CITRUS FRUITS
Although the forests of Cuba abound in several varieties of the citrus
family growing wild within their depths, the fruit was probably brought
from Spain by the early conquerors. The beautiful, glossy-leafed trees
of the wild sour and bitter oranges are met today throughout most of the
West Indies, and are especially plentiful in this island. The seeds have
probably been carried by birds, but the wild fruit, although seldom if
ever sweet, with its deep red color, is not only ornamental to the
forest, but often refreshing to the thirsty individual who may come
across it in his travels. The lime is also found in more or less
abundance, scattered over rocky hillsides, where the beautiful
lemon-like fruit goes to waste for lack of transportation to market.
Almost everywhere in Cuba are found a few sweet orange trees that were
planted years ago for home consumption, but only with the coming of
Americans have the various varieties been planted systematically, in
groves, and the citrus fruit has assumed its place as a commercial
industry in the Island.
Homeseekers from Florida found the native oranges of Cuba, all of which
are called “Chinos” or Chinese oranges to distinguish them from the wild
orange of the woods, to be not only sweet but often of superior quality
to those grown either in Florida or California. A prominent
horticulturist, who during the first Government of American Intervention
made a careful study of the citrus fruit of Cuba, stated that the finest
orange he had ever met during his years of experience was found in the
patio or backyard of a residence in the City of Camaguey. The delicious
fruit from that tree he described as an accident or horticultural freak,
since no other like it has been found in the island.
The rich soils, requiring comparatively little fertilizer, were very
promising to the settlers who came over from Florida in 1900, and many
of these pioneers planted large tracts with choice varieties of the
orange, brought from their own state, and from California. Capital was
interested in many sections, and extensive estates, orange groves
covering hundreds and even thousands of acres, were planted near Bahia
Honda, fifty miles west of Havana. Other large plantings were made on
the Western Railroad at a point known as Herradura, in the province of
Pinar del Rio, 100 miles from the capital.
Smaller groves were planted in the neighborhood of San Cristobal and
Candelaria, in the same province, some fifty miles from Havana. Other
American colonies set out large groves in the eastern provinces; one at
a station of the Cuban Railroad, in Camaguey, known as Omaha; another
east of the harbor of Nuevitas. Orange groves were planted, too, at the
American colony of La Gloria and at nearby places on the Guanaja Bay of
the north shore.
One of the largest plantings of citrus fruit was started on the cleared
lands of the Trocha, in the western part of Camaguey, some ten miles
north of Ciega de Avila, while at several different points along the
Cuba Company’s Road, orange groves were started during the early days
following its construction. Both the provinces of Santa Clara and
Matanzas, also, came in for more or less extensive citrus fruit culture,
while in the Isle of Pines, during the first years of the present
century, large holdings of cheap lands were purchased by American
promoters, and afterwards sold in small tracts to residents of the
United States who were promised fortunes in orange culture.
Some of these various ventures in citrus fruit culture, especially those
where intelligence was used in the selection of soils, and sites
commanding convenient transportation facilities, have proved quite
profitable. Many of them, however, far removed from convenient points of
shipment to foreign markets, have failed to yield satisfactory returns
and some have been abandoned to weeds, disease and decay.
Some of the earliest and best kept groves were started in 1902 and 1903,
along the beautiful Guines carretera, or automobile drive, between
Rancho Volero and the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas.
These groves have all reached their maturity and with their close
proximity to the local market of Havana, and easy transportation to the
United States, have been, and are, successful and profitable
investments.
The first of these covered some 400 acres, all planted in choice
varieties of oranges by Mr. Gray of Cincinnati. In this vicinity too,
close by the Experimental Station, is the Malgoba Estate, the most
extensive and successful nursery, not only in citrus fruit, but for
nearly every other valuable plant, fruit, flower or nut bearing tree
indigenous to or introduced into Cuba. This nursery, as well as the
beautiful, orderly kept grounds of the Experimental Station, will be
found very interesting and perhaps valuable to the visitor from northern
countries.
