370 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1912. 



and the Danish soldiers in l)riglit blue coats and white trousers lias nearly 20,000 acres under cultivation, mostly in sugar-cane, 



art stiffly picturesque. There was anchored in the harbor a It is very picturesque, partly of coral formation, partly volcanic; 



schooner, which could it speak would have been able to tell some and the harbor of St. John, if only an entrance were made 



very thrilling tales. Used today as a freighter between Fred- through the reef at the mouth, would be magnificent. As it is, 



The I'lTuN.-i, St. i.i ( ia. 



ericksted and Christensted it looked very harmless, yet in the 

 olden days it had been pirate, slave-trader and blockade runner, 

 It was 127 years old and still sound, and could outsail anything 

 in those waters. 



St. Croix is one of the most American of the Carribean 

 islands; 40 per cent, of the inhabitants have been' in the United 

 States. Many of the great sugar estates are owned by Ameri- 

 cans ; one company alone possesses between forty and fifty of 

 them. Although Danish is taught in the schools, the people re- 

 fuse to use it and speak English. They also long to be Ameri- 

 cans. 



Although it undoubtedly would have flourished there, rubber 

 has not been essaved at St. Croix ; that is. I coifld find no record 



Large Castilloa at Dominica. 



of rubber planting and doubt if anything has been done along 

 that line. We left Fredericksted at noon, coasting along the 

 green shores of the island and finally turning into the teeth of a 

 stiff easterly wind, headed for Antigua. 

 ■ oK t..!.' rj) ii: ANTIGUA. 



Antigua is really a very important island, and is the residence 

 of the Governor-in-Chief of the Leeward Federal Colony. It 



St. John, Antigua. 



the big lioats anchor three miles out and passengers and baggage 

 go ashore m a steam launch. The narrow entrance to the harbor 

 is guarded by two ancient forts set high up on picturesque rocks. 

 The city is exceedingly boautiful with its setting of royal palms, 

 its broad verandad houses and the many dainty bungalows perched 

 on the surrounding hills. The Botanic Gardens and Experiment 

 Station were among the first places visited. Of the rubber trees 

 growing there, Castilloa Elastica, although four years old, was 

 only about three feet high, and gave no promise of doing bettei. 

 This was perhaps due to the abundant West Indian scale upon 

 it. Of Heveas, none of those planted were left, all having died 

 as soon as planted. The few Funtumias has reached the height 



Maniliot Dichoioina, 3 Ye.\rs Old, .\ntigua. 



of about twenty feet, but they were poor specimens, and would 

 never amount to much. The Manihot Glaziovii were strong and 

 healthy and gave evidence of having found a climate that suited 

 them. The Maniliot Dichotoma had just been introduced some 

 eight months before, the seed being obtained from Ceylon. Those 

 grown from seed were fbur to five feet high, while numbers 

 grown from shps taken from these plants averaged two feet. 



