AGRICULTURE. Owing to its climate and soil, Cuba is exceptionally well adapted for agriculture, but long years of political oppression and un fa vorahle labor conditions, combined somewhat with the indisposition for work inherent in the natives, have retarded the agricultural develop ment of the island. Prior to the late war the number of farms was estimated at over 90,060, valued at nearly $200,000,000. Put the war, with the reconcentrado policy, caused a great destruction of farms and live stock. Thus the census of 1899 gives tlic number of farms at I,0,7 t1, with a total area of 8,542,000 acres, of which, however, only a little over one-tenth was under cultivation. The land is cut up into ex •eedingly small tracts. The holdings of less than eight acres constitute about 63 per cent. of the total number; those of between eight and sixteen acres comprise about 19 per cent.; while those above thirty-two acres consti tute only 7 per cent. Out of the 50,000 farms of less than sixteen acres, about 24,000 are occu pied by white renters. 10,300 by colored renters: 9600 are occupied by white owners, 2S00 by col ored. The participation of colored inhabitants in agricultural pursuits is confined largely to the smaller farms.
Sugar.—Sugar was one of the earliest products of the island. Cane is supposed to have been introduced in 1523, but its cultivation for three centuries was insignificant. The annual output prior to the opening of the nineteenth century averaged about 28,000 tons, which was increased by the end of the first half of the century to about 250,000. During the latter half of the nineteenth century also the tendency was up ward, although the industry was greatly handi capped by frequent internal disturbances and by the low price of sugar. brought about largely by the competition of beet-sugar. In 1853 the out put of the island was 322.000 tons; in 1370 it had increased to 726,000. Twenty years later the amount had fallen to 632,36S tons; but in 1894 there were produced 1,054,214 tons, or nearly 50 per cent. of the world's output of cane-sugar.
Even in 1895, the first year of the Cuban war, the output exceeded 1,000,000 tons; but in the fol lowing year it fell to 225,221, with a further de crease in 1897 of 13,221 tons. Since the Spanish American War the figures have grown to 335.66S tons in 1899, 300.073 tons in 1900, and 600,000 in 1901. The cultivation of sugar differs from most branches of agriculture in that it requires a large outlay of capital its operation. The successful colonic, or sugar plan tation, generally contains several thousands of acres. several miles of private railway for the transportation of the cane to the mills, numerous buildings, and costly plants of machinery for the manufacture the sugar. Besides this, build ings for the housing of a thousand or more em ployees have to be provided. The cane, which re quires replanting but once in seven years, is chiefly grown on elevated land, no fertilizer being required.
Tobacco.—Next to sugar, tobacco is the most important agricultural product of the island. The cultivation of that plant in Cuba dates from about 1580, when it was introduced into the district of \Tuella ..-kbajo, in the Province of Pinar del Pio, which has since been famous for the quality of its tobacco. The output of the pro vince is nearly 50 per cent, of the entire crop of the island. The plant is also extensively culti vated in the provinces of Havana and Santa Clara. At the outbreak of the late war, the nor mal annual output was over 62,000,000 pounds, but in 1896-97 the amount had dwindled to about 41,000.000 pounds; in 1897-98 to 9,6S0,000 pounds; in 1898-99, however, it rose to 24,400 000 pounds. The condition of the tobacco in dustry is, on the whole, more hopeful than that of sugar, because it suffers less from competition and because the raw tobacco, although the tariff is high on the finished product, such as cigars, is admitted to the market of the United States with only a slight import duty.