24 



THE CUBA REVIEW. 



ISLE OF PINES NOTES. 



Captain Webster, in charge of the 

 dredging work on the island, has just 

 returned from Los Lidios where he sur- 

 veyed the river from Handles landing to 

 the mouth. It was found that by dredg- 

 ing an excellent harbor can be made at 

 that point with eighteen feet of water 

 across the bar which will admit of the 

 passage of steamers the size of the James 

 J. Campbell. 



Recent happenings at Los Indies in- 

 clude the' completion of the cottage of 

 S. H. Couch, and of a new hotel by the 

 Canada Land & Fruit Company, to be 

 called the Brown Palace Hotel. 



At East McKinley the American resi- 

 dents are busy building houses, setting 

 out groves and in various ways improv- 

 ing their holdings. 



At Santa Ana several large tracts of 

 land have been sold within the last few 

 weeks. 



The recent purchase of the San Fran- 

 cisco tract, south of this place, compris- 

 ing about 10,000 acres of land, by Mr. 

 T. W. Swetland, of Cleveland, O., makes 

 another American holding. It is about 

 the center of the island. Mr. Swetland 

 expects to place it on the market short- 

 ly- 



The management of the American 

 Hotel at Santa Fe has changed hands. 

 The new manager, D. B. Cleaver, an ex- 

 perienced hotel man, has materially re- 

 duced the rates heretofore charged. 



The ladies composing the library as- 

 sociation of Nueva Gerona are expecting 

 soon to acquire from the' government a 

 desirable plot of ground within the city 

 upon which they propose to erect a li- 

 brary building. 



Captain Webster, U. S. A., is at work 

 on the dredging of the mouth of the 

 Jucaro River and already has two hun- 

 dred and fifty -meters dredged. An ex- 

 cellent harbor will be made. 



The temperature for March, 1908, taken 

 at Santa Fe, ranged between 60 and 90 

 degrees. 



The Isle of Pines Appeal and the 

 American Photo Company purpose pub- 

 lishing a souvenir booklet of the island. 

 It will be a 'history of the little island 

 dating back to its first settlement. It 

 will contain heretofore unpublished his- 

 tory attractive and interesting and will 

 be handsomely illustrated. 



The' Appeal began its fifth year with 

 the issue for April 16, 1908. It is a bright, 

 newsy, well printed publication and is 

 doing good work in making known the 

 many advantages of the Isle of Pines. 



An Interesting Celebration. 



On March 31 last, there was a celebra- 

 tion at McKinley on the completion of 

 the planting of 500 acres to oranges and 

 grape-fruit. About 45,000 trees were 

 planted, of which one-third were grape- 

 fruit. All varieties were planted, and 

 all grow well in the island. The set- 

 tlers gathered at the land company's 

 headquarters, as pictured above. The 

 building is also used as a hotel for new- 

 comers. There are about twelve rooms, 

 and the charges are light. "At present," 

 said Mr. R. P. Risley, the manager in 

 New York, "there are 2,000 acres plant- 

 ed, which includes the tract of 500 acres. 

 The all-year residents number 200, but 

 the company has about 1,100 interested 

 in their proposition. The oldest grove 

 is two and one-half years. Consequent- 

 ly, the yield thus far has not been incon- 

 siderable. The shipping port is Nueva 

 Gerona, thence by steamers to Batabano 

 and to Havana by rail. The government 

 is dredging the Nuevas River, and when 

 completed the colonists can ship from 

 their own port. The depth of nine feet 

 will permit the use of the steamers 

 Campbell and Colon, which draw but 

 six feet. The project recently discussed 

 of a direct line to Mobile is yet in 

 abeyance." 



Orange tree in the grove of Frank 'Wilcox; 

 and George Tracy, near Nueva Gerona. 



