Plantains, 2,500
Yuca, 1,000

It must be remembered that there are multitudes of fruits and vegetable
productions not enumerated above, which do not enter into commerce, and
which grow wild. No account is taken of them. In the hands of a thrifty
population, Cuba would blossom like a rose, as it is a garden growing
wild, cultivated here and there in patches, but capable of supporting in
ease a population of ten times its density.

About the coffee plantations, and, indeed, throughout the rural parts of
the island, there is an insect called a cucullos, answering in its
nature to our fire-fly, though quadruple its size, which floats in
phosphorescent clouds over the vegetation. One at first sight is apt to
compare them to a shower of stars. They come in multitudes, immediately
after the wet or rainy season sets in, and there is consequently great
rejoicing among the slaves and children, as well as children of a larger
growth. They are caught by the slaves and confined in tiny cages of
wicker, giving them sufficient light for convenience in their cabins at
night, and, indeed, forming all the lamps they are permitted to have.
Many are brought into the city and sold by the young Creoles, a
half-dozen for a paseta (twenty-five cents). Ladies not unfrequently
carry a small cage of silver attached to their bracelets, containing
four or five of them, and the light thus emitted is like a candle. Some
ladies wear a belt of them at night, ingeniously fastened about the
waist, and sometimes even a necklace, the effect thus produced being
highly amusing. In the ball-rooms they are sometimes worn in the
flounces of the ladies' dresses, and they seem nearly as brilliant as
diamonds. Strangely enough, there is a natural hook near the head of the
Cuban fire-fly, by which it can be attached to any part of the dress
without any apparent injury to the insect itself; this the writer has
seen apparently demonstrated, though, of course, it could not be
strictly made clear. The town ladies pet these cucullos, and feed them
regularly with sugar cane, of which the insects partake with infinite
relish; but on the plantations, when a fresh supply is wanted, they have
only to wait until the twilight deepens, and a myriad can be secured
without trouble.

The Cubans have a queer, but yet excellent mode of harnessing their
oxen, similar to that still in vogue among eastern countries. The yoke
is placed behind the h