The Republic ultimately will raise her own live stock and should produce sufficient corn, rice, beans, peanuts and perhaps wheat to be, to a large extent at least, independent of the outside world. With this purpose in view the Department of Agriculture has encouraged immigration and through the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas is making greater efforts than ever before to ascertain just what crops and what seeds or plants are best adapted to the soil and climate of Cuba. This information is being gathered and carefully digested so that it may be given to the homeseekers and settlers of which the country stands in such urgent need. At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Calvino, chief of the Government Station, together with his staff, is searching for and bringing from all parts of the globe every plant and every variety of animal that can be utilized for food purposes. Nearly every variety of wheat, corn, sorghum, rice, potatoes, grains and tubers, is being tested and tried on the 160 acres of land belonging to the station. Grapes, peaches, plums and other semi-tropical fruits are being planted, experimented with and carefully watched for results, while forage plants and grasses from South America, Africa, Australia, India, China, Europe and the United States are being tried, each under conditions approaching as nearly as possible those of its original habitat. Although Cuba with its adjacent islands has an area of only about 45,000 square miles--approximating the area of the State of Mississippi--one finds many varieties of soil, the characteristics of which, even when lying contiguous, are so varied as to be astounding. High and comparatively dry plateaus, in places, rise almost abruptly from low level savannas that remain moist in the driest seasons of the year. Rich deep soiled mountain sides and valleys may be found within a few miles of pine barrens, whose hillsides are valued only for the mineral wealth that may lie beneath the surface. Great areas of rich virgin forest, in both mountain and plain, still exist, especially in the eastern half of the Island, where many thousands of acres in the open, if planted with suitable grasses, would support countless herds of cattle and live stock. To bring all of this territory as soon as possible into a state of profitable cultivation, and thus supply permanent homes for farmers and stock raisers, is the great aim and purpose of the Department of Agriculture in Cuba today, and to the consummation of these plans Secretary Agramonte is devoted, with a most able and energetic Assistant Secretary in Dr. Carlos Armenteros.