The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-06

| The plant gets into fair bearing IN four
| years, and the necessary machinery for
| treatment involves no very heavy outlay.
But coffee culture is a business enterprise,
and is not for the small farmer or tho
mcneyless young man desiring to grow
up with the country" I should set s10-
| 900 to $4,000 as the minimum amount on
which it would be at all SAT. or wise to
Is out of the reach of all save -nose OF
| ample means. That ais f)r the nlre@s
OF thousands of dollar for rs operation.
II l had mon ) eno,gh - IIJ ana li.l 4
| sugar estate, would not buy the estate
! [ would buy government bonds and live
on my income
| For general growers, bananas and
cocoa-nuts, though growing abdndantly,
| present little inducement as business.
| The snag encountered in these lines is the
| practicalmonopoIy OF the trade by the Bos-
ton combination that has recently absorb
ed the New Orleans lines, which have con-
stituted its only important competition.
The facilities of this combination fer
| handling its trade are both extensive AMI
efficient and it would not re an easy or e
small money matter for a newcomer To
make a place for himself in the mlrket
The principal ports of supply fer this or
ganization now are ia mai "A ard Hen
duras, though some business is core by
them in eastern Cuba. 1t would seem an
easy process for them to economic their
operations by an extension of their Cui an
business, and materially shorten their
trips while securing an equally desirable
quality of merchandise.
Truck-farming presents an excellent op-
pcrtunity In Cuba. irish potatoes of SUI
perior quality yield an enormous harvest
to the acre. Onions, tomatoes, peppers.
and other Of both root and vine growths
will give the POINTER armfulls in return
for handfulls. Beans need but the Slight
est encoura cement to climb poles and
burst their pods to make room for them
selves. The melons, which yield in great
profusion are not remarkable for size
but their flavor is indispensable Late
in March we were eating watermellons of
richness and delicacy of flavor beyond
that of any that I have ever eaten csc
where. They hardly averaged more than
ten inches in length. but that is rather an
advantage than otherwise in many ways
They are much more easily chilled. for
one thing. Musks and cantaloupes are
also possible in ample crops and of super
ior quality.
The field for tobacco-raising is still
large one, though the celebrated Vuelta
Abajo district is already quite fully COW
cred. Yet, while 1t may not be possible to
find much of the soil which produces the
finest and most expensive grades, there
are thousands of acres in the central
Of
able crop of understandable leaf Rice and
cotton are also among the ready possibili- |
ties. It is claimed that parts of the Gu |
ban coast are capable of a cotton rivalling
the high-priced Sea Island. While 1t is
wholly certain that these and other crops |
which I have mentioned, and others |
which I have not included here, can be !
profitably cultivated, it is not at all known |
just how profitable they can be made |
Little or nothing has been done to deter |
mine either the excellence or abundance of !
Cuban plants, fruits or vegetables The |
open question is the extent of the profit |
They appear to pay under crude cultiva-
ton. They should richly reward the com I
petent cultivator.
The labor problem IS one of serious con-
sideration for investors in any of these !
departments. At present, there is barely
enough Of such labor as there is for the |
needs of the sugar and tobacco lands al |
ready in process, assuming the rehabilita- /
ton of the many sugar estates DESTROYED |
by the war. The Solution Of the problem |
might easily be imagined along the line of |
an immigration of the colored race of our I
Southern States. They are the best agrI-
cultural laborers IN the world. If directed |
and guided by those who understand them. /
The conditions OF life in the island are |
wholly suitable for the race. and there is
little doubt they could find that happy life |
which comes so easily to them, and do for |
American employers in Cuba Just what |
they once did for the states OF the south
make them rich by their skill in field |
work
Cuba undoubtedly offers many rich pro- |
misses to intelligence backed by a capital |
the intelligent, having only fraction Of /
that sum, I should recommend caution and /
thorough investigation of both ground and |
market until a new order has been estab- |
lished with Will facilitate distribution and |
sale for the small producer. a G. R.