CUBA 



1658 



CUBA 



THE ISLAND OP CUBA 



The large map shows the provinces, chief cities and important railroads of Cuba. 

 one, in the corner, gives the location of the island with respect to Florida and Yucatan. 



The smaller 



ics as the ebony, logwood and rosewood. Quail, 

 snipe, wild turkeys, grouse, buzzards and vul- 

 tures are plentiful. Hogs, dogs and cats run 

 wild in great numbers. 



Although there are but few snakes, there 

 are a number of disagreeable forms of animal 

 life. Among them are scorpions, centipedes 

 and tarantulas, as well as land crabs and flying 

 cockroaches, and worst of all, the flea which 

 gets under the skin, called the nigua, or jigger. 

 This is the side of life which is most irritating, 

 both to natives and to visitors. 



Cuban waters are well stocked with fish. 

 Large sharks are common, and in coast waters 

 the porpoise and manatee, or sea cow, are 

 found. Crocodiles, alligators, chameleons, 

 small lizards and tree toads are among the 

 creeping inhabitants of this tropical land. 



Agricultural Development. Previous to 

 Cuba's last war for independence (1895-1898), 

 the country contained over 90,000 plantations, 

 farms, cattle ranches and orchards, valued at 

 nearly $200,000,000. During the war many of 

 these were completely destroyed, but after 

 1899 agricultural industries again developed. 

 The simple wooden plow of four centuries ago 

 is still in quite general use, and oxen are still 

 the patient farm animals, yet the slowly-mov- 

 ing Cubans alone produce almost one-fourth 

 the world's supply of sugar cane. The manu- 

 facture of sugar is very costly, but in 1914 

 there were 170 mills on the island, and about 

 one-half the cultivated lands were given over 

 to sugar. The yearly crop before the War of 

 the Nations ' was nearly 3,000,000 tons, and 

 the export was valued at over $100,000,000, 



most of which went to the United States. 

 Then the war raised the price of sugar, and the 

 people of Cuba planted cane in yet greater 

 abundance. Thousands of acres which had 

 never before been cultivated are now being 

 used for the raising of sugar cane. 



The next product in importance is tobacco, 

 and about one-tenth of the cultivated land is 

 given to that crop. About seventy per cent of 

 the output is produced in the province of Pinar 

 del Rio. Over 320,000 bales of leaf tobacco, 

 nearly 185,000,000 cigars, about 19,000,000 packs 

 of cigarettes and about 640,000 pounds of cut 

 tobacco are exported from Havana yearly. 



Corn, or maize, rice and sweet potatoes are 

 raised for home use. Coffee is raised, but is 

 not so important a product as formerly; in this 

 industry it is becoming increasingly difficult to 

 compete with Brazil. Fruits are easily culti- 

 vated, and fruit interests are chiefly in the hands 

 of American companies. Almost 30,000 tons of 

 pineapples, about 40,000 tons of bananas and 

 over 3,000,000 cocoanuts are exported yearly. 



Cattle raising is an important industry, espe- 

 cially in the fertile province of Camagiiey. 

 There are over 3,000,000 head of cattle on the 

 island, and about 615,000 horses, 46,000 mules 

 and 2,500 asses. 



Manufacturing and Other Industries. The 

 manufacture of raw sugar, cigars and cigarettes 

 are about the only manufacturing industries of 

 Cuba, and they are both closely connected with 

 agriculture. Directly south of Havana, on the 

 south coast of Cuba, at the little town of 

 Batabano, the sponge industry is important. 



Scarcity of labor is a problem which Cuba 



