6^ti 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Febrvary I, 1883. 



thrift, and tidiness being everywhere visible." It is 

 pleasant to learn that the example, thus being set to the 

 "Creoles," is having, a good effect on them also, and 

 that they are beginning to follow, here and tbeie, in 

 the footsteps of the, by them, long despised immigrants, 

 A visit to the Georgetown murket any day will show 

 the inquisitive one the influence these are alieady 

 exerting "U our food supplies, and as the prices obtained 

 by these tillers of the soil are fairly remunerative, we 

 have every reason to expect, in the years to come, a 

 rapid increase in the production of the necessaries 

 of life. 



A few of what may be termed the larger industries, 

 viz., coconut, cacao, and coffee, are also receiving the 

 attention of capitalists, and first amongst these we have 

 pleasuie in noticing Mr. Smith's coconut estate in 

 the Mahaicony Creek. Commenced only a few years 

 ago, this plantation is now in excellent order, and 

 promises to the plucky pioneer a protiiable return for 

 the labor and money he has invented in it. He is now 

 busily engaged in erecting a plant of steam machinery 

 for the uiauufaciure of coconut oil, an aiticle 

 wbich is largely used by our immigrant population, 

 and which, if manufactured on the spot, and known to 

 be of unexceptional purity, would soon come into act- 

 ive competiiion with American lard fcr cooking pur- 

 poses. Kor making fricassees or curries it is much the 

 finer article, and adds to either a more agreeable fla- 

 vour th. n that derived from its Yankee o|jponent. As 

 qhe imports of coconut oil now amount to nearly thirty 

 thousand dollars, and the coolies and Chinese show a 

 strong preference for the " home-grown" natural fat, 

 it "ill he seen that, given a suflScient quantity of the 

 nuts from which it is extracted (and of this there is 

 no .'caicity and at a low figure) and success in his 

 maci>iu(l,^, Mr. Smith has before him an excellent field 

 foi his mlerpiize. We heartily wish him the success 

 he 1-0 fully deceives. Canal No. 1, and the mixed culti- 

 vati' u on its hank-, next claims our attention. There 

 we h"ve the late Mr. Luckie's cacao estate, nearly 

 one liunditd ai.d tvventy acres of which are already 

 phmted with all the I. est varieties of the Trinidad 

 oai'i'O. To show thepublic what maybe done in ibis 

 direction in a Kui;aV.le locality, we may mention that 

 one tree planted out in March 1880 has now on it 

 twenty-four p' ds of luautilul caraccae cacao, while 

 there aie aire, dy nearly ihiee hundri d trees in bearing. 

 Further up intliesame canal, we have Mr. Mewbuin 

 Garneti's tsiate, laid 1 ut in cacao and Libei'ian coiiee, 

 and where his success in the lat;er is already so gnat 

 ae to n(ce■l^Itate the eitcnon of a drogery, tkt Jirat 

 since the days of slave? y For the last foitj-four years 

 we have witnessed uotliing in this line but the de- 

 struction of drogiries, thefaimeis pulling them down 

 and selling the biicks and timbers, 01 which they 

 were cm ti noted, for an old song. Niw the tide las 

 turned, and the twmty thou^und trees, which Mr. 

 Gainett has planted out, look so premising as to 

 encourage him 10 undeitake a large expemiiluie for 

 the purpose of properly curing the fragrant terry, 

 Messrs. Framiia and Percival, on Ibeir estate in this 

 canal, are also succeeding splendidly, and have already 

 twelve thousand trees in a flourishing condition, many 

 of them being in hearing. Added to these — the laigest 

 cullivatots ot cacao and cofiee — we have Messrs. Mordle, 

 Killil-elly, and Roach, bcs des a great nnmberof small 

 farmers, each of whom are adding their quota to this 

 once piosperons industry, so that in a lew years, and 

 provieied this district can be protected "fn m the 

 disastrous floods which have lately devastated it, we 

 may expect to see a large acreage under coca, and Li- 

 beriau coffee. Passing over the C'amceni creek, and the 

 Chinesesettlementonits banks, which hasfrequently been 

 mentioned of Jate, we come next to Mr, Weber's estate, 

 up the Demerara river, where large sums of money are 

 being expended weekly iu planting cocoa, and as the soil 



there is suitable and the drainage excellent, we have 

 no hesitation in saying his success is assureei. Esse- 

 quebo too, is following the example of the sister- 

 country, and in Mr. William Smith's estate at Suddie 

 we have another admirable example of what a little 

 determination, combined with the necessary forethought 

 and capital, can do in transforming a deserted bush- 

 country into smiling cocoa fields. 



