NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that several millions a year are expended by the people of the Republic in bringing poultry and eggs to Cuba, no steps were taken towards what might be termed systematic poultry raising until American colonists began experimenting with different breeds brought from the United States during the first Government of Intervention. And even since that time there are very few who have carried on really scientific experiments towards determining what varieties of chickens may give the best results in this country.

In regard to breeds it would seem that the Rhode Island Red has the preference in Cuba, although many others, including the Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock and Orpington, as well as the Black Minorcan and other Mediterranean breeds, have their advocates here as in the United States.

The native hen of the Island sprang probably from some Mediterranean breed, that through lack of care has sadly degenerated. She is rather prolific as a layer, however, and asks no assistance in finding her own food, nor will a quarter of a mile flight give her the slightest difficulty.

The one breed that has been given a very high degree of attention in Cuba is the fighting cock, whose value may run anywhere from $5 to $100 or more. On these is bestowed more care than is received by any prize chicken in the north. They are serviceable, of course, only for purposes of sport, fighting chickens being a favorite pastime of the country people in all Latin American countries. The native hen of Cuba, when crossed with well bred Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock roosters, produces a very good all around chicken, which will thrive even under adverse conditions.

In the fall of 1915, President Menocal imported from the United States several thousand excellent hens for experimental and breeding purposes. These are installed in modern poultry houses on his farm, “El Chico,” only a few miles from the City of Havana, and have done very well.

Turkeys, too, do remarkably well in Cuba when given free range, and they are not subject to those ills which result from sleet, snow and chilling winds that decimate the little ones in most parts of the United States.

Cuba seems to be the natural home of the Guinea hen since those foods which this fowl likes best are found in all parts of the Island, and in many sections Guineas have escaped from domestication, taken to the forest and formed great flocks of both white and grey varieties. These furnish splendid wing shooting to those who enjoy the sport.

In view of the rapidly increasing demand for Guinea pullets in all of the big hotels in the United States, where they seem to be taking the place of the prairie chicken of the past, it would seem that the raising of Guinea hens for the American market should certainly prove extremely profitable. Fields of the short or white millet planted on any farm will serve to keep them satisfied, and at the same time diminish the tendency to wander away from home. In a country where neither shelter or food is needed, and where the birds command very remunerative prices, Guinea raising ought to be tempting.

Very few have gone into poultry raising along scientific or intelligent lines, which seems rather odd when we consider that fresh eggs vary in price from four to five cents, under normal conditions, all the year round, and chickens of the most scrawny type bring from sixty cents to one dollar.

The poultry business offers many advantages in Cuba; first of which may be mentioned, an excellent local market for both chickens and eggs; second, that green food and insects may be found in abundance throughout the year; that open or wire screen houses alone are necessary for protection, the necessity for artificial heat being, of course, non existent.

In a country free from frost and where flowers bloom more or less continuously throughout the year, we might expect to find and do find a Bee paradise. Often, in seeking shelter either from a tropical sun or a threatening shower, in the shade of one of the Magotes of Pinar del Rio, or while passing through the deep, rock-walled pass of the Paredones, in the Sierra de Cubitas, one will find pools of a strange looking substance in the dust at his feet. Investigation discloses the fact that it is honey, fallen from overhanging rocks where wild bees have made their homes in the cavities above, the warmth of the sun having melted an overfilled comb so that the honey collected at the foot of the cliff below.

Native wild bees are very plentiful in Cuba, and strange to say possess no sting, but produce a honey that is very sweet. During the latter part of the 16th century a German variety of bee was introduced, from the Spanish colony of Saint Augustine, Florida. About the middle of the 19th century the Italian bee was introduced, and is probably more productive of honey than any other in Cuba. With the coming of American colonists in 1900, modern hives were introduced and the business of gathering and exporting both honey and wax was systematized for the first time.

Many large apiaries exist, especially in the province of Pinar del Rio. Those who devote their time to the culture of bees naturally seek the various localities where flowers are plentiful, sometimes moving the hives from one section to another in order to take advantage of the presence of honey-bearing flowers in various localities. The bloom of the royal palm, so plentifully scattered over the Island, especially in those mountainous districts where the soil is deep and rich, furnishes an excellent food for bees, as do the morning glory, the flowering majagua and hundreds of other plants whose local Spanish names cannot be interpreted.

