The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-05-05
IN CUBA'S GARDEN OF EDEN.
Third Richest Spot In The World Is
In Pinar Del Rio,

Plnar del R1O IS one or the most
valuable tracts of land on the face
of the earth. There are but two
places in the whole world where
ground is worth so much as in the
Vuelta Abajo.
Those two places are that por-
ton of the valley of the Rhine
where the Johannisberger grape is
grown from which Liebfraumlich
and other fine wines are made, and
the Kimberly diamond district in
South Africa. In the Vuelta
Abajo the soil grows tobacco,
which when properly cured, rolled
and stamped can be sold in the
shape of cigars at the rate Of 81. so
each.
What, then, is the marvel of
this priceless tobacco ground? To
the eye-nothing. Dusty red
loan rather thin on rocky hillsides
and sparingly spread with tender
concern as a half bald man dis
perses his hair impartially over
his head. Next to each tobacco
vega "a farm of an average extent
Of 40 acres) is a bayfield,. The
hay is not raised for animals. It
is cut and spread on the tobacco
land and there decomposed and
washed into the soil by the rains.
1t is the fertilizer.
But it is not hay fertilizer alone
that mades Vuelta Abaio tobacco
what it is, nor yet TIE cheesecloth
protection that keeps out the hot
test rays of the sun, nor yet the
choice seed, nor even vet the mild,
equable nature of the climate, nor
the chemical composition of the
soil. For each and every of these
conditions is reproduced in other
places without that surprising
and delicious climax of tobacco
culture that comes alone from the
Loo~+ &C D;,o- JoI D;o
Neither science nor experience
can tell exactly what it is that
makes Vuelta Abajo tobacco iu st
what it is, writes Richard Barry,
but the native Cuban knows the
secret. In strict confidence he
sometimes conhdes this secret, and
l intend now for the first time to
make it public. The great super
iority Of Nuelta Abajo tobacco
over all others lies in the fact that
each year on Easter Sunday the
soil of every vega in the province
is anointed with the blood of
fighting cock killed in honorable
combat.
That l might have no doubt of
this astonishing agricultural theory
l was shown the training quarters
Of the fighting cocks Of the dis
trict. While | was there the old
trainer gave them their morning
meal of bananas and milk and
massage them under the wing pits
with Malaga wine.
The cockfghting has entered
curiouslv into Cuban politics. The
most brilliant man in affairs there
is Alfredo Zayas, now Vice Iresi-
dent. He is the Elihu Root of
the island, an attorney, shrewd,
Woodworking, far-sighted. IN
fortunately for his Presidential as
pirations, he listened long and
eagerly to American ideas of
Cuban affairs as they should be.
That is where he fell down. Jose
Miguel Gomez listened to Cuban
affairs as they are.
"Zayas thought it would be
good thing to suppress the cock
fight. The Americans told him it
would be, 1t is a cruel sport, it
is barbaric, it is not pleasant to
the Anglo Saxon taste; 50 the
Americans told Zayas, and Zayas
listened too eagerly, Gomez
knew he was dealing with Cas-
titan people; he was a Castilian
himself. He loved a cockhght
himself, just as every one of his
true compatriots did. So while
Zayas in Havana was trying to
convince his countrymen that they
S h ould abolish COCkfght1ng