THE CUBA R E V I E W 



2\J 



Central Occidente, Province of Havana 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



USE OF TRACTORS ON CUBAN 

 SUGAR ESTATES 



The tractors used on the sugar estates 

 of Cuba are of two kinds — ihe round wheel 

 and the track-layer or caterpillar style, 

 and are used almost exclusively for plow- 

 ing. Consul C. S. Winans, Cienfuegos, re- 

 ports that in the northern section of the 

 Cienfuegos Province, owing to the hard, 

 sticky, clayish soils, the caterpillar type 

 seems to be the most successful, as it is 

 claimed that in the use of round-wheel 

 tractors there is a constant slipping of the 

 wheels with the consequent loss of power 

 and breakdowns. In the central and south- 

 ern parts of this district the round-wheel 

 tractors seem the most successful, and 

 they have been found to be very satisfac- 

 tory and economical — more economical 

 when alcohol is used instead of gasoline. 



In the southern section tractors of S to 

 16 and li! to 25 horsepower have been 

 used to some extent for hauling pur- 



poses, as well as in connection with the 

 use of cane-planting machines. Experi- 

 ments have also been made here with the 

 track-layer type in connection with cul- 

 tivating between the rows of cane. The 

 chief objections to this type seem to be 

 that its first cost is very much higher 

 than the round wheel ; that it is compli- 

 cated and therefore more liable to break- 

 age, and more difficult for inexperienced 

 operators to handle. Several plantations 

 are to experiment in the use of different 

 kinds of tractors, and especially with the 

 caterpillar type, for the purpose of haul- 

 ing cane. 



JAMAICAN SUGAR CROP [ESTIMATE 

 Consul C. L. Latham reports from 

 Kingston, Jamaica, that the director of 

 Agriculture of Jamaica estimates the prob- 

 able size of the 1010 crop (export) of 

 sugar from the colony ai 33,000 tons as 

 against 26,0< <> tons for 1918. 



