POULTRY: BEES: SPONGES
Notwithstanding the fact that several millions a year are expended by
the people of the Republic in bringing poultry and eggs to Cuba, no
steps were taken towards what might be termed systematic poultry raising
until American colonists began experimenting with different breeds
brought from the United States during the first Government of
Intervention. And even since that time there are very few who have
carried on really scientific experiments towards determining what
varieties of chickens may give the best results in this country.
In regard to breeds it would seem that the Rhode Island Red has the
preference in Cuba, although many others, including the Wyandotte,
Plymouth Rock and Orpington, as well as the Black Minorcan and other
Mediterranean breeds, have their advocates here as in the United States.
The native hen of the Island sprang probably from some Mediterranean
breed, that through lack of care has sadly degenerated. She is rather
prolific as a layer, however, and asks no assistance in finding her own
food, nor will a quarter of a mile flight give her the slightest
difficulty.
The one breed that has been given a very high degree of attention in
Cuba is the fighting cock, whose value may run anywhere from $5 to $100
or more. On these is bestowed more care than is received by any prize
chicken in the north. They are serviceable, of course, only for purposes
of sport, fighting chickens being a favorite pastime of the country
people in all Latin American countries. The native hen of Cuba, when
crossed with well bred Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock roosters,
produces a very good all around chicken, which will thrive even under
adverse conditions.
In the fall of 1915, President Menocal imported from the United States
several thousand excellent hens for experimental and breeding purposes.
These are installed in modern poultry houses on his farm, “El Chico,”
only a few miles from the City of Havana, and have done very well.
Turkeys, too, do remarkably well in Cuba when given free range, and they
are not subject to those ills which result from sleet, snow and chilling
winds that decimate the little ones in most parts of the United States.
Cuba seems to be the natural home of the Guinea hen since those foods
which this fowl likes best are found in all parts of the Island, and in
many sections Guineas have escaped from domestication, taken to the
forest and formed great flocks of both white and grey varieties. These
furnish splendid wing shooting to those who enjoy the sport.
In view of the rapidly increasing demand for Guinea pullets in all of
the big hotels in the United States, where they seem to be taking the
place of the prairie chicken of the past, it would seem that the raising
of Guinea hens for the American market should certainly prove extremely
profitable. Fields of the short or white millet planted on any farm will
serve to keep them satisfied, and at the same time diminish the tendency
to wander away from home. In a country where neither shelter or food is
needed, and where the birds command very remunerative prices, Guinea
raising ought to be tempting.
Very few have gone into poultry raising along scientific or intelligent
lines, which seems rather odd when we consider that fresh eggs vary in
price from four to five cents, under normal conditions, all the year
round, and chickens of the most scrawny type bring from sixty cents to
one dollar.
The poultry business offers many advantages in Cuba; first of which may
be mentioned, an excellent local market for both chickens and eggs;
second, that green food and insects may be found in abundance throughout
the year; that open or wire screen houses alone are necessary for
protection, the necessity for artificial heat being, of course, non
existent.
In a country free from frost and where flowers bloom more or less
continuously throughout the year, we might expect to find and do find a
Bee paradise. Often, in seeking shelter either from a tropical sun or a
threatening shower, in the shade of one of the Magotes of Pinar del Rio,
or while passing through the deep, rock-walled pass of the Paredones, in
the Sierra de Cubitas, one will find pools of a strange looking
substance in the dust at his feet. Investigation discloses the fact that
it is honey, fallen from overhanging rocks where wild bees have made
their homes in the cavities above, the warmth of the sun having melted
an overfilled comb so that the honey collected at the foot of the cliff
below.
Native wild bees are very plentiful in Cuba, and strange to say possess
no sting, but produce a honey that is very sweet. During the latter part
of the 16th century a German variety of bee was introduced, from the
Spanish colony of Saint Augustine, Florida. About the middle of the 19th
century the Italian bee was introduced, and is probably more productive
of honey than any other in Cuba. With the coming of American colonists
in 1900, modern hives were introduced and the business of gathering and
exporting both honey and wax was systematized for the first time.
Many large apiaries exist, especially in the province of Pinar del Rio.
Those who devote their time to the culture of bees naturally seek the
various localities where flowers are plentiful, sometimes moving the
hives from one section to another in order to take advantage of the
presence of honey-bearing flowers in various localities. The bloom of
the royal palm, so plentifully scattered over the Island, especially in
those mountainous districts where the soil is deep and rich, furnishes
an excellent food for bees, as do the morning glory, the flowering
majagua and hundreds of other plants whose local Spanish names cannot be
interpreted.
