3G6 



THE A.G&rCL"LTLrRAL KEWS 



NovtWEEi! 15, ldl9. 



HUMAN MORTALITY IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



In our editorial on aspects vi labour supply in the 

 last issue of this Journal, we attributed the inadequate 

 labour supply of certain tropical colonies to circumstacces 

 other I ban the health factor dloiie. There is no doubt, how- 

 ever, that according to rccen: statistic-, the health factor is 

 one of the piincipal oircumstauces which causes shortage of 

 labour in British Guiana. Fifcently the r>emei'<ira Daily 

 Argofy published an article, based on stat-stica issued by the 

 colony's liegistrar deneral, %vhich show the iruly deplorable 

 position in regard to the birth-rate and death rate amongst 

 the labouring sections of that communit-y. 



At the end of last year the esiiniated population was 

 310,972. In the last five years there has been an increase 

 in the total population of 6,823, beinjj at the rate of 4 per 

 thousand per annum. It may be noted that during the same 

 period, the increase in Trinidad was 14 per thousand, in 

 Barbados 21 per thousand, and in Jamaica 6'6 per thousand. 



The birth- rate was 25 1 per thousand as compared with 

 2S'4 for 1917. The average birth rate for the previous 

 five years was 310 per thousand. 



Of the total number of births registerefi, 3,401 or 437 

 per cent, were legitimate, and 4.390 or .5fi'3 per cent illegiti. 

 mate The rate of illegitimate births, though high in British 

 Guiana, is however less than in Trinidad (TOo per cent ), 

 Jaaaica (677 per cent.), St. Vincent (6.59 per cent), 

 Barbados (fi.5-6 per cent.), and St. liUcia (oS 8 per cent.). 

 This unsatisfactory .state of affairs has a very great 

 significance, for illegitimacy fe closely associated with 

 infantile mortality, which in itself is one of the principal 

 caust-s of the high death rates. 



Continuing, the Argosy says : — 



' The death-rate was 406 per 1,000 as against 30 4 per 

 1,000 for 1917. The moan rate for the previous five years 

 was 26'8 per l,00(i. The death-rate for males was 44-7 per 

 ],00C, and for females 301 per 1,000. These figures are 

 ominous. Although aggravated to some extent by the 

 influenza epidemic, which in December alone caused 

 2,32fi deaths, they still prove . that there is no natural 

 increase in the population of the colony, b'or the past ten 

 years indeed the death-rate has been higher than th? birth- 

 rate, a state of affairs which exists neither in Trinidad, 

 Barbados, nor Jamaica. Dr. Wise, the then Surgeon General, 

 reported in 1916 that the period 1912-16 'constituted 

 a record for health in the colony, being unequalled by any 

 other five-year period iu the last fifty years. " In spite of this 

 fact the balance is against us The figures for 19I.sare, to 

 quote Mr. dementi, "deplorably bad.'' The birth-rate is 

 the lowest on record since 1 894, and the mi rtality higher 

 th.i;. in :iny year since 1868. When we consider that the 

 epidemic of influenza made its heaviest toll in January of 

 this year— there were 4,(198 of which 3,860 were ascribed 

 to that disease — it is unlikely that the vital statistics for 1919 

 will show much improvement. Up tr> the end of March, the 

 death-rate for the quarter reached the apf)alling figure of 

 85-1 per 1,000, while the birth-rate was only 26 3 per 1,000. 

 Gn March 31, 1919, there were 3,614 people less in the 

 colony than at the ted of 1914. Infantile uiortality still 

 reaches a very high figure, and is substantially increasing on 

 previous years, except amongst Europeans. It is obvious 

 that while these conditions prevail, one cannot look with 

 ;.ny degree of oplimii-m to the future. The po()u1at on may 

 hf artificially mcrea.sed by wholesale immigration, but 

 there i> iilile possibility of cokmization in the true 

 aenpe of ihe word, while there is an annually recurrent 

 natural decrease of population. The high death-rate is 

 largely due to diseases of a preventable character, and to 

 infantile mortality coDsequent on the low standard of life of 



the parents. Until practical bteps arc- taken to reduce the- 

 spread of disease, and to ensure completely sanitary condi- 

 tions of living, there can be little hope of improvement. 

 This probleui makes the most insistent demand on the 

 administration, and only with its solution will come the 

 fundamtrr.t^il basis c which thr- crlonv'.s progress may rest. 



BANANA CIDER. 



In his quaint book ' A True and Exact History of the 

 Island r.f Barbados.' published in 1653, the author, Richard 

 Ligon, speaks of a drink made froja plantains. His account 

 of this drink and its riwthod of preparation, however, lacks 

 exactness. It is as follows ; ' Gathering plantines full ripe, 

 and in the height of their sweatnesse, we pill off the skin, 

 and mash them in water well boyl'd, and after we hare let 

 them stay there a night, we strain it, and bottle it up, and in 

 a week drink it : and'it is very strong and pleasant drinke, 

 but it is to be drunk sparingly, for it is much stronger than 

 Sack, and i.s ai)t to mount up into the head ' 



An article appearing in the Bulletin Agricolc, of Saigon 

 in French Indo China, for July 1919. is of interest with 

 regard to this subject. The author, General Leblois, 

 Commanding Officer of the Fieneh troops in Indo-Cliina, 

 draws attention to the po.ssibilit}- of the manufacture of 

 •wholesome .ind pleasant cider from rifie bananas. He points 

 out that the fruit i^ common in that tropical province, and he 

 declares that the drink made from bananas, according to the 

 recipe which he furnishes, is both pleasant and wholesome. 

 This drink is already being manufactured by the Co opera- 

 tive .Military Store at Hue, and the soldiers at that station 

 .scarcely drink anything else. 



The General's recipe is as follows : — 



Material required to make 25 litres (about ■'")A gallons) 

 of cider. 



125 eramtnes(little less thac 5 oz.) of tea. (f/inrstlr /kl-.) 



1 S kilo (about 4 ft>.) of crystallized sugar. 



■25 grammes (little liss than an ounce) of tartaric acid. 



6 banaaas thoroughly ripe. 



4 small tablets of native yeast. 



Bring to the boil- 5 litres (^about 1|^ gallons) of water, 

 add the tea, and allow it to boil for a quarter of an hour, 

 covering the vessel while the water is boiling. 



Pour off the water without the tea leaves into a demi- 

 john half full of e -M water, add the, .-lUGar. the tartaric acid, 

 the bananas en ii.to small piece.?, antl the yeast crushed. 



Stir the liquid for a quarter of an hour with a stick, then 

 fill the demi-john. 



Leave the mixture to ferment ahtmt six or eight days, 

 taking care to stir it every day for x few minutes. Bottln it, 

 and wire the bottles 



Let the bottles remain oa their side-i for some days, but 

 if the orks appear to be starting, p'ace the bottles 

 upright. 



At the end of the seventh day the cider can be drunk, 

 and even on the fifth or sixth day, according to whether one 

 prefers it more or l-:.-9%weet, r,x with mi^ro or less alcohol. 



.Anrjther recipe for preparing ab ut 30 sallons of banana 

 cider iu '.i cask is .Jso given, but the proportions of the 

 ingredients are much the same as above .'V c-iucion is 

 appended to this, as to the Qece.ssity of using strong bottles, 

 .sound corks, and stout wire 



The editor ff the bulletin -lys. in a note appciidi'd to the 

 article noticed above, that this l.'anan a cider micht without 

 doubt advantageously replace dricks stroogly fortified with 

 alcohol, which ar" "■-■•> 't>p'i ^'>Id inrlm -he <• \\\\i of wines iu 

 the East. 



