6,776,000 seedlings were set, gave plants, according as they were budded or not, varying in height from 1.78 to 2.10 meters, with 14 to 18 leaves on each plant, with a yield of 14 per cent. for plants weighing 40 pounds and 60 per cent. of first-class wrapper leaves. The average cost per hectare in the Province was $736.44.

On the other hand, two well-known and experienced planters of that Province state that tobacco grown under cover will yield 330 bales to the caballeria, instead of 150 produced by the ordinary method, giving leaves from 28 to 32 inches long by 14 to 16 inches wide in the proportion of 7 per cent. This is an enormous increase in yield over that ordinarily obtained, but it may not be accepted as representative of the results generally secured.

The average annual exports of Cuban tobacco are valued at about $27,000,000. This sum is less than half the value of the average sugar output. The relative importance of the two industries must not be gauged by these figures. Although tobacco culture and manufacture are mainly carried on in a comparatively small section of the Island, their beneficial influence upon the community is wide

spread and greater than the Cubans in general suspect it to be. The prospects for the development of the tobacco industry and the possibilities of its economic improvement are much better than in the case of sugar. The former entails fewer hazards and larger profits than the latter. There is greatly less possibility of concentrated control in the production of tobacco than there is in the growing of sugarcane. More than in all this, however, the beneficial character of the tobacco industry lies in its especial availability to the small capitalist and the individual planter; its demand for skilled and intelligent labor; and its extensive employment of artisans. The vegueros of Cuba and the employes of the Habana cigar factories are the most intelligent and best paid classes among the working people of the Island.

At the close of the last war of independence the Cuban tobacco industry was practically destroyed. In this insurrection fighting was carried on, for the first time, in the Province of Pinar del Rio. Most of the plantations were wiped out and the cattle, upon which they depended for draft animals, were either killed or carried off. Worse still, the population of the

Province was reduced from thirty-six thousand to barely one-sixth of that number. The first crop after the restoration of peace yielded no more than one-tenth of the former average production. The outlook of the industry was extremely black when an American syndicate supplied the capital necessary to give it a fresh start. Since then the process of resuscitation has progressed steadily. There is, however, room for a much greater development. Increase in the labor supply will permit of extension of the area of cultivation, and improvement in methods will result in greater yield and better quality. It is certain that under the stimulus of foreign capital and foreign management tobacco cultivation in Cuba will soon far surpass the production of its palmiest days.

The prospect for the manufacturing branch of the industry, which has never been conducted to its best advantage, is equally good. The introduction of extensive American interests has put new life into the business, and the amalgamation of several large independent factories has been followed by excellent results to the corporations immediately concerned, as well as to the business at large.

The import tariff imposed on Cuban cigars by the McKinley Act was a great blow to the manufacturers of Cuba. Many of them moved their factories to the United States, where, being able to import the raw material on favorable terms, they found themselves in a position to make and sell cigars of Cuban tobacco at a profit. The effect of this movement was to greatly decrease the exportation of manufactured tobacco from Cuba and to increase proportionally the shipment of leaf. At the same time the production of cigars in the United States expanded greatly and reached the enormous quantity of 5,000,000,000 per an

num.

As a remedy to this condition of affairs, the Cuban Government removed the export duty on cigars and cigarettes, whilst maintaining that on leaf tobacco and increasing it on the higher grades. The justice and wisdom of this step are illustrated by the following statement by Mr. Bock:

"To manufacture in the United States 1,000 cigars, weighing 12 pounds, sold in Habana, unstemmed, 25 pounds of filler, and 5 pounds of wrapper, we should arrive at the following results: