AGRICULTURE
The Island of Cuba is essentially an agricultural country. Its fertile
soils have come from the constant erosion of rocks by heavy rains,
through eons of time. Mountain torrents have brought down the debris of
crumbling mountains of feldspar, shale and limestone to be deposited on
the plains below, while rushing streams have eaten their way into the
plateaus of Pinar del Rio and Oriente, until we have at last a
marvellously rich, tropical island garden, supplied by Nature with all
the ingredients needed to maintain its fertility for many centuries to
come.
More important perhaps than fertility of soil, is the fact that Cuba
lies just within the edge of the Tropics, securing thereby an immunity
from snow, cold wind and frost. This enables her to grow many crops that
otherwise would be barred. More than all, those vegetables that in the
United States and more northern climes thrive during only a few months
of summer, may be grown in Cuba at almost any time in the year.
On the other hand it is true that many of the great grain crops, such as
wheat, rye, oats and barley, cannot be successfully grown in Cuba, or at
least on only a few of the more elevated plateaus of Santa Clara and
Oriente. But, even were it possible to grow wheat in Cuba, it is more
profitable to buy grain from districts further north, giving in exchange
sugar, tobacco, henequen, coffee, cacao, hides, honey, citrus fruits and
winter vegetables.
[Illustration: NATIONAL THEATRE, CENTRAL PARK, HAVANA
The builders of the city of Havana through more than four centuries paid
commendable attention to the right placing of important buildings, not
only for convenience but also for picturesque and artistic effect. Thus
the National Theatre, one of the most commodious and beautiful
playhouses in the world, has for its setting the equally beautiful
Central Park, and is approached by the famous thoroughfare of the Prado.
Other notable public and private buildings are suitably grouped about
it, making a civic centre of rarely impressive appearance.]
Freedom from frost means much to the agriculturist, since it relieves
him from the anxiety suffered by the farmers of Florida and the Gulf
States, that although lying on the other side of the Tropic of
Cancer, and enjoying sufficient warmth to produce vegetables during the
winter months, are nevertheless exposed to the danger of absolute ruin,
or at least the loss of a year’s work.
[Illustration: CUBAN RURAL HOME]
That, however, which favors successful agriculture in Cuba more than
anything else, is the fact that her copious rainfall begins in May, and
continuing throughout the warm months of summer terminates in the latter
part of October, leaving the winter cool and dry, so that fall crops may
ripen and be gathered free from danger of the cold, rainy days of
December so common in the Gulf States.
In stock raising, also, not only is the Island supplied with an
abundance of nutritious grass, on which animals may graze throughout the
year, but the young are never subjected to loss from the cold winds,
sleets, and driving storms, that decimate the herds of less favored
countries in the North.
Cuba undoubtedly has some agricultural drawbacks and disadvantages, but
few that may not be successfully overcome with intelligent management
and the judicious care which renders stock raising profitable in any
country. The one great advantage of the Republic lies in the fact that
the farmer, if he so desires, can put in three hundred and sixty five
days of every year at profitable work in his fields, orchards or
pastures, with no time necessarily lost. Nor is he compelled to work
half the year to provide food and fuel sufficient to feed and keep warm
during the remaining six months of comparative idleness.
Owing to the exceptional natural facilities for producing sugar and
tobacco cheaply and easily, the farmers of Cuba largely become, in one
sense of the word, “specialists,” and little by little have fallen into
the habit of producing enormous crops of these two staples that are sold
abroad, while food crops are imported at an expense far above that which
it would cost to produce them in the Island. This neglect of food and
forage crops would seem to render Cuba an ideal place for the general
farmer and stock raiser, and the Department of Agriculture, under the
direction of General E. Sanchez Agramonte, is now making every effort to
place the advantages of the country for diversified farming before the
outside world, so that practical farmers and families from agricultural
districts abroad may be induced to come to Cuba and settle permanently.
