238 TRINIDAD. 



tion unfit for culinary purposes. It is presumable, however, that 

 this oil, when cold drawn, might be used at table as a condiment • 

 Such of it as has been obtained is limpid, of a greenish colour, 

 and has answered very well for burning in lamps. The pulp 

 contains from fifteen to sixteen per cent, of oil ; but only eleven 

 per cent, has yet been extracted. Although the aguacate tree 

 thrives best in good land, yet it grows in almost any soil ; it 

 requires very little care, and yields well. It begins to bear at 

 between five and six years, and continues in full bearing for 

 about twenty or thirty years. The fruit weighs from one pound 

 to a pound and a half. I have seen some weighing as much as 

 three pounds two ounces. 



Grapes and European figs are very scantily cultivated ; prob- 

 ably on account of the parasol-ants, which are particularly fond 

 of the vine, and of an insect which attacks the fig-tree. Limes 

 and lemons {Citrus vulgaris, Citrus limonum) are very common j 

 the balata fruit (Mimusops globosa) is also sold in town and 

 country. 



Exportable Articles. — The principal and almost sole articles 

 of export are sugar, molasses, and rum ; cacao, coffee, and coco- 

 nut oil. The cotton, hides, &c, exported from Trinidad, come 

 from the neighbouring cantons of G-uiria and Maturin, though 

 some of the former is cultivated in the island. 



Sugar is, by far, the most important article of exportation ; 

 it is, in general, of inferior quality. For the last six or eight 

 years the vacuum pan has been adopted on several estates; on 

 Sevilla and Frederick estates, belonging to Messrs. Gr. Turn- 

 bull & Co., on Waterloo, the property of Mr. J. Cumming; and 

 a usine has been established on the Saint Madeleine estate by tl 

 Colonial Company, capable of manufacturing 5,000 tons of whit 

 crystallised sugar. It is calculated that this year (1881) thej 

 will manufacture from 9,000 to 10,000 tons. A good deal of the 

 susrar thus manufactured is consumed in the island. The toi 

 quantity of sugar exported in the year 1879 was equal to 66,811 

 tons. Trinidad has a large extent of good sugar land ; there 

 are now 52,163 acres under cultivation. Average yield per acre, 

 2,600 lbs. ; maximum, 5,000 lbs. 



In good soil canes ratoon — 4.e. f are reproduced from the 

 original stools without replanting — for seven or eight years ; in 

 superior virgin land, newly cleared, for fifteen years and upwards. 



