There is no doubt but that several large cattle ranches and establishments for breeding horses and mules might be run on American lines with profit to the owners. As in the case of farm products, the first object to be aimed at should be the supply of the domestic demand. After that has been accomplished, there should be no difficulty in finding markets for all the surplus cattle that Cuba can raise. Europe is in need of constantly increasing meat supplies, and the United States will soon be a heavy importer of animal foods. Provided that the industry is conducted upon modern methods and the breed improved, as it may be without difficulty, Cuba should be able to compete with any of the foremost cattle raising countries. In this connection attention may be called to the neglect of alfalfa in Cuba. It has been ascertained that the plant can be grown in the Island with the best results. It is well known to be a powerful soil fertilizer and an excellent crop with which to rotate. The abundance of fattening grasses and the quantity of refuse from the sugar mills available, make it improbable that alfalfa could be profitably used as fodder on Cuban farms. There is no doubt however, about its ready sale in the place of the hay which is now imported to the extent of several hundred thousand dollars annually, and at a cost of forty dollars a ton. The market for alfalfa hay could be greatly enlarged by supplying the small towns to which the Cuban farmers carry pack-horse loads of grass, to be sold in the streets at five cents for two armfuls. One of the first steps in the improvement of Cuban farming must be the attainment of greater yield and better crops from the land. Let us take corn as an illustration of present conditions and future possibilities. For long past, Cuba has been importing this grain in constantly increasing quantities and at present is paying two million dollars a year for it. This is one of the most glaring instances of neglect. The Island should produce every ear of corn that is consumed in it and much more. As it is, a comparatively small area is devoted to this crop, which is deficient in both yield and quality. This is fully accounted for by the haphazard method of cultivation. In very rare cases is any other cause responsible for the poor results. Tests, made at one of the experiment stations, of several parcels of the seeds usually bought for planting, showed that from forty to sixty per cent. were sterile, whilst the remainder were far from uniform in size and vitality. By using such seeds the farmer is wasting half the ground planted and paying six dollars per hundred pounds for the half that germinates. Under such circumstances he can hardly raise a crop from rented ground that will sell at a profit. Instead of attempting to do so, he grows enough to feed his few head of stock and takes no note of the cost.