ol4 CUBA AND PORTO RICO 



important a factor in the West Indies, removed its head- 

 quarters to Barbados. It is estimated that this removal 

 caused a loss of many thousand pounds a year to the 

 island. 



The production of sugar in St. Thomas has been falling 

 off since the abolition of slavery in 1848, and it is here that 

 the traveler, proceeding southward through the Caribbee 

 Islands, sees upon landing those ever-present signs of 

 natural decay, the abandoned sugar-houses and -mills, 

 though nature conceals the old cane-fields by rapidly 

 spreadiug over them her mantle of tropical vegetation. 

 The cultivation of aloes and fibrous plants is being tried, 

 but not with any particular prospect of success. There 

 are also plantations of divi-divi trees and the usual tropi- 

 cal fruits. 



The healtlif ulness of the place has been greatly improved 

 of late years by cutting a channel which gives another 

 outlet from its harbor to the sea, thereby creating currents 

 which remove the filth, an experiment that suggests the 

 possibilities of Havana in the same line. 



St. John, which also belongs to the Danes, lies almost 

 within gunshot of St. Thomas, to the east, and is very 

 similar to the latter in general aspects ; but as it is away 

 from the paths of ocean trade, it is obliged to live upon its 

 own meager internal resources. It has a port called Coral 

 Bay, which is said to be one of the best harbors of refuge 

 in the Antilles. The capital of the island is an obscure 

 village on the northern side. 



Tortola succeeds St. John to the northeast. It is trav- 

 ersed by a central ridge which culminates in a peak 

 eighteen hundred feet high. It is the largest of the British 

 Virgins, and presents a very rocky and precipitous configu- 

 ration. The absence of forests on the mountains contributes 

 to its rugged appearance. The island is eighteen miles 

 from east to west, and seven from north to south. It is 

 very poorly watered, and abounds in waste lands and 

 pasturage. The soil is not good enough for sugar, though 



