The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Some of the most successful groves in Cuba have been those planted in what is known as the Guayabal District, located near the Guanajay Road, in the extreme northwestern corner of the Province of Havana, within 25 miles, or easy automobile drive, from the capital of the Island. The oranges produced in this district are all from comparatively small orchards, well cared for, whose fruit is sold to local purchasers and conveyed in trucks to the markets of Havana. These oranges are sold in on the trees, at prices varying from $10 to $20 per thousand. The grape fruit, or toronja, alone is crated and shipped to the United States, where the market for some years has been quite satisfactory, especially when heavy frosts have cut short the yield of Florida groves.

The great mistake of many of the early investors of capital in citrus fruits in Cuba was not alone in the selection of the site, but in the fact that enormous tracts of land were prepared at heavy expense and groves set out with varieties not only unsuited to the market, but in tracts so large that protection from disease, and from the tall rank grasses of the island, was practically impossible.

There is perhaps no fruit grown for commercial purposes that requires more constant care and intelligent supervision than the orange and grape fruit. An orange grove must be kept free from weeds, grass and running vines; must be frequently cultivated to form a dust mulch; the trees must be sprayed with insecticides and should be always under the eye of an expert horticulturist, or orange grower, who will recognize and combat not alone the scale insect but scores of other diseases that may attack the trees at any time. These, if neglected for a year, or even for a few months, will make inroads into the health of a grove that spells heavy loss if not ultimate ruin.

In Florida and California these facts, of course, are well known, and the rules for successful orange culture are carefully followed. But in the early rush for cheap lands in Cuba, and the selfish desire of the promoter for huge profits and quick sales, regardless of the welfare of the purchaser, tracts were purchased and trees were set out with neither capital nor provision for the care and fertilizer required to keep a grove thriving, from the time of planting the nursery stock to its ultimate maturity.

Experience has proved that the most successful varieties of oranges, intended for the export trade, are those that bear very early in the fall, and very late in the spring, avoiding thus all competition with oranges from Florida and the Bahamas. Of these the early and the late Valencias, together with the Washington navel, that will easily stand shipment even to Europe and other distant markets, probably have the preference among most growers in Cuba.

The quality of this fruit is excellent, and although the navel orange among some growers has gotten into ill repute, the fault lies not in the orange itself, but in the fact that inferior nursery stock was imposed upon many planters during the first days of the Republic. During the past six years, first-class well selected and packed fruit has brought from $2 to $5 per crate, and sometimes more, in the eastern and northern markets of the United States, while common oranges, sold by the truck load in the Havana market, bring to the grower from $6 to $12 per thousand, choice fruit selling at from $10 to $20 per thousand.

For general commercial purposes, especially for shipment abroad, the Washington navel or Riverside oranges have probably no superior in Cuba. They are large in size, weighing from 1½ to 2 pounds each. When properly grown the skin is thin, with deep red color, and the fruit is full of juice, as one may judge from the fact that no orange will exceed a pound in weight and not be juicy.

The navel orange is seedless and exceedingly sweet, although lacking somewhat in the spicy flavor found in other varieties. Its season for ripening in this latitude varies from August to November, and extends into January. In planting groves with this variety care must be taken that the buds come from trees producing first-class fruit, since the type is liable to degenerate, unless the grower selects ideal trees from which to cut his bud wood.

Both the Jaffa and the Pineapple orange are popular in Cuba, especially for the local markets of the island, since they ripen during what is known as the middle orange season, or from December to March. The pineapple orange is probably one of the most prolific of the mid-season type. The fruit is pear-shaped, orange yellow in color, and one of the most highly flavored oranges grown in Cuba. Its skin is thin. The form of the tree is upright in growth rather than spreading.

The Jaffa is a dainty round orange, of medium size, golden yellow in color, with a thin skin, and pulp tender and juicy. It keeps well and is, as a rule, a prolific bearer. The tree is upright in shape, compact and not prone to disease.