Read Ebook: The History of Cuba vol. 5 by Johnson Willis Fletcher

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The People of Cuba--Hospitality Their Characteristic--Love of Children--Founders of the Cuban Nation from the Southern Provinces of Spain--An Admixture of French Blood--Immigration from Northern Spain--English, Irish, Italian and German Immigrants--Colonists from the United States.

The Topography of Cuba--Five Distinct Zones--The Mountain Ranges--Plateaus and Plains--The Highest Peak in Cuba--The Organ Mountains--Beautiful Valleys and Fertile Plains--Action of the Water Courses--Character of the Soil.

The Climate of Cuba--Freedom from Extremes of Temperature--Influence of the Trade Winds--No Ice and Little Frost--The Rainy Season and the Dry Season--Gloomy Days Practically Unknown.

The Province of Havana--The Pivotal Province of the Island--Visits by Columbus and Velasquez--Topography of the Province--Soil and Products--Agricultural Wealth--The Fruit Industry--Manufacturing--The Harbor of Havana--Transportation Facilities--The Water Supply--The Climate--The Seat of Government and Social Centre of the Island.

The Province of Pinar del Rio--A Picturesque Region--Interesting Topography--The Organ Mountains--The Vinales Valley--A Rare Palm Tree--Hard Wood Timber--Agriculture--Harbors and Fishing Interests--Tobacco Lands of the Vuelta Abajo--Coffee Plantations--Mineral Resources.

The Province of Matanzas--Comparatively Unimportant in History--A Great Drainage and Traffic Canal--Rivers and Mountains--The Coast and Islands--The Henequen Industry--The City of Matanzas--The Caves of Bellamar--Sugar Production--Mineral Resources.

The Province of Santa Clara--A Land of Great Variety of Scenes--Ancient Gold-Seeking--The Mountain Ranges--Rich Lands of the Parks and Valleys--Rivers and Lakes--Harbors--Cities of the Province--The "Swamp of the Shoe"--Forests, Sugar Plantations, Tobacco, and Coffee--Opportunities for Stock Raising.

The Province of Camaguey--Where Columbus First Landed--In the Days of Velasquez--Events of the Ten Years' War--Topography of the Province--Mountain Ranges--Rivers and Coastal Lagoons--Harbors--Lack of Railroads--The Sugar Industry--Minerals--American Colonies--Some Noted Men.

The Province of Oriente--Area and Topography--Mountains and Rivers--Fine Harbors--Great Sugar Mills--Scene of the First Spanish Settlement in Cuba--The Bay of Guantanamo--Santiago de Cuba--Copper Mines--Manzanillo--The Cauto Valley--Sugar Plantations and Stock Ranches--Timber and Minerals--American Colonies.

The Isle of Pines--An Integral Part of Cuba--American Settlements and Claims--Character of the Island--Infertile and Storm Swept--Vast Deposits of Muck--Marble Quarries--Efforts to Promote Agricultural Interests.

Mines and Mining--The Early Quest of Gold--First Working of Copper Mines--The Wealth of El Cobre--Copper in All Parts of Cuba--Operations in Pinar del Rio--Vast Iron Deposits in Oriente--Nickel and Manganese--Exports of Ore--American Investigation of Chrome Deposits--Many Beds of Great Richness--Manganese and Chrome for All the World.

Asphalt and Petroleum--Ocampo's Early Discovery at Puerto Carenas--Humboldt's Reports of Petroleum Wells--Prospecting for Oil in Many Places--Some Promising Wells--Asphalt Deposits of Great Value--Prospects for Important Petroleum Developments.

Forestry--Vast Resources of Fine Woods Recklessly Squandered in Early Times--Houses Built of Mahogany--Hundreds of Varieties of Valuable Timber Trees--A Catalogue of Sixty of the Most Useful--Need of Transportation for the Lumber Trade--Forests Owned by the State.

Agriculture--The Chief Interest of Cuba--Fertility of Soil, Geniality of Climate, and Variety of Products--The Rainfall--Many Farmers Specialists--The Government's Experimental Station--Opportunities for Stock-Raising--Work of the Department of Agriculture--Its Various Bureaus--Value of Experimental Work Begun by General Wood and Extended by President Menocal--Improving Live Stock--Fruit Growing--Grains and Grasses--Combating Insect Pests--Bureau of Plant Sanitation.