The eyes of many are fixed on these forerunners 

 in revivifying forgotten industries, and we may rest 

 assured that the moment the fruits of their labors 

 are exposed for sale, in any quantity, in the local 

 market, or exported to Europe and America, with 

 that financial success which we are certain they will 

 achieve, they will have many imitators and compet- 

 itors to contend against. The more, however, the 

 merrier. Ihere is room enough in the world's con- 

 sumption, and land enough within the colonial bound- 

 aries, for all. The only requisite wanting is labor, 

 and when this is found to pinch, we may safely depend 

 that a more general attention will be given to 

 the immigration question than is now the case. The 

 planters only, at present, have a direct interest in 

 this, and it is looked at only from a planter's stand 

 point. When, however, the savings of the multitude 

 come to be invested in the " minor industries," the 

 position will be very different, and a more intelli- 

 gent view of the situation will be taken. There is 

 no incentive to education like self-interest, and when 

 that comes to be touched, as assuredly it will be, 

 unless steps be taken in time to procure a large 

 addition to our labouring population, and a stand be 

 made by the Government to obtain from the idle 

 their due quota of work, we feel certain that the 

 present supineness of the general public on " immi- 

 graiion " and "vagrancy" will soon be changed. 

 We are being forced on by the inevitable course of 

 events, and although, to many, it may appear im- 

 possilile for the views of the people, and the Go- 

 verning powers, to change in the direction indicated, 

 we are firmly convinced that change they must. It 

 is always the unexpected that happens. 

 ♦ 



The LABOtTB Question in JIacbitius is thus noticed 

 by the liltrcanttle Record : 



" The labour question is as far off as possible from a solu- 

 tiou and seems to have been shelved until next session ; 

 iu the meantime the pluntirs have to put up with all the 

 exactions, demands wliether legal or nut, and prices /orced 

 upon them by those men whoE. they have the niist'ortune 

 to employ and at whose complete mercy they are. It 

 requires to be on the spot daily watching the goings on 

 upon an estate at the piesent moment, for a week ot so, 

 to perceive the worry, anxiety and trouble thuse in charge 

 of estates have to contend with to eibtaiii even a hmiied 

 amount of work imperfect!} performed by 3ob-n;en. It is 

 to be bcpetithat tlie report of the Chamber of Agriculture 

 will devise or suggest means of plaeing em a proper foot- 

 ing the vesed rjuestion of the supply of labour, anel that 

 Governmeut will consent to help the planters by ihe imined- 

 iate enacinimt of the measure.? proposed. Should the 

 greater part of engaged men at the expiration of tlieir 

 contract of service refuse to re-engage, the work of the 

 sugar house will be very seriously iutertered with, as almost 

 all mill-men have been drilled on their arrival from India, 

 to elo certain specified work, during their five year's en- 

 gagement ami on reengaging remain at that post for the 

 length of time they choose to stop on the estates, but 

 ju-^t fancy the reverse when one would have to deal with 

 those very same men under daili/ contract in.stead of 

 3 early engagement ; they would come to their work at the 

 hour they themselves would fix, or not come at all for 

 seveial days runiiii g, and w^hat confidence would the planters 

 have in trusting their machinery to them when not under 

 restraint. ? Wuulel the jlanteis willingly corfide their mules 

 and bulloeks to job men who might ill-treat them and 

 play all conceivable pianks? No, it cannot be. There are 

 two remedies; import fresh hand.s to the figure of 5,000 

 yearly or let the Govermnent help the plauttre." 



