THE CUBA REVIEW 



AND BULLETIN 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA" 



Copyright, 1907, by the Munsbn Steamship Line. 



Volume V. JULY, 1907. Number 8. 



A TYPICAL CUBAN FARM. 



LIBRARY 



NEW YO.l^y; 

 BOTANIC a; 



Its Characteristic Neglect and its Great Possibilities Under Expert Treatment 



Described. The Conditions Exactly Those of Hundreds 



of Other Cuban Estates. 



BY C. F. BAKER, ESTACION AGRONOMICA, SANTIAGO DE LAS VEGAS, CUBA. 



A recent visit to a magnificent finca, near Bainoa, on the United Railway, made pos- 

 sible through the kindly hospitality of the owner, furnishes a most illuminating text on 

 the present condition of certain branches of Cuban agriculture, and the possibilities in 

 large part yet lying dormant. This finca is one of the very best types of Cuban farms- 

 rich soil, beautiful surroundings, and broad acres, — all combining to make it what it i? 

 to-day — the valued heirloom of an old family. There are countless fine trees of all the 

 native fruits. The soil is of the red type, characteristic of the Partidos tobacco district. 

 The farm includes, all told, 35 caballerias, or about 1,166 acres. 



The primary purpose of the present inspection was to examine and estimate the value 

 of the rubber now growing on the place.* Many years since two trees of the Centra] 

 American rubber (Castilloa elastica) had been planted near the house, and are nov/ 

 of regal proportions, being over two feet in diameter at the butt. The parent trees had 

 seeded abundantly, and the seeds have grown readily, producing a small forest of seed- 

 lings near the parent trees. The men on the place, not understanding their value, 

 had been accustomed to slash them down with machetes. At this time there are about 

 2,500 seedlings, six to twelve inches high, and 800-1,000 two' to six feet high, these varying 

 in value probably from 10 to 50 cents each. On another part of the farm there is about 

 half of a caballeria abandoned tO' brush and second growth forest, and in this adventiti- 

 ous seeding had also occurred many years ago, with the result that now there are so'me 

 fifty trees scattered through the plot that will average six to ten inches in diameter, and 

 many others smaller. The trees are healthy and give a splendid flow at this season. 

 Several trees were tapped and yielded good quantities of a heavy creamy latex. The 

 possibilities of the larger trees per year may run, possibly, from one to two pounds. 

 With rubber at $1.20 per pound, it would pay to tap. With the land planted to rubber, 

 as it might have been, it should be yielding from $300 to $500 per acre without outlay in 

 fertilizing or cultivation. Even now the larger trees will give a splendid supply of seed 

 both for seed bed work and for direct sale. The seed should possess a good value in 

 Cuba at the present time. While the number of trees is not great enough to be called 

 a "rubber plantation," yet the evidences here so clearly set forth are such as to fill a 

 |«>. rubber planter with both enthusiasm and regret. Taken hold of from ten to fourteen 

 Ciyears ago and managed properly, there might easily have been a rubber planting of great 

 Rvalue on the ground now, for here the rubber is unquestionably thoroughly at home. 

 ^^ The rather remarkable lack of appreciation of opportunities in connection with the 

 ^^ rubber, led up to the inevitable question, "What is being done towards the improve- 

 ''"^ment of this magnificent place anyway? Here is property of $100,000 in value at the 

 .mU lowest estimate. What interest on such valuation is it yielding, and is the capital being 

 ^rD augmented or impaired?" 



♦ See brief article on "Rubber in Cuba" on page 21. 



