Show ale U sao ue A I 1 j 1 4 g oil Is V ik 1 I 1 1 A wine barrels are carried under the carts prepared arcon d by the national society Was hinston 0 a service AO MIGUEL of the azores islands S SAO Is turning from oranges to pineapples as its chief source of wealth excellent oranges are still grown but since the island lost the british market a few years ago pineapple culture has occupied agri culturists natives of sao miguel hope to develop their island into an isle of pines which will provide it a good part of europe with practically all its fresh supply of pineapples an englishman a skilled horticulturist arrived at sao miguel in more ore than eighty years ago to lay jay out the famous jose do canto gardens it was he who brought the first pineapples to his employers hothouse twenty years later the fruit was shipped to england each pine in its pot dot selling tor for two guineas england and germany are now the chief consumers of azorian pines france and continental portugal following the plant which Is here of the smooth leaved cayenne variety Is grown under glass special beds of fermenting heath or some other mountain shrub being provided all the plants are brought to blossom at the same time by a process of smoking the value of which was accede accidentally vitally discovered many years ago when a carpenter working in one of the pineapple houses chanced to set fire to a pile of shavings to the surprise of the grower the plants instead of being spoiled burst into flower by tills this method practically all the plants in a hothouse can be marketed at the same time many months earlier than formerly little glass houses shimmer on emerald slopes in various sections of sao miguel the exclusive producer of pineapples in this archipelago wrapped in cellophane or packed in excelsior and crated the fruit Is shipped to the european market by a fleet of three vessels owned by the growers in 1031 about pines worth half a million dollars were exported tea too Is grown there another exotic industry on tills this island Is the production of black and green tea which here retains its oriental name cha ever since they discovered the sea route to india and planted their settlements as far afield as macao macau on the coast of china the portuguese have bare been a tea drinking nation there Is an old belief that tea Is better it if it has not crossed the sea whether tills this Is true or not azorian tea tastes to some much like aike tile the far eastern variety on its native soil it is consumed locally and shipped to other parts of portugal A number of chinese were od originally anally imported as instructors in the tea culture but now only native labor chiefly female Is employed the plantations dot the hillsides hill sides on the northern side of the island which has greater moisture than the south coast the stiff little evergreen shrubs stand in precise cise rows ros very foreign in appearance contrasting strangely with tile the familiar european flora about them A motor road parallels the coast of sao miguel with connecting crossroads enabling the traveler to see gee much of beauty and interest even in one day ashore including trips to the two largest volcano craters on the country roads are slow sway ing bullock carts with woven bodies filled with heath for the pineapple houses some are of archaic pattern with solid wheels of the roman type their approach h heralded eralda ed by a camill complaining aint n g creaking tsong song sao miguel has a deliciously green and restful countryside checkerboard fields brown arid and green altern alternate lie with woods filled with songbirds song birds these islands like those of the madeira and canary groups are tile habitat of the wild canary of greenish gray hue hile its glad note Is one of the features of the azores where it seems to be more generous find and more vocal than on the islands farther south near every stone cottage stands a corn rick where brownish malze maize in the husk busk Is hung bung to dry it forms the staple cereal crop of the islands pala faia beans broad beans and yams bams are grown and are leading articles of export in the crater of a volcano skirting pine clad cliffs a road climbs to a misty heather clad tableland then descends into furnas valley shut in by towering green walls were it not for the puffs of 0 steam ascending from its many boiling sulphur springs it would be difficult to bellegie that this peaceful yale vale Is the crater of a mighty volcano which more than once poured out its molten lava and which still speaks through vents la in the hot sulphur stained crust around the springs it Is a beautiful picture from the helg heights lits this quiet sheltered valley with its long narrow village me meandering ander I 1 ng like a stream through woods wood 5 anti and meadows the lake on a raised platform of 0 the crater lies some distance from the settlement which Is a favorite s ummer summer resort prescott the famed historian came to furnas as a young man to visit at the summer home of ills his grandfather first Ameil american can consular officer in sao miguel who was appointed in 1795 by president washington furnas has a thermal establishment where sulphur and iron baths are available nearby near by fountains supply various kinds of mineral water the place being noted for the diversity of its waters and the proximity of hot and cold springs one deep cavell ke caldron belching forth boiling mud and steam Is called the mouth of hell its evil appearance and tile the strong smell of sulphur give the impression that this Is real really ly an entrance to the abode of his satanic majesty stately manorial houses erected centuries ago are to be seen throughout sao miguel usually set on the heights one such house built in 1724 Is a delightfully romantic old place the big stone paved kitchen has a chimney place which Is a room in itself standing in it beside the huge brick hearth one can look up the wide chimney which towers above the house to a patch of blue sky such chimneys are a distinctive feature of azorian houses life of the inhabitants the upper class of ponta delgada leads a pleasant life quiet as compared with the stress of american cities there Is a s social club where dancing Is a favorite pastime a coliseum seating 2000 a sports field for football tennis croquet and handball a baseball park and an open air sea pool built in the rocks by the shore there are motion pictures twice a week chiefly from hollywood amerl american influence Is apparent in the en english spoken throughout the azores azore there seems to be a genuine liking fo tor the united states the stars and stripes are to in evidence at every elery festival during the world war ponta delgada was an american naval base economically self contained the MI it cae lenses are no less independent when it comes to their social pleasures in their amateur shows the scenery Is apt to be painted locally the costumes made in the homes of the young men and women who nho participate in their singing dancing and acting these young people exhibit amazing talent and poise the youns young folks mingle in crowds but there Is here no such free and easy companionship among them as exists in the united states the chaperon Is still in vogue and balcony courtship Is carried on with its own prescribed etiquette the girl leaning over the soc see ond story balcony to talk with etli her admirer on the street below the finest sight on the island Is the crater of sete cidades seven cities the view from the rim Is magnificent the cup shaped crater Is nearly dearly ten ralles miles in circumference and holds besides a lake with it a hamlet on its shore pas pastures tures and cultivated fields and three volcanic ole anic cones due to subsequent eruptions t owing to varying depths and deposits the lake shaped like the figure 8 and sometimes spoken of as two lakes Is vividly green at one end brilliantly blue at the other the LInd LIndberg berghs lis on their aerial odyssey from Green lands ley icy mountains to the steaming jungles of the amazon swooped down over this secluded lake there are many among the poor of tile the azores who have suffered since money orders have ceased to arrive from 1 lanoel or antonio who formerly prospered in providence or new bedord bedford the azorian assets are a stout heart a willing hand a productive soil and a climate which though damp and rainy six months of tile the year Is without extremes of temperature wages are low but food Is cheap the main diet of the peasant consists of soup of cabbages beans beana and potatoes agite alte cornbread and fish pork and beet beef are only for special occasions such as religious holidays in the ponta delgada market CO small fish sell for two and it a half cents a pound of green peas for less than two cents A fresh live lobster which is only for the well todo to do costs 25 cents |