CUBA 



1657 



CUBA 



LIFE IN CUBA 



The Fruit 

 Peddler 



quino, which rises to a 

 height of 8,320 feet 

 above the eastern pla- 

 teau. In the center is 

 a region of gently-roll- 

 ing plains, broken here 

 and there by low, 

 rounded hills, and it is 

 here, rather than in the 

 mountain sections, 

 that Cuba's most pic- 

 turesque scenery is to 

 be found. The Yumuri Valley is the "show 

 spot" of the island. Numerous streams drain the 

 valleys and the coastal plains, but they are too 

 rapid in the wet season and too shallow in the 

 dry season to be of much use for navigation. 



Climate, Vegetation and Animals. Cuba lies 

 just inside the torrid zone. On the coast the 

 climate is very even, but inland it is not so 

 equable. The coast temperature seldom drops 

 below 65 in winter, but in the mountains the 

 thermometer often falls lower than 50. Coast 

 temperature in summer is usually not higher 

 than 90. The average temperature for the 

 island in January varies between 72 and 75. 

 The July temperature averages about 82. 



Almost everywhere in Cuba the rainfall is 

 sufficient for agricultural purposes, only a few 

 small areas in the interior requiring irrigation. 

 At Havana the rainfall is over fifty inches 

 annually, and in some northeastern sections it 

 reaches over 100 inches. The southern coast 

 regions have much less rainfall, however, for 

 less moisture passes over the mountains. Rain 



falls throughout the year, but the chief rainy 

 season comes in summer. During August, 

 September and October hurricanes are liable 

 to occur, for Cuba lies within the path of 

 these West Indian storms. Trade winds from 

 the northeast prevail. 



Before 1901 yellow fever and other diseases 

 were common in the lowlands, owing to unsan- 

 itary conditions. The government, acting upon 

 measures adopted by United States military 

 authorities during their occupation of the 

 island, has now practically wiped out this 

 dreaded disease. 



In this warm southern land, with soil so rich 

 that almost anything will grow, vegetation is 

 luxuriant. Products of economic value are 

 sugar cane, tobacco, coffee, cacao and all trop- 

 ical fruits such as the banana, cocoanut, pine- 

 apple, orange, lemon, lime, date, fig, guava 

 and pomegranate. Palms, including the useful 

 royal palm, grow 

 everywhere, and fields 

 are covered with 

 beautiful flowers and 

 fragrant plants. In 

 about 13,000,000 acres 

 of forest grow some of 

 the finest cedar and 

 mahogany in the 

 world, as well as such 

 other trees of the trop- 



Cows are milked at the Customers Door 



A Cuban Courtship 

 /ith Chaperon and Barred Windows 



