of the
soil and mines and buy manufactured goods. The possibilities of the
island are great, while the probabilities remain an unsolved problem."

When the tropical position of Cuba is taken into consideration, it may
be stated that its climate is generally mild. In fact, we can say that
it is one of the best, if not the very best, of the countries lying
within the tropics; and, during the dry season, it is unsurpassable
anywhere. In this season, the days are delightful, and the nights, with
the clear, transparent air, and the sky spangled with myriads of stars
(many of which, notably the constellation known as "The Southern Cross,"
are not visible in more northern countries), are veritable dreams of
beauty.

The heat and cold are never extreme, and there is only a slight
difference in the temperature all the year round. The warmest month at
Havana is July, with an average temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit,
and the coldest is January, with an average temperature of 70 degrees.

The rainy season lasts from the first of May till the first of October.
The popular impression is that it rains pretty nearly all the time
during this season, but this is a mistake. On an average there are not
more than ten rainy days a month, and the rain generally comes in the
afternoon. The temperature of Havana in the summer is but little higher
than that of New Orleans, while its rainfall is infinitely less. Yellow
fever exists in the coast cities all the year round, but it rarely makes
its appearance in the interior. The western part of the island is as
habitable as is Ohio.

It is certain that the effects of the climate upon the Spanish soldiers
has been disastrous, but much of the mortality among them have been due
not to the climate alone, but to a bad system of hygiene, wretched diet,
unsuitable clothing and a criminal disregard on the part of the military
authorities of the health of the men under their control.

The Medical Record, in an article on the subject, says:

"There is no evading the fact, however, that the landing of a large body
of more or less raw, unacclimatized men in the lowlands of a reputed
unhealthy coast at the beginning of the rainy season is an experiment
that must from the very nature of things be attended with much risk."

But the danger to our own soldiers must also from the very nature of
things, be much less than it has proved to the Spaniards. Our army is
composed of a much higher class of men int