34 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



EXPORT TRADE 



To give more i)rompt and efficient service 

 to their increasiag foreign clieutele, tfie fol- 

 lowing Works have placed the management of 

 their Export Department in the hands of Mr. 

 James M. Motley, 71 Beaver Street, New 

 York. 



Dmican Stewart & Co., Ltd., 



Pe:ansylvania Boiler Works, 



Weir Frog Co., 



The John H. McGowan Co., 



The Rahn-Larmon Co., 



Cleveland Pimch and Shear Works Co., 



Standard Water Systems Co., 



Standard Saw Mill Machinery Co. 



The products of these works comprise 

 su-gar mills, boilers, tanks, engines, pumps, 

 condensers, evaporators, effects, rails, switches, 

 locomotives, cars — in fact, every class of 

 equipment for the use of plantations, railroads, 

 mines antl other industrial enterprises. No 

 doul)t the foreign business of these firms will 

 be largely extended under Mr. Motley's man- 

 agement, whose extensive experience in the 

 export field and familiarity with the require- 

 ments of different industries admirably fits 

 him for increasing the number of satisfied 

 clients of these firms. 



CUBA'S SUPPLY OF LIGNUM-VITAE. 



[Consul Henry M. Wolcott, Habana.] 



Exporters of Cuban hardwoods, who from 

 long experience are well qualified to express 

 an opinion, state that probably not more than 

 4,000 tons of lignum-vitae exist at accessible 

 places in the island. It is doubtful if even one- 

 third of this amount could be cut and ex- 

 ported at a cost which would leave any profit 

 even at the present high prices. Wood of this 

 variety has not been exported from any dis- 

 trict of Cuba other than the Oriente Province 

 for a long period. The small supply that has 

 been available was in good demand locally. 



An American at Cristo, Oriente, Cuba, who 

 has been an exporter of native hardwoods, is 

 believed to have accurate information regard- 

 ing the supply. He states : 



Contrary to the general lieiief, the availaljle 

 supply of lignum in Oriente is very limited 

 and will soon beconae practica.ly exhausted on 

 account of the fact that it takes many years 

 to grow, and while many have been busy cut- 

 ting for export, no provision whatever has 

 been made to plant or even cut scientifically. 

 Wood measuring less than 6 inches in diameter 



has no export value and land-owners, when 

 clearing land for cane planting or to make pas- 

 ture, destory all the sma'l trees as value.ess. 

 Lignum-vitae contains a large percentage of 

 rosir, so that the tree will often take fire andbe- 

 destroyed before it reaches a mature size. In 

 the Jiguania and Bayamo districts, along the 

 Canto River, one may see thousands of stumps 

 of lignum, all that remains of trees destroyed 

 in that district when forests were burned to 

 make pasture before the railroad tapped that 

 Sisction, and now that there is a railroad for 

 transportation there is no lignum for export. 

 This is also true of places that the railroad will 

 traverse in the near future — -the timber is be- 

 ing destroyed to-day to make pasture. 



It is safe to say that the available supply of 

 good merchantable lignum, 6 inches and up, 

 in this Province 's considerablj- less than 3,000 

 tons, and this eiiists on land owned or con- 

 trolled b}' American capital, the owners of 

 which do not care to sell their vahiable hard- 

 woods, or on littie lots in practicable inac- 

 ce&sil)'e places. 



Formerly there was a laige amount of lig- 

 num along the southern coast of Oriente Pro- 

 vince lietween Santiago de Cuba and Cape 

 Maisi, liut to-day that has all been cut and 

 only a few trees remain here and there, not 

 sufficient in number or size to warrant cutting 

 operations. 



Property owners in this Province have a 

 tendency to greatly overestimate the amount 

 of lignum and other hardwoods on their prop- 

 erty. A. fairly accurate estimate could be ob- 

 tained by "cruising" the few remaining prop- 

 erties where there is lignum in any quantities. 

 This wouid not be a very difficult job, as the 

 wood grows only in four or five districts in this 

 Province. The supply is certainly growin 

 smaller daily. 



T'.jis report has l)een confirmed by an A.meri- 

 can now living near Haliana who was form- 

 erly for many year engaged in cutting and 

 exporting lignum-vitae in Oriente Province. 

 Persons interested in obtaining a supply of the 

 wood might correspond with any of the local 

 hardwood dealers. 



CANADIAN EXPORTS TO CUBA 

 Dry Salted Codfish 

 Fiscal year ended Mar. 31. 



19U $470,230 



1915 S.502,724 



1916 $622,763 



