All of the petroleum found in Cuba, so far, seems to have its origin in cretaceous formations, corresponding probably to the Secondary. A somewhat significant factis that petroleum in this Island seems to be invariably associated with igneous rocks. So far all of it, or at least all in wells worthy of consideration, seems to come from deposits that lie along the lines of contact between the serpentines and various strata of sedimentary rocks. Up to the present, wells that have been drilled in sedimentary strata, at any considerable distance from the intrusion of serpentine rocks, have produced no results.
E. de Goyler has reached the conclusion that the oils found below the serpentine, or at points of contact between serpentine and sedimentary rocks, had their origin in Jurassic limestone. Rocks of this period form a large part of the Organ Mountains of Pinar del Rio, and the above quoted authority is confident that the asphalt and petroleum fields found in the immediate vicinity of serpentine thrusts during volcanic action are all filtrations from deposits far below the surface. This view seems to agree with results of observation made in the neighborhood of the Bacuranao oil fields, where the drills have usually penetrated a considerable depth of serpentine rock before meeting the petroleum-bearing strata of sand and limestone.
Frederick C. Clapp, in his study of the structural classification of fields of petroleum and natural gas, read before the Geological Society of America, stated that in Cuba there are undoubtedly deposits which he designates as coming from a subdivision of sedimentary strata, with masses of lacolites, an unusual form of deposit, met in the Furbero Petroleum fields of Mexico, where oil bearing strata lie both above and below the lacolite.
The consensus of opinion among experts who have examined the recent explorations in the neighborhood of Bacuranao seems to be that in spite of the fact that no oil well in Cuba, up to the present, has produced large quantities of petroleum, there is excellent reason for believing that wells drilled to a depth of three or four thousand feet, in zones that have been carefully studied bycompetent geologists, may yet rival in amount of production those of the best petroleum fields in other parts of the world.
The deposits of asphalt in Cuba, in view of the extensive road building planned for this Republic, have an undoubted present and future value well worthy of consideration. Asphalt of excellent quality, and of grades varying all the way from a remarkably pure, clean liquid form, up through all degrees of consistency to the hard, dry, vitreous deposits that resemble bituminous coal sufficiently to furnish an excellent fuel, is found in Cuba in large quantities. Most of it is easily accessible, and of grades that command very good prices for commercial purposes in the world’s markets.
THEvirgin forests of Cuba, at the time of the Spanish conquest, were rich in hardwoods, such as mahogany, cedar, rosewood, ebony, lignum-vitæ and many others unknown in the markets of the United States. During four centuries these forests have been one of Cuba’s most important assets. Unfortunately this source of wealth has been drawn upon without forethought or discrimination since the first white settlers began to use the products of the forest in 1515.
The completion of the North Shore Railroad of Camaguey, extending from Caibarien to Nuevitas, will soon open up the great hardwood forests of the Sierra de Cubitas and add greatly to the wealth of that district.
There are 367 varieties of valuable forest trees, described with more or less detail in the Bureau of Forestry connected with the Department of Agriculture of Cuba. More than half of these are susceptible of taking a high polish, and would if known undoubtedly command remunerative prices in the hardwood markets of the world. At the present time, two only, cedar and mahogany, are sought and quoted in the commercial centers of the United States.
While we find in Cuba few forest trees common to the United States, nearly all of the standard woods, such as oak, hickory, ash, maple, beech and walnut, seem to have their equivalents, from the viewpoint of utility at least, in the native woods of this Island. For purposes of manufacture, carriage making, naval uses, house building, cabinet work and fine carving, or general construction, Cuba has many woods of unsurpassed merit and often of rare beauty.
The following list contains 60 of the most useful woods found in the forests of Cuba. Nearly all of these take a very high polish and are valuable in the arts as well as for construction purposes. Not more than a half dozen, unfortunately, are known to the hardwood trade, even by name, and since most of these names are purely local, they would mean little to the dealers outside of the Island of Cuba, where most of them are in daily use;
Acana: indigenous to Cuba; grows to height of 50 feet with diameter of two feet; hard, compact, deep wine color; used in general construction work, and is especially valuable for making carpenters’ planes and tools. Wears indefinitely. Sp. Gr. 1.28.
Aceitillo: indigenous; grows to height of 30 feet; common throughout the Island; strong and tough; light yellow color; used for general construction. Sp. Gr. 1.04.
Aite: indigenous; grows to height of 25 feet; diameter 2 feet; of common occurrence; strong and compact; light brown color; used in cabinet work. Sp. Gr. 1.07.
Ayua Blanco: indigenous; 55 feet in height; 2 feet in diameter; found in Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines; soft; white in color; used for boxes, beehives, cross beams; produces a gum used in medicine. Sp. Gr. 0.72.
Almacigo Colorado: indigenous; 50 feet in height; 2 feet in diameter; found everywhere; soft; reddish color, used for fence posts and charcoal; has medicinal properties and produces resin. Sp. Gr. 0.38.
Amiqua: indigenous; 40 feet in height; 7 feet diameter; hard, compact, reddish in color; found in light soils; used for joists and beams, and for wagons. Sp. Gr. 1.16.
Algarrobo: indigenous; 75 feet in height, diameter 4½ feet; strong; yellowish color; found in deep soils; used for building purposes; yields a varnish and has medicinal properties. Sp. Gr. 0.64.
Ateja Macho: indigenous; 50 feet in height; 3 feet indiameter; found throughout Island, also in Isle of Pines; flexible and hard; grey in color; used in general construction and ship building; Sp. Gr. 0.87.
Ateja Hembra: indigenous; 50 feet in height; 3 feet diameter; found in Pinar del Rio; hard, compact and heavy grained; yellow in color; found in deep soils; used for general carpenter work. Sp. Gr. 0.62.
Aguacatillo: indigenous; 55 feet in height; found all over Island, including Isle of Pines; soft and light; light green color; found in black lands; general carpenter work; Sp. Gr. 1.14.
Arabo: indigenous; 25 feet in height; found on coast; fibrous, compact and strong; reddish brown color; used for poles and general carpenter work; bears fruit eaten by cattle; takes beautiful polish; Sp. Gr. 1.52.
Abran de Costa: indigenous; found Pinar del Rio; strong, compact; mahogany color; cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 0.97.
Baga: indigenous; 25 feet in height; found on coast and on river banks; very light in weight; greyish brown in color; used for fish net floats; bears fruit eaten by cattle; Sp. Gr. 0.6.
Baria: indigenous; 50 feet in height; found all over Island, in deep soil; easily worked, dark brown color; used in general carpenter work; flowers produce feed for bees; takes a fine polish; Sp. Gr. 0.78.
Brazilete Colorado: indigenous; 25 feet in height; found on coast, also in the savannas; excellent wood; reddish brown; used for turning purposes and inlaid work; takes high polish; produces a dye; Sp. Gr. 0.9.
Bayito: indigenous; 30 feet in height; found in Pinar del Rio; hard and compact; variegated brown color; used for frames, posts, etc.; takes high polish. Sp. Gr. 1.25.
CaguairanorQuiebra Hacha: indigenous; 45 feet height, 3 feet diameter; found in Oriente; resists rot; compact, heavy and hard; reddish brown color; used for beams, channel posts, etc. Sp. Gr. 1.44.
