THECUBAREVIEW 19 



have not been the case, as the owner is aitcr not only a cane ])roi)osition, but a combination 

 that could be best obtained in this locality. That there is room for more mills in cither this 

 province or that of Pinar del Rio, we very much doubt, and it is our impression that unless 

 agricultural practices change materially, the resumption of pre-war prices will find the mills 

 with their greater capacity due to modern machinery and high grinding power, wondering 

 where they are going to obtain the cane with which to grind to (-apacity. 



The small showing among new constructions made in Matanzas Province speaks for itself. 

 We mention Espafia in the list, merely to call attention to its great expansion as indicated in 

 the estimate for this year's production as compared with its actual work in the past. We 

 have reason to believe, also, that the estimate is very small, and that it is quite possible that 

 she will make as high as five hundred thousand bags this season. Australia, the one new mill 

 in this Province, is located in what was practically the one vacant spot where a mill could 

 find life. 



In the same manner the small amount of new work shown in Santa Clara Province indi- 

 cates that locations there are pretty well occupied. It might be possible to locate a mill in the 

 southeast part of the Province, with good prospects of obtaining cane sufficient, but this is 

 problematical, and with an investment involving the outlay required for a sugar mill, there is 

 no sense in guessing. 



Camaguey Province looms up big among the rest in view of the new work going on within 

 her boundaries, and a study of the table shows that with two exceptions, all of the new mills 

 are large and could have been located only in places where large bodies of suitable land were 

 obtainable. Yet, notwithstanding the comparatively large number of mills that have gone in 

 and are being built in this Province, there is abundant space for more, and land that, containing 

 a goodly portion of first-class cane land, contains very little worthless soil. The mills that 

 have gone in have been largely in the north half of the Province, following the line of the North 

 Coast Railroad, being constructed from Caibarien to Nue vitas, and this doubtless has influ- 

 enced the location. But to the south of the Cuba Railroad, lies a large area of black, rich soil, 

 low and flat in many places and requiring drainage, but capable of producing many and heavy 

 crops of cane. Wome day the forest in all this region \\dll go as has that of the north shore and 

 of Oriente Province during the last three years, and the only thing visible will be the long 

 waving leaves of the cane. 



The same comment just made regarding Camaguey Province is suitable to Oriente Prov- 

 ince. It will be noted that the mills that have recently been established there have, ^^•lth few 

 exceptioiis, had quite large capacity, thus indicating that there is an abundant territory to 

 draw supphes from. That locations still abound where moderate sized mills could be profitably 

 established, there is no doubt, but it is quite probable that there will be very little further new 

 construction till the veil that hangs over the future is lifted. 



The earful examination of the table will cause the reader to ask why in Camaguey Prov- 

 ince so many of the mills showed a much less production in 1917 than in 1916, notwithstanding 

 the fact that they were new mills and therefore should have shown ani ncrease, and why there 

 is such a great contrast between the actual production of 19x7 and the estimated production 

 of 1918. In the answer lies the secret of the small increase in production of sugar in Cuba last 

 year as compared with the crop of the preceding year and with the estimate made at the be- 

 ginning of the season. It consists solely in the damage caused by the revolution of last 

 Spring, and the consequent disrupting oi labor organizations at those mills near the zone of 

 rebel operations. The increase in production estimated over that of the year before was largely 

 hoped for from the two eastern Provinces, though Pinar del Rio was expected to help. This 

 she did, but the great quantity of cane burned in the three eastern Provinces, and the still 

 larger amount that was left in the field because laborers would not risk cutting and hauhng it, 

 caused the shortage. In Matanzas Province the cane was deficient in sucrose, this adding to 

 the other factors that made for a small crop. This year, however, the sucrose content all 

 over the Island is good to excellent, w^eather conditions are fine, and every condition holds 

 forth the promise that the estimate of some 3,600,000 tons of sugar will be equalled if not sur- 

 passed. 



In connection with the possibility of increasing the Cuban sugar crop, the thought arises 

 whether this could not be done by more scientific treatment of the soil and cultivation of the 



