16 T H E C U B A R E V 1 E W 



period diiriiiy which it has the privilogo of taking water In. in the irrigatiuii ditches 

 for its own use. The practices followed by the various colonos is still crude, con- 

 sisting almost universally in the flooding of the lands wliidi are lieing irrigated, tlius 

 causing tho water to be wastefully employed, but, nevertheless, its abundance is 

 such that very little complaint is heard from those tributary to the system. It 

 has been found also that since the advent of the use of artificial fertilizers in Cuba 

 they can be used in this district where drought never prevails to much gn-ater 

 advantage than in the non-irrigated sections, where, of course, the return from their 

 use is limited by the amount of rainfall and the time at which this comes. As has 

 proved to be the case in the irrigated lands of Hawaii, this section of Cuba is one 

 of the few in which the direct application on the surface of Nitrate of Soda has been 

 founil to give profitable results, as in nearly all other sections where irrigation 

 water is not availalile Nitrate has proved valuable only when combined with materials 

 furnishing Phosphoric Acid. 



The fact that irrigation is profitable in ('ul)a is, of course, recognized throughout 

 the sugar industry of the Island, but, unfortunately, the districts in which water can 

 be obtained at a sufficiently small cost are few. Small irrigation systems have been 

 established at one time or another at various points along the north coast of Santa 

 Clara Province west of Sagua, but we believe that operation has proved too ex- 

 pensive to be profitable, but in the southern portion of Matanzas and Santa Clara 

 Provinces, especially in the neighborhood of "Socorro" in the former and "Constancia" 

 in the latter, vast underground bodies of water have been tapped which are sui> 

 posed to be the subterranean prolongation of the vast marshy area known as the 

 Zapata Swamp. At both of these places bored wells varying in diameter from C to 

 10 inches have been drilled to the water level- which is found at about 100 feet below 

 the surface, and at each of these places the water pressure is so great that is rises 

 to the levels of from IS to 17 feet below the surface, at which, regardless of the 

 quantity of water pumped from the wells, the supply is so great that only a very 

 small variation of level occurs. These wells are usually drilled in groups of six or 

 eight situated only small distances from each other, and each group is then joined 

 together by means of piping and is operated by means of one large pump. At "Con- 

 stancia," we understand that about 12,000,000 to 13,000,000 gallons of water is pumped 

 daily during the period when irrigation is necessary, and notwithstanding this large 

 volume the wells have never shown the slightest sign of failure. Here also in the 

 land subject to irrigation the use of artificial fertilizers has given especially favor- 

 able results, and the mills "Constancia" and "Socorro" which grind the cane from 

 this locality are always assured of bountiful supplies of raw material. 



The further extension of the use of irrigation in the Island is something which 

 the writer believes will come, especially with the adv(>nt of lower sugar prices and 

 the necessity for a greater per-unit-area-of-land production. We believe that the 

 north coast of Santa Clara Province offers opportunity in this respect, as, if we are 

 not mistaken, a large underground supply of water can be obtained quite similar 

 to that found in the districts mentioned in the south coast. In Oriente Province also, 

 especially in the north coast section, never failing streams are fomid emerging from 

 the high plateau of the Province, which with very little engineering work can be 

 utilized to furnish many hundreds of acres with the water needed for maximum cane 

 crops. In the Guantanamo section also we believe that there is a considerable area 

 under irrigation, but that the best results are somewhat interfered with through 

 scarcity of water supply. Throughout the Province of Havana, central and northern 

 Matanzas and eastern Pinar de RIo, where cane is now being grown to a considerable 

 extent, the water supply is almost vmiformly at such great depth, though bountiful 

 when found, that the cost of elevation to the surface of the quantity of water re- 

 quired for cane irrigation is prohibitive. 



