The Washington times., 1903-04-13

T. a. StH"dTLl- custodian of ColeOp-
! terra in the National Museum. returned
on Friday from a tour of Cuba made
TO inspect the ravage of the boil weevn
in the cotton on the island.
Mr.. Schwartz reached conclusions
which viii be valuable to all who have
listened to the honeyed phrases Of land
/ agents with alleged Cuban cotton lands
for sale The summary of these con
illusions is that as far as can be seen
at present any attempt to raise cotton
on a large scale in Cuba would be IN
profitable and waste OF money because
of the probability that the weevfI would
ruin the crop. Mr.. Schwartz said yes
terday.
From time immemoTiaI there have
/ been two kinds of wild cotton in Cuba.
On kind is called kidney cotton, be-
cause the boil resembles somewhat In
shape a human kidney The seeds are so
thoroughly attached to the cotton that
it cannot be ginned. and is. therefore,
useless for commercial purposes. The
other wind has freer seeds. but is also
not Of much value.
These cotton plants grow to be veri-
table trees. eigh5 OF nine feet high It
has been the custom Of the natives to
transplant couple of these trees to
the front of their nuts and use the cot
ton as they needed it. They are ex-
tremely dexterous in spinning the cot
ton from the kidney variety into thread
from which they make a surprising num-
her of articles which they need.
The boil weeviI thrives wonderfully
on the kidney cotton, but is not so de-
structive to the other kind. All through
the central part of the island the weevil
is to be found in abundance. living on
all kinds of Gotten. especially the kid
ney variety. and observers have been
led to believe that if all the kidney cot
ton were cxterminated it would be pos
sible to stamp out the weeviI.
The value of such drastic policy IS
only speculative at present. Expert
ments are to be undertaken which should
lead to some definite conclusions. Senior
Eduardo Ferrer. Of Cayamas, a progress
sfve and able Cuban planter, has studied
the question carefully and win conduct
the experiments.
Cotton from various sections of the
United States and other countries viii
be planted, including Sea Island cotton,
and careful note will be made of the
ability of each Of the different varieties
to withstand the ravages of the weevil.
and of the comparative amount Of
damage done when the Kidney cot
ton is present and when It Is
rooted out It is hoped that by this
means a cotton will be found which will
not be seriously affected by the. insect
when the vicinity is not contaminated
by the weevil-breeding kidney cotton.
There is much difference of opinion
over the proper season to plant cotton,
whether at the beginning or the end of a
rainy. season. and this question must be
answered by careful experimenting be
fore cotton can become an important
crop in Cuba The time Of planting will
bear a relation not only to the produc-
tiveness, but may be a factor n enabling
the cotton to resist the weevil.
Cuba has an abundance Of land which
is admirably suited to the growing Of
cotton. and in ali parts of the island
they are discussing the possibility Of its
introduction but the natives have Meth
er the money nor the inclination
to experiment. and their talk does
not produce results American land
SPECTATORS are finding many dupes
in the United States who believe that Il
viii be an easy thing TO start a cotton
plantation in the favorable climate and
soil of Cuba. Those who have been ap-
preached with this scheme should in
vestigate most carefully before spending
their money.
The insect fauna OF Cuba is very
rich, and plants there are as subject to
insect enemies as they are in the
United States. Oranges grow Iuxurfaut-
" in Cuba but the insects which have
brought such destruction among the or
anee groves Of California and Florida
are equally abundant in Cuba and ruin
thousands Of trees one of the most
serious insect pests of the island is the
cutting ant. These ants live in large
colonies and raise hills several feet
above the ground When they select
tree for attack it is practically doomed
At shutdown an orange tree may be In
full leaf, showing every sign Of a good
crop. The next morning it viii be
stripped of foliage. The cutting ants
have been there during the night and
cut away all OF its leaves.
Trees near the hill are not those at