Every visitor to Eastern Cuba, will in the not distant fdttnc, include this trip to the falls 

 in his itinerary when better communications are established. While the falls may never 

 equal the magnitude of Niagara, they are today higher and the surrounding scenery is of 

 unusual natural beaut v. To quote from a visitor's record in the log book kept at the hotel at 

 ^^ oodfred, his impressions, after a visit to the falls in the rainy season, when they were at their 

 best, "The water seems to suddenly leave the plateau lands and leaps five hundred feet in a 

 sheer droj) to the valley below." A\ho will deny that some day this neglected water-power will 

 be developed and harnessed to be used as hydro-electric power for the already big industries 

 located on the shores of Nipe Bay, and make this section of Eastern Cuba one of the great 

 industrial centers of the West Indiqp? 



TEXTILE FIBRE PLANTS 



The cultivation of textile fibre plants is 

 attracting miuih attention in Cuba at pres- 

 ent. Sisal hemp, or henequen, has long been 

 cultivated in the island, but none of the fibre 

 is at present exported, as the total produc- 

 tion is used up by the local rope and cordage 

 factories, and this latter industry has in- 

 creased to such an extent as to render neces- 

 sary the importation of raw material from 

 Mexico. The unsettled conditions in xMexico 

 have given an impulse to the cultivation of 

 henequen, and projects are under considera- 

 tion for the planting of large tracts of land 

 with this plant. Large areas are under 

 cultivation at the present time, which are 

 being added to yearly by the RafHoer- 

 Erbsloh Co., near Matanzas, for their large 

 rope plant located there. The fact that 

 henequen grows on rocky and barren soil, 

 unfit for the cultivation of the staple agri- 

 cultund products of sugar and tobacco, or 

 the minor products such as corn, sweet 

 potatoes, yams, tomatoes, etc., is an im- 

 portant factor in this industry. 



Experiments are at present being made for 

 the cultivation of another textile plant in 

 Cuba known as "Malva Blanca." This plant 

 grows wild nearly all over the island, but 

 especially in the richer and well watered 

 lands, and was until lately looked upon as a 

 weed or shrub of no value, and difficult to 

 extirpate when once it obtained a foothold. 

 The bark of the wild Malva Blanca yields an 

 excellent fibre somewhat similar to the 

 Dacca Jute of India, and it is expected that 

 by a selection of the seed and scientific 

 methods in the cultivation of the plant and 

 extraction of the fibre, the quality of the latter 

 will be improved and the cost of production 

 reduced. If this new enterprise is successful 

 the jute of India may have found a formidable 

 rival, the importance of which, as far as 

 relates to the Cuban market alone, mav be 



realized when one considers that a .3,000,000 

 ton sugar crop requires about 21,000,000 jute 

 bags, all of which have to be imported for the 

 present requirements. 



CUBA IS THE GREATEST MARKET FOR 

 AMERICAN SHOES 



Cul)a is at present the best m_arket in the 

 whole world for American footwear, says a 

 report on the subject just published by the 

 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 

 of the Departmeiit of Commerce. Although 

 the climate is tropical very few even of the 

 poorest natives go without footwear of some 

 kind, and the per capita consumption of 

 shoes is therefore very heavy. Over 80 per 

 cent of the business is done by American 

 firms, as there is no competition from, local 

 manufacturers and not any of great import- 

 ance from Europe. 



In spite of America's strong position in the 

 market, however, the author of the report, 

 Special Agent, Herman G. Brock, asserts that 

 there are many ways in which our hold on the 

 market can be strengthened, as there are a 

 number of features in the Cuban trade not 

 well understood by the American manufac- 

 turer. These the report discusses at con- 

 siderable length. Particular attention is paid 

 to the requirements of the market and the 

 merchandising methods and commercial re- 

 quirements and practices. 



There are 46 pages in this report, which is 

 entitled "Markets for Boots and Shoes in 

 Cuba," Special Agents Saries No. 133. 



PINEAPPLES 



It is estimated that this year's crop of 

 Cuban pineapples will be about 100,000 crates 

 less than 1916, the total this year being about 

 700,000 to 750,000 crates. The shortage is 

 attributed to increased area devoted to the 

 cultivation of sugar cane. 