Cana Fistola Cimarrona: indigenous; 45 feet in height, scattered over Island; beautiful, strong and resistant wood; reddish in color; adapted for tool handles. Sp. Gr. 0.87.
Caimitillo: indigenous; 35 feet height; found all over Island; hard, tough wood; used in carriage manufacture; bears fruit; Sp. Gr. 1.1.
Carey de Costa: indigenous small tree, found on coasts and savannas; heavy and brittle; dark tortoise shell color; takes beautiful polish; used for cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 1.04.
Cerillo: indigenous; 35 feet in height; diameter 18 inches; found in western end of Island; excellent wood; yellow in color; used for cabinet work; takes fine polish; Sp. Gr. 0.56.
Carne de Doncella: indigenous; 50 feet height; 18 inches diameter; common in forests; compact, tough and hard; rose color; grown in rich lands; used for table tops and carriage work. Sp. Gr. 0.92.
Chicharron Amarillo: indigenous; 36 feet in height; 18 inches in diameter; common in forests; strong, elastic and durable; dark yellow color; used for posts, sleepers, channel stakes, etc. Sp. Gr. 0.96.
Chicharron Prieto: indigenous; 36 feet height; 18 inches diameter; strong solid wood; brown color; used in carriage work.
CaobaorMahogany: five varieties of this tree; indigenous; 36 feet in height, from six to twelve feet in diameter; grows all over the Island; excellent and durable wood; color mahogany or dark red; used for fine carpenter work and furniture; Sp. Gr. 1.45.
CedroorCedar: four varieties; indigenous; 60 to 75 feet in height; 6 feet in diameter; found all over Island; soft and easily worked; light mahogany color; used in fine carpenter work; cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 0.9.
Cuya o Carolina: three varieties; indigenous; very hard and compact; light wine color; used for uprights, beams and construction work. Sp. Gr. 1.02.
Dagame: indigenous; 40 to 45 feet in height; 18 inches in diameter; grows on hilly land; strong and compact; yellowish grey color; used for carpentry and carriage work; Sp. Gr. 0.74.
Royal Ebony: indigenous; 34 feet in height; found on coast lands; good wood; black in color; used for canes; inlaid work; familiar in United States for fine cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 1.17.
Espuela de Caballero: indigenous; small tree, found all over Island; excellent wood; yellow to red in color; used for fancy canes, turning and inlaid work; Sp. Gr. 0.9.
Fustete: indigenous; 36 feet in height; found in dense forests or Oriente and Camaguey; dark wine color; used for carpenter and carriage work; is yellow dye wood; Sp. Gr. 1.32.
Granadillia: indigenous; 20 to 25 feet in height; small diameter; hard, compact and tough; mottled brown and bright yellow in color; used for fine inlaid work and canes; Sp. Gr. 0.89.
Guama de Costus: indigenous; 25 to 35 feet in height; hard, tough and compact; light cinnamon color; used in construction work and for ox-yokes and plows; Sp. Gr. 0.68.
Guayabo Cotorrero: indigenous; 25 to 30 feet in height; small diameter; all over Island; ductile, chrome yellow color; used for cabinet work; tool handles; Sp. Gr. 0.92.
Guaracan Prietoor Lignum Vitae: indigenous; 55 to 60 feet in height; comparatively slender; found on coast; durable and compact; dark brown mottled with yellow; used for turning, banisters, croquet balls, and shaft bearings; Sp. Gr. 1.17.
Guayacan Blanco: indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; slender, strong and compact; light yellow color; grows on black lands; especially useful for carriage and wagon spokes; Sp. Gr. 0.79.
Humus: indigenous; hard compact and tough; blood redin color; fine carpentry and cabinet work; furnishes a dye; Sp. Gr. 0.84.
Jiqui: indigenous; 50 to 60 feet in height; 3 feet diameter; strong, hard, durable, dark brown in color; found in all soils; used for supports, posts, channel stakes and stakes for boundary lines; never rots in swamp land; makes good charcoal.
Jucaro Prieto: two varieties; indigenous; 60 to 75 feet in height; four feet in diameter; all over Island; very strong; impervious to rot in swampy and bad lands; used for wagon and carpenter work; especially adapted for pilings.
Jucaro Amarillo: indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; slender; all over the Island; strong and compact, yellow color, especially adapted for posts and wagon axles; Sp. Gr. 1.13.
Jacaranda: indigenous; 45 to 55 feet in height; strong, tough and resistant; yellowish grey; carpenter and furniture work; Sp. Gr. 0.89.
Jagua: indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; 18 inches in diameter; found all over Island; strong, elastic and durable; yellow in color; adapted for carriage work, moulds, lances, etc.
Jatia: indigenous; 25 to 30 feet in height; 16 inches in diameter; found in eastern end of Island; strong, hard and compact; dark yellow; used in cabinet work and canes; Sp. Gr. 0.94.
Jayajabico: indigenous; small tree, found in Pinar del Rio; hard, tough and compact; light chestnut color; used in carriage work, cabinet work, canes, etc.; Sp. Gr. 1.12.
Lebrisa: indigenous; 25 to 30 feet in height; eastern end of the Island; strong and resistant; yellowish color; adapted for axles, tillers, and general carpenter work; Sp. Gr. 1.00.
Majugua Macho: indigenous; three varieties; 45 to 50 feet in height; 3 feet in diameter; found all over Island; very resilient and flexible; mouse color; variegatedwith black and cream splashes used in fine cabinet and furniture work; also fine for carriage work, knees and arches. From the inner bark natives braid a strong picket rope in a few minutes; Sp. Gr. 0.59.
Maboa: indigenous; 30 to 45 feet in height; 2 feet in diameter; found in all forests; strong and compact, ash color; used for beams, posts and also for cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 1.3.
Manzanillo: indigenous; 20 to 25 feet in height; 3 feet in diameter; found on coast; good wood; yellowish grey color; found in the low lands; used for furniture and fine cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 0.7.
Mamoncillo: indigenous; 55 to 60 feet in height; 3 feet in diameter; found all over the Island; hard and compact; light mahogany color; yields an edible plum; used in cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 0.85.
Moral Negro: found all over the Island, strong and solid; dark chestnut color; used in fine carpentry and cabinet work; Sp. Gr. 0.75.
Moruo: indigenous; 50 to 60 feet in height; found in all forests; good wood; wine colored; used for general carpentry and carriage work; takes a high polish; Sp. Gr. 1.06.
Ocuje: indigenous; 45 to 50 feet in height; strong, tough and resistant; red color; used in carriage work and channel stakes; Sp. Gr. 0.77.
Palo de Lanza: (lance wood) indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; very resilient and flexible; light yellow color; used for yard sticks, tool handles, light strong poles and wood springs; Sp. Gr. 0.84.
Palo Campeche: (log wood) indigenous; 25 to 35 feet in height; found in deep forests; hard, heavy and compact; deep purple color; used for turning and produces log wood dye; Sp. Gr. 0.9.
Roble: five varieties; indigenous; 40 to 45 feet in height; good wood, general carpenter work and shelving; Sp. Gr. 0.73.
Sabina: indigenous; found in eastern end of Island; hard beautiful wood, mottled chocolate color; furniture and general construction; Sp. Gr. 0.65.
Sabicu: indigenous; very large tree, sometimes called imitation mahogany; hard, tough and compact; mahogany color; used for rail chalks, port holes of ships, wagons, etc.
