The Province of Matanzas—Comparatively Unimportant in History—A Great Drainage and Traffic Canal—Rivers and Mountains—The Coast and Islands—The Henequen Industry—The City of Matanzas—The Caves of Bellamar—Sugar Production—Mineral Resources.   Chapter VII. Province of Santa Clara 60   The Province of Santa Clara—A Land of Great Variety of Scenes—Ancient Gold-Seeking—The Mountain Ranges—Rich Lands of the Parks and Valleys—Rivers and Lakes—Harbors—Cities of the Province—The “Swamp of the Shoe”—Forests, Sugar Plantations, Tobacco, and Coffee—Opportunities for Stock Raising.   Chapter VIII. Province of Camaguey 71   The Province of Camaguey—Where Columbus First Landed—In the Days of Velasquez—Events of the Ten Years’ War—Topography of the Province—Mountain Ranges—Rivers and Coastal Lagoons—Harbors—Lack of Railroads—The Sugar Industry—Minerals—American Colonies—Some Noted Men.   Chapter IX. Province of Oriente 83   The Province of Oriente—Area and Topography—Mountains and Rivers—Fine Harbors—Great Sugar Mills—Scene of the First Spanish Settlement in Cuba—The Bay of Guantanamo—Santiago de Cuba—Copper Mines—Manzanillo—The Cauto Valley—Sugar Plantations and Stock Ranches—Timber and Minerals—American Colonies.   Chapter X. The Isle of Pines 99   The Isle of Pines—An Integral Part of Cuba—American Settlements and Claims—Character of the Island—Infertile and Storm Swept—Vast Deposits of Muck—Marble Quarries—Efforts to Promote Agricultural Interests.   Chapter XI. Mines and Mining 104   Mines and Mining—The Early Quest of Gold—First Working of Copper Mines—The Wealth of El Cobre—Copper in All Parts of Cuba—Operations in Pinar del Rio—Vast Iron Deposits in Oriente—Nickel and Manganese—Exports of Ore—American Investigation of Chrome Deposits—Many Beds of Great Richness—Manganese and Chrome for All the World.   Chapter XII. Asphalt and Petroleum 126   Asphalt and Petroleum—Ocampo’s Early Discovery at Puerto Carenas—Humboldt’s Reports of Petroleum Wells—Prospecting for Oil in Many Places—Some Promising Wells—Asphalt Deposits of Great Value—Prospects for Important Petroleum Developments.   Chapter XIII. Forestry 135   Forestry—Vast Resources of Fine Woods Recklessly Squandered in Early Times—Houses Built of Mahogany—Hundreds of Varieties of Valuable Timber Trees—A Catalogue of Sixty of the Most Useful—Need of Transportation for the Lumber Trade—Forests Owned by the State.   Chapter XIV. Agriculture 144   Agriculture—The Chief Interest of Cuba—Fertility of Soil, Geniality of Climate, and Variety of Products—The Rainfall—Many Farmers Specialists—The Government’s Experimental Station—Opportunities for Stock-Raising—Work of the Department of Agriculture—Its Various Bureaus—Value of Experimental Work Begun by General Wood and Extended by President Menocal—Improving Live Stock—Fruit Growing—Grains and Grasses—Combating Insect Pests—Bureau of Plant Sanitation.   Chapter XV. Sugar 160   “King Cane”—Cuba’s Crop and the World’s Production—Natural Conditions Favorable to Sugar Culture—Extent of Lands Still Available—The “Savana” and “Cienaga” Lands—Assured Projects for Draining Great Swamps—Potential Increase of Sugar Production in Cuba—Methods of Planting, Culture and Harvesting—The Labor Problem—Improved Machinery—Something About the Principal Sugar Producing Concerns in Cuba and the Men Who Have Created Them and Are Directing Them—The Largest Sugar Company in the World—Cuba’s Assured Rank as the World’s Chief Sugar Plantation.   Chapter XVI. Tobacco 183   The Tobacco Industry—First European