THE CUBA REVIEW. 



building of the Cuba Railroad opened ing his reward in the success of this 



it up. A bright and| prosperous future company. 



lies before it and as it grows and de- The Canadians interested in the Cama- 



velops the undertakings of the Cama- g"ey unaertakincr are known as the 



guey companv will grow and develop Royal Securities Syndicate ' of Halifax, 



•^1 j^ JNova Scotia. i his syndicate operates 



the tram lines and lighting plants at Port 



Mr. Roberto A. Betancourt, a highly of Spain, Trinidad; Georgetown, Dem- 



esteemed citizen of Camaguey, is reap- erara, and San Juan, Porto Rico. 



CUBAN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 



Specially written for The CUBA REVIEW by Urner-Barry Company, New York. 



Cuban vegetables have commenced to arrive in New York freely, especially 

 tomatoes, and the season is well on. During November there were light arrivals 

 and during the month of December steamers brought 35,1391 packages of vegetables, 

 of which 22,729 were crates of tomatoes. 



Tomatoes have been the most profitable vegetables shipped from Cuba to 

 New York of late seasons, and have naturally had more attention this year. The 

 season for near-by tomatoes closes in November or earlier, and these are hardly 

 out of market before Cuba and Florida commence to arrive, but latter are not 

 plentiful until season is well advanced for Cuban. 



Under ordinary conditions the increased supply this year would have realized satis- 

 factory prices, but the country has been passing through a period of money stringency 

 almost bordering upon panic, andi demand for all products has been limited to 

 an appreciable extent, and values for many articles have ruled unusually low. 

 Hence, prices realized for recent receipts of tomatoes have been low and un- 

 profitable, as supply has been too large for local consumptive demand, and out- 

 of-town outlets have been especially small. The few crates received in November 

 sold around $1.50' @ $2, with some unattractive stock lower, but early in December 

 the market advanced to $3 @ $3.25 for best tomatoes, and these high prices evidently 

 attracted liberal shipments, as steamers in about December 10 brought 6,491 crates 

 tomatoes, many of which were green and only salable after having been placed 

 in hot rooms here to ripen. Under this free supply the market fell to $2 @ $2.25 

 for fancy ripe stock showing uniform size andi color and perfect packing, with 

 some crates offering down to $1.25 @ $1.50 and lower. Stock arrived faster than 

 it sold, notwithstanding sample shipments were made from New York to all leading 

 markets, five and ten-crate lots being shipped in some cases over 1,000 miles, and 

 even out of the country, in an effort tO' relieve this market and find outlet for 

 the surplus stock which continued to accumulate here in receivers' hands. This 

 accumulation was very heavy, some receivers having thousands of crates, and one 

 house carried at one time over 7,000 crates in their salesroom. 



The result of this large accumulation was that the market simply settled under 

 its own weight, and by December 18 it was impossible to exceed $1.75 @ $2 for 

 fancy; by Christmas the latter figure was more an asking than a selling price, and 

 ofifers of $i.'50 were rarely refused, with anything a little green or otherwise un- 

 favorable offering as low as $1 @ $1.25. And this condition notwithstanding 

 the tomatoes were of better quality than ever before, and as regards packing, many 

 marks were almost perfect, _ the stock running so uniform in size and ripeness 

 that it showed great care at time of packing and shipping. 



Since the New Year further considerable quantities have arrived, and not 

 much reduction has been madie in old accumulations. It will be impossible for 

 any improvement in values until the present accumulation is materially reduced, 

 though receivers anticipate the recent discouraging advices will curtail shipments 

 and feel that market will shortly work into better position. 



Aside from tomatoes, most other vegetables received have been eggplants, 

 peppers and okra. The eggplants have been wasty and poor so far this season, 

 with most stock reaching here in such condition that it has had to be over- 

 hauled and repacked by receivers or else sold at very low figures, and! sales 

 have ranged from $2 for good repacked stock down to $1 @ $1.50 for ordinary. 

 The few eggplants received from Florida do' not sell much better than Cuban. 



Peppers in light supply from both Cuba and Florida and stock of irregular 

 quality. Some Cuban have sold as low as joc. @ 75c., _ and prices range up to 

 $1.25 @ $1.50 for average best. Much of the okra received) is large and coarse 

 and such only salable to cheap trade around $1, though choice small is wanted 

 at $2 per crate, possibly a little more could be obtained. Small lots of white 

 summer squash arriving from Cuba which meet a light demand at $1 @ $1.50 

 per box. 



