THE CUBA REVIEW 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



15 



cormorants (Phalacrocorax dilphus floridanus) 

 or "Nigger Geese" as they are sometimes 

 locally called, became plentiful and were 

 almost continually in sight; length, 25 inches, 

 general plumage black, tail composed of 12 

 feathers, throat pouch is orange, eyes green. 

 It breeds extensively on a small island in 

 Siguanea bay called Bii-d Island. When I 

 visited this little isle last June the cormorants 

 as well as the frigate birds had good sized 

 young. \Mien we reached Punta Frances 

 four or five royal terns joined us and followed 

 the boat for several miles. These '"sea gulls" 

 are at times common on the west and south 

 coasts. They are very pretty birds; pearly- 

 gray above, whitish below, crown black in 

 summer, mixed with white in winter, bill 

 heav}" and red, tail 7 inches, forked for 3 

 inches. When we got close to Caleta Grande 

 the brown pelicans were seen along the shore 

 fishing for sardines or sprats. Although 

 both the white and brown pelicans are found 

 in Florida waters only the latter has been 

 reported here. I have never failed to see 

 at least one paid of PeKcanus occidentalis at 

 Caleta. They are large birds measuring 4.5 

 feet in length with a large bill and pouch 

 underneath it. It is too familiar a bii"d to 

 need describing here as it cannot be mistaken 

 for any other bird. 



On crussing Siguanea bay we saw several 

 frignte or man-of-war birds, the most power- 

 ful fh'er that is found in these waters; length, 

 40 inches; male, black; glos.sy above; pouch, 

 scarlet or orange; female, browner with 

 breast and belly white. — Arthur C. Read 

 in The News. 



ISLE OF PirSES GOLF 



A nine-hole golf course at Santa Fe has not 

 only been located, but actual work has l)een 

 started on the same, and what will be known 

 as the Isle of Pines Golf and Country Club, 

 will be organized. 



The links will cover an area of approxi- 

 mately 60 acres of land, about two-thirds of 

 which is a portion of the Santa Fe townsite, 

 and are so conveniently located that they arc 

 within five minutes' walk trom the center of 

 Santa Fe and the hotels of the town. 



It is the intention to have one-third or more 

 of the course completed by about January' 15, 

 and the entire course by December. In the 

 meantime the completed portion is open for 

 use. 



DEATH OF A GOVERNOR 



Colonel Indalecio Sobrado, governor of 

 Pinar del Rio, who had been on a leave of 

 absence, owing to illness, died from phthisis, 

 on December 2d, in Havana. 



Colonel Sobrado had been elected governor 

 of Pinar del Rio three times, having held 



that office for the past ten years, and was 

 highly esteemed by all, and while a Conser- 

 vative, alwaj's was elected over his Liberal 

 opponent in a province like Pinar del Rio, 

 which is pronouncedly Liberal. He was a 

 veteran of the War of Independence where 

 he won the rank of colonel. He leaves a 

 widow and several children. 



NO FANCY NAMES PERMITTED 



It has been discovered that pharmacies 

 alone in Cuba are debarred from giving their 

 store a fancy name such as is common among 

 Cuban storekeepers generally. 



Stores in the cities have all fancy names, 

 like the "Star," the "Lion of Gold" and simihr 

 titles. The custom extends to the sugar 

 estates, as may be seen from the list annually 

 printed by the Cuba Review and these hke- 

 wise have titles that reflect the fancies of 

 their owners. 



A pharmacy, however, according to law, 

 must only have the name of its owner above 

 the door or window, and may not give his 

 store am' other distinctive name. 



An Havana druggist was recently fined for 

 breaking this regulation. 



HORSE RACING IN HAVANA 



Mr. H. P. Brown, general manager of the 

 Havana Race Track Association, which will 

 hold its opening meeting next month, said 

 recently that thousands visit the new course 

 at Marianao on Sundaj's, inspecting the 

 work of construction, and the motor boulevard 

 to the track has already become a popular 

 driveway. The clubhouse is rapidly being 

 pushed to completion. 



Mr. Brown announces that no purse of 

 less than $500 will be given at the meeting. 

 Aside from this there will be feature races 

 on all hohdays and Sundays, and on these 

 days the overnight handicap will be SI, 000. 



"The new course," said Mr. Brown, "is 

 named Oriental Park, and it is rapidly nearing 

 completion." He said further: 



"Before I left Havana a couple of weeks 

 ago. President Menocal, accompanied by 

 seven senators and several members of his 

 cabinet, motored out to ]\Larianao to look 

 over the work done at Oriental Park. Presi- 

 dent Menocal, who, by the way, is a civil 

 engineer, was highh^ elated with the way 

 things were shaping up at the course. He 

 made it known that the Government would 

 give the meeting every support possible, and 

 he informed me that the Government engi- 

 neers would begin work immediately on the 

 approaches to the course. All of the roads 

 leading to Oriental Park are new and modern, 

 making splendid automobile drives." 



