serves to temper the intensity of the sun's rays, to moderate the force of the wind and its action on the leaves, to keep the earth moist, and, above all, to prevent the insects from harming the leaves of the plants. Much interest has been manifested in this use of cheese cloth, and in order to encourage this new industry, the duty on cheese cloth, ranging from 15 to 50 cents per kilogram (2.2046 pounds), was repealed July 30, 1902. It is believed that Cuba may rival Sumatra in the production of fine wrappers, for which there is a large demand in the United States.

The amount that must be expended on one caballeria (an area of 33 acres) of ground from the time it is plowed until the tobacco crop is gathered, varies considerably, but it is probable that the expenditure averages about $7,940. The yield of a caballeria, consisting on an average of 211 tercios (bales) of tobacco leaves at $50 per tercio, 54 arrobas of seed at $4, and 12 cartloads of stems at $1, would be about $10,778, leaving a balance as profit of $2,838.

Since the War of Independence remarkable progress has been made in the cultivation of tobacco, and excellent results are being obtained as regards the endurance of the plant, as well as its quantity and quality. Moreover the prospect of a market is good. Consequently a crop that formerly was uncertain and dependent on meteorological conditions is to-day, for the most part, subject to the intelligent control of man.

The past year the production of tobacco amounted to 201,512 bales, weighing 109,562,400 Spanish pounds.

Coffee. When the production of tobacco was of slight importance and that of sugar barely exceeded home consumption, coffee formed the principal Cuban product, and, together with cattle, constituted the basis of its economic wealth.

In the year 1846, 2,328 coffee plantations in the Island of Cuba produced 50,000,000 pounds of coffee, which was sold at high prices, principally in Vienna, at that time the leading coffee market of the world; but since then, the constant over production and the fall of prices have created a variable condition, which continues in the markets of the world. When it will terminate can hardly be predicted.

The coffee plantations in Cuba were reduced to less than two hundred small farms; consequently it was necessary to import the greater part of the coffee which was consumed in Cuba. These farms, although of slight importance, continued to exist, because in Cuba coffee is produced with no more effort than that required to plant the trees, which last for centuries, and to gather the fruit, which is always so abundant that it can not be harvested by the available hands.

After the Independence, a law passed by the Cuban Senate, May 30, 1903, created tariff rates for the coffee which is imported into Cuba, and in consequence of this protection, in the short space of time which has elapsed, the number of coffee plantations has quadrupled, and before many years Cuba

will produce all the coffee necessary for home consumption. In 1907 there were 1,411 coffee plantations, with 3,662,850 coffee trees, which produced 6,595,700 pounds of berries.

The Coconut.-Throughout the Island of Cuba, the coconut is produced with almost no effort; but the district of Baracoa may be considered a natural zone of monopoly for this plant. The facts relating to the coconut industry seem almost improbable; in Baracoa, under normal conditions, it is sufficient to plant the tree and leave it to develop; in four or five years it yields fruit so abundantly that in quantity and value the output is 50 per cent greater than that of any other region of Cuba.

The nuts which fall from the tree (those which "drip," in local terms) are gathered and sold for not less than a cent apiece, so that each tree-and the average production is seventy coconuts a year-yields no less than fifty cents profit. Fifteen years ago, with practically no effort, from twenty-five to thirty millions of coconuts were gathered annually.

An epifitia of the branches destroyed the coconut groves fifteen or twenty years ago, and later, another disease in the heart of the tree developed, completing the havoc, which caused the value of the crop in 1906 to fall to only 175,000 pesos.

The learned professor, Dr. Carlos de la Torre y Huerta, has described perfectly the disease of the branches of the coconut tree, showing the nature of the pathogenic parasite; and the studies by Mr. Horne, professor of the Central Agricultural Station of the Republic, have practically determined the manner of effectively combating the two diseases.

The wealth resulting from the cultivation of the coconut is not derived merely from its sale as fruit; for it is utilized for the sustenance of animals, and serves as raw material in the manufacture of oil.

Cacao.-Humboldt said that the wealth of the proprietor of a cacao plantation was surer than that of the possessor of a gold mine. Although the cacao produced in this island is not comparable with that of Caracas, a cacao of a quality superior to the average is obtained in the province of Oriente. In spite of the difficulties of the cultivation of the cacao and the damages caused by birds, the production increased from 800,050 bushes, yielding 3,122,600 Spanish pounds, in 1902, to 1,860,306 bushes, producing 9,380,900 Spanish pounds, in 1907.

Textile plants. Many varieties of textile plants grow in Cuba, and those which cover the uncultivated fields are sufficient to produce many hundred thousands of tons of useful fibers. This wealth, however, has been utilized only recently, and the country every year pays tribute in many millions of pesos to foreign countries, because of the lack of population, machinery, and industrial enterprise.

Since the Independence, there has been some activity in this direction, and results of real importance are now being obtained.

The cordage industry has developed the fact that the raw material may be

obtained in Cuba, there being sufficient plantations of heniquen to almost wholly supply the necessities of the Republic. During the period of production the number of heniquen bushes in the island reaches 3,700,000.

Seven million pounds of jarcias are manufactured in the Island of Cuba, 70 per cent of which are of henequin and the rest of manila, fiber from the Philippines being imported for the latter.

For the sugar industry Cuba receives from India and England-the first the producer and the second the manufacturer-from seven to ten million bags of jute in which the sugar is annually packed. Jute grows wild in the island, however, and at present in the province of Pinar del Río, where an effort is being made to cultivate it, it yields more than 30 per cent of fiber of good quality.

A short time ago it was considered impossible to make an industrial use of the ramie, which grows so abundantly in this island, but repeated and successful experiments with the "Marti machine" have proved that the strips of ramie known in the market as "China grass" can be obtained, and the day is near at hand when the exploitation of this, the richest vegetable fiber for textiles, will constitute one of the important sources of Cuban wealth.

FRUITS.

Fruits have only very recently been cultivated on an industrial scale in the Greater Antilles; it may be said that this is an industry which is just being developed and in which the greater number of products are yet unimproved, and that those which are actually utilized will undergo a radical transformation.

Citrus fruits.-The first place will at once be given to the citrus plants, which have as ready a market in the United States as those of Spain have in England.

Sweet oranges are at present the preferred crop, there being more than 1,500,000 trees ready to fructify, the probable yield of which will be worth at least 3,000,000 pesos annually. But the grape fruit, which grows wild and which, when cultivated, will yield prodigious crops; lemons, of which millions of pounds are now exported; and the bitter oranges, of which there are wild groves, are citric plants of greater commercial importance than the sweet oranges and are grown with much less effort. The bitter orange especially holds an important place among the Cuban fruits, since it constitutes the first and indispensable ingredient for orange marmalade. Since the fruit grows here under such favorable conditions and sugar cane also is abundant, no fears are felt for the future of the marmalade industry.

Pineapple. The pineapple has always been considered the queen of fruits, and the constant demand by the great neighboring Republic has stimulated its cultivation to such an extent that at present the annual production is between 25,000,000 and 30,000,000 kilograms, with an approximate value of 1,000,000 pesos. Now that the supply of the pineapples is greater than the