Some of the most successful groves in Cuba have been those planted in
what is known as the Guayabal District, located near the Guanajay Road,
in the extreme northwestern corner of the Province of Havana, within 25
miles, or easy automobile drive, from the capital of the Island. The
oranges produced in this district are all from comparatively small
orchards, well cared for, whose fruit is sold to local purchasers and
conveyed in trucks to the markets of Havana. These oranges are sold in
on the trees, at prices varying from $10 to $20 per thousand. The grape
fruit, or toronja, alone is crated and shipped to the United States,
where the market for some years has been quite satisfactory, especially
when heavy frosts have cut short the yield of Florida groves.
The great mistake of many of the early investors of capital in citrus
fruits in Cuba was not alone in the selection of the site, but in the
fact that enormous tracts of land were prepared at heavy expense and
groves set out with varieties not only unsuited to the market, but in
tracts so large that protection from disease, and from the tall rank
grasses of the island, was practically impossible.
There is perhaps no fruit grown for commercial purposes that requires
more constant care and intelligent supervision than the orange and grape
fruit. An orange grove must be kept free from weeds, grass and running
vines; must be frequently cultivated to form a dust mulch; the trees
must be sprayed with insecticides and should be always under the eye of
an expert horticulturist, or orange grower, who will recognize and
combat not alone the scale insect but scores of other diseases that may
attack the trees at any time. These, if neglected for a year, or even
for a few months, will make inroads into the health of a grove that
spells heavy loss if not ultimate ruin.
In Florida and California these facts, of course, are well known, and
the rules for successful orange culture are carefully followed. But in
the early rush for cheap lands in Cuba, and the selfish desire of the
promoter for huge profits and quick sales, regardless of the welfare of
the purchaser, tracts were purchased and trees were set out with neither
capital nor provision for the care and fertilizer required to keep a
grove thriving, from the time of planting the nursery stock to its
ultimate maturity.
Experience has proved that the most successful varieties of oranges,
intended for the export trade, are those that bear very early in the
fall, and very late in the spring, avoiding thus all competition with
oranges from Florida and the Bahamas. Of these the early and the late
Valencias, together with the Washington navel, that will easily stand
shipment even to Europe and other distant markets, probably have the
preference among most growers in Cuba.
The quality of this fruit is excellent, and although the navel orange
among some growers has gotten into ill repute, the fault lies not in the
orange itself, but in the fact that inferior nursery stock was imposed
upon many planters during the first days of the Republic. During the
past six years, first-class well selected and packed fruit has brought
from $2 to $5 per crate, and sometimes more, in the eastern and northern
markets of the United States, while common oranges, sold by the truck
load in the Havana market, bring to the grower from $6 to $12 per
thousand, choice fruit selling at from $10 to $20 per thousand.
For general commercial purposes, especially for shipment abroad, the
Washington navel or Riverside oranges have probably no superior in Cuba.
They are large in size, weighing from 1-1/2 to 2 pounds each. When
properly grown the skin is thin, with deep red color, and the fruit is
full of juice, as one may judge from the fact that no orange will exceed
a pound in weight and not be juicy.
The navel orange is seedless and exceedingly sweet, although lacking
somewhat in the spicy flavor found in other varieties. Its season for
ripening in this latitude varies from August to November, and extends
into January. In planting groves with this variety care must be taken
that the buds come from trees producing first-class fruit, since the
type is liable to degenerate, unless the grower selects ideal trees from
which to cut his bud wood.
Both the Jaffa and the Pineapple orange are popular in Cuba, especially
for the local markets of the island, since they ripen during what is
known as the middle orange season, or from December to March. The
pineapple orange is probably one of the most prolific of the mid-season
type. The fruit is pear-shaped, orange yellow in color, and one of the
most highly flavored oranges grown in Cuba. Its skin is thin. The form
of the tree is upright in growth rather than spreading.
The Jaffa is a dainty round orange, of medium size, golden yellow in
color, with a thin skin, and pulp tender and juicy. It keeps well and
is, as a rule, a prolific bearer. The tree is upright in shape, compact
and not prone to disease.
