THE CUBA REVIEW 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



MALANCA 



According to the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 a new root crop, the dasheen, is l)eing grown 

 by a nuip.ber of farmers of the south, and 

 })ronu<es t ) l)ecom.e a valua>)le member of the 

 grouj) of domestic vegetables, such as the 

 the potato. 



The value of the dasheen, it is l)clieved, will 

 be as a crop supplemental to, rather than a 

 substitute for, the potato. 



In food value the dasheen is comparable 

 to the potato, though it contains a smaller 

 proportion of water and a greater proportion 

 of protein, starch and sugar than the latter. 

 The new vegetable may be prepared for the 

 table as potatoes usually are, or may be made 

 into flour and used in l)aking. 



The Cuban variety of the dasheen is known 

 as IMalanga, and is largely used in Cuba and 

 is, of course, capable of more extensive culti- 

 vation. 



CITRUS FRUITS 



The Bureau of Chemistry of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture has devoted 

 much time to an investigation during the last 

 year of the production of by-products of citrus 

 fruits and has developed a method for the manu- 

 facture of citrate of lime from lemons, while 

 consideral)!e ])rogress has been made in the 

 manufacture of citric acid from the same fruit. 

 The manufacture ot lemon oil has been studied 

 and progress reported in this direction. The 

 study of tangerines has resulted in the green 

 fruit as a valuable source of citric acid, and the 

 oil as a commercial possibility. Orange vine- 

 gar has been made and the prospects of this 

 being a commercial success seem probable 

 although the market is limited. 



COUNTERFEIT MONEY 



It is reported that much counterfeit of 

 Cuban money is now in circulation, the silver 

 dollar being the coin most frequently counter- 

 feited. It is understood that the Cuban 

 Governm^ent is making every effort to appre- 

 hend the counterfeiters. 



PORT OF HAVANA 



Statistics for the year 1916 show that dur- 

 ing the year 89,631 passengers entered the 

 port of Havana and 65,812 sailed from the 

 port. 



REDUCTIONS ON MATERIALS FOR ASBESTOS 

 FABRIC 



Certain ai)i)aratus and materials u.sed in the 

 manufacture of asbest(,'s cloth are to be exempt 

 from the surtax established by the decree of 

 February 1, 1904, according to customs cir- 

 cular dated October 20, 191(5. The articles 

 entitled to the reduction are classified under 

 tariff Nos. 40, 57, 226, and 231, the surtaxes, 

 remited being 30% of the duty on articles 

 dutiable vmder Nos. 40 and ,57, and 25% of the 

 duty in the case of the other goods. Such 

 apparatus and materials must be nnported 

 by manufacturers for use in their own estab- 

 lishments and a sworn declaration as to such 

 intended use must be submitted. 



REDUCTION ON FABRICS FOR MATTRESSES 

 ETC. 



A Cuban decree of October 20, 1916, ex- 

 empts from the surtax of 20 per cent. im]>osed 

 by the decree of February 1, 1904, cotton 

 fabrics classified under Xos. 114, 115, 116 and 

 117 of the C\iban customs tariff, provided 

 such goods are imported by manufacturers of 

 mattresses, pillows, and sweat pads, for use 

 in their own establishments. In order to take 

 advantage of these reductions, importers 

 must make declaration imder oath that the 

 goods ?.re to be used as above indicated. 



NEW ELECTRIC LINES 



Electric .itreet-car service was inaugurated 

 in Matanzas and Cardenas on December 17. 

 The Diari o de la Marina says that much en- 

 thusiasm greeted the opening of the new car 

 service, and it is believed that the tramwaj'S 

 will assist greatly in the development of these 

 cities. 



HAVANA 



The ship registry department of the cus- 

 toms bureau shows that during the last six 

 months of 1916, 1,008 vessels of various 

 nationalities entered the port of Havana. 



Statistics of the customs department show 

 that in the second six months of 1916, 47,258 

 passengers with 81,675 pieces of baggage 

 arrived in Havana. 



PATENT 



A patent for a process of preserving milk 

 has been granted to Sr. Carlos !Muiioz. 