Tagua: indigenous; 25 to 30 feet in height; hard, compact and durable; used for fine cabinet work and musical instruments; Sp. Gr. 0.7.
Yaba: indigenous; 45 feet in height; abundant, strong and compact; reddish color; used for wagon work, general construction and turning; Sp. Gr. 0.88.
Tana: indigenous; very hard, inflexible; grows in damp and sandy soils; specially adapted for naval construction; Sp. Gr. 1.02.
Yamagua: indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; 20 inches in diameter; excellent wood; reddish yellow; used in general construction work; Spec. Gr. 0.7.
Specimens of all these woods, together with some three hundred others, form a collection that may be seen at any time at the Government Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas.
Scattered throughout the broad grass covered savannas that lie along some parts of the coast of Cuba, are found heavily wooded clumps of forest trees, that stand up out of the grassy plains like islands, and give rather a peculiar effect to the landscape. In these “Cayos de Monte,” as they are called, are found nearly all of the small, hard and durable woods of Cuba, such as Ebony, Lignum Vitae or Guayacan, Grenadillo and others of similar character, that seldom make tall trees, but that frequently have a value in the markets of the world that cause them to be sold by the pound or hundredweight, instead of by board measure.
The great bulk of timber lands, or virgin forests of Cuba, are scattered throughout the mountainous districts of the Island, mostly in Santa Clara and Oriente,and belong to non-resident owners living in Spain. While the timber is very valuable, the cost of cutting and getting out the logs with the help of oxen, precludes any possibility of profit and will insure their remaining untouched until less expensive methods are found for their removal to the coast. The price of these lands vary at the present time from $3 to $15 per acre, and they can be purchased only in large tracts.
In passing it may be mentioned that many of the forest lands of the mountainous districts are located within the mineral zones of the Island, but the purchase of the property does not carry with it a right to the ore deposits that may lie below the surface. These can be acquired only through registering mineral claims or “denouncements” in accordance with the laws of the Republic.
Along the southern coast of Cuba, bordering on the Caribbean, especially in the Province of Camaguey, are still large areas of virgin forests growing on low, flat lands. Some of these are traversed by streams, down which the logs are rafted during the rainy season.
Quite a large area of forest is still retained by the Government. The sale of these lands is forbidden by law, although under certain conditions they may be rented to private parties. Some of them have been distributed among the veterans of the War of Independence.
The total amount of forest still retained by the Republic is estimated at 37,000 caballeries or 1,226,450 acres, of which 519,144 acres are located in the Province of Oriente; 307,910 in Santa Clara; 148,200 in Pinar del Rio; 113,620 in Matanzas; 88,130 in Camaguey and 49,400 in the Province of Havana.
THEIsland of Cuba is essentially an agricultural country. Its fertile soils have come from the constant erosion of rocks by heavy rains, through eons of time. Mountain torrents have brought down the debris of crumbling mountains of feldspar, shale and limestone to be deposited on the plains below, while rushing streams have eaten their way into the plateaus of Pinar del Rio and Oriente, until we have at last a marvellously rich, tropical island garden, supplied by Nature with all the ingredients needed to maintain its fertility for many centuries to come.
More important perhaps than fertility of soil, is the fact that Cuba lies just within the edge of the Tropics, securing thereby an immunity from snow, cold wind and frost. This enables her to grow many crops that otherwise would be barred. More than all, those vegetables that in the United States and more northern climes thrive during only a few months of summer, may be grown in Cuba at almost any time in the year.
On the other hand it is true that many of the great grain crops, such as wheat, rye, oats and barley, cannot be successfully grown in Cuba, or at least on only a few of the more elevated plateaus of Santa Clara and Oriente. But, even were it possible to grow wheat in Cuba, it is more profitable to buy grain from districts further north, giving in exchange sugar, tobacco, henequen, coffee, cacao, hides, honey, citrus fruits and winter vegetables.
NATIONAL THEATRE, CENTRAL PARK, HAVANAThe builders of the city of Havana through more than four centuries paid commendable attention to the right placing of important buildings, not only for convenience but also for picturesque and artistic effect. Thus the National Theatre, one of the most commodious and beautiful playhouses in the world, has for its setting the equally beautiful Central Park, and is approached by the famous thoroughfare of the Prado. Other notable public and private buildings are suitably grouped about it, making a civic centre of rarely impressive appearance.
NATIONAL THEATRE, CENTRAL PARK, HAVANA
The builders of the city of Havana through more than four centuries paid commendable attention to the right placing of important buildings, not only for convenience but also for picturesque and artistic effect. Thus the National Theatre, one of the most commodious and beautiful playhouses in the world, has for its setting the equally beautiful Central Park, and is approached by the famous thoroughfare of the Prado. Other notable public and private buildings are suitably grouped about it, making a civic centre of rarely impressive appearance.
NATIONAL THEATRE, CENTRAL PARK, HAVANA The builders of the city of Havana through more than four centuries paid commendable attention to the right placing of important buildings, not only for convenience but also for picturesque and artistic effect. Thus the National Theatre, one of the most commodious and beautiful playhouses in the world, has for its setting the equally beautiful Central Park, and is approached by the famous thoroughfare of the Prado. Other notable public and private buildings are suitably grouped about it, making a civic centre of rarely impressive appearance.
Freedom from frost means much to the agriculturist, since it relieves him from the anxiety suffered by the farmers of Florida and the Gulf States, that althoughlying on the other side of the Tropic of Cancer, and enjoying sufficient warmth to produce vegetables during the winter months, are nevertheless exposed to the danger of absolute ruin, or at least the loss of a year’s work.
CUBAN RURAL HOMECUBAN RURAL HOME
That, however, which favors successful agriculture in Cuba more than anything else, is the fact that her copious rainfall begins in May, and continuing throughout the warm months of summer terminates in the latter part of October, leaving the winter cool and dry, so that fall crops may ripen and be gathered free from danger of the cold, rainy days of December so common in the Gulf States.
In stock raising, also, not only is the Island supplied with an abundance of nutritious grass, on which animals may graze throughout the year, but the young are never subjected to loss from the cold winds, sleets, and driving storms, that decimate the herds of less favored countries in the North.
Cuba undoubtedly has some agricultural drawbacks and disadvantages, but few that may not be successfully overcome with intelligent management and the judicious care which renders stock raising profitable in any country. The one great advantage of the Republic lies in the fact that the farmer, if he so desires, can put in three hundred and sixty five days of every year at profitable work in his fields, orchards or pastures, with no time necessarily lost. Nor is he compelled to work half the year to provide food and fuel sufficient to feed and keep warm during the remaining six months of comparative idleness.
Owing to the exceptional natural facilities for producing sugar and tobacco cheaply and easily, the farmers of Cuba largely become, in one sense of the word, “specialists,” and little by little have fallen into the habit of producing enormous crops of these two staples that are sold abroad, while food crops are imported at an expense far above that which it would cost to produce them in the Island. This neglect of food and forage crops would seem to render Cuba an ideal place for the general farmer and stock raiser, and the Department of Agriculture, under the direction of General E. Sanchez Agramonte, is now making every effort to place the advantages of the country for diversified farming before the outside world, so that practical farmers and families from agricultural districts abroad may be induced to come to Cuba and settle permanently.
