THE AGRICULTURE OF CUBA.—NO. IV. 
275 
he speaks of as being the greatest yet raised. 
Some seventy-five thousand bushels were raised 
last year. Wheat that shells much in harvesting, 
he says, will sufficiently seed the ground to raise 
a good crop without any more being put in. 
Horses and cattle are abundant, and there is enough 
to eat for every one. No chance of people starv¬ 
ing in Oregon, he says. 
From his account there are all kinds of cattle 
and game. Horses, cattle, and hogs—and elk, 
deer, bear, wolf, panther, raccoon, fox, beaver, 
otter, muskrat, mink, &c., &c.. Fowls are also 
abundant—there being the swan, goose, duck, bald 
and gray eagles, vulture, &c., &c. Among the 
timber are—white and yellow pine,, cedar, hem¬ 
lock, oak, ash, &c., &c. 
Vegetables abound in great variety. There are 
also berries the year round, including cranberries. 
Wheat is worth 60 cents to $1; peas the same; 
potatoes 40 cents ; oats the same; pork $7 to $10 
per hundred; beef $5 to $6; tallow 10 cents; 
butter do. ; corn is scarce, and worth from $1 to 
$1.50. Garden vegetables are abundant, and the 
country well watered. 
From another source which we do not recollect 
we find the following:— 
The Pines of Oregon .—The pine forests are 
very extensive, the trees being of great size, and' 
the timber extraordinarily beautiful, straight, and 
free from knots. All the timber of the genus jnjius, 
of which there are a great number of species, is 
gigantic, when compared with our trees in this 
part of the world; but occasionally one is met 
with, huge almost beyond comparison. I meas¬ 
ured, with Dr. Gardner, Surgeon of the Fort, 
(Vancouvre,) a pine of the species Bouglassi , 
which had been prostrated by the wind : its length 
was above 200 feet, and its circumference 45 feet! 
Large as was this specimen, its dimensions are 
much exceeded by one on the Umptqua river, 
measured by the late Mr. David Douglass. The 
height of this tree was, I think, nearly three hun¬ 
dred feet, and its circumference fifty-six feet ! 
The cones of this pine, according to Mr, Douglass, 
were from twelve to fifteen inches in length, re¬ 
sembling, in size and form,, sugar loaves. 
Fdr the American- Agriculturist. 
THE AGRICULTURE GE CUBA.—No. IY. 
San Fernando de Nmvitas > 20 th May , 1843. 
Dear Sir: —The next object here to which I 
shall call your attention, is the rearing and man¬ 
agement of bees. This business is extensively 
carried on in many parts of the island, and is 
usually attended with good success. There are 
several apiaries containing upward of 2,000 hives 
of bees, which will produce, on an average, two 
swarms in a year. The usual way of commen¬ 
cing, is to procure a few swarms at first, and then 
allow them to multiply to the extent required. 
No apiary is allowed, according to the existing 
laws of this country, to be located within six miles 
of a sugar estate, on account of the danger and 
injury that would arise from the bees. The hives- 
are commonly formed of sections of hollow tranks 
of trees, which are laid horizontally about a foot 
and a half above the ground, with both ends left 
open. They are usually placed under plantain 
, or other trees, in order that they may be screened 
from the sun during the hottest hours of the day. 
As soon as the hives are filled with combs, a por¬ 
tion of the honey is removed from the end oppo¬ 
site to that in which the bees are at work, and 
then they immediately recommence filling the va¬ 
cancies thus made, without danger or the loss of 
the swarms. The honey collected during the 
spring and rainy months is regarded as unfit for 
use until it is worked over a second time by the 
i bees, on account of its watery or deleterious qual¬ 
ities, which are supposed to be imparted chiefly 
from being extracted from poisonous plants, or 
trees. Two men are counted sufficient to manage 
100 swarms, besides being able to attend to the 
rearing of cattle, the cultivation of corn, tobacco, 
plaintains, yucca, or other products; 
Notwithstanding this rude mode of raising 
honey, it is made, in many cases, a very profitable 
business. The annual yield of each hive will 
sell, when delivered at the place of shipment, for 
$2. I would suggest that some of the southern 
agriculturists of the United States, particularly in 
Florida and Louisiana, would determine whether 
this branch of industry can not be carried on equally 
advantageous there. 
I shall conclude these communications by giving 
a short statistical account of the island, which has 
been gleaned, either from public documents, or 
other authentic sources. 
Census of 1841. 
Males. 
Females. Total. 
White__ 
227,144 
191,147 418,291 
Free colored. 
75,703 
77,135 152,838 
Slaves... 
281,250 
155,245 436,495 
584,097 
423,527 1,007,624 
Persons over 80 Years of Age. 
Whites... 
. 1,175 
Free colored ., 
Slaves. 
Total, 3,074 
The official returns of the exports of the island- 
products, in 1842, were as follow:— 
TVtnhno-nny . 
... 56,161 
Spirits from cane. 
.. 204,550 
Cotton..... 
_ 75,834 
Coffee.... 
_..... 2,998,269 
Sugar.. 
Cedar. 
Way. 
. 290,828 
Copper ore. 
Hides. 
Sweetmeats.... 
Fruits. 
. 49,298 
Honey. 
. 71,325 
Molasses. 
744,608 
Horses and mules...., 
Cigars... 
. 749,812 
Tobacco.. 
.. 1,461,760 
fUlipr articles.. . 
........ 200.241 
Total, $23,400,708 
