THE CUBA R E V I E W 



27 



and France to enter, with the United States becoming one of our principal consuming 

 nations. We have already mentioned prices during former days for honey delivered 

 in Nuevitas of 27 to 30 cents per gallon, this price including the barrel. During 

 the war period the demand for this product caused a marvelous increase in price, 

 shipments of as high as 1,200 barrels having been sold on wharf in Havana at .$2..50 

 per gallon, the barrel being paid for extra. Just at present prices of $1.10 and $1.15 

 are being paid to the Cuban producer for honey delivered in Havana, this price 

 including the barrels, and it is being freely quoted c. i. f. European points at $1.50 

 per gallon with barrel excluded. Wax is now bringing the producer here from 37 

 to 38 cents if a clean yellow grade, while the gray and dirty waxes are bringing 

 5 to 6 cents lower. 



By far the largest percentage of Cul)a's honey production comes from the three 

 eastern Provinces of Santa Clara, Camagiiey and Oriente, where, notwithstanding 

 the large areas of forest which have been felled to utilize the land for cane planting, 

 broad areas of wooded land still exist which lend themselves admirably to the pro- 

 duction of honey and Avax. These conditions will undoubtedly continue for many 

 years. An estimate of the average ciuantity of honey produced per hive, of course, 

 varies considerably depending upon the location of the apiary, being heavier in 

 the eastern part of Cuba than in the western, but parties in position to know inform 

 the writer that in average seasons from S to 10 gallons of extracted honey per hive 

 can be counted upon. It can readily be realized that at prevailing prices the returns 

 from a well conducted apiary situated in a good locality are very satisfactory, and 

 that bee-keepers are making money, and the direct result of this is seen in the in- 

 creased production which has taken place in the last two or three years. There is 

 an abundance of room for a very large increase in the number of bee-hives in Cuba, 

 and the apiarist who comes into the Island, studies conditions closely and selects 

 intelligently his location, can be certain of good results. 



CENTRAL CUNAGUA 

 Earl D. Babst, President of Tlie Ameri- 

 can Sugar Refining Company, made the 

 following announcement on November 17, 

 1919 : 



"The American Sugar Refining Com- 

 pany, under the option taken by it in Sep- 

 tember, has purchased the Central Cuna- 

 gua on the north coast of Camagiiey Prov- 

 ince, Cuba. The property consists of 

 about 110,000 acres of land and a com- 

 pletely electrified double tandem factory, 

 with a rated capacity of 600,000 bags. The 

 cane lands are virgin soil, recently cleared 

 of forest. The equipment of the factory 

 and railroads, the housing and living pro- 

 visions for the employes are new and of 

 the most modern type. The Central has 

 the reputation of being one of the finest 

 sugar estates in Cuba. Cunagua is enter- 

 ing upon its third season, having to its 

 credit the remarkable performance of pro- 

 ducing 452,000 bags last year, in its second 



season, after merely a trial performance 

 in 1917-lS." 



U. S. BEET SEED SUPPLY 

 The sugar beet seed production of the 

 United States in 1919 is estimated by the 

 Department of Agriculture, in a report 

 issued under date of September 6, at ap- 

 proximately 7,500,000 pounds, or 1,600,000 

 pounds more than the crop of 191S and not 

 quite half the quantity used in planting 

 the 1919 commercial sugar beet crop. The 

 report gives the revised figures of area 

 planted for seed production this year as 

 11,139 acres. 



On the basis of tliis year's estimated 

 production, and calculating imports for 

 the fiscal year of 1919-20 at no more than 

 those of 1918-19, the report calculates that 

 there is a sufficient used supply in sight 

 for the planting of the 1920 beet crop, but 

 that production or imports will have to be 

 materially increased to provide for plant- 

 ings in 1921. 