The Republic ultimately will raise her own live stock and should produce sufficient corn, rice, beans, peanuts and perhaps wheat to be, to a large extent at least, independent of the outside world. With this purpose in view the Department of Agriculture has encouraged immigration and through the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas is making greater efforts than ever before to ascertain just what crops and what seeds or plants are best adapted to the soil and climate of Cuba.
This information is being gathered and carefully digested so that it may be given to the homeseekers and settlers of which the country stands in such urgent need. At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Calvino, chief of the Government Station, together with hisstaff, is searching for and bringing from all parts of the globe every plant and every variety of animal that can be utilized for food purposes.
Nearly every variety of wheat, corn, sorghum, rice, potatoes, grains and tubers, is being tested and tried on the 160 acres of land belonging to the station. Grapes, peaches, plums and other semi-tropical fruits are being planted, experimented with and carefully watched for results, while forage plants and grasses from South America, Africa, Australia, India, China, Europe and the United States are being tried, each under conditions approaching as nearly as possible those of its original habitat.
Although Cuba with its adjacent islands has an area of only about 45,000 square miles—approximating the area of the State of Mississippi—one finds many varieties of soil, the characteristics of which, even when lying contiguous, are so varied as to be astounding. High and comparatively dry plateaus, in places, rise almost abruptly from low level savannas that remain moist in the driest seasons of the year. Rich deep soiled mountain sides and valleys may be found within a few miles of pine barrens, whose hillsides are valued only for the mineral wealth that may lie beneath the surface.
Great areas of rich virgin forest, in both mountain and plain, still exist, especially in the eastern half of the Island, where many thousands of acres in the open, if planted with suitable grasses, would support countless herds of cattle and live stock. To bring all of this territory as soon as possible into a state of profitable cultivation, and thus supply permanent homes for farmers and stock raisers, is the great aim and purpose of the Department of Agriculture in Cuba today, and to the consummation of these plans Secretary Agramonte is devoted, with a most able and energetic Assistant Secretary in Dr. Carlos Armenteros.
The great pressing problems of agriculture in the Republic would seem to be quite sufficient for any one man’s energies, but, as the present government was planned and organized, an enormous amount of additional work, including the supervision of mines, forests, weights, measures, bank inspection, commerce and labor, come under its jurisdiction, rendering the responsibilities of the Department heavier and more complicated than any other branch of the Government, and demanding a degree of persistence and versatility probably not called for on the part of any other Cabinet Officer.
The Department of Agriculture has a personnel of 640 while approximately a million and a half dollars are appropriated by the Budget for carrying on the work of the Department. For convenience of administration the Department is divided into the following sections:
In addition to these are several Bureaus, stations and offices that report directly to the Assistant Secretary.
The Section of Agriculture, naturally, is the largest and most comprehensive of the various divisions or branches of the Department. Under its direction are the six various “granjas” or Agricultural Schools that are maintained, one in each Province. The distribution of seeds and the awarding of agricultural prizes come under its direction, as so also the inspection of fish, turtling and sponging, and the registration of domestic animals, including horses, mules and cattle.
It has also charge of all agricultural fairs and exhibitions, either foreign or domestic. The purpose of the “Granjas” or agricultural schools is to educate the children of the rural districts along those lines which will tend to make them practical farmers and useful citizensof the community. Pupils are admitted at the age of fourteen and are given tuition, board, lodging and clothes at the expense of the Government.
An excellently equipped laboratory for the analysis of soils, fertilizer, or other material pertaining to agricultural industries, is maintained by the Division of Agriculture, and forms one of the most useful branches of the Department.
The Division of Commerce and Industry is entrusted with the inspection of nearly everything pertaining to the commerce and industry of the country. One very important branch is that of the inspection of banks, tobacco factories, sugar plantations and mills, and general industries of the Island. A Bureau of Statistics is also attached to this Division.
The Division of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry, is entrusted with the development of animal industry throughout the Island, and with the duty of protecting, as far as possible, livestock of all kinds from disease, either foreign or domestic. A laboratory, thoroughly equipped, is maintained as an auxiliary of this Division, enabling the Director to determine the nature of any given disease and to provide means and material for combating it.
Under the direction of the same Section are six poultry stations, one in each Province, where experiments are conducted with reference to poultry raising and to the cure of infectious diseases that may afflict. Three breeding stations, too, dependent on this Bureau, have been established in the eastern, central and western districts.
The Division of Forests and Mines, owing to the incalculable wealth of Cuba’s mines of iron, copper, manganese, chrome, etc., and to the immense value of her virgin forests of hard woods, scattered throughout the mountainous districts of the interior is of special importance. Forest inspectors are maintained whose duty is to see that timber is not cut without authorization from either government or private lands, or surreptitiouslysmuggled away from the coast. The enormous acreage, too, of the red and yellow mangrove, remarkably rich in tannin, that encircles nearly all the islands bordering on the interior lagoons, and the making of charcoal carried on in these districts, are supervised by the forest inspectors.
Every mineral claim located in the Republic must be reported to the Director of Mines in charge of this Division, where it is registered in books kept for the purpose in the name of the individual petitioning, with the date and hour of record, together with the dimensions or boundaries of said claim carefully indicated. With this registration a payment of $2 for each hectare of land is made and receipted for, which entitles the owner, after said claim has been surveyed by the engineers pertaining to the Division of Mines, to the sole privilege of working the claim, or taking either mineral asphalt or oil from beneath the surface.
In the Division of Trade Marks and Patents, one of the most important in the Department, patents and trade-marks are granted for a nominal sum to both citizens and foreigners. Companies that have secured patents in foreign countries, after producing evidence to that effect, may duplicate or extend their patents in this office, and trade-marks that have been established in other countries may be registered in Cuba on proper application. Patents for books and publications are also handled in this Division.
The Department of Meteorology is responsible for all astronomical and meteorological observations, and for the publication of data in regard thereto. The Weather Bureau and all observatories come under its jurisdiction, together with the publication of official time. It is responsible for the collection of all data concerning weather and climate that may affect crops, which data is published weekly, monthly and annually.
Under the Division of Immigration, Colonization andLabor matters pertaining to subjects connected with immigration, wages, hours and working condition of laborers and their connection with capital or employers, are handled and adjusted. During the year 1918, this Bureau amicably settled eighteen labor disputes, thus avoiding threatened strikes. Records of all accidents to labor are kept on file.
Every immigrant entering the Island of Cuba from any country must be provided with $30 in cash before being released from Triscornia, the receiving station on the Bay of Havana. From this station immigrants without means are looked after by the Division of Immigration, and the company or person, who, desiring his services, takes him out, is required to give a bond that he will not become a public charge. This Department also issues permits to sugar estates, corporations or companies who wish to import labor on a large scale.
Under the direction of this Division, the Government has started a colony for laborers at Pogolotti, a suburb of Havana, where 950 houses have been built, each with a parlor, two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen and a yard. They are rented to laborers only, at a monthly rental of $3.12. Of this $2.71 is applied to the credit of the renter towards the purchase of the house, the remainder going for expenses of administration and water. The purchase price is fixed at $650, and when this has been paid the laborer becomes the owner.
