At the close of the last war of independence the Cuban tobacco industry was practically destroyed. In this insurrection fighting was carried on, for the first time, in the Province of Pinar del Rio. Most of the plantations were wiped out and the cattle, upon which they depended for draft animals, were either killed or carried off. Worse still, the population of the Province was reduced from thirty-six thousand to barely one-sixth of that number. The first crop after the restoration of peace yielded no more than one-tenth of the former average production. The outlook of the industry was extremely black when an American syndicate supplied the capital necessary to give it a fresh start. Since then the process of resuscitation has progressed steadily. There is, however, room for a much greater development. Increase in the labor supply will permit of extension of the area of cultivation, and improvement in methods will result in greater yield and better quality. It is certain that under the stimulus of foreign capital and foreign management tobacco cultivation in Cuba will soon far surpass the production of its palmiest days. The prospect for the manufacturing branch of the industry, which has never been conducted to its best advantage, is equally good. The introduction of extensive American interests has put new life into the business, and the amalgamation of several large independent factories has been followed by excellent results to the corporations immediately concerned, as well as to the business at large. The import tariff imposed on Cuban cigars by the McKinley Act was a great blow to the manufacturers of Cuba. Many of them moved their factories to the United States, where, being able to import the raw material on favorable terms, they found themselves in a position to make and sell cigars of Cuban tobacco at a profit. The effect of this movement was to greatly decrease the exportation of manufactured tobacco from Cuba and to increase proportionally the shipment of leaf. At the same time the production of cigars in the United States expanded greatly and reached the enormous quantity of 5,000,000,000 per annum. As a remedy to this condition of affairs, the Cuban Government removed the export duty on cigars and cigarettes, whilst maintaining that on leaf tobacco and increasing it on the higher grades. The justice and wisdom of this step are illustrated by the following statement by Mr. Bock: “To manufacture in the United States 1,000 cigars, weighing 12 pounds, sold in Habana, unstemmed, 25 pounds of filler, and 5 pounds of wrapper, we should arrive at the following results: [Illustration: A TOBACCO FIELD AFTER HARVESTING.]