July i, 1884] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



49 



CACAO, TRINIDAD AND WEST INDIES. 

 Arima Cacao Estates, Trinidad, 27th Nov. 1883. 



A story exists of a worthy gentleman who had 

 returned to England after a long residence in Central 

 Africa, that, when asked by people about this un- 

 known quarter of the globe, he vouchsafed his ques- 

 tioners no other than this stereotyped reply : j' Jt "''< 

 chock-a-hloch full of niggers ami <l<u-n,'<l hoi." The 

 same may be' said about the West Indies, from the 

 time you strike Barbadoes. 



From there, I went to Venezuela landing at La 

 Guayra, the port of Caracas. A railway much like 

 the 'one in India from Saligori to Darjeeling connects 

 them, making a rise of 3,000 feet and more. Caracas 

 is a nice city", but the Archbishop was dying whilst I 

 was there. I found it dull rather, and stayed at 

 Macuto on the coast— a sort of Brighton— in pre- 

 ference. The cacao there is of very fine quality and 

 prepared for shipment with red clay — a very simple 

 operation which prevents it from getting worm-eaten. 

 The best cacao here is that of Guyria, the bean 

 rounder than the Trinidad sample and perceptibly 

 sweeter, and the required aroma from the curing is 

 one difficult to describe, but once known easily de- 

 tected again. I found in Trinidad, to which I came, 

 calling in at all the coast ports, that they had notstudied 

 this point, bo important in the London market, sufficient- 

 ly and that the planters there went too much by chance 

 and rule of thumb as regards the curing of the 

 bean. If in the sweating cistern you use iron for 

 the perforated bottom, it is apt to discolor, not only 

 the beans in contact with it, but the whole layer. 

 If the broken bean shows even a shade of purple, it 

 is bad curing. I may be going over ground already 

 prospected by Mr. R. B. Tytler during his visit here, 

 but I may say that for shade trees (and the planters 

 here invariably plant under shade) the favorite is the 

 immortelle (Eri/thrina ambroa), that is for localities 

 naturally dry ; but if the ground is any way swampy, 

 the sand-box (Henra crcp.) is preferred, as it is sup- 

 posed to drain the land of superfluous moisture. 



Mr. Gaston de Gannes, with whom I am staying, 

 is one of the oldest planters hereabout, and he plants 

 first cassava and maze between the rows to act as 

 shade until the immortelles grow a bit. 



The unscientific way they plant here may be im- 

 agined from the fact that no rainfall record is kept, 

 and the Government P. VV. Department c mid give 

 me no return of anyplace except that of their head- 

 station in the capital, Port of Spain. 



The labor is very mixed. Of Indian labor, Bengalis 

 are to be found most as contractors on plantations, 

 while the chief sellers of fruits &e. in the towns, 

 after West Indian niggers, are Tamils who, strangely 

 enough, are not so much liked by planters as the 

 Bengali laborer. 



On the plantations the coolies weed not with hoes, but 

 only cut down the undergrowth with cutlasses. A mutiny 

 of laborers armed thus would be a serious matter The 

 other day in the jungle I met a girl so armed, and with 

 her hair streaming down all over her Bhoulders and 

 hr wild lo,>k she would have served as a fin" model 

 to an artist for a Judith; " a great fear " as 'Ouida' 

 would say, came over me, — a sensation novel to me 

 in presence of the sex ! 



The people here are very discon'ented with their 

 Government, and the Governors selected for them 

 by the home authorities. Sir Arthur Gordon however 

 has a good word from everyone for his rule while 

 here ; an administration described as vigorous and 

 go-ahead though opinionated. I did not expect to 

 have heard such praise. How easily we in Ceylon 



formed a contrary estimate of him in anticipation of 

 his arrival ! 



I went over the Pitch Lake, which is the chief 

 natural wonder here, with the paymaster of the 

 workmen. They work out the asphalte at the parts 

 where the water is not boiling, simply with picks 

 and shovels,— no dynamite or other advanced ap- 

 pliances. 



The trip down there by steamer is rather pretty via 

 San Fernando, a nice town built with the strange 

 infatuation that characterized the people of Pompii, on 

 the side of an old volcano. 



To sum up the state of this part of the world, Ceylon 

 ought to beat it all round, even in the matter of cacao. 

 The disadvantages of high-priced labour here and the 

 further taxes planters incur for cooly medical aid 

 and Government philanthropy must deter the extension 

 of agriculture, 



Havana, Cuba, Christmas. 



The look of this place disappoints me, and, although 

 this is the cold season, the smells are atrocious bo'th 

 in harbor and ashore. I waited a fortnight at 

 St. Thomas' and passed over to the island of Santa 

 Cruz in the "Vigilant," a schooner which has quits 

 an eventful history having been a pirate craft more 

 than once. Both islands belong to Denmark. Labour 

 troubles unsettled Santa Cruz some years ago, a»d 

 the coolies, chiefly West Indian niggers, fired the 

 plantations and ruins still mark the scenes of the 

 outrages. In one Scotch gentleman's house where 

 I was, a monument of the riots is a picture in the 

 drawing-room riddled with bullet holes. The troubles 

 arose suddenly from gangs of Diggers in town getting 

 drunk and being' smitten with pyromania. °I am 

 assured that there was no planned insurrection, 

 though they say that British niggers from Barbadoes 

 and Jamaica (*ho are looked upon as bad characters 

 generally in all these islands) were the ringleaders. 

 Scarcity of labor and high rates retain affairs in a 

 semi-alive condition. 



We leave for Mexico today, and I look forward to 

 my travels through it to the Pacific Coast as likely 

 to prove the most interesting ot any until I arrive in 

 Ceylon again about June probably. So long, yours 

 t"ly, W. G. SANUISON. 



ME. O'BRIEN ON COFFEE AGAIN. 



The gentleman who recently shewed so conclusively 

 that Ceylon and Indian planters kuow nothing of the 

 cultivation, has again addressed the Secretary of State 

 about the preparation of the berry. In roasting, it 

 will be seen, the process is to be continued until a 

 spark of fire appears and then the berries become soluble 

 by a fixed law ! The Secretary of State d-erued this 

 wonderful letter worthy of being forwarded to the 

 Madras Government and the latter have printed it in 

 thtir records, as follows : — 



Letter from G. O'Brien, Esq , to the Under-Secretary of 

 State for India, India Office, London, dated London 6th 

 March 188-1, No. E.S. & 0. 126. 



As a continuation of my former article, dated 18th 

 January 3884, on "Coffee Plantations in India," I now 

 append the enclosed, which please forward to the Govern- 

 ment of Madras, to whom it will certainly he found useful, 

 as well as to the other presidencies of India. 



Memorandum 



" Showing the causes of destruction of the Coffee Plant- 

 ations in Ceylon and Madras. India, compared with other 

 methods employed in the United States of Columbia and 

 other parts of South America." 



The ordinary method practised in preparing the coffee- 

 berry for exportation is by previously removing the external 

 pulp and parchment for purposes of inspection and other 

 commercial conveniences, but this plan diminishes its fine 

 aromatic flavor and solubility, causing enormous waste, and 



