14 THECUBAREVIEW 



WORN-OUT LANDS IN CUBA 



IIII.IK KKJUXF.NATION INTO PRRMANENT FOREST AND PASTURE 



SiMcially VVTill<n for 'liii (iinv Ui\ii\v 



liv John Giitord 



Formerly Assistant Professor of Forestry in Cornell University, and Author of "Practical I'orestry" 



In spite of the proverbial richness of tropical lands there are vast stretches of worn- 

 oiit or "ruinate" soils in the West Indies. They have simply been cropped to death 

 without rotation and without the addition of humus. 



Much of this land should never have been cleared. I refer to mountain sides and 

 steep ridges, aptly called "cuchillas" — or blades — in Porto Rico. All such regions should 

 be planted at once in forest and kept forever in forest to prevent erosion, conserve the 

 water supply and lessen in many ways the destructive forces of nature. 



Ruinate lands may be divided merely for convenience into three types from the 

 standpoint of their inost useful future purpose, regardless of their past and and presiiu 

 eonilitions : 



(1) Lands most usefid for permanent forest: 



(2) Lands most useful for permanent pasture, and 



(3) Lands most useful for cropping. 



Most of the lands of the first type in regions subject to erosion will in time grow 

 up in forest naturally and will become virgin again from the deposit of humus. Even 

 in the tropics, in some places at least, this process is slow, and the kind of tree which 

 comes naturally and accidentally is not always the kind one wants. It costs but little 

 more to grow the kinds of value. Trees yielding wood of value are often very hardy. 

 The mahogany for instance, the king of timber trees, is one of the hardiest on earth. 

 I have seen it growing in a mass of coral rock so close to the stone that its roots must 

 be wet with salt water. There is no better tree to plant in Cuba. It is no more difficult 

 to raise mahogany from seed and then to plant the little trees on the hillside than it is 

 to raise tomato plants. The same applies to the Cuban cedar — a close second to the 

 mahogany. 



If I had a piece of mountain land in Cuba I would secure seeds of every species 

 of tree belonging to the mahogany family from every part of the tropics and give each 

 a good trial. There are many species, perhaps fifty in all, and every one of them famous 

 trees, yielding valuable wood. If one keeps out fire and cattle, these trees will grow 

 almost everywhere in Cuba. I have seen, however, many spots in both Cuba and the 

 Isle of Pines which are so dry, I arren and devoid of the precious humus that it might 

 be necessary to call in the aid of a few forerunners or pioneers to prepare the way. In 

 the tropics there are many trees and bushes of the bean family which will serve admirably 

 for such a purpose. These play the same role for the forest that the clovers do for 

 agricultural crops. They add humus, which is rich in nitrogen, to the soil. It is not 

 so much the shade that benefits coffee and chocolate, as it is this rich litter which is de- 

 posited on the soil. Remove this humus and the soil becomes hard and lifeless. The 

 air does not penetrate to the roots, and beneficial worms and fungi die. The sun bakes 

 it into brick-like consistency, and downpours of rain convert it into mud. There are 

 niany trees of the acacia type which are exceedingly beautiful when in flower, and some 

 yield, in addition to fuel, gums, dyes, perfumes, etc. On the ruinate hillsides plant trees 

 and the land will in time be virgin again. 



There is a vast acreage of the second type of land referred to above, which is too 

 good to be put forever in forest and too poor or too poorly located to yield profitable 

 agricultural crops. This is usually rolling or "loma" land, which would 'wash badly if 

 ploughed and is difficult to till, but is held in place by a good covering of forage plants. 



More than half of Porto Rico is now in pasture, and anybody familiar with Cuba 

 realizes that cattle raising is destined to be one of if not the greatest of her agricultural 

 industries. One acre of Cuban pasturage will yield more forage throughout the year 

 than several acres in temperate climates, but even so the yield can in the majority of 

 cases be increased, since much of the pasture land is merely" worn-out sugar and tobacco 

 lands. These pastures, I believe, can be rejuvenated Ijy planting the velvet bean and 

 pigeon pea. The velvet bean is a marvellous forage producer. I have dibbled in the 

 seed here and there on my place in Uade County, Florida, on leaving for the north in 

 early summer. On my return in the fall I have found it waist high clambering over trees, 

 walls, fences, etc. It makes also good hay. 



The pigeon pea or cajan or gandul or cadios is a bush cornmon throughout the whole 

 tropics. Chickens and natives are fond of the peas ; it deposits a rich litter ; it conserves 

 nitrogen; it shades the soil and keeps down weeds. .According to P.nron \''on Mueller, 



