The great mistake of many of the early investors of capital in citrus fruits in Cuba was not alone in the selection of the site, but in the fact that enormous tracts of land were prepared at heavy expense and groves set out with varieties not only unsuited to the market, but in tracts so large that protection from disease, and from the tall rank grasses of the island, was practically impossible. There is perhaps no fruit grown for commercial purposes that requires more constant care and intelligent supervision than the orange and grape fruit. An orange grove must be kept free from weeds, grass and running vines; must be frequently cultivated to form a dust mulch; the trees must be sprayed with insecticides and should be always under the eye of an expert horticulturist, or orange grower, who will recognize and combat not alone the scale insect but scores of other diseases that may attack the trees at any time. These, if neglected for a year, or even for a few months, will make inroads into the health of a grove that spells heavy loss if not ultimate ruin. In Florida and California these facts, of course, are well known, and the rules for successful orange culture are carefully followed. But in the early rush for cheap lands in Cuba, and the selfish desire of the promoter for huge profits and quick sales, regardless of the welfare of the purchaser, tracts were purchased and trees were set out with neither capital nor provision for the care and fertilizer required to keep a grove thriving, from the time of planting the nursery stock to its ultimate maturity. Experience has proved that the most successful varieties of oranges, intended for the export trade, are those that bear very early in the fall, and very late in the spring, avoiding thus all competition with oranges from Florida and the Bahamas. Of these the early and the late Valencias, together with the Washington navel, that will easily stand shipment even to Europe and other distant markets, probably have the preference among most growers in Cuba. The quality of this fruit is excellent, and although the navel orange among some growers has gotten into ill repute, the fault lies not in the orange itself, but in the fact that inferior nursery stock was imposed upon many planters during the first days of the Republic. During the past six years, first-class well selected and packed fruit has brought from $2 to $5 per crate, and sometimes more, in the eastern and northern markets of the United States, while common oranges, sold by the truck load in the Havana market, bring to the grower from $6 to $12 per thousand, choice fruit selling at from $10 to $20 per thousand.