30 



THE CUBA REVIEW. 



OXEN. — The practicability of improving 

 the slow-moving native oxen by crossing the 

 native cow with the Indian bull, which has 

 a rapid gait, is a subject of the greatest in- 

 terest, as is also the work done in preserv- 

 ing green food through the dry months by 

 means of the silo. 



ANGORA GOATS.— There is a general 

 opinion that angora goats and other animals 

 having a heavy coat of hair will, when 

 taken to a tropical country, gradually lose 

 their hair. To determine whether this be- 

 lief was well founded or not one angora 

 buck and three does were imported. Up to 

 the present the amount of hair clipped has 

 been a trifle less, but there seems to be a 

 tendency for the goat to shed their hair 

 earlier each year. 



POULTRY. — We have continued breed- 

 ing black Minorcas and brown Leghorn 

 fowls, but there seems to be a decided ten- 

 dency for imported fowls to degenerate in 

 spite of the fact that we have imported 

 cockerels of the same varieties to avoid 

 inbreeding. 



We have also imported some tine ex- 

 amples of Mammoth Bronze turkeys, but 

 they have not given good results up to the 

 present time. This may be due to the fact 

 that we have not given them sufficient range, 

 as we have had to' confine them in corrals. 



SWINE. — Two breeds of hogs are raised 

 in Cuba, Berkshires and Tamworths. For 

 corrals where food is supplied to swine the 

 Berkshires are well adapted ; but for the 

 hills where the hogs must search for their 

 food, the Tamworths, a bacon type, are 

 better adapted. Both breeds when crossed 

 with the native hogs give excellent results. 



MILK. — A number of determinations of 

 the quantity of butter fat in the milk of 

 native cows have been made. The great 

 majority range from three to four per cent., 

 the average probably being between 3.4 and 

 four per cent. It is difficult to get a cor- 

 rect idea of the amount of milk that the 

 native cows give, owing to the common 

 practice of only partially milking the co^w, 

 and then allowing the calf to suckle; but the 

 quantity is relatively small. 



Cocoanut Prices Strong. 



The market was firmer in New York 

 on October 29 on Baracoa cocoanuts, and 

 sales were noted up to $34 per t,ooo for 

 small lots. In a jobbing way even high- 

 er figures have been done. There is very 

 little stock to be had at less than $33 in 

 any quarter. 



"The demand for cocoanuts continues 

 on a moderate scale, but values arc high," 

 says the New York Fruitman's Guide. 

 "There have been few years when prices 

 have touched the present level on the 

 several descriptions, and it seems to be 

 certain that the market will go higher 

 under the stress of the light stocks. 

 There is a good movement for the ac- 

 count of buyers in the interim, with a 

 continued inquiry and business noted for 

 shipment to points in the South and 

 Southwest. The markets down there 

 seem to be dependent on the supplies 

 here. We cannot see where there is 

 much prospect of a serious reduction in 

 values at the moment." 



Pineapple Arrivals and Prices. 



The arrivals of Cuban pineapples in 

 the week ending October 29 have been 

 on a fair scale only. Shippers at the 

 Havana end are said to be dissatisfied 

 with results and are not sending up stock 

 in any quantity. It is said that the sec- 

 ond crop in Havana pines is of fair pro- 

 portions, but that the increase in tariff 

 rates, together with the dull market con- 

 ditions, have discouraged a good many 

 of the growers. 



A New Fungicide. 



Cucasa, a soluble saccharate of copper 

 lime, is said to be coming into use in 

 Europe in place of bordeaux mixture. 

 The new product yields a solution of cop- 

 per that has all the fungicidal properties 

 of bordeaux mixture, but with the add- 

 ed advantages, it is claimed, of affording 

 a clear solution in any dilution and of 

 keeping comparatively long. Being clear 

 it does not clog the nozzle of sprays, 

 furthermore, much less of it need be used 

 than of the bordeaux mixture. It is al«o 

 uniformly alkaline, and there can be 

 therefore no copper suliihate present to 

 injure the foliage. 



When sprayed on the trees, the thin 

 layer of the solution is readily changed 

 by the atmosphere, as in the case of 

 Bordeaux Mixture, into the insoluble film 

 of copper comoound that has the specific 

 power to kill fungi. The thinness of this 

 film has the advantage of interfering all 

 the less with the important functions of 

 the foliage, and also of sticking very 

 close — which was found in one case to 

 be for three months after one spraying. 

 Cucasa consists of molecular propor- 

 tions of copper sulphate, slaked lime 

 and cane sugar, thus being distinguished 

 from other copper and sugar solutions 

 by the proportions in which the constit- 

 uents are present in order to produce a 

 clear, alkaline, fungicidal solution. Its 

 inventor is Dr. C. Rumm, of Stuttgart. 

 Germany. 



