Evening star., 1899-02-04
A Past and tFutare Industry in
Cuba,
VISIT TO A LARGE PLANTATION
Description Of the Methods of CuI-
tiyation.
ONE FAM1L Y'S EFFO ORT
Copyright. 1899, by Charles NJ. Pepper.)
Special From Staff Correspondent.


January IS 1899.
Raising sugar cane in Cuba is a past and
future industry. There is not much of it in
the present tense. A few plantations pass
ed through the insurrection without their
mills and machinery having been destroyed.
l came out to the largest one in the
province of Havana for the purpose of
gaining a little information. Everybody
already knows that growing cane and grind
ing cane have to be done on large scale
That means big plantations and heavy cap
ital with which to work them. So the sugar
industry is not one for the small farmer or
the man with little money. Yet its func
ton IN the reconstruction of Cuba is vital
one When the sugar product of the island
mounts toward the old figures of one mil
lion tons annually the days of prosperity
will have returned. The industrial processes
which must be followed before that produc-
ton is reached are intricate.
Through Rich Tracts of Land.
1t Is half an hours galop on a good horse
across the country from Guines to the
froVidencia plantation. One other large
plantation, the Amistad, lies nearer the
town and there are two smaller ones in the
nelghborhood. Most of the cane this year
Will be taken from the Providencia. Riding
across the country hint of past prosperity
Is given IN the great tracts of land over
grown with grass which were formerly
nelds of cane. Some of this land is now
being turned over by the plow and within
anotner year the cane will again be seen. /
noticed that most of the land turned up
was OF the rich red variety, though tracts
of black soil stretched alongside of it. "A
mystery of geology" my companion told
me. The red and the black soil lie to-
gether' The red is better for the cane, but
6oth are good. All the land is good. We
DO not know here what you mean by poor
soil. Those palm groves mean richness :"
At the Plantation Mr.. Pascual Goicoechea
ana MS brother Were awaiting US. The plan
tatlon mas been in the family for genera
tlons Fields of sugar cane have the same
LOOK whether in Hawaii or Louisiana or
Cuba. The mills and machinery are also
much the same. An expert notices differ
ence and can tell where a mill is behind the
time In it's machinery. Other phases of the
plantation We're of more interest to me- 1
wanted to know all about the reconstruct
tive process first. The information was
given by Mr.. Carlos Figueredo one of the
residents of Guines, and by Mr.. Goicoechea
himself
Nicissitudes of War
In former days the normal production of
the plantation was sixteen thousand tons
Some ten thousand acres of land were un-
der cultivation by the owners and dozen
"colonos," or farmers, leased land on which
they raised cane to grind at the central
mill. When the insurrection bearing the
torch reached this part of the province
twelve million arrobas of cane went up N
flames. An arrOba is twenty-five pounds
In a short time half a million dollars was
represented by burned cane After that
Gomez with his men threatened the mill.
Maceo and his men threatened the mill, and
Weyler and his troops threatened the de-
struction of the whole plantation. In the
midst of these discouraging circumstances
urac nny1 tt,N1t.a n
the result of an almost continual bonfire
Fifteen months ago l saw the cane on two
sides of Providencia burning year ago
L saw other fields in flames. In spite of it
all the plucky owners kept up The fight
for their fields. The outcome was that
when the war between the United States
and Spain ended they had some tracts OF
cane standing. That cane has ripened, and
by the time this letter is printed it will be
going through the crushers in the central
mill.
The oxen all disappeared during the pc
riod of war. When the insurrection began
there were seven hundred Of them The
insurgents got some, the Spanish troops
got others. During the blockade. Captain
General Blanco took all the oxen that re-
mafned on the island. The sugar planters
who had any cane growing this winter
found that their first need was oxen The
Providencia got five hundred from Mexico.
These Mexican oxen have confirmed habits
and are stubborn. They are used to tho
driver ploddng along beside them and prod
ding them The Cuban laborer likes better
to ride in the cart and flourish a long whip
thong. The result was that some of the
oxen went into the creek and We're drowned
Since then the laborers have adapted them
selves to the habits of the Mexican oxen
Eight Hundred Hands EMPLOYED.
Today on Providencia six hundred and
eighty hands are employed One-half have
their living quarters on the plantation and
work the year around. The other half are
hired in gangs by the day. Some of them
also have their dwellings on the plantation.
When the mill is grinding next week there
VIII be eight hundred who have employ-
ment. That is a pretty fair number but
1t does not represent the full emploving
capacity of a big plantation. On Provi-
dencia two-thirds of the laborers are blacks.
Most of them have been there since the
times of slavery. They have comfortable
quarters and form little village in Them
selves. 1t is a reminder of the old south
Some Chinese hands are also employed
Most of these disappeared during the in
surrection. Back in Guines l saw the
dragon flag flying over a comfortable house
| was told it was a residence and office of
the Chinese consul who was also a barber
and dentist. At one time there were
enough Chinese in the neighborhood of
Guines to require the presence of a con-
sular agent. Generally the sugar planta-
tions had at least 10 per cent of Cinnamon
among their hands. That proportion has
Chinese in Cuba the number does not now
eXceed 1000.
In going through the great central mill |
noticed that most of the older machinery
was from Glasgow or Belgium, but the
more modern engines were from the United
States. Providencia has also a refinery |
which rcfines part of its crude product for
local consumption. There is a refinery at
Cardenas and a s,nall71one at Matanzas,
with possibly one l6r two more on the isl
and. Providencia had an "alambique" dis
tillery for making agGardiente or cane
rum, but it was not Kept in operation
Steam plows are m use ION the plantation
One of them does The work of twenty yoke
of oxen. Nevertheless 1t is not possible to
dispense entirely with oxen in plowing, and
mules are also used. Though the planta-
ton has tramways running through it, the
railway system Will mob be complete until
it reaches the water on the south coast
This is only ten miles away. The railway
project Is one of the MANY that were inter-
1upted by the Instruction.
Productfveness of the Land.