THE CUBA REVIEW 



2a 



Cuban Commercial Matters 



Wool-Textile Market 



Cuba offers an excellent market for 

 American light and medium weight suitings, 

 lightweight woolens having the largest sale. 

 There is also a good market for sedan cloth 

 and flannels. Owing to the warm climate 

 there is no call for overcoatings, motor 

 robes, or blankets, except horse blankets 

 for use in connection with saddles. Esti- 

 mated figures place the annual sales of 

 woolens and worsteds previous to last 

 spring's financial crisis at nearly $2,500,000 

 — all imported materials, there being no 

 native product. The bulk of wool fabric 

 and ready-made clothing imports comes 

 from the United States, whose strongest 

 competitor is the United Kingdom. Dur- 

 ing the war years when the supply from the 

 United Kingdom was seriously curtailed, 

 American woolens became firmly estab- 

 lished and have since been able to hold their 

 place in the market. 



The latest available official statistics of 

 imports into Cuba of wool cloths and wear- 

 ing apparel, by countries, are tabulated as 

 follows : 



Cuban imports of wool fabrics and clothing. 



Articles and countries 

 of origin 



1918-19 



Wool fabrics 



United States. . . . 



United Kingdom . 



Other countries. . . 

 Ready-made clothing 



United States. . . . 



Spain 



Other countries. . 



Kilos. 



481,167 



343,001 



103,401 



34,765 



36,780 



34,301 



1,562 



917 



Value. 



^2,226,398 



1,500,221 



599,742 



126,435 



173,412 



162,312 



4,936 



6.164 



wealthy are supplanting the linen drills 

 formerly worn. They comprise, according 

 to estimates given by various merchants ^ 

 from 30 to 60 per cent, of the sales of 

 woolens. The cloths weigh generally 9>4 

 ounces to the running yard and are woven 

 with a cotton warp and either a mohair or 

 a lustrous wool filling. "Tropical cloths," 

 a pure-wool fabric, with 5 to 10 per cent of 

 cotton added to give firmness, form 10 to 

 25 per cent, of the total imports of woolens- 

 The remaining imports belong to the class 

 of goods known in this market as "casi- 

 mir," which, roughly defined, is any cloth 

 of more than one color. Under this broad 

 classification are included strictly woolen 

 cloths, fancy mixtures of pure wool and of 

 wool and cotton, plain piece-dyed woolens 

 containing cotton, plain and fancy serges, 

 and plain and fancy worsteds. An ad va- 

 lorem duty of 27.6 per cent is assessed on 

 wool fabrics imported from the United 

 States, but this does not tend to stifle im- 

 ports, as local manufacture is little de- 

 veloped. A list of woolen-goods dealers in 

 Cuba may be obtained from the Textile 

 Division and the district and co-operative 

 offices of the Bureau of Foreign and Do- 

 mestic Commerce. 



The so-called beach cloths have in recent 

 years come into popularity and among the 



Use of Cuban Majagua for Baseball Bats 



About two years ago experiments proved 

 that Cuban majagua was ideally adapted for 

 the manufacture of baseball bats. This hard- 

 wood is of tough fiber and it can be used 

 for any purpose requiring material that will 

 not break easily. Although not so popular 

 as mahogany and other native woods for 

 furniture, it has been used to a certain ex- 

 tent in the manufacture of chairs. Its 

 resistance to fracture has also led to its 

 employment in the construction of wheels. 

 Within the past year a growing interest has 

 developed in the United States in the im- 

 portation of majagua for the manufacture 

 of baseball bats. For this purpose it is cut 

 into pieces 38 inches long and 3 inches 

 square. One firm exported to the United 

 States during the past year 1.000 of these 

 pieces. The names of two firms who can 

 supply this wood may be obtained from the 

 Lumber Division of the Bureau of Foreign 

 and Domestic Commerce. 



