30 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



ORANGES AND STRAWBERRIES. 



Home Demand Large for Cuban Oranges and a Better Distribution of the Crop 



Would Increase Consumption to 2.000.000 Boxes. — Best Land 



for Strawberries, Cultivation, and Fertilizers, 



Cuban Demand for Oranges. 



There arc from 1,000 to 10.000 consum- 

 ers in Cuba who do not receive a suf- 

 ficient supply of oranges. If they had 

 a larger and more regular supply, they 

 would consume twenty tinles the amount 

 they do now. The markets of easy ac- 

 cess are oversupplied; the others are 

 neglected. 



The consumers in Cuba will at present 

 purchase more oranges than are raised 

 on the island, if the supply is distributed 

 is a business-like manner. With a sup- 

 ply of fruit greater than at any other 

 time in the year, over 200,000 consumers 

 have had irregular and insufficient sup- 

 plies oflfered them; while Havana and 

 other good markets have had an over- 

 supply. The range of prices is too great. 

 To-day in Havana they run from I14 to 

 5 cents. If it were from 1 to 2j/2 cents, 

 the consumption would be far greater 

 and the grower and retailer would both 

 receive fair profits. It is not at all dif- 

 ficult to have oranges on the tree nine 

 months in the year, and the other three 

 months could be provided for. Last year 

 Cuban oranges sold in Havana in March 

 for one dollar a dozen, or ten cents 

 apiece. It was fine fruit, but the price 

 was unreasonable. I have known many 

 thousands of late oranges to be sold at 

 from $5 to $6 a thousand in January and 

 I'ebruary, when they might have been 

 left on the trees until May or June and 

 would have been far better then. Dur-. 

 ing the spring and summer considerable 

 quantities of California fruit were 

 brought to Havana, at a cost of seven to 

 ten dollars a box, and retailed at the 

 rate of fifteen or twenty dollars a box. 



It is estimated that if the distribution 

 were good, 2,000,000 boxes of oranges 

 would be consumed in Cuba. This is 

 more than the island will be able to raise 

 for several years. 



The orange crop in Cuba next season 

 will be sufficient to overflow the present 

 markets. The consumers are in the 

 island and want the fruit, but the grow- 

 ers must distribute it better or suffer 

 from it. Individuals cannot do this. 

 But a sensible business organization will 

 give a fair living price for the oranges. 

 The price which growers who are ship- 

 ping into Havana are now receiving is 

 not as good as that which was received 

 a year ago. Next year it will be even 



more. < >ne reason for this is the ex- 

 cessive price which the retail dealers 

 ask. — S. S. Harvey in the Havana Post. 



Commercial Cultivation of Strawberries. 



Mr. Ladd, located aljout twelve miles 

 from Havana, has been raising straw- 

 berries, for about six years, and placing 

 them in the Havana market at a good 

 profit. 



According to a note which he has pub- 

 lished on the subject in the Third An- 

 nual Report of the Horticultural Society 

 of Cuba, his success is due in a large 

 measure to the nature of the land. The 

 soil of his plantation belongs to the cate- 

 gory of gravellj' argilo-silicious; it rests, 

 at a depth of 80 cm., on a bed of imper- 

 meable claj', so that in the rainy season 

 the ground retains a great deal of mois- 

 ture, in spite of quite a sharp incline. 

 Attempts at cultivation in neighboring 

 fields have been unsatisfactory. In order 

 to prevent rotting, Air. Ladd is obliged 

 to plant in shelving beds. 



He fertilizes in big doses: 1 ton of 

 sulphate of potash and from 1 to 1^ 

 tons of bone dust per acre are incorpor- 

 ated in the soil from the time of plant- 

 ing in furrows, and when the plants be- 

 gin to bear new applications of fertilizer 

 are made every fortnight. This fertilizer 

 is of the following composition: 3 to 

 4% nitrogen, 6 to 8% phosphoric acid, 

 and 8 to 10% of potash. It is to be 

 noted that bone dust has given better 

 results than farm manure. 



From November to May it is often 

 necessary to irrigate the plantation. Mr. 

 Ladd prefers to plant in September, this 

 season having given him entire satisfac- 

 tion for the first fruit bearing, which be- 

 gins then about Christmas to continue 

 for several months. The resumption is 

 quite uncertain and demands constant 

 care. 



The best success has been obtained 

 with the Aroma variety, the fruit of 

 which carries well. The Dunlop straw- 

 berry has a better flavor, but does not 

 stand transportation so well. 



Mr. Ladd's crop amounted to 7,500 

 quarts last season. The expenses of pick- 

 ing and shipping are estimated at 4 cents 

 per box. The whole crop was delivered 

 by contract to a provision company in 

 Havana. 



