The History of Cuba Volume V Part 14

An excellently equipped laboratory for the a.n.a.lysis 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 surrept.i.tiously 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 pet.i.tioning, 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 ent.i.tles 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 Inst.i.tution 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 cla.s.s 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 Was.h.i.+ngton, was installed as Director.

The grounds were well located, with a fine automobile drive pa.s.sing 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 a.s.sist 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 a.s.sistant 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 a.s.sistants 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 Was.h.i.+ngton to a.s.sist 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 s.p.a.ce 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 Berks.h.i.+re 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 pa.s.ses 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 nouris.h.i.+ng 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 lat.i.tude, 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, gra.s.ses 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 a.s.signed to the three princ.i.p.al 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. Pa.s.sengers 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.

CHAPTER XV

SUGAR