The Republic ultimately will raise her own live stock and should produce
sufficient corn, rice, beans, peanuts and perhaps wheat to be, to a
large extent at least, independent of the outside world. With this
purpose in view the Department of Agriculture has encouraged immigration
and through the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas is making
greater efforts than ever before to ascertain just what crops and what
seeds or plants are best adapted to the soil and climate of Cuba.
This information is being gathered and carefully digested so that it may
be given to the homeseekers and settlers of which the country stands in
such urgent need. At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, Dr.
Calvino, chief of the Government Station, together with his staff, is
searching for and bringing from all parts of the globe every plant and
every variety of animal that can be utilized for food purposes.
Nearly every variety of wheat, corn, sorghum, rice, potatoes, grains and
tubers, is being tested and tried on the 160 acres of land belonging to
the station. Grapes, peaches, plums and other semi-tropical fruits are
being planted, experimented with and carefully watched for results,
while forage plants and grasses from South America, Africa, Australia,
India, China, Europe and the United States are being tried, each under
conditions approaching as nearly as possible those of its original
habitat.
Although Cuba with its adjacent islands has an area of only about 45,000
square miles--approximating the area of the State of Mississippi--one
finds many varieties of soil, the characteristics of which, even when
lying contiguous, are so varied as to be astounding. High and
comparatively dry plateaus, in places, rise almost abruptly from low
level savannas that remain moist in the driest seasons of the year. Rich
deep soiled mountain sides and valleys may be found within a few miles
of pine barrens, whose hillsides are valued only for the mineral wealth
that may lie beneath the surface.
Great areas of rich virgin forest, in both mountain and plain, still
exist, especially in the eastern half of the Island, where many
thousands of acres in the open, if planted with suitable grasses, would
support countless herds of cattle and live stock. To bring all of this
territory as soon as possible into a state of profitable cultivation,
and thus supply permanent homes for farmers and stock raisers, is the
great aim and purpose of the Department of Agriculture in Cuba today,
and to the consummation of these plans Secretary Agramonte is devoted,
with a most able and energetic Assistant Secretary in Dr. Carlos
Armenteros.
The great pressing problems of agriculture in the Republic would seem to
be quite sufficient for any one man’s energies, but, as the present
government was planned and organized, an enormous amount of additional
work, including the supervision of mines, forests, weights, measures,
bank inspection, commerce and labor, come under its jurisdiction,
rendering the responsibilities of the Department heavier and more
complicated than any other branch of the Government, and demanding a
degree of persistence and versatility probably not called for on the
part of any other Cabinet Officer.
The Department of Agriculture has a personnel of 640 while approximately
a million and a half dollars are appropriated by the Budget for carrying
on the work of the Department. For convenience of administration the
Department is divided into the following sections:
Agriculture,
Veterinary Inspection and Zoology,
Commerce and Industry,
Immigration, Colonization and Labor,
Forests and Mines,
Patents and Trade Marks.
In addition to these are several Bureaus, stations and offices that
report directly to the Assistant Secretary.
The Section of Agriculture, naturally, is the largest and most
comprehensive of the various divisions or branches of the Department.
Under its direction are the six various “granjas” or Agricultural
Schools that are maintained, one in each Province. The distribution of
seeds and the awarding of agricultural prizes come under its direction,
as so also the inspection of fish, turtling and sponging, and the
registration of domestic animals, including horses, mules and cattle.
It has also charge of all agricultural fairs and exhibitions, either
foreign or domestic. The purpose of the “Granjas” or agricultural
schools is to educate the children of the rural districts along those
lines which will tend to make them practical farmers and useful
citizens of the community. Pupils are admitted at the age of fourteen
and are given tuition, board, lodging and clothes at the expense of the
Government.
An excellently equipped laboratory for the analysis of soils,
fertilizer, or other material pertaining to agricultural industries, is
maintained by the Division of Agriculture, and forms one of the most
useful branches of the Department.
