Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
figure 2.1.Land-clearingactivitiesinCaribbeanCostaRica(1920s).UnitedFruit
CompanyPhotographCollection.BakerLibrary,HarvardBusinessSchool.
began the hazardous work of felling the large trees that up to that point
were left standing. Perched on a barbichú, an elevated platform erected
at the base of a tree, workers hewed through trunks at a point above
the wide, buttressed base common among tropical hardwoods. Felling
crews hacked at the tree until it began to give way, at which point they
jumped off of the platform to avoid the falling trunk.
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As the tree fell to
the ground, it yanked on the ubiquitous vines (lianas or bejucos)woven
throughout the forest canopy. These vines often pulled down additional
branches and even entire trees that could strike an unsuspecting worker.
The logs usually remained in the midst of the farm, where they deterio-
rated rapidly in the humid, warm environment. On occasion, the fruit
companies extracted valuable timber such as mahogany for shipment to
the United States; the trunks of guanacaste trees were prized by locals for
canoe making.
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The extension of the Tela Railroad Company's railroads coincided
with increased banana production in the area: between 1915 and 1920, ex-
ports from Tela nearly quadrupled from 1.2 million bunches to 4.6 mil-