"King Cane"--Cuba's Crop and the World's Production--Natural Conditions Favorable to Sugar Culture--Extent of Lands Still Available--The "Savana" and "Cienaga" Lands--Assured Projects for Draining Great Swamps--Potential Increase of Sugar Production in Cuba--Methods of Planting, Culture and Harvesting--The Labor Problem--Improved Machinery--Something About the Principal Sugar Producing Concerns in Cuba and the Men Who Have Created Them and Are Directing Them--The Largest Sugar Company in the World--Cuba's Assured Rank as the World's Chief Sugar Plantation.

The Tobacco Industry--First European Acquaintance with the Plant--The Famous Fields of the Vuelta Abajo--Immense Productivity--Methods of Culture and Harvesting--Various Regions of Tobacco Culture--Insect Pests--Wholesale Use of Cheesecloth Canopies--Monetary Importance of the Industry.

The Henequen Industry--The Source of Binding Twine for the Wheat Fields--Cuban Plantations Now Surpassing Those of Yucatan--Methods of Growth and Manufacture--Magnitude of the Industry and Possibilities of Further Extension.

The Coffee Industry--Early Plantations Which Were Neglected and Abandoned--An Attractive Industry--Methods of Culture--Harvesting and Marketing the Crop--Government Encouragement Being Given for Extension of the Industry.

The Mango--The King of Oriental Fruits--Two Distinct Types in Cuba--All Varieties Prolific--The Trees and the Fruits--Some of the Favorite Varieties--Marketing and Use.

Citrus Fruits--American Introduction of the Commercial Industry--Varieties of Oranges--Comparison with Florida and California Fruit--Grape Fruit in the Isle of Pines--Limes and Wild Oranges.

Antiquity and Universality of the Banana--Its Many Uses--Commercial Cultivation in Cuba--Methods of Culture--Varieties--Pineapple Culture in Cuba--One of the Staple Crops--Difficulty of Marketing--The Canning Industry--The Fruit of the Anon--The Zapote or Sapodilla--The Tamarind--The Mamey--The Guava--The Mamoncillo--Figs of All Varieties--The Aguacate.

Grape Culture Discouraged by Spain--Recent Development of the Industry--Much Wine Drinking but Little Drunkenness--Food and Drink in the Cacao--The Chocolate Industry--Culture and Manufacture of Cacao--The Vanilla Bean--Methods of Gathering and Preparing the Crop.

Vegetable Growing in Cuba--Regions Most Suitable for the Industry--Seed Brought from the United States--Winter Crops of Potatoes--Green Peppers a Profitable Crop--Cultivation of Tomatoes and Egg Plants--Okra--Lima Beans and String Beans--Squashes and Pumpkins--Desirability of the Canning Industry--Utility of Irrigation--Prospects of Profit in Truck Farming.

Indian Corn Indigenous--Improvements in Culture Desirable--Millet or Kaffir Corn--Neglect of Wheat Growing--Culture of Upland Rice--Possibilities of Swamp Rice Culture--Profusion of Meadow and Pasture Grasses--Experiments with Alfalfa--Cultivation of Cow Peas and Beans--Peanut Plantations.

Paucity of Native Fauna--Deer, Caprimys and Ant Eaters--The Sand Hill Crane--Guinea Fowls, Turkeys and Quails--Buzzards, Sparrow Hawks, Mocking Birds and Wild Pigeons--Varieties of Parrots--The Oriole--The Tody--The Lizard Cuckoo--The Trogon--Water Birds.

Introduction of Horses and Cattle by the Spaniards--Improvement in the Quality of Stock--A Favorable Land for Cattle Ranges--Importation of Blooded Stock from the United States and Europe--Introduction of the Zebu--Great Profits in Hog Raising--Forage, Nuts and Root Crops for Stock Food--Sheep and Goat Raising for Wool, Meat and Hides--Value of the Angora Goat.

Recent Scientific Development of the Poultry Industry--President Menocal's Importations of Choice Stock--Opportunities for Agriculture--Wild and Domesticated Bees--Varieties of Honey Yielding Flowers--Large Exportations of Wax and Honey--Valuable Sponge Fisheries on the Cuban Coast.