In the location of bee colonies the character and quantity of the food
is a matter of prime importance. The honey yielding flowers, on which
the bees depend for their sustenance, vary greatly with the locality,
especially with its proximity to the coast or to the mountains. The
sources of wax, too, vary greatly with the location. As an illustration,
foundation comb in Cuba should never be supplied to bees located near
the coast, since experience has proved that they will build up comb much
faster near the coast without the assistance of artificial foundation.
The quality of honey, too, depends much upon the nature of the flowers
found in any given locality. In the interior nearly all honey is of
excellent quality, while on the coast, quite a large percentage will
lack more or less in flavor, and is almost subject to danger from
fermentation. It has been noted too that colonies in the interior, when
young queens are available, will swarm, even when not crowded for room;
whereas on the coast bees do not swarm so readily, probably because they
have such an abundance of wax with which to build comb.
During the month of January bees secure an abundance of food throughout
the interior from the Aguinaldo Blanco, or white morning-glory. On the
coast a large amount of honey is derived from the bloom of a small tree,
not botanically classified, during a short period of seldom more than a
week. In February, throughout the interior, bees derive large quantities
of honey from flowers of the Rapitingua and from the Mango, while on the
coast, during this month, food is not abundant.
In March, throughout the interior, the flowers of many fruit trees,
found wild in the forest, give an abundance of honey, while on the coast
the Roble Blanco, or so called white oak, furnishes food. In April, in
the interior, food is derived from many plants then in bloom, while on
the coast the flowers of the Salsa, Pelotajo, Bacuaya and the Guana
Palm furnish an abundance of food. The months of May and June, in the
interior, contribute comparatively few honey yielding flowers, while on
the coast the mangroves, the Guana Palm, and one or two other plants
yield food in great quantities.
In July and August the scarcity of honey bearing flowers continues in
the interior while on the coast the Guamo yields food. In September and
October, throughout the interior, honey is derived from the Toruga and a
few other flowers. On the coast, during these months, the same flowers
yield honey but in less quantity. In the months of November and
December, throughout the interior, a heavy flow of honey is derived from
a plant known as the Bellflower, while on the coast at this season, food
is scarce.
Where groves of citrus fruit abound excellent honey is derived from the
flowers of the orange and grape fruit throughout much of the winter.
As a result of experience in apiculture during the past fifteen years,
$2 per hive is the average annual income derived when located under
favorable circumstances. One bee keeper who cares for a colony of 1200
hives has found that by adding 25 to 30 pounds of sugar towards the
support of each hive, during the months when food is scarce, this
average of $2 per hive in annual profit is increased to $5 and even
more.
The exportation of wax for the fiscal year 1916-17 amounted to
approximately 1,300,000 pounds, valued at $340,000. Of this amount about
a million pounds was exported to the United States, while 300,000 pounds
went to Great Britain. In the same year over 12,000,000 pounds of honey
were shipped abroad, valued at $650,000. Nearly 10,000,000 pounds of
this went to the United States, Great Britain taking the larger part of
the remainder.
Most of the honey exported from Cuba is strained and sells in bulk for
about five cents per pound. To those fond of bees, apiculture in Cuba
will always form for the settler a source of added pleasure and profit,
especially in those sections where coffee, cacao and citrus fruit form
the chief source of income.
Next to the Bahama Islands, surrounded as they are by hundreds of square
miles of shoal water, the shores of Cuba probably produce more good
sponges than any other part of the western hemisphere. In the quiet
waters protected by out-lying barrier reefs that in places stretch for
hundreds of miles along the shores of Cuba, many varieties of sponges
are found. The longest of the sponge zones is found in the shallow
waters protected by the Islands and reefs that stretch along the north
coast of Cuba from Punta Hicaco opposite Cardenas, to the harbor of
Nuevitas, some 300 miles east. Both sponges and green turtles are found
here but never have been extensively hunted except by the Bahama
Islanders, who before the inauguration of the Cuban revenue service used
to sneak across the old Bahama Channel in the darkness of the night and
back of the uninhabited keys reap rich rewards in the sponge fields of
the northern coast.
Batabano on the south coast, opposite the city of Havana, is the great
center of the sponge fisheries that cover the shallow flats between the
mainland and the Isle of Pines and extend from the Bay of Cochinos in
the east to the extreme western terminus of the Island at Cape San
Antonio.
The domestic consumption of sponges in Cuba is very large and in the
year 1916-17 only 261,800 pounds were exported which had a value of
$230,000.