18 



THR CUl'.A Ki:\li:W And I'.nllotin. 



Jlgricultural and Jliiierican €olonv notes 



COFFEE IMPORTERS AND ROASTERS WANT MOKE 

 PROTECTION. 



The importing coffee merchants and cof- 

 fee roasters of Cuba are petitioning the pro- 

 visional government to differentiate the dnty 

 on green coffee from roasted coffee by ?.t 

 per cent., as green coffee loses this much in 

 the roasting process. 



"A hundredweight of unroasted coffje, 

 they say, pays the state duty on one hun- 

 dred pounds, whereas the same hundred 

 pounds of coffee, if imported roasted, 

 weighs but seventy-five pounds, and pays 

 duty on only that quantity, and defrauds 

 the treasurv of that much revenue. 



Gathering Palmiche, the fruit o; tr.c Ruyal 

 Palm. A splendid food for hogs. (See Dr. Mayo's 

 article on page lo.) 



DISEASES WHICH ATTACK AMERICAN HORSES 

 IN CUBA. 



American horses turned out to pasture in 

 Cuba are usually attacked by an irritating 

 skin disease. 



The skin of the legs, neck and head are 

 principall}' affected and usually the disease 

 appears within about 48 hours after the 

 horse has been turned out. 



There is intense itching and the horse will 

 rub or dig at the skin with his teeth until 

 he rubs the skin off and frequently causes 

 bleeding. Not all horses suffer from this 

 disease but others are very susceptible. 



The disease seems due to bacteria or a 

 vegetable parasite like a mould. It is not 

 an animal parasite and does not appear con- 

 tagious. 



The disease is not mange, nor is it ihe 

 "dobe itch" of the Philippines. 



Treatment : Keep the animal up and apply 

 strong antiseptics. The best success has 

 been obtained with a i :500 solution of bi- 

 chloride of inercury (corrosive sublimate) 

 in water. 



.\pply thoroughly twice daily. — Circular 

 No. 15, Headquarters army of Cuban Pa- 

 cification 



A NEW COTTON TREE IN CUBA. 



The U. S. Department of Commerce and 

 Labor in its Consular Trade Reports foT 

 June prints an article on the Caravonica 

 cotton tree in Australia. It seems to 

 reach a height of about 15 feet and grows 

 freely. The interesting part of the report 

 to our readers in Cuba, hnwever, is the 

 following : 



"An interesting letter dated November lO, 

 1906, has been received by Doctor Thom- 

 atis of Cairns, Queensland, from Mr. W. H. 

 Bemis. Baracoa, Cuba, stating that trees of 

 Caravonica cotton grew from seed sent by 

 Doctor Thomatis to the height of 7 1-2 

 feet with 4 feet of spread in forty-four 

 days, which means thirty-four days of 

 growth, as ten days are required for 

 germination. The writer also stated that 

 the trees had over 60 blossoms on and have 

 created great interest in the island. This 

 phenomenal and luxurious growth in Cuba 

 of the Caravonica cotton is said also to be 

 met with in Ceylon w-here it grew 15 feet 

 in three months." 



A HORTICULTURAL EXHIBIT COMING. 



The Cuban Horticultural Society intends 

 to hold an exhibition in January, 1908, in 

 Havana. President Earl h/is appointed 

 several committees, viz. : for transportation, 

 packages and packing, marketing and stor- 

 ing, citrus fruits, pineapples, native and 

 tropical fruits, temperate zone fruits, vege- 

 tables, ornamental, orchard management, in- 

 sects and diseases, and legislation, which 

 are presided over by well known agricul- 

 turists. 



