THE CUBA REVIEW 



15 



silk worms are fond of its leaves. It lasts for three or four years and can be dibbled 

 in here and there where most needed. 



For fence posts cut off the limbs of the Almacigo {Bursera gummifera) about the 

 size of one's arm, then with a crowbar make a hole in the ground and firmly imbed the 

 stick. Soon you will have a living, growing, everlasting post, on which the ubiquitous 

 barbed wire can be easily strung. But this is not all. In the Bahamas the foHage of 

 this tree — there called Gumbo Limbo or gum elemi — is an important forage material. 



As to the third type of worn-out land — the truck patches and gardens near to mar- 

 kets I need have nothing to say. The secret of it all, however, appUcable alike to forest, 

 pasture, and cultivated fields, is humus. It is the absence of this sine que non which 

 makes these tropical soils "ruinate." 



Note: Since writing the above, investigations have shown that certain of the so- 

 called "sick" soils of the tropics are sick simply because they contain some mineral or acid 

 detrimental to plant growth. In the majority of cases this can be corrected by a heavy 

 application of lime. In several instances that I know of crops have been doubled in 

 this way. This is necessary even in limestone districs. Here in Florida on a limestone 

 ridge the application of fertilizer of various kinds did not give sufficient returns. I 

 found the soil to be filled with fine palmetto roots which did not rot. These roots placed 

 in water produced an acid solution. The tannic acid naturally puckered up the tender 

 feed roots, so that the trees were actually starving in the midst of plenty. I at once 

 applied lime made from conch shells burnt with hardwood, and the result was magical. 



A Cuban Monte Carlo 



The House on June 22d passed a bill 

 granting a thirty-year concession to an 

 American syndicate, who have incorporated 

 a $400,000 company, to establish on lands 

 owned by it adjoining Camp Columbia, a 

 winter pleasure resort similar to Monte 

 Carlo, with a race track, golf links, tennis 

 courts, and a casino in which all kinds 

 of gaming shall be permitted, with the 

 right moreover to maintain a bull ring, 

 cock pit, and Jai Alai court in the city, 

 all of these privileges being monopolies 

 during the tourist season of each year 

 (from November 1 to May 30). The con- 

 cessionaires bind themselves to spend 



within a year $700,000 on buildings and 

 other improvements, and to raise the value 

 of their property and buildings within five 

 years to at least $1,500,000, paying each 

 year to the State, the province, and the 

 municipality the regular taxes levied on 

 spectacles, giving ample bond to guarantee 

 the fulfilment of their obHgations. The 

 whole of the property is at the expiration 

 of thirty years to revert to the State. 



xMmost the entire press of Havana 

 criticised Congress for approving this law. 

 Representative Serrani said tourists would 

 be attracted and the states income aug- 

 mented $20,000,000 annually. 



The company is ready with a guarantee 

 bond of $200,000. 



Scene Along the Country Koad — A C\iban Home 



