98 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



If the hulling machine were adopted, there would be no 

 necessity for the use of water or for expensive works, arid much 

 time would be saved in the preparation of the coffee for the 

 market. 



oranges, Limes, and Lemons. Next to bananas, these fruits 

 are in regular demand for the American' market, and they may 

 be cultivated in the same land as bananas with great facility. 

 These plants do not, however, require much shade ; in fact, when 

 too much shaded by bananas, they become weak and sickly, and 

 seldom mature into heavy-bearing trees. Oranges should be 

 put out at about 20 feet apart. Plants may be conveniently 

 raised from seed in boxes or beds raised some 4 or 5 feet above 

 ground, so as to be beyond the reach of ants, rats, mice, and 

 other noxious animals, so common in tropical countries. 



The export of oranges from Jamaica, chiefly to the United 

 States, during the year 1882, amounted to more than thirty 

 millions, of the estimated value of 33,700. 



coco-nuts. As already mentioned in the account of my visit 

 to the southern settlements, many plantations of coco-nuts are 

 being established in the colony ; but there is no reason why the 

 whole of the sea-board of British Honduras should not be 

 covered by extensive groves of this valuable and hardy palm. 

 The general appearance and prolific character of the trees which 

 came under my observation in the neighbourhood of Belize, on 

 the outer cays, and near the southern settlements, surpass 

 anything I have ever seen. I was informed by an experienced 

 planter that trees in good condition come into bearing in the 

 fourth year, that they bear heavily at the sixth and seventh 

 years, and that a good coco-nut palm in bearing in British 

 Honduras is of the annual value of $3. 



Many of the trees noticed near the settlements had 

 evidently, when young, been simply placed on the surface, and 



