CUBA. 



275 



the water. A majority of the catch is certain 

 to be in an un marketable state. They are either 

 hard or semi-hard shelled, and in either case 

 are placed in the stockade. In local phrase, a 

 crab that shows signs of shedding his shell 

 within a few days is called a " comer." When 

 the time of change is obviously close at hand, 

 he is a " buster, 1 ' and after the old shell has 

 been cast off he is a " shedder," and the sooner 

 he is sent to market the better price will he 

 command. If he is overlooked tor a day he 

 becomes a "buckler" that is, his shell has 

 hardened so that a slight pressure upon it 

 causes it to bend or ' buckle," like the bottom 

 of a tin pan. If he reaches this stage he must 

 needs be kept until again ready to become a 

 " shedder," usually two or three weeks. Dur- 

 ing their period of confinement in the stockade 

 the crabs must be judiciously tended. If they 

 are fed too liberally, they fatten prematurely 

 and die. If they are not fed enough, they eat 

 one another, especially if one of their number 

 chances to become a " shedder " while the 

 watchman is away. Crabs thrive upon almost 

 any kind of waste food. When free, they are 

 general scavengers, and are not fastidious when 

 confined. Stockades are of various sizes, ac- 

 cording to the resources of the owners. One 

 man can supply and watch a pen a dozen or 

 fifteen feet in diameter, but larger dealers em- 

 ploy several men and boats, and keep several 

 twenty-foot stockades in active operation. 



No successful attempt has as yet been made 

 to breed crabs for market, and, notwithstand- 

 ing the enormous consumption, the supply 

 keeps well up with the demand. During the 

 season the price per dozen in the New York 

 market ranges from a few cents to two dollars 

 seventy-five cents being a fair average for 

 the whole season. Of late years, when the 

 market is overstocked, the crabs are frozen by 

 artificial means, and sent to the large inland 

 cities of the South and West. Fair Haven, on 

 Shrewsbury river, is the headquarters of the 

 New Jersey crabbers, and 250 dozen crabs is 

 an average daily shipment from this port alone. 

 The crabs are packed in shallow boxes on beds 

 of fresh sea- weed, and are thus kept alive and 

 in good condition for twenty-four to forty- 

 eight hours. 



CUBA, an island in the West Indies, belong- 

 ing to Spain. (For statistics of area, popula- 

 tion, etc., see "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1883.) 



Army. The Commander-in-Chief and Cnp- 

 tain-General of the island is Don Emilio Calleja 

 6 Isasi. The strength of the Spanish forces in 

 Cub'a, in 1886, was 19,858. 



Finance. Cuba's indebtedness in May, 1886, 

 was, as shown in the following table : 



Paper money in circulation issued during the in- 

 surrection $36, P S8.506 



Hypothecary of 1880 62,25^,000 



Custom-house bonds of 1 878 5,537,500 



Three-per cent, bonds with one-per-cent. sink- 



ir.e-fund 20.215,278 



Annuities 11,750,468 



Total $136,341,752 



The floating debt was $30,860,000, making 

 a total of $167,201,752. 



In May there was placed on the European 

 market a 6 per-cent. Cuban loan to the amount 

 of 170,000,000 pesetas or francs, at 87, less 3- 

 per-cent. commission, the Spanish treasury 

 guaranteeing them the bonds, of which there 

 are 340,000 of 500 pesetas each to run eighty- 

 five years. There were subscriptions to the 

 amount of 617,108 bonds. In other words, for 

 every 100 bonds subscribed for, only 55-05 

 could be awarded. 



Post-Office During the fiscal year 1884-'85 t 

 the Cuban post-offices received from abroad 

 562 mails, the letters weighing in the aggre- 

 gate 7,478,187 grammes, and the newspapers 

 10,027,846. It forwarded abroad 714 mails, 

 with the respective weight of letters and news- 

 papers of 7,465,750 and 19,176,400 grammes. 



Railroads. The Bay of Havana Railway 

 earned in 1885, 53,117 net, of which 36,526 

 was paid to first-mortgage bondholders in the 

 shape of interest, and set aside toward the 

 sinking-fund the net earnings showing an 

 excess over those of 1884 of 11 J per cent. 

 The line is in good condition and prosperous, 

 in consequence of the large sugar-crops. The 

 company made a new 7-per-cent, loan in 

 April, 1886, to the amount of 345,000, paya- 

 ble, in 1917, at 98. 



The Western Railroad of Cuba, which trav- 

 erses the famous Vuelta Abajo tobacco-region, 

 was expected to be in operation all the way 

 to Pinar del Rio toward the close of 1886. 



Farming Interests. Early in 1886 there were 

 in operation in Cuba 1,200 sugar- plantations, 

 5,000 tobacco-plantations, 160 coffee-planta- 

 tions, 25 cocoa-plantations, 5,000 stock-farms, 

 17,000 truck and other farms, and 95,000 

 stores and industrial establishments. 



Sugar-Crops. The Cuban sugar-crop that came 

 to market in 1886 amounted to 750,000 tons, 

 and, judging from the appearance of the canes 

 in the autumn of 1886, it was hoped that, in 

 1887, 100,000 tons additional would be produced. 



Mining. In 1885 there were in existence in 

 the island the following mines: 



Of these concessions the following were in 

 productive operation: One asphaltum in the 

 Havana district, which produced 1,799 tons, 

 employing 10 workmen ; three asphaltum in 

 the Pinar del Rio district, producing 1,250 

 tons, employing 22 workmen and two four- 

 horse-power engines; two asphaltum in the 

 Matanzas district, producing 300 tons, em- 

 ploying 12 men; one petroleum well in the 

 Matanzas district, producing 283 hectolitres 



