Daily camera., 1898-08-26
CUBA'S FRUIT SUPPLY
An Industry Which Was Once In 4
Thriving Way.
How 1t Passed Into the Hands o1
Americans-WHl Again Be-
come q FlOurishing
Business.

Among the things. of which but
pleasant memories remain to the ma
tives of Cuba may be counted the fruit
industry, which was once a thriving
business that the native planters fond
ly believed was theirs forever and a
day. A change came over the spirit
of their dream when the Americans de-
cided to try their hands at raising or
anges and pineapples, and the dream
has been changing ever since, until
to-day the Cubans and the Spaniards
of Cuba would be glad to see some
chance of getting back even small
remnant of their former prosperous
fruit trade. How it came to pass that
the fruit trade of Cuba passed from
the islanders into the hands of the
American growers is told by New
York produce merchant who lived in
the fruit district for many years, and,
in fact, until the loss of the fruit trade
to the island forced him to leave.
when we have won Cuba" said this
gentlemen, "the Cuban fruit trade will
be once more part of the industrial
life of Cuba. The conditions of soil
and climate are perfect for the cult
vation of fruit like the orange and the
pineapple, but the people are quite un-
equal to the task of taking advantage
of these conditions. 1t is not quite
fair to call the native of Cuba lazy
Shiftlessness or carelessness more apt
ly describes their state. They always
choose the easiest way Of accomplish
ing an end, and leave the rest to provi-
dence.
Now, fruit like oranges and pine
apples requires the most careful hand
ling from the time it is picked until it
is offered for sale in the markets. How
do the Cubans gather and market this
fruit, or rather how did they, for the
market is theirs no longer?
''To get the fruit from the trees the
Cuban or Spanish planter shook the
tree, or knocked the fruit down with a
long pole. 1t reached the ground
bruised by the fall ard battered by the
the fruit was picked for a journey of
thousands of miles it will be seen that
it began it's market life seriously
handicapped for competition with the
carefully picked fruit of the American
planter.
"The next step was to transport the
fruit to the town To be packed for
shipment. This was done by mules.
The oranges or pineapples were bun
died into the panniers or saddlebags,
and away went the mule over the
rough country roads, jolting the fruit
in the saddlebags and making sad
havoc with the cargo. When the des-
tination was reached, instead of care
fully lifting the burden from the
mules back and placing it tenderly on
the ground, the mule driver dragged
it off in the roughest way and threw
it down in the nearest corner of the
storehouse. The next man threw his
consignment of fruit on the top of
the other, and so they were piled up
without the slightest regard to the con-
sequences to the new fruit.
Next we come to the packing proc
ess. l have seen the men stand sew
eral feet away from the barrels or
hampers in which the fruit was to
be packed and actually throw it into
the mouth Of the receptacle, hit or
miss, and in either event adding to
the bruises that the poor fruit had
received. When the barrel was full the
lid had to be gotten on, and if it didn't
quite fit little physical force would
make it. Have you seen an obstreper-
Gus trunk lid forced to close by being
sat upon2 Well, that is actually what
l have seen done with oranges and
pineapples that were shipped from
Cuba to this country. After the box
or barrel was packed the next thing
was to roll it down to the steamer.
No care was taken to carry it gin
gerly. If barrel it was rolled down
the gangplank and dropped into the
hold of the vessel. If box it was car
ried down, if that way of getting it
there was the easier, and then dropped
on top of the others.
"As I said before, the market will be
Cuba's again when Americans have
taught them how to handle the fruit
so that it will reach the trader in good
condition. Chicago Times-Herald.
Native Hawaiians in Our Service.