In addition to the above mentioned Divisions or Sections there are several independent Bureaus or offices, reporting directly to the Sub-Secretary and acting under his instructions. Among these is the Bureau of Game and Bird Protection, organized to enforce the law regulating the open and closed seasons for hunting deer, and the various game birds, ducks, pigeons, quail, etc., that abound in Cuba. The work of this Bureau is conducted along lines and methods similar to those employed in the United States. The duties of the Director of this mostworthy Institution are onerous and unending and to his indefatigable energy is due the saving of thousands of valuable birds and animals.
A Bureau known as the Bureau of Publications and Exchanges is charged with the publication in Spanish of an Agricultural Review, intended for the enlightenment of the agriculturists of the Island. In this monthly are printed the reports of the many experiments and important work carried on at the Government’s Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas, and other matters pertaining to Agricultural industries.
It is the desire of the Government of Cuba to encourage immigration, and to invite especially agriculturists and farmers from all countries, and to use every legitimate means of inducing the better class of immigrants to make permanent homes in the agricultural districts of the Island. But in order to guard against misleading information, and possible failure on the part of settlers from foreign countries in Cuba, one of the main objects of the Bureau of Information of the Department of Agriculture is not only to promulgate the exact truth, as far as possible, in regard to conditions, but also to protect the homeseeker against the machinations of irresponsible real estate agents, and the disappointment that would result from the purchase or cultivation of lands that could not give satisfactory returns.
The Government wants every homeseeker or investor of capital in Cuba to make a success of his undertaking, since only success redounds to the credit and reputation of the Republic. Hence every effort is being made to advise prospective settlers and investors, in regard to any legitimate undertaking that may be contemplated. This advice is invariably gratis and correspondents are requested not to enclose stamps for replies to their communications, since these are official and do not require postage. Personal interviews are invited at all times under the same conditions.
During the first Government of Intervention, underthe direction of General Leonard Wood, an agricultural experimental station was inaugurated on the outskirts of the little town of Santiago de las Vegas, some ten miles from the City of Havana. One hundred and sixty-six acres were purchased for the use of the station and Mr. Earle, formerly connected with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, was installed as Director.
The grounds were well located, with a fine automobile drive passing along its eastern boundary and the Havana Central Railroad close by on the west. A large quadrangular edifice occupied by Spanish military forces, was transformed into the main building of the station. Other houses for the protection of stock, machinery, etc., were soon added, while resident homes were built for the officers of the station.
An abundant source of good water was found at a depth of one hundred feet and large steel tanks were erected so irrigation could be utilized where needed.
Choice fruit and shade trees were brought, not only from the different provinces of Cuba, but also from other parts of the tropical world and planted for experimental purposes. Of the latter the Australian eucalyptus has made a wonderful growth.
A splendid staff of botanists, horticulturists, bacteriologists and men versed in animal industry were installed to assist the Director. Considerable valuable pioneer work was done by these men and much useful knowledge was imparted to the farmers of Cuba.
With the installation of the Cuban Republic, several changes were made in the Direction of the Station, but the routine work was carried on with a fair degree of success. To bring about radical reforms among the older agriculturists, who for many years have been addicted to the antiquated methods of their forefathers, is not an easy task in any country. To separate the administration of the Agricultural Station of Cuba from the bane of politics was still more difficult.
With the inauguration of General Menocal’s secondterm in office, several changes were made, the result of which have been both marked and beneficial. General Eugenio Sanchez Agramonte, former President of the Senate and an ardent lover of everything connected with farm life, was appointed Secretary of Agriculture, while Doctor Carlos Armenteros, an enthusiastic and indefatigable worker, was made Assistant Secretary.
General Agramonte, realizing all that a well conducted experimental station meant to the agricultural interests of the country, after careful search and examination into credentials, selected Dr. Mario Calvano, an Italian by birth, but cosmopolitan in education and experience, for the new Director of the Station, while larger credits and a greater number of assistants were placed at his disposal.
The result was to a high degree both beneficial and satisfactory. The main building was renovated and, as the Director said, “made possible,” from floor to ceiling. The southwestern part of the edifice was turned over to the Department of Woods, Textile Plants and Allied Studies, and here may be found, labeled and artistically arranged, most of the indigenous woods of the forests of Cuba, both in the natural state and highly polished. Samples of every textile plant known to the Island, of which there are many, hang from the wall, showing the plant as it was taken from the fields, and how it looks after being decorticated.
Leaving this section one steps down into a small garden, covering not over a quarter of an acre, in which may be found growing specimens of valuable and interesting plants and trees that have been gathered from Cuba and from other parts of the world so that their adaptability to this soil and climate may be studied.
The entire northern side of the building is given over to Animal Industry and to Bacteriology, where experiments of vital importance to animal life are conducted under the direction of experts. Not long ago men were brought from the Bureau of Animal Industry in Washingtonto assist the Station to establish a plant for the manufacture of the serum that has proven so efficacious in protecting hogs from the cholera or pintadilla, as it is known in Cuba. Considerable space is given over to the raising of guinea pigs, for use in experiments in making cultures of the germs that produce anthrax and other diseases that might endanger the herds of the Island.
Many splendid specimens of live stock, at the order of the Secretary, have been purchased in the United States and other parts of the world and brought to the station for breeding purposes. Some twenty odd magnificent stallions, most of them riding animals and cavalry remounts, were secured in Kentucky and other states during the spring of 1918 and brought to the station, where they have been divided among branch stations located in the other provinces of the Island.
Excellent specimens of cattle also, including the Jersey, the Holstein, the Durham and Cebu or sacred cattle of India, have been purchased abroad and brought to the Station and then installed in splendid quarters, built of reinforced concrete for their accommodation. The Cebu has been crossed in Cuba with the native cattle for some years past with very satisfactory results. Doctor Calvino states that a two-year old steer, resulting from the cross between a Cebu and a native cow, will weigh quite as much as would the ordinary three-year old of straight breeding.
Many specimens of thoroughbred hogs, including the Duroc, the Poland China, the Berkshire and the Tamworth, have been brought to the station, where they and their progeny seem to thrive even better than in the countries where the breed originated. Angora goats, too, that came from the Northwest, from Texas, and the mountains of Georgia, have given very satisfactory results in Cuba.
Several thousand chickens, including the Rhode Island Red, the Plymouth Rock, the Orpington, Minorcan and several varieties of Leghorns, were imported from theUnited States and brought to the Station, where they seem to be doing very well.
Under the direction of Doctor Calvino, nearly every acre of the Station has been devoted to some useful purpose. The grounds on either side of the main driveway are instructive and interesting. As the winter visitor passes down the long lane, he will find various tracts under comparatively intensive cultivation, planted in nearly all the vegetables common to the United States in addition to those found in Cuba. Among others are tomatoes, egg plants, green peppers, okra, beans, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cabbage, beets, malanga, yucca, name, acelgas and chayete. Each variety is carefully labelled, with time of planting and other data necessary for complete reports on results obtained.
Other sections are given over to fruits, and nut bearing trees, those indigenous to Cuba and those brought from other countries. Among the indigenous fruits we have the beautiful mango, the agucate, the guanabana, the marmoncillo, the mamey, colorado and amarillo, the anon, the nispero or zapote, the caimito, the tamarind, the ciruela, and all varieties of the citrus family.
Large beautiful groves of oranges, limes, lemons and grape fruit in full bearing, form a very interesting part of the station’s exhibit. Some sixteen varieties of the banana, the most productive source of nourishing food of all the vegetable kingdom, may be studied here under favorable conditions.
