OFFICIAL COKRESPONDE>'CE EELAIING TO THE PAEA GKASS. 47 



of Surinam, having in the month of November, 1846, made a 

 present to these islands of the Para grass (Panicnm jiimento- 

 rnm, Humboldt and Kunth), about which his P^xcellency gives 

 the following commvmication : — 



" This grass continues growing under the most severe droughts, 

 and requires, when once located, no other care, as it suffocates 

 the vegetation of all other sorts of grass. Especially in conse- 

 quence of these qualities, I have tiiought it would be a valuable 

 acquisition for the island of Cura^oa and its dependencies." 



In addition to this communication we can join the following 

 particularities, extracted from ' Les Annales de la Societe d'Agri- 

 eulture de Martinique,' according to which the late General 

 Bertiand, w'hose estates are situated in the driest part of the 

 island of Guadeloupe, has preserved his stock during a severe 

 drouglit which visited these islands some years ago, only by 

 means of an extensive cultivation of Para grass, while at his 

 neighbour's, and further over the whole island, where this culti- 

 vation had been neglected, almost all stock died away ; and we 

 are told that in the beginning of the year 1844, the .same grass, 

 sent by the French man-of-war schooner Gazelle, was presented to 

 General Paez by Admiral d'Uval d'Ailly, Governor of Mar- 

 tinique. According to the observations in the 'Liberal of 

 Caraccas,' this grass is far superior to Guinea grass, as it thrives 

 in every season, in dr}' as in wet weather. It was considered a 

 great acquisition for the Republic of Venezuela, where droughts 

 often occur for more than five or six months succeeding, during 

 which all kind of vegetation withers in the fields. 



Since the introduction of Para grass on the island of Cura^oa, 

 the same has been cultivated under different circumstances of 

 soil and season, under w hich it has kept up entirely to good 

 reputation ; so that we now dare to aflSrm with the greatest 

 confidence that if general attention is paid to the extension of 

 tins useful branch of agriculture, the present made by Governor 

 Van Eaders will at once become of incalculable advantages to 

 these islands. 



The cultivation of Para grass is effected by means of seed and 

 cuttings. The stenj creeping along the surface of the ground, 

 consists of joints of fiom five to six inches long ; at each of the 

 joints it fixes itself in the soil, and thereby pushes one or more 

 perpendicular stalks upwards ; the creeping stems arrive some- 

 times to the astonishing length of from ten to twelve feet, while 

 the height to which the perpendicular stalks arrive entirely 

 depends on the nature of tlie soil, and the state of moisture of 

 the same. To lay out a plantation of this grass it is but required 

 to divide the stem into so many parts, somewhat below each 

 joint, which joints are then planted in the ground, which has 



