THE CUBA REVIEW 



NOTES FROM ALL SOURCES (Continu 



ed) 



THE CHURCHES OF CAMAGUEV 



In Camaguey as in other cities of Cuba, 

 there are a large number of churches, and 

 from whatever direction the city is ap- 

 proached, its church towers stand out con- 

 spicuously above the tall palm trees against 

 the sky. Most of these editices are old, 

 some of them having been built many 

 centuries ago, their time-worn walls con- 

 tributing in no small degree to the ancient 

 appearance of the city. The church of 

 Xuestra Senora de la Caridad is one of 

 the most picturesque old edifices in the 

 West Indies. La Pierced is, however, 

 the most important one, and was built 

 away back in 162S, and its walls are from 

 four to eight feet thick, while its tower 

 is constructed of a species of Cuban hard- 

 wood, which lasts for centuries. It was 

 erected by the missionaries of Our Lady 

 of Mercy, a Spanish order, founded at 

 Barcelona early in the thirteenth century. 

 The order finally died out in Camaguey, 

 until only one priest was left; just before 

 his death he turned the church over to the 

 care of the Barefooted Carmelite monks, 

 who also came from Spain. A dozen or 

 more of these good men live at the monas- 

 tery attached to the churcli, and one of their 

 number always accompanies the visitor 

 about the sacred edifice. — Correspondence 

 Nezvburgh (N. Y.) Nezvs. 



CUBAN PLANTS IN BUFFALO 



The live plants brought from Cuba by 

 Professor John F. Cowell, director of the 

 South Park botanical gardens, at Buft'alo, 

 N. Y., who searched the island for nearly 

 seven weeks for uncommon varieties of 

 plant life, already are being put in the 

 ground. Many have been planted. Pro- 

 fessor Cowell brought back more than ISO 

 live plants. 



The three new species of the palm have 

 been planted in the conservatory devoted 

 to this variety of plant life. The cacti 

 discovered on the trip, completing the 

 collection of cacti at the gardens, also 

 have been gut in the ground. 



At present the gardeners are busy plant- 

 ing the orchids brought home. Professor 

 Cowell brought three h\g bo.xes of these 

 and some of them are very rare. All 

 will bear flowers of beautiful shades. The 

 flowering shrubs have been planted. 



During the past year Havana's popula- 

 tion has increased 4,262, according to the 

 figures of the commission charged with 

 the correction of the local census. 



HAVANA SHORT OF WATER 



Havana has been suffering from a short- 

 age in its water supply for some time, 

 and in the first weeks in May this prom- 

 ised to be acute. Several factories were 

 forced to shut down. 



Vento Springs is supplying the usual 

 quantity of water, which is quite enough 

 for Havana and its suburbs. The trouble 

 appears to lie in the pumping station, 

 which does not do the work needed. 



The New York Herald correspondent 

 says that "the situation has given rise to 

 an ugly rumor that the intention is to make 

 Havana so tired of the present service that 

 the public will consent to the lease of the 

 water works to a private company, a pro- 

 posed 'deal,' which was defeated some time 

 ago." 



Results of some recent analyses by gov- 

 ernment chemists, which have been made 

 of Vento water, with which the city of 

 Havana is supplied, shows it to be of great 

 purity. 



CUBA S METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE 



The Secretary's Office of the Ministry 

 of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in 

 the island of Cuba publishes every week 

 a Bulletin of Agricultural weather reports. 

 This bulletin consists of two large pages, 

 and comprises a general and a special part. 

 In the general part are published the 

 average, maximum and minimum figures 

 relating to the rainfall and temperature, 

 together with detailed information on the 

 general condition of the principal crops 

 (sugar-cane and tobacco) and farm work. 



The second part is devoted to the ob- 

 servations of correspondents in the various 

 provinces and districts. It deals with the 

 local conditions in relation to various 

 crops, and endeavors to bring out clearly, 

 the action on the latter of one or another 

 weather factor. 



A modern ice plant has been installed at 

 Guanabacoa, across Havana harbor, and 

 the town will not be dependent upon Ha- 

 vana for its ice supplies. 



The decoration of the "Order of Military 

 Merit" has been asked of the Cuban gov- 

 ernment for Captain Parker as a recogni- 

 tion of his valuable services for the past 

 three years. 



The bill to investigate the Gomez ad- 

 ministration died an ignominous death in 

 the Lower House on April 30th. It was 

 defeated bj' the overwhelming vote of 40 



to 8. 



