26 



THE CUBA REVIEW. 



The hut or "bohio" of the Cuban. 



COFFEE IN CUBA. 



Cuba's National Drink. 



Coffee is a necessity in Cuba. We 

 can conceive a Cuban without his 

 "horse, without his machete, and even 

 without tobacco; he might go with- 

 out food for some time, but not 

 without cofifee. Cofifee for the Cuban is 

 what beer is for others, what wine is, 

 whisky or "pulque;" in fact, cofifee is 

 Cuba's national drink, and the best anti- 

 -dote against the fever in a tropical cli- 

 mate. With coffee to warm his stomach, 

 a Cuban can suffer the inclemencies of the 

 weather ; coffee is invigorating and 

 strengthenine; coffee enables him lo treat 

 bis friends or a stranger who comes to 

 the poorest "bohio" (hut) in the country; 

 coffee is a beverage which makes him 

 sober, peaceful and attentive. 



Industry Now Inactive. 



Consul-General James I. Rodgers, of 

 Habana, says the coffee industry of Cuba 

 is comparatively inactive, and there is 

 now no special culture except on large 

 •estates where coffee for the consumption 

 of the owners and tenants is grown. The 

 reason is th,e low price of coffee in the 

 markets of the world, the difficulties at- 



tending its culture in Cuba, the high 

 price of labor, and the inclination to 

 more profitable crops, such as sugar 

 cane and tobacco. Cuba does not grow 

 enough coffee for its own use. This is 

 shown by the statistics for the fiscal 

 year of 1905-06, which state that 20,690,- 

 539 pounds were imported, of which 

 5,926,850 pounds came from the United 

 States, 2,023,639 pounds from Brazil, 

 9,997,963 pounds from Porto Rico, and 

 2,485,498 pounds from Venezuela. This 

 great importation of coffee continues, 

 despite the fact that a duty of $18.70 per 

 100 kilos (kilo — 2.2 pounds) is levied. In 

 the same fiscal year Cuba exported only 

 19,356 pounds, most of which went to 

 Spain, thus indicating that it was local- 

 ly grown coffee exported from sugar 

 states and haciendas owned by Span- 

 iards. In a few localities young plan- 

 tations have been set out but there are 

 no satisfactory data regarding the in- 

 dustry. Pinar del Rio and Santa Clara 

 contain the best remnants of the old 

 plantations, these being situated in the 

 high lands, and existing principally with- 



