20 TRINIDAD. 



dom and which enjoy artificial advantages in the shape of 

 bounty ? And yet this would be the most effectual, perhaps the 

 sole, remedy. Of course, whilst crying for help, we should put 

 our shoulders to the wheel ; and we are ready to do so. 



Various plans may be devised for the encouragement of 

 agriculture. As a general rule, let all financial enactments, be 

 they in the shape of direct or indirect taxation, bear as lightly 

 as possible on land owners ; let agricultural implements of every 

 description be admitted duty free, as also draught animals or 

 those of burden; afford effective protection to the growth of 

 staple and other marketable produce, by strictly enforcing the 

 law with respect to the stealing and destruction of agricultural 

 products and cultivated plants ; and assist in the diffusion of 

 agricultural knowledge, by establishing experimental farms. 

 In Germany and in France, Agronomic stations have largely con- 

 tributed to the improvement of agriculture, and the cultivation 

 of the beetroot plant particularly. Let us not forget that 

 though our population is purely agricultural, yet the labouring 

 classes, in their ignorance, are prejudiced against field occupa- 

 tions ; that, with the exception of a minority of the planters, no 

 others possess even the most elementary notions of agricultural 

 economy. No capital, in my opinion, could be better invested 

 than in the formation and the maintenance of one or two such 

 experimental farms. In the management of these farms, not 

 only should improved methods of cultivation be adopted and 

 chemical researches instituted, but new cultures might also be 

 experimented ; for no one will dare to pretend that everything 

 concerning cultural development is known in these islands. Not 

 only the production of arrowroot, tuluman, starch, tobacco, and 

 rice might be encouraged, but the cultivation of vanilla, an 

 indigenous plant, of spices and exportable fruits, might be tried 

 on a large scale. Success at the experimental farm would, no 

 doubt, act as an encouragement to others to embark in the same 

 pursuits. 



Besides these measures for the direct encouragement of 

 agriculture, others might be introduced which would exert an 

 indirect influence on the agricultural interests and the general 

 prosperity of the island. 



From causes already stated, the emancipated classes felt a 

 strong inclination to retire from field labour and to congregate in 

 towns and villages, where they engaged in petty trade or adopted 

 some handicraft. The number of shopkeepers, tailors, carpenters, 

 etc., became, consequently, out of proportion, compared with the 

 requirements of the country, and almost every small tenement in 

 towns and villages was occupied by some retailer of fruits, 

 charcoal, etc. The stock in trade (?), displayed in trays before 