In the location of bee colonies the character and quantity of the food is a matter of prime importance. The honey yielding flowers, on which the bees depend for their sustenance, vary greatly with the locality, especially with its proximity to the coast or to the mountains. The sources of wax, too, vary greatly with the location. As an illustration, foundation comb in Cuba should never be supplied to bees located near the coast, since experience has proved that they will build up comb much faster near the coast without the assistance of artificial foundation.

The quality of honey, too, depends much upon the nature of the flowers found in any given locality. In the interior nearly all honey is of excellent quality, while on the coast, quite a large percentage will lack more or less in flavor, and is almost subject to danger from fermentation. It has been noted too that colonies in the interior, when young queens are available, will swarm, even when not crowded for room; whereas on the coast bees do not swarm so readily, probably because they have such an abundance of wax with which to build comb.

During the month of January bees secure an abundance of food throughout the interior from the Aguinaldo Blanco, or white morning-glory. On the coast a large amount of honey is derived from the bloom of a small tree, not botanically classified, during a short period of seldom more than a week. In February, throughout the interior, bees derive large quantities of honey from flowers of the Rapitingua and from the Mango, while on the coast, during this month, food is not abundant.

In March, throughout the interior, the flowers of many fruit trees, found wild in the forest, give an abundance of honey, while on the coast the Roble Blanco, or so called white oak, furnishes food. In April, in the interior, food is derived from many plants then in bloom, while on the coast the flowers of the Salsa, Pelotajo, Bacuaya and the Guana Palm furnish an abundance of food. The months of May and June, in the interior, contribute comparatively few honey yielding flowers, while on the coast the mangroves, the Guana Palm, and one or two other plants yield food in great quantities.

In July and August the scarcity of honey bearing flowers continues in the interior while on the coast the Guamo yields food. In September and October, throughout the interior, honey is derived from the Toruga and a few other flowers. On the coast, during these months, the same flowers yield honey but in less quantity. In the months of November and December, throughout the interior, a heavy flow of honey is derived from a plant known as the Bellflower, while on the coast at this season, food is scarce.

Where groves of citrus fruit abound excellent honey is derived from the flowers of the orange and grape fruit throughout much of the winter.

As a result of experience in apiculture during the past fifteen years, $2 per hive is the average annual income derived when located under favorable circumstances. One bee keeper who cares for a colony of 1200 hives has found that by adding 25 to 30 pounds of sugar towards the support of each hive, during the months when food is scarce, this average of $2 per hive in annual profit is increased to $5 and even more.

The exportation of wax for the fiscal year 1916-17 amounted to approximately 1,300,000 pounds, valued at $340,000. Of this amount about a million pounds was exported to the United States, while 300,000 pounds went to Great Britain. In the same year over 12,000,000 pounds of honey were shipped abroad, valued at $650,000. Nearly 10,000,000 pounds of this went to the United States, Great Britain taking the larger part of the remainder.

Most of the honey exported from Cuba is strained and sells in bulk for about five cents per pound. To those fond of bees, apiculture in Cuba will always form for the settler a source of added pleasure and profit, especially in those sections where coffee, cacao and citrus fruit form the chief source of income.

Next to the Bahama Islands, surrounded as they are by hundreds of square miles of shoal water, the shores of Cuba probably produce more good sponges than any other part of the western hemisphere. In the quiet waters protected by out-lying barrier reefs that in places stretch for hundreds of miles along the shores of Cuba, many varieties of sponges are found. The longest of the sponge zones is found in the shallow waters protected by the Islands and reefs that stretch along the north coast of Cuba from Punta Hicaco opposite Cardenas, to the harbor of Nuevitas, some 300 miles east. Both sponges and green turtles are found here but never have been extensively hunted except by the Bahama Islanders, who before the inauguration of the Cuban revenue service used to sneak across the old Bahama Channel in the darkness of the night and back of the uninhabited keys reap rich rewards in the sponge fields of the northern coast.

Batabano on the south coast, opposite the city of Havana, is the great center of the sponge fisheries that cover the shallow flats between the mainland and the Isle of Pines and extend from the Bay of Cochinos in the east to the extreme western terminus of the Island at Cape San Antonio.

The domestic consumption of sponges in Cuba is very large and in the year 1916-17 only 261,800 pounds were exported which had a value of $230,000.