THE CUBA REVIEW. 



17 



Dr. Francisco I. Vildosola, 

 The Acting Secretary of Agricul- 



Drought in ture, Industry and Commerce, 

 Cuba. spoke as follows to' a Cuba 

 Review representative in Ha- 

 vana : 



"In my opinion, the relation between the 

 forests and the rainfall is real and undeni- 

 able, but merely relative and not absolute. 



"Droughts and heavy rainfalls follow each 

 other with frequency in other countries with 

 the same forests. 



"There is no traceable- or noticeable re- 

 lation between the actual drought and the 

 denudation of the forests. The felling has 

 not been greater than at other rainy sea- 

 sons ; and it may be mentioned that within 

 the last few years the planting of trees 

 has been going on steadily and which 

 amounts to about two million orange and 

 other fruit-bearing groves. In Cuba the 

 force of the vegetation promptly curtails 

 the effects of the felling of the forests. 



"On account of its configuration and 

 geographical situation, the general cosmic 

 causes in Cuba predominate in its meteor- 

 ology over the local conditons. We have 

 the case that conditions relative to rain- 

 falls differ considerably in the East in re- 

 lation to the West. 



"In considering the present situation we 

 must not forget that we are now in the 

 classical period of the droughts, and heavy 

 rains may be expected before May 15." 



At present Dr. Vildosola is studying the 

 plans for an irrigation system which he con- 

 siders as the most ideal project that could 

 be taken up in Cuba. He has been in cor- 

 respondence with' the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment of the United States and expects to 

 publish the plans of that department with 

 regard to irrigation in sections similar to 

 Cuba in geographic and climatic conditions. 



He found a complete ab- 

 Cuban sence of tuberculosis in Cu- 

 Cozvs not ban co^vs, and ^expert vet- 

 Tubercular. erinarians did not hesitate to 

 tell him that in 20 years' ex- 

 perience a tubercular native cow had never 

 been found, yet he found consumption 

 among the people of Havana as great as 

 in New York, due, he thinks, to over- 

 crowded living quarters. 



Inspectors attached to the chemical de- 

 partment and laboratory of the Board of 

 Health have been making an inspection 

 and chemical analysis of food material, food 

 products and alcoholic liquors at all the 

 factories. 



Dr. Thomas Darlington, New York's 

 commissioner of health, recently visited 

 Cubq and found much to commend, says 

 the Herald. In Camp Columbia, Marianao, 

 and Havana, cleanliness pervaded every- 

 thing. Refuse is disposed of by an incin- 

 erator, and there is a portable apparatus 

 for distilling water. 



The Cuban Racing Asso- 

 Horse elation has built a race track 

 Racing in at Almendares, between Camp 

 Cuba. Columbia and Vedado. The 

 property has been leased 

 for five years, with the option of 

 purchase at what it was worth before 

 the improvements and buildings were made. 

 The track is located about six miles from 

 the center of Havana, easily accessible by 

 trolley. Its length is a mile and one- 

 eighth, and 180 feet, and when the build- 

 ings are completed it will be second to 

 none. 



The venture does not seem to have 

 proven a success, and racing days, owing 

 to the small attendance, are now on Sun- 

 days only. 



The committee appointed 

 Unan- by Governor Magoon, com- 

 imously posed of the rector of the 

 Unfavorable University of Havana,, Dr. 

 Leopold Berriel, Professors 

 Hernandez, Diaz and Alacen of the 

 medical faculty, and Messrs. Garrido, 

 Fernandez, Abreu and Arnauto of 

 the National Association of Pharmacists, 

 unanimously, on March 21, reported un- 

 favorably on the decree of December 31, 

 permitting practical druggists to practice 

 after meeting certain conditions. 



The plans for the new $720,000 mod- 

 ern hospital to be constructed on Principe 

 Heights, by the government in Havana are 

 now ready. Work will begin on the new 

 institution known as Hospital No. One on 

 July I. 



It will be essentially mod- 



A Nezu ern, and equipped with every 

 Hospital up-to-date apparatus, and san- 

 for Havana, itary conveniences. The 

 prominent medical authorities 

 in Cuba and the United States have been in- 

 vited to express opinions and offer sugges- 

 tions on the proposed building. 



The proposal to erect a monument in 

 New York City to the victims of the Maine 

 and the Spanish war, is again being dis- 

 cussed. The plans include the erection of 

 an arch and a shaft, the estimated cost to 

 be about $104,000. The place selected is 

 Columbus Circle, at the entrance to the 

 Central Park. 



The department of public works has ap- 

 proved the plans for the construction of a 

 bridge over the river "Las Palmas," near 

 Itabo, Matanzas, and also the construction 

 of a further track of the road leading into 

 that town. 



A statue of the Cuban hero, Jose Marti, 

 will be erected in Matanzas. Some $1,200 

 toward the object has already been col- 

 lected. 



A French paper, under the editorship of 

 M. Pierre Depasse, will shortly be estab- 

 lished in Havana. It will be called 

 L'Avenir de Cuba. 



