.Jo 



■ The question of the kind of carts used upon the roads also 

 received seme attention, and, at your request, 1 visited the firm of 

 Messrs. Cordova & Brown, in Kingston, for the purpose of examining 

 their specialties. The 4-wheel waggons as wel] as the 2-wheel carts 

 are admirably adapted, I consider, for our country roads. The former 

 will accommodate as many as L50 stems of bananas, equal to 3 tons. 

 and the carts about a third of that quantity. These vehicles are light 

 and exceedingly strong. I enclose 3 photographic drawings of them. 

 together with the final offer of the linn. The prices f.o.b. at Kingston 

 are £26 and £H> for the Waggon and Cart respectively, and if it could 

 be arranged to get a pair of them over, as examples, and offered 

 locally at cost, I daresay ready purchasers would be forthcoming. 



• The vehicles are designed for general purposes as well as for the 

 conveyance of Fruit, and for long cartage of cocoa in our country 

 districts they would be a great improvement upon the description of 

 cart in common use here. 



• 18. With regard to the question of purchasing suckers, I made 

 enquiry in all likely directions, and finally, by the aid of Mr. Fawcett, 

 the Hon. Director of Public Gardens and Plantations (to whom I am 

 indebted for many ither acts of kindness ) I was enabled to close with 

 an offer of 8s. per 100, delivered packed on the Royal Mail Wharf, 

 subject to inspection before shipment. 



•" Captain Constantine has also been taking a personal interest in 

 this matter, and is giving all the facilities in his power, including a 

 special through rate of 2/- per 100. These suckers are being obtained 

 from the hilly districts, which Mr. Fawcett considers is an advantage, 

 on account of their hardiness. 



"• A trial shipment was to come forward by the Trent and it is 

 probable that the cost, landed in Port-of-Spain, will be nearer 10s. 

 than the 15s. previously contemplated. You Avill probably delay any 

 further shipments just yet, seeing that the dry season is at hand. 

 The United Fruit Company was prepared to supply any number of 

 suckers at 10s. f.o.b. the Coastal Steamer, to which would have to be 

 added another 2s. for transhipping and packing in Kingston. This 

 seems to be the fixed price in all quarters, and the offer of 6s. 3d. 

 you received from a Mr. Dill, meant delivery at Albany station, 40 

 miles up country, and when railage and cartage to wharf in Kingston 

 were paid, the total expense would come to about the same thing, viz.. 

 10s., exclusive of packing. 



" 19. I have dealt so far in my report with the Banana section 

 only of the Fruit Industry of Jamaica, believing that this is more 

 likely to command the greatest share of our attention in Trinidad. 

 Oranges, Grape Fruit and Pines, however, figure in.no insignificant 

 degree in the total value of their exports. 



"■ During last year they shipped nearly 71 million oracges, equal 

 to 180.000 barrels, 8,011 packages of grape fruit and 8,220 dozens of 

 pines. The Railway freights realized £14.348 from oranges and grape 

 fruit in the same period. The scale of charges varies from 6^d. to 

 Is. 2d. per barrel up to 32^- miles, which is more than double the 

 present and probable railage cost in Trinidad, for even small quanti- 

 ties, it may be interesting to here note than in addition to the above 