Several acres have been given over to seed beds and nursery stock, which in a short time will supply valuable plants of many kinds to other parts of the Island. A section has been devoted to the cultivation of various textile plants, including the East Indian jute, the ramie, common flax, and the malva blanca of Cuba.
The large patio that occupies the center of the main building is adorned not only with many beautiful flowers common to this latitude, but also with quite a number of ornamental palms not common to Cuba, or at least, notto the Province of Havana. The charm of the spot is due not alone to the interest that arises from an opportunity to study animal and vegetable life under favorable conditions, but also the high degree of intelligent efficiency that has been introduced into the life of the Station with the advent of the present Secretary of Agriculture and Director, Dr. Calvino. Its beneficial influence is felt throughout the entire Republic.
Owing to the fact that agricultural products form the chief source of Cuba’s revenues, the protection of her various grains, grasses and useful plants from infection and disease of whatever nature, becomes a matter of prime importance. Plant diseases and insect pests have brought ruin to agricultural efforts in many parts of the world. Fortunately perhaps most of the country’s agricultural effort is devoted to the production of sugar cane, which is subject to less danger from disease than almost any other plant of great economical value or utility.
Tobacco, in the western end of the Island, has long been made the subject of study and care, with the result that efficient protection has been secured. Various other plants, however, and especially fruits, are extremely susceptible to disease and to infection. Some of these including citrus fruits, the cocoanut and the mango, have recently suffered severely from diseases that have been imported from other countries.
Cuba probably suffers less from these troubles than any other country within the tropics. Nevertheless her cocoanut industry, owing to the introduction of what is termed “bud rot,” a few years ago, was reduced from an annual exportation of 20,000,000 nuts to only a little over 2,000,000. A disease introduced from Panama also greatly injured a variety of the banana known as the “manzana.”
Not, however, until the unfortunate arrival of the “Black Fly,” discovered in India in 1903, and afterwards in some mysterious way conveyed to Jamaica, whence it found its way into Cuba in 1915, near Guantanamo, did the Government awaken to the fact that it was confronted by a serious pest that threatened not alone the citrus fruit industry, but the production of mangoes and also coffee.
As soon as the Department of Agriculture became aware of the nature of this new disease, steps were taken to combat it scientifically, and with all of the resources at the disposal of the Government. An appropriation of $50,000 was at once granted and afterwards extended to $100,000. With this fund the Bureau of Plant Sanitation was quickly organized, with a central office in Havana. Competent inspectors were assigned to the three principal ports, where supervision over both imports and exports is conducted.
Inspectors in each province were installed to investigate the condition of various crops with special attention given to the Black Fly. Squads of trained men were organized to combat this pernicious diptera, especially in the vicinity of the City of Havana, whence the disease had been brought from Guantanamo. Passengers probably carried infected mangoes from that city to Vedado, a suburb of the capital, and from this center the Black Fly spread over a radius of ten miles around the city, giving the Bureau of Plant Sanitation an infinite amount of trouble.
Expert entomologists and trained men were brought from Florida to aid in the eradication of the enemy. A systematic pruning, spraying and general campaign against the Black Fly has been carried on ever since with more or less success. Badly infected trees have been cut down and burned, while gangs of men, organized as “fly fighters,” are conveyed in automobiles with their apparatus from one orchard to another, keeping up a continual struggle against this destructive insect.
In the neighborhood of Guantanamo, where the pest had secured a foothold, a determined warfare is being waged. This enemy to several of the best fruits is undoubtedly one of the most difficult to contend with thathas appeared in Cuba, but with the expenditure of time, money and much effort, it will undoubtedly be eradicated.
The Bureau of Plant Sanitation is under the direction of Dr. Johnson, a highly trained and energetic official who has devoted the greater part of his life to the study of plant enemies and to the successful elimination of the danger and loss that come from them.
CONSIDEREDfrom the point of view of agriculture, manufactures or commerce, Cane is King in Cuba. The sugar crop of 1918, amounting to 25,346,000 bags, or 3,620,857 tons, was sold for over $350,000,000; and the crop of 1919, consisting of 27,769,662 bags, equivalent to 3,967,094 tons, will probably realize the sum of $500,000,000. The significance of these facts may be strikingly appreciated by making a simple comparison. The Cuban sugar crop of 1919 is worth $200 for every man, woman and child on the island; while the corn crop of the United States, the most valuable crop of that country, worth $3,000,000,000, is equal to only $30 per capita of the population.
The production and consumption of sugar throughout the world was practically doubled during the fifteen years preceding the world war. The total production for 1914 was 18,697,331 tons, of which 8,875,918 tons came from beets, and 9,821,413 tons from cane. As a consequence of the war, the world production for 1919 was only 16,354,580 tons, of which only 4,339,856 tons were obtained from beets, while 12,014,724 tons were obtained from cane. The crop of 1919 shows, therefore, a gross shortage of 2,342,751 tons compared with that of 1914, without taking into account the normal increase in consumption indicated by the experience of the fifteen years before the war; during which period the production of cane sugar in Cuba was actually trebled in volume, showing an average annual increase of approximately 125,000 tons. The production of sugar in Cuba in 1914 was 2,597,732 tons, and in 1919 it was 3,967,064 tons; showing an average annual increase of about 275,000 tons, or approximately seven per cent. These figures, taken with those of the fifteen preceding years, indicate that the development of the cane sugar business in Cuba during the past twenty years, or since the establishment of the Republic, has been of steady growth and healthy proportions.
Natural conditions have greatly favored the growing of sugar cane in Cuba, and the demand for sugar throughout the world has increased so rapidly that it is not surprising that this industry has become paramount in the insular Republic. Begun on a small scale and in almost indescribably primitive fashion nearly four hundred years ago, as related in the first volume of the History of Cuba, it was not until near the end of the sixteenth century that the industry was established on a secure foundation. Even then it received little encouragement from the Spanish Government, and it was not until the close of the eighteenth and opening of the nineteenth century that it began to assume the proportions for which nature had afforded opportunity. With the emancipation of the island from peninsular rule, however, and the firm establishment of a government of Cuba by Cubans and for Cubans, the sugar industry has developed into proportionately one of the greatest in the world.
A general impression prevails that practically all of the lands in Cuba are adapted to the profitable cultivation of sugar cane; that numerous large and desirably located tracts, suitable in character and sufficient in area to justify the installation of modern “centrales” or factories of normal average capacity, are still to be found, scattered throughout the island and purchasable at nominal cost when compared with their economic value; and that the annual production of sugar in Cuba can, therefore, be profitably increased to the extent even of “supplying the whole world with all the sugar it needs.” This impression is, however, erroneous and misleading. General James H. Wilson, commanding the Military Department of Matanzas and Santa Clara under the firstGovernment of Intervention, who was esteemed an authority on the subject, reported in 1899 that it was a mistake to suppose that all Cuban lands were of the first quality, such as would grow sugar cane continuously for twenty or thirty years without replanting; that there were in fact few such estates in Cuba; that most of the land, whether red or black soil, produces cane for only twelve or fifteen years, and much of it for from three to five years only; and that, in the two provinces named, there was then little new or virgin cane land left, nearly all of first class quality having at some time been under cultivation. In this report he did not, however, take into account the extensive areas of “cienaga” or swamp lands, which would not be available for cane growing purposes until drained. Since then it has also been satisfactorily demonstrated that some of the so-called “savana” land, which has a “mulatto” or yellow soil, hitherto regarded as worthless for sugar-producing purposes, can be made to produce good crops of cane by the judicious application of fertilizers and with suitable methods of cultivation. Sufficient time has not elapsed to determine the durability of such plantations.
