THE C U B .\ R E \' I E W 



land along the valleys of the Yumuri and 

 Tanamo rivers. 



At Baracoa the plantings are in the 

 valleys and on the mountain slopes. The 

 soil is also a deep loam from a disintegra- 

 tion of the rocks and earlier vegetation. 

 There has been a large decrease here in 

 banana growing for export during the last 

 decade. Large areas devoted to that in- 

 dustry have been planted in sugar cane, 

 because greater returns are derived from 

 land planted to cane, and because the 

 fruit produced in Cuba cannot compete 

 with that of the Central American States. 

 the winters of Cuba being too cold and 

 dry. 



Xo statistics are available to show the 

 area cultivated in bananas, or the value of 

 investments. The census of 1S99 showed 

 that about S.6 per cent of the cultivated 

 area of the island was planted in bananas. 



All the bananas produced for export 

 are sent to the United States, the ship- 

 ments for 1910 being valued at $641,382, 

 which was $106,716 more than in 1909. 



The production of fruits and vegetables 

 has more than tripled in the last three 

 years. A number of Americans and 

 Canadians have come here with the idea 

 of growing fruits and vegetables for 

 northern markets. The venture has been 

 disappointing in some cases, due to the 

 inexperience, fruit and vegetable growing 

 and shipping being highlj- specialized 

 industries, and to lack of a business or- 

 ganization for handling shipments. Pine- 

 apples and citrus fruit constitute the only 

 items of horticultural export. The value 

 of the pineapples shipped to the United 

 States from this consular district in 1910 

 was $14,172, which was $3,274 less than in 

 1909. The value of the citrus fruits 

 shipped to the United States in 1910 was 

 $26,643, an increase of $7,118 over the pre- 

 ceding year. 



The citrus-fruit industry is practically 

 all in the hands of Americans, and while 

 there are no statistics available to show- 

 the acreage planted it is estimated that 

 there is in this province 4,000 to 6,000 

 acres under cultivation. An increased 

 production is predicted within the next 

 few years to supply the United States and 

 Canada. 



The cocoanut bud disease is ruining the 

 cocoanut plantations and there has been 

 a gradual falling off in production for 

 the past few years. 



The only region where cocoanuts are 

 now grown for exports is at Baracoa, and 

 authorities agree that it will only be a short 

 time when the trees in that district will 

 all be killed unless some remedy is dis- 

 covered to destroy the disease. It is es- 

 timated that the production of that region 

 is falling off at the rate of 1,000.000 nuts 

 a month from this cause. 



The exportations of cocoanuts from the 

 Baracoa district were valued at $135,045 

 in 1910 and in 1909, $191,950. 



Tobacco growing has increased rapidly 

 during the last five years in the Manzanillo. 

 Mayari, and Sagua districts. The lands 

 are black and rather heavy, and so far do 

 not require fertilization. The leaf produced 

 is used principally as cigar filler, though it 

 is also used by local manufacturers as a 

 wrapper. It is heavier and stronger than 

 that produced in the western end of the 

 island, and has been in good demand of 

 late years to blend with mild or flavor- 

 less tobaccos. The lower price received for 

 it has been oft'set by heavy yields and the 

 business has, in the main, been profitable. 

 Xo statistics are available of the actual pro- 

 duction of tobacco for 1910. but it is_ esti- 

 mated that the yield was 25.000 quintals 

 (quintal^220.46 pounds). Tobacco of the 

 Manzanillo district sold in the market at 

 $15 to $20 a quintal; that of the ^Mayari 

 district as $10 to Sl5, and that of the Sagua 

 districts $18 to $30. 



Coffee and cacao growing oft'er an in- 

 viting field for small planters, where the 

 family can furnish a considerable part of 

 the labor for picking, the high price of 

 labor making it unprofitable on a large 

 scale. The larger part of coft'ee consurned 

 in Cuba is imported, much of it coming 

 from Porto Rico, but new_ plantings are 

 constantly coming into bearing and others 

 are being made. It is hoped that the pro- 

 tective tariff' placed on coft'ee by the gov- 

 ernment will stimulate the industry, so that 

 in a few years sufficient coft'ee will be pro- 

 duced to supply the local demand for this 

 article. The Cuban coffee bean is small, 

 but of exceptionally fine flavor. 



Coft'ee production in this consular dis- 

 trict totalled 20,000,000 pounds in 1909 and 

 23,500,000 pounds in 1910. 



CORDAGE MILL FOR MATANZAS 



The largest cordage mill in the ^^ est 

 Indies has been built at ^latanzas to utilize 

 the henequen which is grown extensively in 

 that section, for the well-known firm of 

 Raffloer, Erbsloh & Co., of Havana, says 

 the Havana Post. 



\\"hen completed the company's rope- 

 making plant in Havana will be moved to 

 ^latanzas. 



The new mill is 360 feet long by 100 

 feet in width, built of concrete, iron and 

 stone and supplied with the automatic fire 

 extinguishing sprinkling system throughout, 

 up to now, practically unknown in the 

 island. The 4,000 acres of henequen culti- 

 vated by the firm gives needed employment 

 to farm laborers, and the mill will employ 

 many hundreds more. Cuban henequen 

 yields a better quality of fibre, it is claimed, 

 than the Yucatan product. 



