26 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



the Manattee Fruit Company has opened land under favourable 

 circumstances. Having landed at Mullin's Eiver we walked 

 through the village, at the bar, and for some distance along 

 the shore under the shade of coco-nut palms. On the upper 

 portions of the Mullin's Eiver there are two small plantations, 

 established for the cultivation of fruit, viz., the British Honduras 

 Fruit Company and the Belize Fruit Company, each with a 

 capital of $5,000. As in most instances along the coast, the 

 land within easy reach of the village had already been under 

 cultivation by the natives, and consequently to obtain the finest 

 stretches of virgin forest, it is necessary to go some distance up 

 the river. The Mullin's Eiver is navigable for some 25 miles' 

 by " doray," and as its waters for the most part are deep and 

 slow flowing, it affords a natural highway to the virgin lands 

 at the back, as well as for sending down the produce. 



The land occupied by the British Honduras Fruit Company 

 (formerly Drake's sugar estate) is established in bananas, which 

 appeared to be in a thriving state. The soil is of a deep and 

 free loamy character, exactly suited fqr this cultivation. 



Where the land was virgin forest, newly cleared, the promise 

 of fruit was all that could be desired. 



In addition to the two fruit companies mentioned 'above, 

 several private persons have embarked in the cultivation of 

 bananas, coco-nuts, and cacao on this river, and the prospects are 

 eminently satisfactory. There are large tracts of land about 

 12 to 15 miles up the river, finer than any below; but during 

 the dry season the communication by river is impeded by 

 shallows and rapids. If this difficulty could be removed, the 

 whole of the Mullin's. Eiver valley, stretching to the northern 

 slopes of the Cockscomb Mountains, might be utilised for pur- 

 poses of cultivation, and an important district opened within 

 easy reach of Belize. 