The Division of Commerce and Industry is entrusted with the inspection
of nearly everything pertaining to the commerce and industry of the
country. One very important branch is that of the inspection of banks,
tobacco factories, sugar plantations and mills, and general industries
of the Island. A Bureau of Statistics is also attached to this Division.
The Division of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry, is entrusted
with the development of animal industry throughout the Island, and with
the duty of protecting, as far as possible, livestock of all kinds from
disease, either foreign or domestic. A laboratory, thoroughly equipped,
is maintained as an auxiliary of this Division, enabling the Director to
determine the nature of any given disease and to provide means and
material for combating it.
Under the direction of the same Section are six poultry stations, one in
each Province, where experiments are conducted with reference to poultry
raising and to the cure of infectious diseases that may afflict. Three
breeding stations, too, dependent on this Bureau, have been established
in the eastern, central and western districts.
The Division of Forests and Mines, owing to the incalculable wealth of
Cuba’s mines of iron, copper, manganese, chrome, etc., and to the
immense value of her virgin forests of hard woods, scattered throughout
the mountainous districts of the interior is of special importance.
Forest inspectors are maintained whose duty is to see that timber is not
cut without authorization from either government or private lands, or
surreptitiously smuggled away from the coast. The enormous acreage,
too, of the red and yellow mangrove, remarkably rich in tannin, that
encircles nearly all the islands bordering on the interior lagoons, and
the making of charcoal carried on in these districts, are supervised by
the forest inspectors.
Every mineral claim located in the Republic must be reported to the
Director of Mines in charge of this Division, where it is registered in
books kept for the purpose in the name of the individual petitioning,
with the date and hour of record, together with the dimensions or
boundaries of said claim carefully indicated. With this registration a
payment of $2 for each hectare of land is made and receipted for, which
entitles the owner, after said claim has been surveyed by the engineers
pertaining to the Division of Mines, to the sole privilege of working
the claim, or taking either mineral asphalt or oil from beneath the
surface.
In the Division of Trade Marks and Patents, one of the most important in
the Department, patents and trade-marks are granted for a nominal sum to
both citizens and foreigners. Companies that have secured patents in
foreign countries, after producing evidence to that effect, may
duplicate or extend their patents in this office, and trade-marks that
have been established in other countries may be registered in Cuba on
proper application. Patents for books and publications are also handled
in this Division.
The Department of Meteorology is responsible for all astronomical and
meteorological observations, and for the publication of data in regard
thereto. The Weather Bureau and all observatories come under its
jurisdiction, together with the publication of official time. It is
responsible for the collection of all data concerning weather and
climate that may affect crops, which data is published weekly, monthly
and annually.
Under the Division of Immigration, Colonization and Labor matters
pertaining to subjects connected with immigration, wages, hours and
working condition of laborers and their connection with capital or
employers, are handled and adjusted. During the year 1918, this Bureau
amicably settled eighteen labor disputes, thus avoiding threatened
strikes. Records of all accidents to labor are kept on file.
Every immigrant entering the Island of Cuba from any country must be
provided with $30 in cash before being released from Triscornia, the
receiving station on the Bay of Havana. From this station immigrants
without means are looked after by the Division of Immigration, and the
company or person, who, desiring his services, takes him out, is
required to give a bond that he will not become a public charge. This
Department also issues permits to sugar estates, corporations or
companies who wish to import labor on a large scale.
Under the direction of this Division, the Government has started a
colony for laborers at Pogolotti, a suburb of Havana, where 950 houses
have been built, each with a parlor, two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen and a
yard. They are rented to laborers only, at a monthly rental of $3.12. Of
this $2.71 is applied to the credit of the renter towards the purchase
of the house, the remainder going for expenses of administration and
water. The purchase price is fixed at $650, and when this has been paid
the laborer becomes the owner.