The late Valencia, sometimes called Hart’s Tardiff, for commercial
purposes and shipment abroad is recognized as one of the most reliable
varieties grown in the island. It is seldom ripe before the month of
March, and is very much better during May and June. Its commercial
season extends from March to about the first of August, while the fruit
of some trees has been kept in good condition even longer than this. The
tree is thrifty and very prolific, bearing heavy crops every year. The
fruit is of medium size to large, depending on the amount of fertilizer
and care given it, while the color is a bright golden yellow. Good late
Valencia oranges, during the months of May, June and July, have never
sold in the Havana market for less than $15 to $20 per thousand. When
the tree is properly cared for, and the fruit is thoroughly ripe, the
late Valencia is one of the best of the citrus family.
The Parson Brown is probably the earliest orange of all varieties that
have been imported. It sometimes ripens during the latter part of
August. The fruit is of good size and very sweet, with no particularly
marked flavor. The color of the peel is a greenish yellow, and it may be
eaten even before the yellow color appears. Its early appearance on the
market is the only thing, perhaps, that recommends it for commercial
purposes.
In 1915 some small plantings were made in Havana Province of an orange
brought from Florida, known as the Lu Gim Gong. The principal merit of
this orange is said to be in its keeping quality on the tree. The fruit,
we are told, will hang on the branches in excellent edible condition
from one year to another. If this reputation can be maintained in Cuba,
oranges for the local market may be had all the year round. Sufficient
time has not elapsed however, since the first trees were brought into
the island, to pass judgment on its merits or its commercial value.
Although up to the inauguration of the Republic in 1902, the grape
fruit, known in Cuba as the toronja, was little valued, the people of
Cuba have gradually acquired a fondness for it, especially with the
desayuno or early morning coffee. Owing to this fact there is a rapidly
growing local demand for the toronja that promises quite a profitable
home market for this really excellent fruit. The grape fruit of Cuba,
although but little attention has been given to the improvement of
varieties, has been favored in some way by the climate itself, and that
of the entire Island, including the Isle of Pines, is very much sweeter
and juicier than that grown in the United States.
The cultivation of grape fruit in Cuba, especially in the Isle of Pines,
has been very successful as far as the production of a high-grade fruit
is concerned. The trees are prolific and the crop never fails.
Unfortunately, grape fruit shipped from Cuba to the United States has
not always found a profitable market, and there have been seasons when
the crop became an absolute loss, since the demand abroad was not
sufficient to pay the transportation to northern markets. As the taste
for grape fruit grows, it is possible that this occasional glutting of
the market may become a thing of the past, but at the present time many
of the groves of grape fruit in Cuba are being budded with oranges. This
is true also of lemon trees.
Limes, as before stated, are quite abundant in some parts of the Island,
growing wild in the forests of hilly sections. The recent demand for
citric acid would suggest that the establishment of a plant for its
manufacture might solve the problem of enormous quantities of citrus
fruit that must go to waste every year unless some method of utilizing
it is discovered in the locality where found.
There are over 20,000 acres today in this republic on which citrus fruit
is grown. The total value of the estates is estimated at about fifteen
millions of dollars, but with each year it becomes more apparent that
the area of really profitable citrus culture should be limited to a
radius of not more than one hundred miles from some port whence regular
shipments can be made to the United States. This is an essential feature
of the citrus fruit industry. Its disregard means failure.
The wild varieties of the orange, both the bitter and the sour, although
too isolated and scattered for commercial purposes, are often a godsend
to the prospector in the forest covered mountains, since the juice of
the sour orange mixed with a little water and sugar makes a very
pleasant drink. The wild trees themselves, with their symmetrical
trunks, dark glossy evergreen leaves, white, fragrant flowers, and deep
golden red fruit, that hangs on the tree for months after maturity,
furnish a very attractive sight to the traveler, as well as a safe
indication of the fact that in Cuba the citrus fruit, if not indigenous
to the soil, has found a natural home.