AND AGRICULTURE OF CUBA. 261 



is almost entirely restricted to the whites; and 

 although in Havana the first society is not per- 

 ceptibly inferior to that of the richest commercial 

 cities in Europe, a rudeness of manners prevails in 

 the small towns and plantations. 



The common cereal grasses are cultivated in 

 Cuba, together with the tropical productions peculiar 

 to these countries ; but the principal exports consist 

 of tobacco, coffee, sugar, and wax. The sugar-cane 

 is planted in the rainy season, from July to October, 

 and cut from February to May. The rapid diminu- 

 tion of wood in the island has caused the want of 

 fuel to be felt in"' the manufacture of sugar, and 

 Humboldt, during his stay, attempted several new 

 constructions with the view of diminishing the ex- 

 penditure of it.* 



The tobacco of Cuba is celebrated in every part 

 of Europe. The districts which produce the most 

 aromatic kind are situated to the west of the 

 Havana, in the Vuelta de Abago ; but that grown 

 to the east of the capital on the banks of the Mayari, 

 in the province of Santiago, at Himias, and in other 

 places, is also of excellent quality. In 1827 the 

 produce was about 113,214 cwts., of which 17,888 

 were exported. The value of this commodity 

 shipped in 1828 was 105,991/. 13*. 4c?., and in 1829, 

 142,9 10Z. Cotton and indigo, although cultivated, 

 are not to any extent made articles of commerce. 



Towards the end of April the travellers, having 

 finished the observations which they had proposed 

 to make, were on the point of sailing to Vera Cruz ; 

 but intelligence communicated by means of the 

 public papers respecting Captain Baudin's expedi- 

 tion, led them to relinquish the project of crossing 



* By the custom-house returns, 156,158,924 lbs. of sugar were ex- 

 ported from Cuba in 1827 ; and if the quantity smuggled be estimated at 

 one-fourth more, the total amount would be nearly 200,000,000 lbs. In 

 the same year the exportation of coffee amounted to upwards of 

 50,000,000 lbs., but it has since fallen off considerably.— See Macculloch's 

 Diet, of Commerce, art. Havana. 