In addition to the above mentioned Divisions or Sections there are
several independent Bureaus or offices, reporting directly to the
Sub-Secretary and acting under his instructions. Among these is the
Bureau of Game and Bird Protection, organized to enforce the law
regulating the open and closed seasons for hunting deer, and the various
game birds, ducks, pigeons, quail, etc., that abound in Cuba. The work
of this Bureau is conducted along lines and methods similar to those
employed in the United States. The duties of the Director of this most
worthy Institution are onerous and unending and to his indefatigable
energy is due the saving of thousands of valuable birds and animals.
A Bureau known as the Bureau of Publications and Exchanges is charged
with the publication in Spanish of an Agricultural Review, intended for
the enlightenment of the agriculturists of the Island. In this monthly
are printed the reports of the many experiments and important work
carried on at the Government’s Experimental Station at Santiago de las
Vegas, and other matters pertaining to Agricultural industries.
It is the desire of the Government of Cuba to encourage immigration, and
to invite especially agriculturists and farmers from all countries, and
to use every legitimate means of inducing the better class of immigrants
to make permanent homes in the agricultural districts of the Island. But
in order to guard against misleading information, and possible failure
on the part of settlers from foreign countries in Cuba, one of the main
objects of the Bureau of Information of the Department of Agriculture is
not only to promulgate the exact truth, as far as possible, in regard to
conditions, but also to protect the homeseeker against the machinations
of irresponsible real estate agents, and the disappointment that would
result from the purchase or cultivation of lands that could not give
satisfactory returns.
The Government wants every homeseeker or investor of capital in Cuba to
make a success of his undertaking, since only success redounds to the
credit and reputation of the Republic. Hence every effort is being made
to advise prospective settlers and investors, in regard to any
legitimate undertaking that may be contemplated. This advice is
invariably gratis and correspondents are requested not to enclose stamps
for replies to their communications, since these are official and do not
require postage. Personal interviews are invited at all times under the
same conditions.
During the first Government of Intervention, under the direction of
General Leonard Wood, an agricultural experimental station was
inaugurated on the outskirts of the little town of Santiago de las
Vegas, some ten miles from the City of Havana. One hundred and sixty-six
acres were purchased for the use of the station and Mr. Earle, formerly
connected with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, was
installed as Director.
The grounds were well located, with a fine automobile drive passing
along its eastern boundary and the Havana Central Railroad close by on
the west. A large quadrangular edifice occupied by Spanish military
forces, was transformed into the main building of the station. Other
houses for the protection of stock, machinery, etc., were soon added,
while resident homes were built for the officers of the station.
An abundant source of good water was found at a depth of one hundred
feet and large steel tanks were erected so irrigation could be utilized
where needed.
Choice fruit and shade trees were brought, not only from the different
provinces of Cuba, but also from other parts of the tropical world and
planted for experimental purposes. Of the latter the Australian
eucalyptus has made a wonderful growth.
A splendid staff of botanists, horticulturists, bacteriologists and men
versed in animal industry were installed to assist the Director.
Considerable valuable pioneer work was done by these men and much useful
knowledge was imparted to the farmers of Cuba.
With the installation of the Cuban Republic, several changes were made
in the Direction of the Station, but the routine work was carried on
with a fair degree of success. To bring about radical reforms among the
older agriculturists, who for many years have been addicted to the
antiquated methods of their forefathers, is not an easy task in any
country. To separate the administration of the Agricultural Station of
Cuba from the bane of politics was still more difficult.
With the inauguration of General Menocal’s second term in office,
several changes were made, the result of which have been both marked and
beneficial. General Eugenio Sanchez Agramonte, former President of the
Senate and an ardent lover of everything connected with farm life, was
appointed Secretary of Agriculture, while Doctor Carlos Armenteros, an
enthusiastic and indefatigable worker, was made Assistant Secretary.
General Agramonte, realizing all that a well conducted experimental
station meant to the agricultural interests of the country, after
careful search and examination into credentials, selected Dr. Mario
Calvano, an Italian by birth, but cosmopolitan in education and
experience, for the new Director of the Station, while larger credits
and a greater number of assistants were placed at his disposal.
