numerous and includes the species producing vegetable ivory (Phytelephas), straw for plaiting Panama hats (Carludovica palmata), and the peach palm (Guilzelma specwsa).
From guano an immense revenue was derived during the third quarter of the 19th century and it is still one of the largest exports. The guano beds aie found on the barren islands of the GMM Pacific coast They were developed commercially during the administration (1845-1851) of President Ramon Castilla,
at the same time that the nitrate deposits of Tarapacé became a