Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/714

Rh 680 CUBA that of the torrid zone, but the higher interior of the island enjoys a more temperate atmosphere. As in other lands on the border of the tropics, the year is divided between a hotter and wetter season, corresponding to the northern declination of the sun, and a cooler and drier period. The months from the beginning of May to October are called the wet season, though rain falls in every month of the year. With May spring begins in the island, rain and thunder are of almost daily occurrence, and the temperature rises high with little daily variation. The period from November to April is called the dry season by contrast. On a mean of seven years, the rainfall at Havana in the wet season has been observed to be 27 8 inches, of the dry months 12 7 or 40 5 inches for the year. At Havana in the warmest months, those of July and August, the average temperature is 82 Fahr., fluctuating between a maximum of 88 and a minimum of 76 ; in the cooler months of December and January the thermometer averages 72, the maximum being 78, the minimum 58 ; the average temperature of the year at Havana, on a mean of seven years, is 77. But in the interior, at elevations of over 300 feet above the sea, the thermometer occasionally falls to the freezing point in winter, hoar frost is not uncommon, and during north winds thin ice may form, though snow is unknown in any part of the island. The prevailing wind is the easterly trade breeze, but from November to February cool north winds (los nortes, or &quot; northers &quot;), rarely lasting more than forty-eight hours, are experienced in the western portion of the island, to which they add a third seasonal change. From 10 to 12 o clock are the hottest hours of the day; after noon a refreshing breeze (la virazon) sets in from the sea. Hurricanes may occur from August to October, but are loss frequent than in Jamaica or Hayti, and sometimes five or six years may pass without such a storm. Slight shocks of earthquake are occasionally felt. There are no diseases specially indigenous to the island; the yellow fever, which breaks out with renewed virulence regularly with the wet season in the coastlands and seaports of Cuba, annually causing great loss of life, is quite unknown in the interior. Minerals. The mineral riches of the island have not yet been ex plored to any considerable extent. Though gold and silver have undoubtedly been found in the island, the quantity has never been sufficient to repay the labour of search. Gold was sent to Spain from this island by the early settlers, but it was more probably the accumulated wealth of the aborigines in previous centuries, wrested from them by tyranny and rapine at the period of the conquest, than the product of honest labour on the part of the colonists. Traces of auriferous sand are found in the rivers Holguin, Escavvbray, &c. Some specimens of the finest gold have been obtained from the workings of Alabama and Sagua la Grande, but at an expense of time and labour that could not remunerate the parties engaged in it. In 1827 silver and copper were discovered in the jurisdiction of Villa Clara, and the first ores gave no less than 7 oz. of pure silver to the quintal ( = 107f ft&amp;gt;) of ore ; but they have become less productive, probably from not being properly worked. The Cobre copper mines, twelve miles from Santiago, in the eastern part of the island, are of great extent, and very rich ; a village of 2000 inhabitants has formed on their site, and a railroad unites them with the shipping port of Punta de Sal. As much as 50 tons of ore are taken out daily, the richest part of which, being broken up, is shipped to Euro?-? ; while the poorer part is smelted at the works, yielding about 14 per cent, of metal. These mines were wrought with some success during the 17th cen tury, and had been abandoned for more than 100 years. Coal of a highly bituminous character, affording a strong heat, and leaving very little solid residue in the form of ashes or cinders, is very abundant. In some places it degenerates into a form resembling asphaltum, and near the coast it is often found in a semi-liquid state like petroleum or naphtha, In the quarries near Havana a thick slate is found, fit for _ floors and pavements. Marbles and jaspers, of various colours, and susceptible of a high polish, are found in many parts of the island, and particularly in the Isle of Pines. It is generally believed that iron exists in various districts of Cuba, and many parts of the great Cordillera undoubtedly contain rocks of a ferruginous nature ; but from the difficulty of access, the scarcity of fuel, and the wart of capital, no extensive mining operations have been engaged in. Native loadstone, however, has been found in various parts, and chalybeate springs are numerous. The only peculiar quadruped known in the island is the Ani jutia or hutia, an animal shaped like a rat, and from 12 to 18 inches in length exclusive of the tail. It is of a clear black colour, inhabits the hollows and clefts of trees, and feeds on leaves and fruits. Its flesh is insipid, but is sometimes eaten. A few deer are found about the swamps, but they are supposed to have been introduced from the continent. The woods abound in wild dogs and cat&quot;, sprung from these animals in a domestic state, and differ ing from them only in habits and size. They are very destructive to poultry and cattle. Of domestic animals, the ox, the horse, and the pig are the most valuable, and form a large proportion of the wealth of the island ; the sheep, goats, and mules, are less numerous. The manati frequents the shores. The domestic fowls include geese, turkeys, peacocks, and pigeons. The indigenous birds are distinguished by the beauty of their plumage, and are very numerous, including upwards of 200 species. Buds of prey are few. The vulture and turkey-buzzard are pro tected by law and custom, on account of their services in the removal of offal. The rivers, bays, and inlets are well supplied with fish. Oysters and other shell-fish are numerous, but of inferior quality. The reefs and shallows, and the sandy portion of the beach, abound in turtle ; and the crocodile, cayman, and iguana are common. Large numbers of: land-crabs are frequently seen ; they cross the island from north to south every spring, when the rains commence. Snakes are not numerous ; the nwja 12 or 14 feet in length, and 18 or 20 inches in circumference is the largest, but is harmless ; the juba, which is about 6 feet long, is venomous. Among the insects may be specially noticed the bee and the phosphorescent fly. These flies are very numerous, and much used amon r the poorer inhabitants. Fifteen or twenty of them confined in a calabash pierced with holes frequently serve during the night as a sort of lantern. The noxious insects are the chigoe or jigger, a species of ant called vivajagua, tho mosquito, the sand-fly, the scorpion (less poisonous than that of Europe and spiders whose bite is malignant enough to produce fever. The forests of Cuba are of vast extent, and so dense as Vej: to be almost impenetrable. It is estimated that of nearly pro 20,000,000 acres of land still remaining perfectly wild and uncultivated, nearly 13,000,000 are uncleared forest. Mahogany and other hard woods, such as the Cuban ebony, cedar, sabicei, and granadilla, valuable for manufactures, cabinet work, and ship-building, are indigenous, and are exported to a considerable extent. The palm is the qu^en of the Cuban forests, and the most valuable tree on the island. The most common species, the Pa I ma Real (Oreodoxa regia), is found in all parts, but especially in the west. The fruits of Cuba are those common to the tropics, of which the pine-apple and orange are the most esteemed. Of the alimentary plants, the plantain is by far the most important. Next in order come the sweet and bitter cassava the sweet root being eaten