26 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



INFORMATION FOR THE AMERICAN SETTLER 



COCONUT BUTTER THE SAPOTA A VALUABLE FRUIT- 

 NUTS AND PEANUT OIL 



-PROFIT IN PEA- 



Butter from Coconuts 



A new substitute for butter has been 

 placed on the market in western Bohemia. 

 It contains no animal fats, but is manufac- 

 tured from coconut oil, the yolk of eggs, 

 and a small proportion of cream. The 

 coconuts are imported by the shipload by 

 way of Hamburg, up the Elbe River to 

 Aussig, in this consular district, where the 

 factory is located. The meat of the coco- 

 nuts is pressed for the oil, the outer fibrous 

 coat is used in the manufacture of mats, 

 and the hard shell is made into buttons. 

 Coconut oil has been used for some time 

 in Europe in the manufacture of oleomar- 

 garine under various names, but in combi- 

 nation with lard or other animal fats. 



The "vegetable" butter is prepared in two 

 forms, soft and in firm cakes. It is shipped 

 by parcels post from the factory in pack- 

 ages of 5 kilos (11 pounds). The claim 

 is made that this butter substitute has an 

 agreeable flavor, is not injurious to health, 

 and is excellent for cooking purposes. It 

 retails for 1..54 kronen a kilo, or about 

 14 cents a pound. 



Owing to the fact that the oil from co- 

 conuts is now being extensively converted 

 into comestible fats, its market price has 

 increased enormously, and the world is 

 being sought for additional supplies of co- 

 conuts. — From United States Consul Will 

 L. Lowrie, Carlsbad. 



Perhaps a Peanut Oil Factory 



A peanut oil factory for Cuba may be 

 one of the newest institutions on the is- 

 land. It is said that one of the big Amer- 

 ican packing houses may decide to erect 

 a plant. 



Prof. Karutz, head of the experimental 

 station of the Cuba Railroad at Camaguey, 

 says that ten or twenty acre farms of pea- 

 nuts could be made a paying proposition 

 for the settler who has some capital to be- 

 gin operations with. He also says that 

 three crops a year could be realized from 

 the land. An acre of land could be made 

 to produce a ton of peanuts, and the profit 

 for the labor should yield $100 per acre. 



The factory, when established, would be 

 a large buyer of the product. 



"Cuba's gold mine," said the professor, 

 "is in the tilling of the soil in the eastern 

 section of the island. That's the best coun- 

 try in Cuba, and the possibilities qf agri- 

 cultural pursuit are being more and more 

 realized every day." 



Cuban Fruits — the .'^apota 



There are two varieties of this fruit in 

 Cuba. The only apparent difference is the 

 shape, one being round and the other oval. 



The fruit averages slightly under two 

 ounces in weight, is brown to greenish- 

 brown in color, appearing not unlike a very 

 smooth, dark potato. In Havana it is in- 

 correctly known as the "nispero," which 

 name rightly belongs to the loquat. The 

 sapota has a characteristic odor and flavor 

 and is very sweet. The seeds, numbering 

 from one to five, are found in a soft open 

 core. It is in season in Cuba from xApril 

 to September, is picked green, and is said 

 to bear shipment well. It is very popular 

 and deserves far more notice than has yet 

 been given it by northern markets. The 

 sap of the tree and the juice of the green 

 fruit furnish what is known in commerce 

 as chicle, the basis of chewing gum. — 

 United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Bulletin No. 87. 



Potatoes from Canada Taxed 



There is a considerable market at Ha- 

 vana for potatoes. This j'ear Maine po- 

 tatoes have been cheaper than those grown 

 in New Brunswick. Recently, therefore, 

 several Canadian exporters went over the 

 line and bought 50,000 to 70,000 bushels 

 in Maine and had them shipped in bulk 

 to St. John. There they were put in 

 barrels made in Canada and sent on to Ha- 

 vana. 



When the potatoes arrived at Havana 

 the Cuban customs authority decided 

 that duty must be assessed on the ship- 

 ment as Canadian grown potatoes, because 

 shipped in Canadian barrels. The customs 

 officials decided that there was no authority 

 for permitting the products of the soil of 

 the United States to be shipped through a 

 Canadian port and barrelled there, because 

 there was no way to prevent substitution 

 of Canadian-grown products in the process 

 of barrelling. 



A protest was made to the state depart- 

 inent by those interested against this ac- 

 tion of the Cuban authorities. The Boston 

 Chamber of Comm.erce immediately got in 

 touch with Senator Crane and Congress- 

 man Keliher, and received a telegram from 

 Mr. Keliher stating that the state depart- 

 ment had upheld the Cuban government in 

 refusing to give the preferential, which 

 amounts to 20 per cent less than the duty 

 assessed on Canadian potatoes. 



