New-York daily tribune., 1844-06-28
'i'hes and other branches of smaller considsrs-
HISTORY OF CUBA.


'i pounds L. g cultivated in preference in the
plans. "nd ,h-t in the hughes, estimation * from
the Vueira. h IT, The western cnd of the island
It's exported 10 ali the nations of Europe and
America
CatfoS-Indigcnous also, Of excellcn, Quality,
hn' not much cultivated. The crop is about
l.hOn,0G0 pounds. third of which is consumed
on the island.
Maise.-Also indigenous and cultivated by the
Indians The crops about l,S00000cwt worth,
according to the times, from Sl1 to the cwt
1t is the most useful grain cultivated in the
country, and Of such great consumption that 25-
600 cwt. more are imported in grain and meal
1t produces two, sometimes three crops year
indigo.-Indigenou bu, not much cultivated
Cdcgo-lndlgenous its cultivation very an.
cicnt bat much neglected; not half enough
raised FOR the consumption. From ii is made
chocolate.
PlaintGins and Banaaas-Likewisc indigo
nous-thc bread Of the country--,he nourish-
ncnt cf man, bird and beast. A fruit of im-
mcnsc value, and in season all the year round, in
which it has the advantage over the bread fruit
Of the East, which is in season bat eight months.
1t grows with the least possible trouble Hum.
bout says of il 1t is to he doubted whether
there is another plant in the world, on so small
space ofground, producing suchia mass of nourish.
lug substance. In eight or niue months after the
sucker is planted, the banana begins to show It's
Towering stem, and the fruit may be gathered in
| l.l.a H., -,
that the amount OF nourshing substance obtained
from d banana ground is as 1873 TO l. when com.
pared with the growth of wheat on the same space
and as fl TO | Of potatoes. 1t would be difficult
to describe the various processes by which the
South Americans and w Indians prepare this fruit
have often seen the natives, after day of great
fatigue make their dinner on very small quantity
| of nanoc, and three bananas of the larger kind
Generally speaking, in hot countries the people are
partial to Saccharinc food which they consider not
only palatable, but highly nourishing. The rlule
,cers on the coast and Caracas, who conveyed olr
baggage, frequently preferred raw sugar for their
diuner TO fresh meat The ripe fruit of the ba.
mana exposed TO the sun, dries like fig its skin
turns black, and the whole smells like smoked
ham; in this state il IS m1st wholesome" Ac-
cording TO Pouchct, French bo;anst, the i'm
po.tance Of this plant has made 1t remarked III all
ages, and 1t appears tohavo been cultivated from
the origin society; thus il has gwen rise to thou.
sand fables and coniccurcs. Ccrtpn writer's dccltre
that il was one of those vegetables which formed
the tree with winch the first man clothed hifpsclf
after his fdi, and that the enormous cluster OF
grapes carried To Moses from the promised land
WAS nothing else bat the top oi banana ttcc."
Ii is SAID that IN Catholic countries this fruit Is
never cut cross wise, but always leng;hwi.c, be.
cause they believe that cut IN the first manner
they see i sort of cross In India elephants arc
fed with The plautain, as also sheep and cows.
The banana nf paradise (muSa pnradlsiaca) ha, a
denomination which according to some expresses
neiaphorcally the excellent taste Of these fruits,
and according TO oIhers, Is given because II was
the Tree OF knowledge in the Garden of Edcn,
an opinion generally entertained by The Oriental
Christians; hese also believe that 1t tins
vegetable whose foliage c1vcrsd the nakednesS of
yhe fist man, from whence comes the name of
the Fl. of Adam. 1t Is Sometimes called.
This vegetable grows to The hight of about
twelve feet; It's AIwers are yellow, and lts frnlt
which orrns an enormous cluster at the extreml.
ty and sides of The pcduncc, are called Bananas
they are OF bright yellow on the outside, the IN
'heuor is filed with sweet pulp of a delicious
TASTE and whose slight perfume renders thcn
still more exquisite. The Bananas Of Otahe'ic,
{ wn'ch have been TO some extent introduced into
ouoa' are larger, and purple on the outside.
a.-lndigenous. is the Manioc from
q winch tafioca IL procured In addition TO the
., ., consumption 0! the loot in cooked or orxroastod
v STATE very wholesome aliment, there are pro-
uuceo annually 100000 cwt. Of cassava or bread
= o' ucl' food very cheap but not very nutri-
g uous- The Yuca was the first aliment which
u 'le 9pah'aFdS tried after the disco, cry
sugar Cdne-At the end of the i 9th century
theie was scarcely plantation or this island-
IN i'oo 'nc cSpoTta,on did not exceed So 900
o cwt. In l7s5, with 453 sugar estates tho c,on
le had already reached $4,000 c,, a,,i :. 1897
with l,o0O sugar estates, the crop was > Goo ooo
cw,. and II Is not now probably less ,b,r . o5n
600 cNt. The sugar cane produces. be.;an An
600 pipes aqua arcientc (run) and 10000 hh,,s
OF rnolasscs.
! Ccfee-Down to 1890 it was scarcely culti
, waited the immigration of refugees from ST. Do
;, mingo extended its cultivation, and in 1900 thel
were already 50 coffee estates. In leO4 the croE
was $4,000 cw,. in 1909, 90 600 cwt. in 1927 i
. was. 10000 cwt. At present there are two
thousand coffee estates on the island Coffee i.
ligneous vegetable, which retains its Arabic
fTi n
habits .acburning regions of Ethiopia and Arabia
Itbegins 10 yield its fruit at two years; at fivei
is in full condition and yields two crops a year
which it Continues TO do until The age OF IS to 4C
, years. each crop giving about five pounds of tie
seeds. This is the quantity yielded in Brazil and
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