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rice. Its colour in this state is an extremely rich yellow ; and 

 it forms a palatable and nutritious article of food. This being 

 the only sort of grain used for feeding horses, there is a con- 

 stant demand for it in Port-Louis, where it usually fetches 

 from one and a half to three dollars per cwt. When a field 

 is planted with Manioc, it is the general practice to plant the 

 intervals with Maize ; the latter being of more rapid growth, 

 screens the young shoots of the other from the sun. It ripens 

 in the course of six months. 



" The Creole Rice, as it is termed, is equal in quality to any 

 in the world; its grain particularly large, and of a pearly 

 whiteness. It is of the sort called ' dry rice,' which, as it 

 does not require artificial irrigation, is peculiarly adapted for 

 the hilly, uneven ground of this island. Chamarel showed 

 us several fields under a crop of this grain, which promised 

 an ample return. These fields are surrounded with rows of 

 an elegant species of Palm, [Areca lutescens,) a native of the 

 island. There are four species of this Palm indigenous to 

 the forests of Maui'itius and Bourbon, and known by the 

 general appellation of ' Chou Palmiste^ or Cabbage- palm. 

 What is termed the Cabbage is the rudiment of the young 

 leaves crowning the stem, still convoluted, and sheathed by 

 the base of the full-grown ones. When cut down, and 

 divested of this envelope, the cabbage, or edible part, appears. 

 It is as white as snow, and has the sweet luscious taste of the 

 filbert. It is boiled and eaten as cabbage, or cut in shreds 

 and mixed up raw, as a sallad. In the latter state it is 

 peculiarly grateful. As this morsel, however, cannot be 

 enjoyed without destroying the tree, all but the epfcure will 

 acknowledge that it is purchased at too dear a rate. 



" Our communicative host informed us, in the course of 

 conversation, that when he entered on possession of this 

 estate, fifteen years ago, the whole of it was an impenetrable 

 forest : and that he commenced his operations as a planter, 

 with a young wife, three slaves, and a debt of six hundred 

 dollars. By unremitted industry, he succeeded in clearing a 

 large tract of ground, and the abundant returns yielded by a 

 rich virgin soil, rendered him in a short time independent. 