More conservative opinions, entitled to serious and careful consideration, have been expressed to the effect that first class new and virgin cane lands, favorably located and now available, can still be purchased in Cuba at figures as low as twenty dollars an acre and in sufficient area to make possible the profitable production of 3,000,000 tons of sugar above the present output, which approximates 4,000,000 tons; increasing the total to 7,000,000. It does not seem that such great areas could easily be hidden under a bushel in as small an island as Cuba, and it is probable that not more than one half of the total area of the new lands, purchasable at such a price, would be suitable for cane-growing purposes; in which case the cost would be raised to approximately forty dollars an acre for the actual cane-producing area. If these opinions and claims are accepted, it would seemunreasonable to expect that such large areas of land, yet remaining and now available, could average as good or prove as economically productive as the lands now actually under cultivation; and it would not, therefore, seem unreasonable to assume that to produce 3,000,000 additional tons of sugar would require an area nearly if not quite as large as that now required to produce the present annual output of approximately 4,000,000 tons. It is certainly difficult to believe that the area of land now producing sugar could be duplicated from the new and virgin lands now available in Cuba. The recent purchase of considerable acreages along the line of the newly constructed Northern Railway by the American Sugar Refining Company and the Czarnikow-Rionda interests, at prices ranging from seven hundred and fifty to one thousand dollars a caballeria, or about seventy five dollars an acre, for the actual cane-growing and sugar-producing area, would seem to emphasize the conclusion that first class new and virgin cane lands, yet remaining and now available in Cuba, are not so plentiful or so cheap as claimed by some and generally supposed.
The total area of Cuba is estimated at a maximum of about 30,000,000 acres; and it is probable that not more than ten per cent of this total area, or 3,000,000 acres, is adapted to and now available for the profitable cultivation of sugar cane, with sugar at even relatively normal pre-war average prices. Indeed it is doubtful if even continuance of the present abnormally high prices for sugar could greatly enlarge such now available area. Large tracts of the richest lands in Cuba, favorably conditioned and advantageously located but now covered by “cienagas” or swamps, can however be effectively and economically drained and made available for the cultivation of sugar cane; and such lands when drained should produce sugar more economically and profitably than any similar area of land in the island now growing cane. The largest of these swamps are in the Cauto River valley, in the vicinity of the Bay of Cardenas, and along the line of the Roque Canal leading thereto, and in the region covered by the Cienaga de Zapata. The reclaimable area of these swamp lands is estimated at not less than 750,000 acres.
Putting the present average annual production of cane in Cuba at 20 long tons, and the average yield of sugar at 11.25 per cent, or 2.25 tons an acre, and assuming a gross yearly production of 4,000,000 tons of sugar, indicates that about 35,000,000 tons of cane are grown upon approximately 1,750,000 acres of land; and allowing an additional 500,000 acres, to provide for and cover planting, replanting as pasturage, it would seem that approximately 2,250,000 acres of the best conditioned and most favorably located cane lands now available are required to produce the present output of 4,000,000 tons. Careful consideration of the subject leads to the conclusion that there are not now available in the island over 500,000 acres of new and virgin lands, upon which cane can be planted and profitably grown, with sugar at prices approximating the pre-war ten-year average. But these additional lands cannot reasonably be expected to average as good or prove as economically productive as the lands now actually planted with and growing cane. It should not be unreasonable to allow, for planting, replanting and pasturage, the additional 250,000 acres required to complete the estimated 3,000,000 acres given as the probable maximum area adapted to, and now available for, the profitable cultivation of cane in Cuba; unless and until the swamp lands, having an area of about 750,000 acres, shall be drained, reclaimed and put under cultivation. Assuming that the additional 500,000 acres of land now available would yield in the same proportion as the lands now planted and producing, an increase of only 1,125,000 tons of sugar yearly would result, which would raise the total annual production to about 5,125,000 tons. Should the swamp lands be reclaimed and made productive, upon the same basis of calculationthere would be a further increase of only 1,687,500 tons, bringing the total production of sugar in Cuba up to a maximum of only 6,812,500 tons a year, or at most, in round figures, about 7,000,000 tons. It seems most improbable that a larger production could be developed and permanently maintained, unless through fertilization and improved methods of cultivation, including irrigation; and it appears doubtful if such measures would more than compensate for the natural deterioration of soil and exhaustion of lands, that will inevitably result from long continued cultivation; for much of the lands now under cultivation will not produce for periods longer than from three to seven or at most ten years.
The Cienaga de Zapata is the largest and most easily drainable of the swamp areas mentioned. It is a vast alluvial plain, built up of the washings of the most fertile and durable cane growing lands of Cuba, enriched by the decomposition of the vegetable growth of uncounted centuries. It has a total area of 15,307 caballerias, or 505,154 acres; which is greater than the sugar-producing area of the Island of Porto Rico, or that of the Hawaiian Islands; indeed it is nearly as large as both combined. The net reclaimable area is not less than 450,000 acres; which is sufficient to provide cane for thirty “centrales” of 250,000 bags, or fifteen of 500,000 bags capacity each; equivalent to an output of 7,500,000 bags, or approximately 1,000,000 tons of sugar a year; the production of which would be effected under a combination of advantageous economic conditions not found in the production of sugar elsewhere in Cuba, if in the world. Chief among these advantageous conditions are the fertility of the soil, the extent and compactness of the area of land, its convenient and economical accessibility to a deep water port, and the fact that the entire area can be irrigated with water from the drainage canals at a maximum lift of not over ten feet. The drainage of these lands can be effected entirely by gravity and at a cost not exceedingtwenty dollars per acre for the net sugar producing area. Comprehensive surveys have been made for effecting the drainage of this great territory by well known American engineers; and a plan providing for the utilization of the lands, when drained, has been prepared by Mr. R. G. Ward of New York City, who was one of the chief factors under Sir William Van Home in the building and putting into successful operation of the original main line of the Cuba Railroad, extending from Santa Clara to Santiago. Under the franchises or concessions controlled by Mr. Ward, the not distant future may, therefore, see the present output of sugar in Cuba increased by approximately one-fourth, from the now neglected lands of the Cienaga de Zapata.
According to Mr. H. A. Himely, who is a recognized authority on the subject, 196 “centrales” handled the crop of 1919, amounting to 27,769,662 bags, or 3,967,064 tons of sugar. These “centrales” varied in output, from a minimum capacity of only 145 to a maximum of 701,768 bags, showing an average of about 142,000. Hence it is clear that the word “central” conveys no definite idea of capacity, and constitutes no exact unit of thought or calculation. Let us, however, assume that the word applies to a complete modern sugar factory of 250,000 bags yearly capacity, each bag containing 325 pounds of sugar; an output of 81,250,000 pounds. Factories of such capacity may be installed as single units or in multiple units. To obtain maximum results it is necessary that they shall be provided with sufficient areas of suitable land in one contiguous and reasonably compact body, within easy access of an economical deep water port, so that the costs of hauling and delivering the cane to the mill, and of transporting the sugar and molasses to the port, or shipside, may be reduced to the minimum. Now, of the new and virgin cane lands still remaining and now available in Cuba, there are few if any now obtainable which answer to these demands; and it is questionable if there are yet remaining andnow available in the island new and virgin lands in tracts of sufficient size and aggregate area to warrant the installation of more than twenty “centrales,” having a combined yearly capacity of 5,000,000 bags. Indeed it is believed that it would be difficult if not impossible to find desirable and economically satisfactory locations for even so large a number.
