under Nuredin Pasha and the British expedition, under General Townshend, which advanced from Amara, in Septembre, 1915, along the Tigris, with the object of capturing Bagdad. At no time did the British force amount to more than four brigades, two-thirds of which were composed of East Indians, while the Turks consisted of at least four divisions, with a strong preponderance in artillery. Ctesiphon, renowned in times of antiquity, was at this time only a large village on the Tigris, 18 miles below Bagdad. Close by stand the ruins of the ancient palace built by the Persian emperors, containing the greatest vaulted room in the world. Here the armies of the Prophet had also achieved one of their greatest victories, and it was because of this historic significance to the followers of Mohammed that the Turkish commander decided to make a determined stand at this point. As a military engagement, however, the encounter between the two armies was a victory for the British, an entire Turkish division being destroyed and 1,600 prisoners taken. But the success was dearly paid for; the British lost 643 in killed, 3,330 in wounded and over 500 not accounted for, out of a total of only 25,000 men. In spite of their success, the British were compelled to retire to Kut-el-Amara, where they were besieged and finally captured by the Turks.
CUANDO, a name of the Chobe, a tributary of the Zambesi.
CUBA, the largest and most westerly of the West Indies. It stretches in the form of a narrow crescent, convex on the N. side, at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico, which it divides into two channels, the N. W., 124 miles wide, and the S. W., 97½ miles at its narrowest part.
Topography.—Cuba is 775 miles long from Cape Maysi on the E. to Cape Antonio on the W., with a breadth varying from 30 miles to 160 miles, a coastline of 1,976 miles, and an area of 44,215 square miles. Only about one-third of the coast-line is accessible to vessels, the remainder being beset by reefs and banks. The shores, low and flat, are liable to inundations, but there are numerous excellent havens. A watershed running lengthwise through the island, rises into mountainous heights only in the S. E., where are the Sierra de Maestra, shooting up in the Pico de Tarquinto to 8,400 feet, and the Sierra del Cobre (copper). The mountains, composed of granite overlaid with calcareous rocks, and containing minerals, especially copper and iron, are clothed in almost perennial verdure, wooded to the summits. Carboniferous strata appear in the W., schistose rocks on the N. coast. The limestone rocks abound in caverns, with magnificent stalactites. Mineral waters are plentiful. The rivers running N. and S., are navigable for only a few miles by small boats, but are very serviceable for irrigation of the plantations, and supply excellent drinking water. The climate, more temperate than in the other West Indian islands, is salubrious in the elevated interior, but the coasts are the haunt of fever and ague. No month of the year is free from rain, the greatest rainfall being in May, June, and July. Earthquakes are frequent in the E. Hurricanes, less frequent than in Jamaica, sometimes cause widespread desolation. A hurricane in 1846 demolished 1,872 houses and sank 216 vessels, and another in 1870 caused the loss of 2,000 lives.
Soil, Productions, Etc.—The soil of Cuba is a marvel of richness, and a large part is still covered with virgin forest containing magnificent mahogany, cedar, ebony, logwood, lignum-vitæ, pine and caiguaran. The vegetation of Cuba also includes tamarind, palms, ferns, lianas, etc. Among the cultivated products are sugar, tobacco, coffee, cacao, rice, maize, cotton, esculent roots and tropical fruits. Among the animals are a species of tailless rat peculiar to Cuba, a great abundance of birds, including the mockingbird, a species of vulture (valuable as a scavenger), woodpecker, partridge, flamingo, and albatross. Of noxious animals and insects there are the crocodile, scorpion, and mosquitoes. The rivers and seas are well stocked with fish, the turtle abounding in the shallows and sandy places of the beach. The chief crops of the country are sugar and tobacco. The abnormal demand for sugar during the World War, especially from the date of the entrance of the United States into it, produced conditions in Cuba which resulted in great prosperity among the sugar planters and, in fact, throughout all classes on the island. The sugar crop in 1918 was 4,048,480 tons, and in 1919, 4,446,229 tons. The total area planted to sugar was nearly 1,400,000 acres, and there were over 200 sugar mills in operation. The vast speculation in sugar in 1919 and 1920 resulted in financial conditions which made it necessary to take stringent measures to prevent complete collapse of the banking system. A moratorium was declared which lasted for the greater part of 1920 and into 1921. The value of the tobacco manufactured in 1918 was $13,829,627. Other important productions were rum, alcohol, live stock, lum-