The result was to a high degree both beneficial and satisfactory. The
main building was renovated and, as the Director said, “made possible,”
from floor to ceiling. The southwestern part of the edifice was turned
over to the Department of Woods, Textile Plants and Allied Studies, and
here may be found, labeled and artistically arranged, most of the
indigenous woods of the forests of Cuba, both in the natural state and
highly polished. Samples of every textile plant known to the Island, of
which there are many, hang from the wall, showing the plant as it was
taken from the fields, and how it looks after being decorticated.
Leaving this section one steps down into a small garden, covering not
over a quarter of an acre, in which may be found growing specimens of
valuable and interesting plants and trees that have been gathered from
Cuba and from other parts of the world so that their adaptability to
this soil and climate may be studied.
The entire northern side of the building is given over to Animal
Industry and to Bacteriology, where experiments of vital importance to
animal life are conducted under the direction of experts. Not long ago
men were brought from the Bureau of Animal Industry in Washington to
assist the Station to establish a plant for the manufacture of the serum
that has proven so efficacious in protecting hogs from the cholera or
pintadilla, as it is known in Cuba. Considerable space is given over to
the raising of guinea pigs, for use in experiments in making cultures of
the germs that produce anthrax and other diseases that might endanger
the herds of the Island.
Many splendid specimens of live stock, at the order of the Secretary,
have been purchased in the United States and other parts of the world
and brought to the station for breeding purposes. Some twenty odd
magnificent stallions, most of them riding animals and cavalry remounts,
were secured in Kentucky and other states during the spring of 1918 and
brought to the station, where they have been divided among branch
stations located in the other provinces of the Island.
Excellent specimens of cattle also, including the Jersey, the Holstein,
the Durham and Cebu or sacred cattle of India, have been purchased
abroad and brought to the Station and then installed in splendid
quarters, built of reinforced concrete for their accommodation. The Cebu
has been crossed in Cuba with the native cattle for some years past with
very satisfactory results. Doctor Calvino states that a two-year old
steer, resulting from the cross between a Cebu and a native cow, will
weigh quite as much as would the ordinary three-year old of straight
breeding.
Many specimens of thoroughbred hogs, including the Duroc, the Poland
China, the Berkshire and the Tamworth, have been brought to the station,
where they and their progeny seem to thrive even better than in the
countries where the breed originated. Angora goats, too, that came from
the Northwest, from Texas, and the mountains of Georgia, have given very
satisfactory results in Cuba.
Several thousand chickens, including the Rhode Island Red, the Plymouth
Rock, the Orpington, Minorcan and several varieties of Leghorns, were
imported from the United States and brought to the Station, where they
seem to be doing very well.
Under the direction of Doctor Calvino, nearly every acre of the Station
has been devoted to some useful purpose. The grounds on either side of
the main driveway are instructive and interesting. As the winter visitor
passes down the long lane, he will find various tracts under
comparatively intensive cultivation, planted in nearly all the
vegetables common to the United States in addition to those found in
Cuba. Among others are tomatoes, egg plants, green peppers, okra, beans,
peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cabbage, beets, malanga, yucca,
name, acelgas and chayete. Each variety is carefully labelled, with time
of planting and other data necessary for complete reports on results
obtained.
Other sections are given over to fruits, and nut bearing trees, those
indigenous to Cuba and those brought from other countries. Among the
indigenous fruits we have the beautiful mango, the agucate, the
guanabana, the marmoncillo, the mamey, colorado and amarillo, the anon,
the nispero or zapote, the caimito, the tamarind, the ciruela, and all
varieties of the citrus family.
Large beautiful groves of oranges, limes, lemons and grape fruit in full
bearing, form a very interesting part of the station’s exhibit. Some
sixteen varieties of the banana, the most productive source of
nourishing food of all the vegetable kingdom, may be studied here under
favorable conditions.