Historic Interest of Havana Harbor--The Romance and Tragedy of El Morro--"The Twelve Apostles"--The Vast Fortress of La Caba?a--The "Road Without Hope"--A Scene of Slaughter--Cells of the Fortress Prison--The Castillo de Punta--The Ancient City Walls--The Romance of La Fuerza--Ancient Churches and Convents of Havana--The Cathedral and the Tomb of Columbus--The San Francisco Convent--San Agustin--La Merced--Santa Catalina--Santo Angel--Santa Clara--The Convent of Belen--The Old Echarte Mansion--La Chorrera--Fort Cojimar--Some Ancient Watch Towers and Fortresses--The Botanical Gardens.

The Charms of Havana--Early History of the City--Made the Capital of Cuba--The Quarries from Which It Was Built--Something About Its Principal Streets and Buildings--Various Sections of the City--On the Road to the Almandares--Principe Hill--The University of Havana--The Famous Prado--The National Theatre--The Central Park and Parque de Colon--Colon Cemetery--Music in Havana--Favorite Drives and Resorts--The Bathing Beach--Fishing--Jai Alai--Baseball--Horse Racing--Golf--Buildings of the Various Government Departments--Memories of the Old Presidential Palace--Some Fine New Buildings--The New Presidential Palace--The New Capitol--The National Hospital.

A Paradise of Palm Drives--Splendor of the Flamboyans--The Road to Guines--A Fine Drive to Matanzas--Roads from Havana to Guanajay, Artemisa and the Ruby Hills--Old Military Roads Improved and Extended--Fine Drives in Pinar del Rio--The Valley of Vinales--Some Wonderful Landscapes and Seascapes--Roads Radiating from Matanzas--The Roads of Santa Clara and Camaguey--Road Making Among the Mountains of Oriente.

The Bays and Harbors of the Cuban Coasts--Bahia Honda--Cabanas--Mariel--Havana--Matanzas--The Land-Locked Bay of Cardenas--Santa Clara Bay--Sagua--Caibarien--The Bay of Nuevitas--Manati--Puerto Padre--Gibara--Banes--Nipe--Levisa--Baracoa--Guantanamo--Santiago--Manzanillo--Cienfuegos--Batabano--Santa Cruz--Various Other Ports, Great and Small.

Origin of the Railroad Systems of Cuba--The United Railways of Havana--The Matanzas Railway--Electric Lines Around Havana--The Great Work of Sir William Van Horne--The Cuba Company's Railroad System--The Cuba Central Road--The North Shore Line--Other Lines and Branches Existing or Projected.

Money and Banking in Cuba--The First Currency of the Island--The First Monetary Crisis at Havana--Development of Modern Coinage and Currency--Single Standard and Double Standard--Colonial Paper Money--Stabilization of Currency Under American Rule--Statistics of Shipments of Money--Coinage of Cuban Money Under the New System--Financing the Foreign Commerce of the Island.

The Educational System of Cuba--Influences of Clericalism--Work of General Wood and Mr. Frye--Cooperation of Harvard University--Dr. Lincoln de Zayas--The Teaching of English--Progress Under President Menocal--Scope of the System--Some Special Schools--Normal Schools--The Institute of Havana--The National University--Cooperation with the United States--The Free Public Library.

Importance of Ocean Transportation to the Insular Republic--Development of the United Fruit Company--The Ward Line and Its Fleet--A Network of Communications with All Parts of the World--Service of the Munson Line--The Peninsular and Occidental Company--The Railroad Ferry Service from Key West to Cuba--The Pinillos Izquierdo Line from Spain--The Morgan or Southern Pacific Line--The Great Fleet of the Compagnie General Transatlantique--A New Line from Japan--Customs Regulations--The Consular Service of Cuba.

American Colonies in Cuba--Founded After the War of Independence--Pernicious Activities of Unscrupulous American Speculators--Heroic Efforts of Illfounded Colonies--The Story of La Gloria and Its Neighbors--Colonization of the Isle of Pines--The Colony of Herradura--Various Colonies in Oriente--Inducements to Further Colonization.

FULL PAGE PLATES

FACING PAGE

The Vinales Valley 36

San Juan River, Matanzas 54

On the Cauto River 92

National Theatre, Central Park, Havana 144

The Gomez Building 190

Pablo Desvernine 284

In New Havana 296

Colon Park 306

An Avenue of Palms 326

Grand Central Railway Station, Havana 354

Leopoldo Cancio 362

The Chamber of Commerce, Havana 376

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