CUBA— THE SUGAR MILL OF THE ANTILLES 



15 



Photograph from F. W. B. Hogge 



HARD GOING ON A CUBAN SUGAR PLANTATION 



There frequently falls, especially in the eastern part of Cuba, .where the cane harvest 

 runs far into the rainy season, as much as three inches of rain during a single downpour. 

 The result is that the rich, deep soil becomes thoroughly saturated, and the teams of oxen 

 have to bring every ounce of their strength into play to keep the cane moving toward the mill. 



lation drink, and a large percentage of 

 them order the kinds of drinks whose 

 "authority" is strongly centralized ; but 

 the Cuban whisky glass holds little more 

 than a woman's thimble, so that a stand- 

 ard drink is barely more than a sip, and 

 little drunkenness results. 



Probably no city has solved the prob- 

 lem of cheap transportation more satis- 

 factorily than Havana. Eight thousand 

 Ford automobiles, operating within a ter- 

 ritory whose radius is little greater than 

 a mile and carrying one or two persons 

 between any two points within this terri- 

 tory for the sum of twenty cents, afford 

 an individual transportation service that 

 leaves little to be desired by those to 

 whom the ticking of a taximeter is a mat- 

 ter of moment. 



These cars look different from the 

 familiar type one sees in the United 

 States, for they have passed through the 

 hands of Cuban upholsterers before going 

 into commission, and these artists work a 

 complete transformation. 



Any one who has visited Havana can 

 appreciate how luxurious a Ford can be 

 made. "Every little Ford has a decora- 

 tion all its own,'' might be the title of a 

 Aladame Sherry song in that city. The 

 tin and the imitation leather of dash- 

 board, seats, and tonneau give place to 

 mahogany for the dash, whipcord for the 

 body upholstery, fancy carpet for the 

 floor, and wonderful concoctions in rain- 

 bo w-hued leather for the seats. 



In a single car one may see five or six 

 different shades of leather employed in 

 the upholstery. For instance, the basic 

 material may be gray grained leather. 

 This is piped with white and has touches 

 of red, blue, and green to give a piquant 

 effect. The whole is set off by a decora- 

 tion of silver studs. It may look a little 

 overdone to the staid citizen of the North, 

 but it is an optical feast to the riding 

 public of Havana, and once one is inside 

 the car it seems to transform itself into 

 a royal equipage. 



One forgets the lack of springs in the 



