New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-06-27

figures not yet obtainable for this year, but,
taking the island whole. the crop may be a
little larger with prices a shade better.
No two experts among the owners Of tobacco
plantations. the buyers the Havana manu-
facturers agree to the extent TO which the
future production of tobacco may be increased
Some Of them insist that, except for the very
inferior grades. there he no material in
crease of production. Others ofhand will say
that Cuba can produce in exceptionally favor
able circumstances five times the amount 1t
now raises Conservative guessers after figur-
ing while usually say that with proper en-
couragement the present crop of the island may
he doubled within the next ten or twelve years
Probably that is as good a guess as any one
can make
NOT so MUCH TO LEARN.
Tobacco differs from sugar in that the Cuban
producers of the leaf have not so much TO learn
as the sugar planters. and there is not the field
for introducing more modern methods that ex-
lists with sugar In the case of tobacco economy
Of production probably has not reached its limit
yet there is no wide discrepancy between what
it actually costs TO deliver a. bale Of tobacco to
the factories in Havana and what II should cost
The methods Of cultivation simple and II
future economies are TO be effected they Will be
chiefly in drying. shipping and warehousing
rather than in actual cultivation. An incidental
help has come from the Weather Bureau reports
that system having been extended by the Amer
lean authorities under the Signal Service Corps
In the matter Of production, however, Ameri-
cans do not find that they have much to teach
the Cubans or the Canary Islanders Two young
fellows, one from Iowa and the other from Ten
nessee bought a farm a few miles out OF Pinar
The plants developed splenddy, the leaves were
green and the tobacco field looked finer than
any IN the region. Nevertheless. their neigh
bors warned them of various mistakes they were
making The warnings were unheeded till the
buyers began coming through the country look
ing up the choice crops. They made no bid for
that owned by the Americans. The latter found
that the leaves crumbled 10 powder at the touch
and their crop was practically valueless. The
Cuban tobacco growers do not themselves know
how 10 describe their way Of Analysing the ex-
ceptonal qualities Of SOIL atmosphere and moist
ure which give the Vuelta Abajo leaf its pri-
macy but they know when crop is deceptive
in appearance. and they know how 10 handle II
so as to secure the largest return. The Ameri-
cans, too will know next year. for they Will
follow the advice of their neighbors.
1t is the general testimony that the Vuelta
Abato district is likely to increase its produc-
ton within the next few years, though not
phenonenaIy. The lands which were IN the mi
tial process Of destruction when General Grant
discovered the flavor Of guano in his cigar. and
called the attention of the Cuban producers to
it at that time had been so thoroughly fertilized
that for years the crop tainted. Some Of
| them were left untouched. Now it is stated that
a considerable portion Of tobacco lands which
have been rested through a series Of years is
beginning to he cultivated again. and that the
quality Of the leaf produced is excellent Or
dinarily good tobacco lands do not need much
resting, and the alienation Of a corn crop is
sufficient.
ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT
The common belief has been that in all the
Vuelta Abajo region not Of good soil
exists which has not been in cultivation. but
this is something of an exaggeraton. Even the
hidden corners which produce the leaf from
which the cigars made which sell at 81 apiece
and upward are claimed to be capable of extern
sion. However the general statement is made
that development of tobacco growing in Cuba
will be neither in the Vuelta Abajo in the
Partidos or Havana district. but in the central
region of Las Villas. where a good average
quality can be procured The Remedies district
in Las Villas spreads south through the
Manicaragua Valley. and a number Of Ameri-
cans have gone into the latter place and are
said TO be quite successful
Among the tobacco growers there does not
seem to be much fear that the syndicates. or
combinations ever will be able to control pro-
duction. It must be said that the experience
Of the American and English capitalists who
have sought to combine the factories as the first
step toward monopoly Of production confirms
this view Of the growers. The future of the
tobacco industry, in the opinion of those who
have studied the subject on its Industrial side
as we'll as Of the growers. is that the only pos
Nv yvhic mid ha
secured would be to all the tobacco pro-
ducing lands in the island. If the estimate that
the present crop could be doubled within ten
or twelve years is approximately correct. the
difficulty is insurmountabe.
The tobacco grower has the benefit of COM
petition among the buyers and the largest
factories and he has an instructive sense of the
value Of this competition TO him Sentiment.
which is an unknown quality elsewhere. has
something TO do with it. The man who bought
his crop and advanced the funds for it last year
and the year before last can be pretty certain
OF getting the crop this year, though somebody
else may come along and offer him a tribe
higher price. The explanation which the buyers
themselves give is that the tobacco grower
knows he will have crop to sell next year and
the wear after next and is unwilling TO take
the chance OF losing a good market for the tenn
porary advantage which might come from a
new buver for a single season. Where he owns
the farm he is also jealous OF the suggestion
that after a time he may lose its ownership
and become simply tenant of one Of the COM
panies.
Big factories all have large tracts of tobacco
x1-hfc thaNy CtritiN nv