Wherever possible, virgin forests are cleared and planted for cane fields, as the accumulated humus of centuries produces a growth of cane that with care will endure for from five to twenty-five years without replanting. In Oriente cane fields are still producing good crops which were planted fifty and even sixty years ago. This method of cane culture is, however, most uneconomical, since the soil in time will certainly become exhausted. No plant responds more quickly to judicious and generous use of fertilizers than does sugar cane; and, according to the best authorities, no matter how rich the soil may be, it pays to fertilize.
In opening up a sugar plantation, the trees are first felled and the trunks of valuable timber drawn off the land, while the limbs, brush and other waste materials are piled and burned. Owing to the previous shade of the trees, the ground is free from weeds, and but little preparation of the soil is required.
For the first planting, men with heavy sharp pointed “jique” sticks, about five feet in length, travel on parallel lines across the fields, jabbing these stakes into the ground at intervals of four or five feet. Behind them follow others, bearing sacks of cane cut into short pieces, containing one or two joints each, a piece of which is thrust into each hole, and the earth pressed over it with the bare foot. From the eyes of these sections of cane in the rich, moist earth there quickly rise shoots or sprouts of cane, and under the influence of the heavy tropical rains that fall during the summer months the growth is so rapid that the young cane shades the ground before weeds have time to grow. According to the usualcustom of the country, the stumps of trees are left to rot and enrich the soil. Thus in the course of a few years a plantation is started at comparatively small cost, from which cane may be cut without replanting for many years to come.
Where sugar plantations are developed upon “savana” lands, the rows may be laid out with greater regularity and cultivated with modern machinery and implements until the cane has secured sufficient growth. At the expiration of eighteen months from the first planting, the cane should be ready for the mill. Cutters, with heavy machetes, go into the fields, seize the stalks of cane with the left hand, and with one deft blow of the machete cut them close to the ground. With three or four more strokes the canes are stripped of their leaves, topped, cut in halves and thrown into piles, ready to be loaded upon carts and carried to the mills or railroad stations.
During recent years hand labor in the fields has been difficult to secure in Cuba, and since the beginning of the European War the wages of cane cutters have risen from the usual average of $1.25 to $2.50 and even as high as $3.00 a day. Cuba has never had a sufficient amount of resident labor to handle her enormous crops of sugar. Thousands of men are brought to the Island annually, from Spain, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Venezuela, Panama and the West India Islands. Most of these laborers return to their homes at the end of the season, as they can live there in comfort upon the money earned until the next cane-cutting season. A machine for cutting cane, to do the work of forty men, has been invented and in 1918 received practical trial, which is said to have been fairly satisfactory. It is possible that this and other labor saving machinery will soon be perfected so that the large number of field hands now required may thus be replaced, to some extent, and the cost of cane culture and cutting correspondingly reduced.
Heavy two wheeled carts, drawn by from four to eight oxen, are still generally used to convey the canefrom the fields to the mills or railroad stations. Plowing, also, is done largely with oxen, although these are being replaced on the more modern and up to date estates by traction engines hauling gang plows, and by motor driven trucks for the transportation of the cane. One of the latter, which was first used in 1918, is provided with several light steel demountable bodies, that are dropped at convenient places through the cane fields, where they are loaded and then drawn up again upon the frame of the truck by the power of the motor. The load of cane is then carried to the mill or loading station, and the empty body brought back to the field for reloading. Meanwhile other bodies have been loaded with cane, and the operation is repeated. Other experiments are being made with trucks of the ordinary type, mounted upon low wheels carrying so called caterpillar belts, so that they may be used in wet weather and on soft ground. These contrivances have not, however, eliminated the ox cart, which still hauls from the fields over ninety per cent of the cane produced in Cuba.
Labor plays an important part in the cost of producing sugar in Cuba and largely determines the profits of the industry. In 1914 the cost of producing a pound of sugar, in most of the well located and otherwise favorably conditioned mills in Cuba, was estimated at about two cents; and in some of the exceptionally favored mills even this figure left a margin of profit. But with the rapid rise in wages following the outbreak of the European War, and the consequent increase of expense of cultivating, cutting and handling cane, the cost of making sugar has become increasingly difficult to determine, as the wage rate may vary, both from day to day, and also in the different sections of the island, where labor may be scarce or plentiful.
The urgent demand for sugar brought about by the European War caused many fields to be planted with cane the soils of which were not suited for the purpose. Mills were also erected at several places in districts notfavored by nature for sugar production. Later, when the selling price of sugar was fixed by the Sugar Commission appointed for that purpose, these less fortunately situated mills, compelled as they were to pay practically double the usual amounts for labor, found little if any profit remaining at the end of the year’s operations. Those mills favored by fertile lands and good locations yielded and continue to yield excellent returns upon the capital invested, in spite of the increased cost of labor.
In Cuba two altogether different methods are employed for planting, cultivating, cutting and delivering cane to the mills or loading stations, known, respectively, as the “Administration” and the “Colono” systems. Under the Administration system the work is directed by the management of the enterprise, and all labor and other expenses involved are paid by the owners of the property. Less than ten per cent of the cane annually produced is grown and delivered by this system. More than ninety per cent is, therefore, grown and delivered by the Colono system, which constitutes the distinctive feature of Cuban agriculture so far as it relates to the production of sugar. The system differs from the usual tenant-farming system in that there is no agreed sharing of the crop or fixed cash rental paid by the Colono to the landlord, in cases where the Colono is not himself the proprietor of the land in question. The system applies alike to lands owned by the enterprise, privately owned, or leased by the enterprise or the Colono; the terms and conditions varying slightly in each case. By a process of bargaining, based upon local conditions, the Colono gets from 4½% to 8%, with a probable average of 6¼%, of the weight of cane grown and delivered, in sugar, or its value in cash. That is to say, for every 100 pounds of cane grown and delivered by him he would get an average of 6¼ pounds of sugar, or its market value, in cash. Deducting the 6¼ pounds, paid as an average to the Colono, from the11¼ pounds, given as the average yield of sugar, leaves only 5 pounds to the enterprise, out of which all expenses must be paid before profits or dividends can be shown. Moreover, under this system, any reduction in the yield of sugar would fall entirely upon the enterprise until it reached the 6¼% payable, on an average, to the Colono. As an illustration, take the crop of 1918 and 1919, amounting to 4,000,000 tons of sugar; about 2,222,225 tons went to the Colono, to cover the “cost of cane,” while only 1,777,775 tons went to the enterprise to cover all other expenses and provide for dividends upon the capital invested: and, should the yield of sugar have fallen one per cent, equivalent to 355,555 tons, the Colono would have received the same, while the enterprise would have received only 1,422,220 tons—and so on, until the enterprise would get nothing at all, although the earnings of the Colono would remain unchanged.