Importations in Cuba from Spain $ 7,492,622
Exportation from Cuba to Spain $23,412,376
                                         -----------
Difference in favor of export $15,919,754

THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL CUBA.

Under happier conditions, there can be no doubt that Cuba will speedily attain a much higher state of commercial importance and prosperity than it has yet enjoyed.  Great as its productiveness has been in the past, well-informed writers assert that proper development of its resources will increase the value five-fold, and a liberal system of government will enable it to take advantage of its admirable position to gain greater prominence in the commercial world.

CHAPTER VI.

Beauties of A tropical island.

A Delightful Climate—­Grand Scenic Surprises—­The Caves of Bellamar—­The Valley of the Yumuri—­Under Nature’s Dome—­Gorgeous Sunsets—­The Palm Tree Groves—­The Home of Fruits and Flowers—­ The Zodiacal Light.

When the little island of Cuba, “The Pearl of the Antilles,” was assigned a place upon the terrestrial globe, Nature must have been in her most generous mood.  Certainly no land beneath the skies was given a more perfect combination of mountains and rivers, forests and plains.  Situated within and near the border of the northern tropical zone, the temperature of the low coast lands is that of the torrid zone, but the high interior of the island enjoys a delightful climate, and the verdure-clad hills, with the graceful palm and cocoa tree clear against the pure blue sky, may be seen at all seasons of the year.

As in other countries on the borders of the tropics, the year is divided between a hot and wet season, corresponding to the northern declination of the sun, and a cool and dry period.  The months from the beginning of May to October are called the wet season, though some 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 rain-fall 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.

July and August are the warmest months, and during this period the average temperature at Havana is 82 F, 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, and 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 level of the sea, the thermometer occasionally falls to the freezing point in winter.  Frost is not uncommon, and during north winds, thin ice may form, though snow is unknown in any part of the island.