THE CANARY ISLANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 149, 27 June 1898, Page 5

THE CANARY ISLANDS.

WASHINGTON, May 20

Information about the Canary Islands is in big1 demand, now that it seems probable that the United States will find i): necessary to .seize these possessions of Spain. The islands lie in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the African coast, between latitude 27 ami 29 north and longitude 13 and 18 west. There are seven •principal islands in the group, covering' an area of 3,250 square miles, with a population of about 300,000. These seven islands are Tenerift'e, which is the largest; Grand Canary. Palma, Lanzarote, Ftierteventvira. Gomera, and Jlierro. The area of these range from 877 square miles for Teneriffe down to eighty-two square miles for Hierro. The distance from the nearest of the islands, FeurTeventnra, to the African coast is about sixty miles. There are numerous other small islands, but they are uninhabited and unimportant.

In commerce the Canaries are important, and British interests there are larg-e. The soil is productive, and cereals and potatoes are raised in quantities sufficient to supply the home demand. In one year it is possible in some places to raise two crops of corn and one potato crop from the same piece of land. Wine is produced in large quantities in Teneriffe, but. its quality is not up to that cf Madeira. Canary seed, sumac and some flax are grown, but. the principul product is cochineal. The exports of this product are very large. Very good olives, oranges, figs, bananas, pineapples, and other fruits are raised in the Canaries. The silk worm is cultivated extensively, and there are some important silk 'stocking- manufactures. Goats and sheep are. plentiful, but cattle and horses are rare.

The climate of the Canaries is peculiar, but by no means unpleasant. The islands are overhung all summer with a dense canopy of clouds. The wind blows steadily from the northeast in the summer, beginning- at 10 a.m. and lasting until 5 p.m. These •winds form sea clouds in two layers. During the winter the wind blows hot from the south-east, sometimes bringing- locusts, which, it is said, settled in 1812 to the depth of four feet on the fields of Fuerteventura. The climate is mild and drjr.