Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
figure 2.2.AyoungGrosMichelfarmintheSulavalley(1920s).UnitedFruit
CompanyPhotographCollection.BakerLibrary,HarvardBusinessSchool.
Standley's observations, if not entirely surprising coming from a field
biologist with a demonstrated fascination with tropical plants, repre-
sented a view of the tropics that diverged sharply from those offered by
popular writers, public health o
cials, and the banana companies, which
stressed the inherent unhealthiness of lowland tropical environments.
From Standley's perspective, marshlands were rich repositories of diverse
life forms, not ''pestilential swamps'' in need of draining.
When University of Chicago ornithologist James Peters visited the
sameareaafewmonthslater,TelaRailroadCompanyworkershadalready
started excavating a canal in order to drain a large portion of the Toloa
Swamp that had captivated Standley.
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Peters described the short-term
ecological change that he observed in the area:
[M]uch of the vegetation has died off and floods have deposited
large amounts of sediment, resulting in a wide expanse of mud flats
interspersed with pools of stagnant water. In such situations waterfowl
of all sorts abound. Never in my experience have I seen such numbers
of Herons or Wood Ibises as have flocked there to feed. But it can only
last for a short time, as eventually these flats and marshy areas will be
completely drained and planted to bananas.
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