96 



close of the thiiteenth century, to Arabia, whence the cul- 



f it soon extended to Nubia, Egypt, and jSlthiopia. 



Mo 



)rs introduced it into Spaim The Spaniards con- 

 veyed it to the Canaries in the beginning of the fifteenth cen- 



tury 



Domin 



and now forms one of the staple articles of trade of the whole 



H 



of the West India Islands. An account of its botanical 

 characters, then, and of the mode of its cultivation in the 

 most extensive of our Islands in the West Indies, cannot but 

 be acceptable to our readers : and this I am enabled to offer 



Dr. Macfadv 



me 



the Botanical Characters of the Sugar Cane, with Remarks 



on its Cultivation. — Hook. 



It must be a subject of regret, that no direct intercourse 

 exists between the British settlements in the East, and the West 

 Indian colonies. While allied in their climate, and with the 

 character of their labouring classes not very dissimilar, hav- 

 ing also nearly the same objects of cultivation, the one knows 

 nothing of the methods pursued and the processes employed 

 by the other. There cannot be a doubt, but that, were the 

 communication more easy, they might, with advantage, be 

 mutually enlightened. We, in these islands, might learn a 

 lesson from our Eastern rivals, who, for ages — ^long before 

 a native of civilized Europe stepped on these shores — were 

 occupied in the cultivation of the Cane, the Coffee, and many 

 other productions, which now constitute the sources of our 

 wealth. Perhaps we, in return, might suggest some improve- 

 ment. It is with this view that I engage in my present task, 

 trusting that some information may be given, in return, by 

 some one conversant with the state of agriculture in the East- 

 Soon after my arrival in this island, I was led to t^^^^ 

 some observations" on the botanical characters of the com- 

 mon Sugar Cane. Having found them to differ from b^H 

 account 1 have as yet met with, I was tempted to draw out 

 the following description. 



• 