Several acres have been given over to seed beds and nursery stock, which
in a short time will supply valuable plants of many kinds to other parts
of the Island. A section has been devoted to the cultivation of various
textile plants, including the East Indian jute, the ramie, common flax,
and the malva blanca of Cuba.
The large patio that occupies the center of the main building is adorned
not only with many beautiful flowers common to this latitude, but also
with quite a number of ornamental palms not common to Cuba, or at least,
not to the Province of Havana. The charm of the spot is due not alone
to the interest that arises from an opportunity to study animal and
vegetable life under favorable conditions, but also the high degree of
intelligent efficiency that has been introduced into the life of the
Station with the advent of the present Secretary of Agriculture and
Director, Dr. Calvino. Its beneficial influence is felt throughout the
entire Republic.
Owing to the fact that agricultural products form the chief source of
Cuba’s revenues, the protection of her various grains, grasses and
useful plants from infection and disease of whatever nature, becomes a
matter of prime importance. Plant diseases and insect pests have brought
ruin to agricultural efforts in many parts of the world. Fortunately
perhaps most of the country’s agricultural effort is devoted to the
production of sugar cane, which is subject to less danger from disease
than almost any other plant of great economical value or utility.
Tobacco, in the western end of the Island, has long been made the
subject of study and care, with the result that efficient protection has
been secured. Various other plants, however, and especially fruits, are
extremely susceptible to disease and to infection. Some of these
including citrus fruits, the cocoanut and the mango, have recently
suffered severely from diseases that have been imported from other
countries.
Cuba probably suffers less from these troubles than any other country
within the tropics. Nevertheless her cocoanut industry, owing to the
introduction of what is termed “bud rot,” a few years ago, was reduced
from an annual exportation of 20,000,000 nuts to only a little over
2,000,000. A disease introduced from Panama also greatly injured a
variety of the banana known as the “manzana.”
Not, however, until the unfortunate arrival of the “Black Fly,”
discovered in India in 1903, and afterwards in some mysterious way
conveyed to Jamaica, whence it found its way into Cuba in 1915, near
Guantanamo, did the Government awaken to the fact that it was
confronted by a serious pest that threatened not alone the citrus fruit
industry, but the production of mangoes and also coffee.
As soon as the Department of Agriculture became aware of the nature of
this new disease, steps were taken to combat it scientifically, and with
all of the resources at the disposal of the Government. An appropriation
of $50,000 was at once granted and afterwards extended to $100,000. With
this fund the Bureau of Plant Sanitation was quickly organized, with a
central office in Havana. Competent inspectors were assigned to the
three principal ports, where supervision over both imports and exports
is conducted.
Inspectors in each province were installed to investigate the condition
of various crops with special attention given to the Black Fly. Squads
of trained men were organized to combat this pernicious diptera,
especially in the vicinity of the City of Havana, whence the disease had
been brought from Guantanamo. Passengers probably carried infected
mangoes from that city to Vedado, a suburb of the capital, and from this
center the Black Fly spread over a radius of ten miles around the city,
giving the Bureau of Plant Sanitation an infinite amount of trouble.
Expert entomologists and trained men were brought from Florida to aid in
the eradication of the enemy. A systematic pruning, spraying and general
campaign against the Black Fly has been carried on ever since with more
or less success. Badly infected trees have been cut down and burned,
while gangs of men, organized as “fly fighters,” are conveyed in
automobiles with their apparatus from one orchard to another, keeping up
a continual struggle against this destructive insect.
In the neighborhood of Guantanamo, where the pest had secured a
foothold, a determined warfare is being waged. This enemy to several of
the best fruits is undoubtedly one of the most difficult to contend with
that has appeared in Cuba, but with the expenditure of time, money and
much effort, it will undoubtedly be eradicated.
The Bureau of Plant Sanitation is under the direction of Dr. Johnson, a
highly trained and energetic official who has devoted the greater part
of his life to the study of plant enemies and to the successful
elimination of the danger and loss that come from them.