The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16

IS imported, in small tins. from the land OF
the Danes. and. judging by the odor thereof.
which Senator Proctor declared was power
fui enough TO lay low the Spanish army
without firing a gun. it may have given rise
10 the historic remark anent something
rotten IN Denmark" in Havana the retail
price Of fresh butter brought in the cold
storage of steamers is s1-25 per pound. Even
at thai price II finds an eager market. and
the supply is at present far short Of the de-
nand. The COWS used to be driven from
door 30 door, TO be MIXED before the con-
sumers' eyes. until a few years ago. when
the captain general issued an edict forbid
ding the practice. To this day goats are
hauled about town by a string and MIXED
for the convenience OF customers.
Another important Industry. which is new
er likely TO be overdone in Cuba. no matter
how many Americans flock in. is truck
II Is strange that the natives of
this wonderfully fertile island. like those of
Mexico and most semi-tropical countries.
seem TO have no idea whatever of growing
the common table vegetables. Asparagus.
for example. can be bought in Havana only
IN tins. though three or four crops a year
OF IL might be raised without an effort. Yet
everybody is fond of ii and in the swell a
la carte restaurants pays a dollar a plate
for the aimed stuff. Tomatoes are some
times grown in back patios. more for an or
nament than anything else. but are never
raised to any extent. though everybody de-
pends upon them TO assist the salad which
figures so largely twice every day in the
Cuban menu. None are found in the mar
kets, outside of tin cans, except the small,
bitter. wild variety. Celery we do rot expect
in regions where there is no frost; but I
am told by an American who tried the ex-
pertinent. that it grows to surprising per-
lection in the sandy soil of Cuba A great
many Irish potatoes are grown. especially
in the irrigated Guinness valley, but not
nearly enough to supply the whole island.
The bonjato. a kind of wild sweet potato.
is. a much more common product, as it
grows without care. and its sugary taste is
agreeable to the native palate. Cabbages,
peas. beets. turnips and other ordinary
vegetables are not grown at all in Cuba,
though the people of the cities are literally
waiting to consume all that can be pro-
duced- So utterly ignorant are the natives OF
market gardening that when the starving
reconcentrados at Marianoa were given the
use Of land on which to raise something to
sustain life. and seeds and implements were
onered them, every one started in to plant
tobacco-the only staff of life" with which
they were acquainted.
THE BEST OF SOIL.
Lying close to all the houses and cities
are large areas of unused land. Some of
IL may need drainage and other portions
irrigation, but an intelligent, willing-to-
work Northern farmer will know how to
supply either necessity in some simple, in
axnonCsxo foahfo, Tko
idea of truck farms. are ignoraut ~ the
value OF these lands and will not find il
out until American, German and Chineses
market-gardeners have taught them an OBJ
ject-lesson- Whether the soil is black and
deep, chocolate color or red as brick Dust,
its fertility is the wonder of the world. You
may search the grazing meadows o. Santa
Clara and the grass porterros of Puerto
Principe and scarcely find a stone. No
sticky clay ground is found in the earth,
but a great depth Of loan, the result of
centuries OF organic decay. fortified by the
disintegration Of coral reefs and older lime
rock. and by the remains of marine mann
malta that swarmed the miocene ocean.
The whole island is one big tropical con-
servatory and its wealth of verdure is ttat
Of the Northern dollhouse.
As 10 HLlclHcI IL NOUlQ DIONt a pIOlldDic
venture TO send down working oxen for sale
in Cuba I can only say that oxen are used
for all the heavy work of the island. in
place Of mule or man-power. and even of
machinery. 1. has always been believed that
only ken can pillow the land. which, after
the long dry season. becomes. in many
places. hard as a macadamized road. An
American gentleman of my acquaintance
w-ha e. Iofn- ~, a~1arfr,o14oI or-,f1- -
the Guines valley. has demonstrated the un-
truth Of the proposition by blowing with
mules. and doing a good deal more of II in
a day than the Cubans have ever done. His
farm, however. lies in the one irrigated Sec
ton Of the island, or, perhaps. he could not
have accomplished it. First. he softened the
hard-baked clay by turning on water for a
couple OF days. and then. with a pair of
army mules and an American steel pillow,
turned up an acre of ground in one day,
twelve inches deep. to the u~nbounded aston
ishment Of the natives. Hitherto, for four
long centuries. only the surface of Cuba
has been slightly scratched with wooden
plows. leaving all below in virgin richness.
II any of my readers desire further particu-
lars concerning Cuban farming. they can
obtain them by writing to Mr.. Edward
Eggleston. Guines. province of Havana. He
Is the experimental ~agriculturist above re-
ferred to-an obliging American gentleman
OF highest attachments, who will. doubtless,
cheerfully nswer all questions-if stamps
are inclosed for reply.
FRUIT POSSIBILITIES.
The possibilities of fruit culture I'm Cuba
are practically unlimited. AS everybody
knows. all varieties of tropical fruits are
found on the island, most OF them too per-
tshables flor transportation and of an insipid
sweetness not relished by Americans. Moth
ing has ever been done, TO my knowledge.
in the way of a~cclimating the fruits of the
temprate zone. though pears, peaches, plums,
ETC., 10 say nothing OF berries OF all kinds.
ought to flourish as well here as in southern
California and Florida. Years ago a thriving
fruit busne was done near the eastern
end or the island, Baracoa, the Oldest city
In the Antilles, being the port OF shipment.
bananas were the principal crop, and cocoa
nuts. oranges. pineapples, aguacates and
mangoes were also handled. At one time
Baracoa was the greatest banana-shipping
port in the world, before various places in
that line. Now there is no trace OF such an
Industry, and even in the golden days Of
prosperity nothing could be seen Of il from
the decks Of vessels rounding the tip of the
island. Though the great orchards and
pinefelds lay only a short distance inland,
between them and the sea rose those three
remarkable terraces which rise abruptly
-. - &c $1,000