During the last war of independence the sugar plantations throughout Cuba were either utterly ruined, or severely damaged. Since the war, the industry has been resuscitated by the investment of vast amounts of money, the erection of modern buildings, and the installation of the latest types of machinery. As a considerable proportion of this investment was American money, American methods have been extensively introduced. The result of all this is a complete reformation of the industry in all its branches. There is, nevertheless, room for further improvement, especially in the field. A better quality of cane might be secured by intelligent selection, and the invention of a harvester would result in a great economy. The latter-day sugar plantation is a very extensive establishment and costs from five hundred thousand dollars to several millions. One of the largest and most complete in Cuba is that called the Central Preston, belonging to the Nipe Bay Company, and situated on Nipe Bay. The factory, according to the latest method, is erected close to the wharves at Punta Tabaco. Thence the cane lands extend inland and along the shore for twenty-five miles. The present grinding capacity of three thousand eight hundred tons of cane a day is shortly to be increased to five thousand tons, when the factory will be the largest in the world. The main building, entirely of steel construction, has a frontage of 312 feet and a depth of 234 feet on one side and 330 feet on the other. Separate buildings are devoted to carpenter shops, machine shops, foundry, refrigerating and ice plants. Besides the usual full equipment of pumps, juice heaters, clarifiers, filter presses, etc., the factory installation includes ten 600 horsepower vertical water tube boilers with bagasse burning furnaces, automatically fed by bagasse carriers and the latest improved type of furnace feeders; two tandems of 36 inch × 84 inch nine-roll mills, with crushers, each tandem of mills being driven by one 32 inch × 60 inch Corliss engine and each crusher by one 20 inch × 42 inch Corliss engine. Two Lillie Quadruple Effects, each of a capacity to evaporate 600,000 gallons, reversible both as to vapor and liquor. Four 14 inch steel vacuum pans, each equipped with its own vacuum pump and condenser. For the injection water, three-stage direct connected centrifugal pumps are used, one of which is a reserve, throwing 3,500 gallons of water per minute. Twenty-two crystallizers, with an aggregate capacity of 37,400 cubic feet; thirty 40 inch Weston centrifugal machines and the most improved installation of conveyors, and other auxiliary and automatic machinery of practical design for the handling of the finished product. Three molasses storage tanks, of 425,000 gallons capacity each, accommodate the final molasses thrown off by the factory. These are situated near the wharf, and from them shipment in bulk is made directly into deep draught tank steamers.