Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-22

plantation belonging to Mr.. Adam Gray,
an insurance man of Cincinnati. Mr. Gray
came to Cuba about five years ago and
bought several hundred acres of land at
$50 an acre. He has added to his pur-
chases since then at higher prices, his
last one costing him more than $3.50 per
acre, and he has now all told 800 acres
within a half hours ride of Havana. The
land is near the railroad, and a switch
has been constructed to 1t, SO that his
fruit can be sent to the Havana harbor at
the lowest possible cost. At present he Is
shipping pineapples. 1t costs him only 81
a car load and l am told that he can put
pineapples, oranges and grape fruit into
the markets of New York and Chicago
more cheaply than they can be sent there
from any orchard In Florida or Califor-
MIA. He has now about 200 acres of pine
apples under cultivation, and his crop
this year will be worth about 100000,
amounting to in the neighborhood of %
600 crates. He has 260 acres of oranges
and grape fruit embracing about 10000
trees; and when he has set out the full
500 acres which he expects to plant the
orchard should yield in the neighborhood
of half million boxes of oranges and
grape fruit every year.
A Business Proposition.
A plantation like this is business propo-
sition. 1t requires large capital land it will
probably bring large profits. The work
upon it is thoroughly systematized and the
factory. with due regard to the cost ele-
ment. AS soon as Mr.. Gray bought the
farm he put 1t in charge of an expert agri-
culturist named Schmidt, who had been
employed by him in the United States. Mr..
Schmidt Is a graduate of one of the chief
agricultural colleges of Germany. He had
charge of the emperors gardens in Berlin
at one time and later studied fruit culture
in France. He aided Mr. Gray In picking
out the property and then started to clear
Il. II had all been under cultivation but
had run down during the war, and parts
of IL were covered with trees and under
brush The trees were all cut and the tim
Der made into charcoal. Charcoal is the
chief fuel OF Havana, and Gray had no
trouble In disposing of his 10000 bags
which came from the clearing. After this
he began TO set out the farm and has grad
ually increased the cultivated area until
he now has almost 500 acres of oranges
grape fruit and pneapples
Hundreds of Acres of Pineapples
1 wish l could show you this farm as It
appeared when I rode through 1t today 1t
extends for more than a mile along the
road and at the front and side of 1t runs
a long row of magnificent palms. each from
100 to $50 feet high. with a trunk like a
marble column. out OF the top of which
great fan-like leaves CULVER In the wind.
The roads are of rich red loan, as soft
and as smooth as race track They are
wide. and in many places shaded by palms
ard mango trees. We rode long distance
through the pineapple fields the pines ex-
tending out on all sides of us in a great
bronze carpet Near the carriage the fruit
was distinctly seen, the great round balls
of red and yellow set in long green leaves
tipped with pink. Farther away pines and
! leaves blended together. and the whole un-
der the sun became II gorgeous cloth more
splendid than the dress of queen
The pineapples are planted in rows. but
the plants are set close together and they
yield great number per acre. 1 am told
they bring on the average about . cents
apiece when sold, and that each costs the
farmer about one cent to raise. The pine
apples of Cuba are large, and those which
| had on the Gray farm. fresh from the
| field, were delicious.
Oranges in Cuba.
| From the pineapple fields / went on into
! the orange orchard. where met the man.
| ager. Mr.. Schmidt and the son of Adam
| Gray. young man of twenty-five, who has
: just graduated at Yale College and has