June i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTU 



93» 



tage to mo, about a quarter of a mile down tlio road, 

 would always havo a supply of fresh fried fish, and the bread 

 woman culled regularly every morning with smoking hot 

 loaves from a "quatty" to a "fipence," tlio former. I'd 

 and the latter 3d. 



Wednesdays and Saturdays were beef days, and the beef 

 was very good at 4id per lb. Turtle and crabs often made 

 a change of diet with eggs and bacon or liver and bacon, 

 breakfast on the latter favourite dish being only ninepenco, 

 cooked by my housekeeper at her own cottage and 

 brought down to me about 11-30 or 12 o'clock. On 

 Sundays I always gave the housekeeper a holiday by 

 having a piece oi beef cooked and served up cold with 

 pickles and enough bread bought on Saturday to Inst until 

 Monday. A regular supply of chocolate sticks were bought 

 every Saturday by Miss Angelina Doyley of Norwich, the 

 nearest village, and my morning chocolate boiled in goats' 

 milk was a grand institution the goats' milk was obtained 

 from Mrs. Sarah Parsley for a " maccaroni " a week. A 

 mac or maccaroni is an English shilling. Beef is a "bit" 

 per pound, a "bit" being fourpence-halfpouny. 



Young coconuts werein great request during the past three 

 hot months, June, July and August, the drinking-water 

 being often doubtful. Young Parsley brought me a " gourd" 

 of water from the washerwoman's pool near the "Hog 

 Pen," and it actually tasted of the blue mottled soap !— 

 hence my purchasing young drinking coconuts from the 

 Norwich girls as opportunity offered at 3d fur four nuts. 

 Mr. Nash, the "Tenant Itanger " or collector of nuts 

 from the cottagers and small farmers on the Bound 

 Brook estate, often killed sheep at " Shotover " and some- 

 times a fat sow ; therefore Port Antonio is a cheap place 

 to live in : enough yams and cocos can be bought to last 

 a week for a "bit" and a " quatty "or 6d. 



Miss Alice Doyley sold bread, fried-fish, gingerbread and 

 gingerbeer, all on reasonable terms, and her cigars at 

 eight for one shilling were cheaper than the "Beacons* 

 field House " weeds. 



Port Antonio is the Batticaloa or Puliyantivu of Jam- 

 aica, the Eastern Coast, and, like the Eastern Coast of 

 Oeylon, famous for its bays and fine harbours coconut 

 cultivation and fruit of every description. Many people en- 

 gaged in agricultural pursuits, and fishing. Fish is some 

 times plentiful, good, and cheap : amongst many kinds, 

 the "snapper", rock fish, sun fish, angel fish, butter 

 fish, mullet, drummer, The mountain mullet is con- 

 sidered the most delicious of all. 



Living is cheap in all Jamaica, except at some of the 

 private hoarding-houses, where one is charged part of the 

 house rent, taxes and attendance, and charged from 5s to IDs 

 per day for sometimes indifferent fare. Housekeeping is 

 to be preferred, especially when living in a free house and 

 a housekeeper engaged for a dollar per week. The people 

 themselves live principally on yams, coco yams, mango, 

 breadfruit, boiled and roast bananas and plantains, will. 

 salt fish of kinds. Saturday and Sunday they treat kill m- 

 selves to a little more substantial fare, and a pint bottle of 

 beer or porter may be often seen peeping out of the 

 painted tray, when the wind, blows up tin: corner ot the 

 towel supposed to conceal it. Our Creole men are loud 

 of "old Jamaica" rum, and get tight sometimes. 



Nash ami Carpenter, the two Hangers, are very steady 

 good fellows and have not given me any trouble since 1 my ar- 

 rival. Simpson, Henry, Edmond, Bourke,NieI, Lewis, Parsley, 

 Hartley, do Costa (mason), Deckers (carpenter), and Greg- 

 ory (carpenter) with many others were good working 

 men and always willing and obliging. 1 mention the abovi 

 because people making Hying visits to the West Indian 

 Islands, particularly Americans, condemn "Quasllie" as a 

 lazy, good tor-nothing, cheeky nigger, who "yams it" 

 under his own breadfruit tree and does not care to call 

 Her Majesty Queen Victoria his aunt. It is true he is 

 somewhat independent, and in a few cases very cheeky, 

 but not vindictive, for he will apologize next day ami perhaps 

 bring a "peace ottering" in a shape of a basket of good 

 mangoes or a soursop fruit, and expresses great sorrow 

 that he got so "vexed" yesterday, but Sam Br m 

 threatened to "knock" him, and In; would like to see 

 the "Bongo " mau who could " mash " him. (Bongo means 

 an African pure aud simple.) "You want, to haye lie let 

 word do you? well, I am a Jamaica man but your 

 mother was a ' Bongo ' and your father a ' John Grow,' " 



