THE CUBA REVIEW 



19 



PLOUGHING IN CUBA 



A very interesting urticle on "The ^^'a,y they Plough in Cuba" was recently contributed 

 by Mr. J. B. Bartholomew to the Farm Im-plentenl News of Chicago. He says: 



"The soil is heavy and naturally very hard to handle. Sugar cane is the principal crop 

 of^the island, and the system under which it is raised is very peculiar, .\ftcr the ground is 

 ploughed and furrowed out, pieces of the cane stalk are dropped into the furrows, which are 

 six feet apart, similar to the method of planting potatoes in this (country. It grows up from the 



Double-Disc Plow. 



stalk, and within the year is ready for harvesting. It is harvested by hand. The cane-cutters 

 strip the leaves in the field, cut the stalks off close to the ground, and the stalks are carted away 

 to the sugar mills. This leaves the ground covered with four to ssven inches of cane leaves. 

 After the cane is off, the next thing is to cultivate the land becauss the cans grows up again 

 from the root, and does not have to be replanted for eight to twelve years. 



".Manufacturers of cultivating machinery will understand this presents a very difficult 

 problem. To cultivate this soil with this blanket of cane leaves matted over it would be physi- 

 cally impossible with any American implement. They are very much in need of a machine that 

 would do this, and the Cuban Government, I understand, has offered a prize of $39,000 to 

 thejman who will design and put into practical operation a machine that will cultivate this land 

 under these conditions. 



"The ploughing in Cuba is done principally with oxen and a r2-inch walking plough. After 

 the land has raised eight or twelve crops of cane it is allowed to stand idle for two or three years, 

 and a native grass grows up that is very stiff, with a very heavy root. This is used for pasturing 

 stock, and during the wet season they tramp the ground. When the dry season comes it all 

 bakes together and becomes very hard. Ploughing is done in the dry season. 



"As the ploughing is done now, four oxen are generally used and a r2-in plough, and after 



