8 THE CUBA REVIKW And Bulletin. 



The true Manila fibre, as well as hemp, flax, and cotton are not suited to con- 

 ditions here, but ramie grows to perfection, as well as the East Indian sanseviera 

 which produces one of the strongest and most beautiful fibres in the world. We 

 have no need of Manila fibre when we have so good a substitute, and we can well 

 afford to forget ilax, hemp and cotton in the face of the great possibilities in the 

 Island for henequen, fourcroya, banana, jute, sanseviera and ramie. 



CUBAN HEMP TRADE. 

 Growth and Manufacture Both Extending. 



Consul Max J. Baehr, of Cienfuegos, treats cm the lump industry in Cuba. 

 He writes: 



Althougli there is in the island of Cuba considerable land planted in henequen 

 (hemp) and three or four industrial plants with the necessary machinery to prepare 

 the fibre for market, the output is yet limited and insufficient to furnish raw material 

 for existing manufactories, these being compelled to use imported fibre, principally 

 from Yucatan. The numlicr of henequen plantations in Cuba has been increasing 

 and there is little doubt that in the near future tlie island will be able to produce 

 from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 pounds, which is the amount necessary to supply the 

 home market. On the north coast of the island there are large tracts of high land of 

 rocky formation, speciall}' adapted for the cultivation of hemp, and persons wlio 

 have studied the matter affirm that this industry would be very profitable if 

 properly attended to. The leaf is said to contain 10 per cent, more fibre thcin the 

 plant that has been such a source of wealth to the Yucatan peninsula, an.-" the 

 quality of this fibre is about the same in Cuba. The production is, on the average, 

 68 pounds of fibre for everj^ thousand leaves. 



A large factory in Habana was established in 1890. the comi)any in igoo also 

 purchasing a small factory in Regla. They have been doing business on a large scale 

 Last year the\' imported ,3,500.000 pound."; of Yucatan hem]) and 2,000,000 pounds from 

 Manila. At present they are cultivating hemj) in two provinces of the island, .ind 

 expect that within two years the Cuban production will reach 2,000,000 pounds 

 and that at no distant date it will be sufficient for the consumption of the factory. 

 Working night and day the factory makes 35,000 pounds of rope and bagging per 

 diem and, with the exception of the tarred rope imported from Spain and Italy, the 

 factories at Regla and Habana are furnishing 95' per cent, of the rope consumed in 

 Cuba, and they use all the fibre cultivated in Cuba, which in 1904 amountetl to 550,000 

 pounds. 



This factory is situated fronting the sea, thus facilitating the unloading on the 

 ^vharf of the raw material and its transportation by means of a railway to the 

 warehouses. The establishment contains all kinds of machinery, with which ij 

 manufactured from the finest to the heaviest and strongest cables for ships and 

 other purposes. It is provided with two steam engines and two dynamos, has a 

 repair shop, boiler rooms, and warehouses, with sufficient capacity for 5,000 bales 

 of heniquen. 



It is generally believed that in five or six years the i)roduction of fibre will be 

 more than sufficient for the national consumi^tion and that a large amount will be 

 exported. 



C;i<0\VS Sl'ONT.VNEOL'SLY ON B.ARREX L.\ND. 



Two species of henequen are known in Cuba, Agave americana and Agave 

 cubensis. these plants yielding a hard, tough filament, applied mainly to the manu- 

 facture of rope and cordage. Both grow spontaneously and in the most barren 

 lands, unfit for any other kind of cultivation, always provided the mineral comi^o- 

 sition of the soil abounds in lime and sand. The cost of cultivation, including the 

 price of the young plants, can be calculated at about $836 per caballcria (33 acres) 

 and the cost of cutting, preparing, and packing. $2,248, or a total of $3,084. 



Information obtained on a large plantation of 25 caballerias shows thai each 

 caballeria will hold 50,000 plants. These after three years, the time when they 

 attain their most perfect development, yield on an average three leaves monthly, and 

 as it is calculated that each leaf contains one and a half ounces of fibre 1,000.000 

 leaves gathered from a caballeria during one year will yield 420 bales of 4 quintals 

 (400 pounds each). 



Surrounding the plantation referred to and where the leaves are gathered, 

 cleaned, and the bales prepared there are many smaller plantations where the 

 leaves are sold on the plant at the rate of 50 cents silver per thousand, the purchaser 

 paying for cutting, gathering, and cartage. The leaves, collected in bunches of ten 

 each, are paid for at the rate of $1 currency per thousand. The life of a plant is 

 calculated at 15 j'^ears, but as each plant disappears it leaves an offshoot or young 

 plant which at the end of three years will again commence to give the same yield for 

 another fifteen years — U. S. Gov. Report, January 3, 1907. 



