SCHOPF AMERICAN TRAVELS. 



the people raise jnst so much sugar as will supply their household ne- 

 cessities ; they do no more than boil the juice of the cane to a thick 

 syrup. 



Indigo may be seen here and there growing in gardens, and about 

 them, where the seed has fallen by chance and abundantly multiplied. 

 The assertion is made by those who know, that the finest and best in- 

 digo is believed to come from the planters here ; but large establish- 

 ments for making it are not set up, on account of the character of the 

 water here, and the lack of the quantity necessary for handling the 

 indigo. 



Cotton (Gossypinm arboreitm L.) ; the culture of this shrub is ex- 

 tending, not so much on Providence as on the other islands, experience 

 having proved that this crop is one of the best and surest rewards of 

 the planter's toil. It grows at all seasons, is not so dependent on rain 

 as other plants, and takes quick and strong hold of the rocky soil. 



Yams (Dioscorea alata L.) are raised everywhere in plenty, partly 

 for family use, and also (but in no great bulk) for export to North 

 America. The cut tubercles are once a year set in the ground, and 

 increase extraordinarily. 



Maize yields but one harvest a year, the character of the seasons 

 not admitting of two plantings. It can not be put into the ground until 

 the rainy season has begun, in June or July that is, and thus does not 

 mature until November or December. So its growth is no faster here 

 than on the American continent, where the planting is in May and 

 the harvest in September. The dryness of the other months does not 

 permit of a second seeding. This is the only grain produced on this 

 island, and the quantity raised is by no means sufficient. America 

 sends many cargoes hither to supply the lack. 



The Tamarind {Tarnarindns indica L.) has not become indigenous 

 here, but is planted now and then. The trees are of a large and fine 

 growth, with stout trunks and wide-spreading branches. The leaves 

 of this tree, as is well known, fold up at night. The fruit is borne in 

 quantity, pods 4-5 inches long, of a hard but brittle shell, brown in 

 color; within, between tough, woody fibers, lies the very sour marrow 

 which surrounds the seed. The shells are husked, and the inner parts 

 set in earthen pots, between layers of brown sugar, and thus expedited. 



As yet, very little of consequence has been done in wine-making; 

 but it is said that the wild grapes growing here are very like the grapes 

 of Madeira, and that some good wine has been expressed from them 

 already. 



Orange and lemon trees were at first transplanted by Europeans, 

 but are now become quite native ; almost all the known species and 



32 