To return to "Bound Brook " or " Bog," there is a dark 

 side to the life of a " banana planter ": up at six in all 

 weathers to meet the stragglers coming from different 

 directions and having an argument about the time of day 

 and doubting their being late to muster by the cow pen 

 gate; some are told off to "billing bush," some to "hoe- 

 ing grass," some to "heading out bananas," some to 

 " digging " aud " heading out suckers " for planting — 

 coolies for " lining " 12 * 12. On arrival of a mail-steamer 

 all these important works are dropped " like a hot potato," 

 and all hands are ordered off to Baker's Wharf, the Atlas 

 boat lets go her anchor, and she is no sooner moored 

 stem and stern to the Atlas Wharf, than we board her 

 amidships with our bananas, " Only six hours, to load, boys ; 

 13.000 (thirteen thousand) bunches to go below; hurry up 

 there; 'walk aud talk' 'bananas' from the shore!" 

 " Come along my hearties." " So, my loves, step up aud 

 see the ' teamer'" (steamer). Sometimes the people would 

 be turned out to load a steamer through a telegram advis- 

 ing her arrival, aud the captain would stop outside the 

 harbour until daylight. I have been at the wharf tallying 

 thousands of bunches down hatches, aud nigger-driving 

 until 12 o'clock at night on an empty stomach, with a 

 stench strong enough to breed cholera from rotten fruit in 

 and around the wharf . Another time, I turned out to the 

 steamer's whistle, anil trudged along the muddy road 

 in the dark, splashed all over with mud, and stepping 

 into crab holes. "Why," 1 said to myself, " this is worse 

 than coffee planting in Oeylon, or I 'm a Dutchman I " 

 Then next morning a messenger would ride out from the 

 Bay to say that there was not enough fruit to load up 

 a schooner and that we were to cut all the " full " 

 trenches and send them in at once. 



Now, "there was no rest for the wicked." I had to 

 turn out again to superintend the cutting or "harvest- 

 ing " of " full " fruit, and when the people were at the 

 other end of the estate I should be obliged to hand the 

 big bunches into the waggons .or detain the carts, 

 consequently my clothes were all stained with the juice 

 of the cut stems. Then again, after the people had 

 finished work and gone home, the carts aud waggons 

 still had to remove the balance of the heaps of fruit 

 cut from the different fields ; this necessitated my wait- 

 ing until long after dark to see the last bunch delivered 

 to the oartman. On arrival at my cottage, the mosquitoes 

 and sandflies had taken charge aud disputed my entrance ; 

 anyhow they exacted black mail to the extent of a con- 

 siderable quantity of my blood, aud set my body itching 

 to such an extent that sleep was impossible. A curtain 

 had been ordered, and the muslin and cloth purchased, 

 but the bedstead was not made by the carpenter Gregory, 

 therefore Alice Doyley could not take the measuremeut 

 for the curtains. In saying that my eyes were scarcely 

 elosed during the whole night I would be under the mark, 

 end fever would have been the result had not " forty 

 winks " been snatched during midday after breakfast. 

 It is not fair to your readers togivethem only the bright 

 side of the picture. There are very few Europeans in Port 

 Antonio, so I made very lew acquaintances. 



Most proprietors of Bauana Plantations arc storekeepers 

 too, and are therefore not dependent on the fruit : hence, 

 when there is a fall in the price, as there often i6, 

 after tlio summer, they are not much affected by 

 it, and sixpence a bunch will pay for cultivation* 

 Meanwhile their stores are keeping the ball rolling, and 

 if a rum license is added to general storekeeping a little 

 fortune is realized, for I have noticed in Jamaica that 

 owners of land property, owners of good stock, owners of 

 household property in the town, and owners of pretty wives, 

 have in many eases dabbled in rum. There are too many 

 ruin-shops in Jamaica, and they are beginning to feel the 

 hardness of the times, as, to quote, a member of the new 

 Legislative Council, "the ruin drinking part of the com- 

 munity" have left Jamaica to cut the Panama Canal. 



It is difficult to tell whether there is any smuggling 

 carrii d on between Jamaica and Cuba : anyhow Spanish 

 gunboats are always in and out ot Port Antonia. 1 often 

 put the question, " What does the Spanish man-of-war want 

 here?" and the reply was generally "Ob, only to watch 

 for people carrying firearms and ammunition to Cuba." 

 The island ot Cuba is only ninety miles from the coast 

 of Jamaica, aud it would not be any matter of surprise if a 



