192 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 



crops, alt])ugh it is worked every year by the French Canadians, without being 

 ever manured. The manures chiefly used, since the practice of manuring has been in- 

 troduced, by those who are the best farmers, are marie and gypsum, the former is found 

 in great quantities in many places along the shores of the river St. Lawrence. 



1 169. With respect to the products of Canada, the low country is peculiarly adapted to 

 the growth of small grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it, but the culture is neglected, 

 except in private use ; and more than half of what is used is imported. The snuff pro- 

 duced from the Canadian tobacco is held in great estimation. Culinary vegetables arrive 

 at great perfection in Canada, which is also the case with most of the European fruits. 

 The currants, gooseberries, and raspberries are very fine ; the latter are indigenous, and 

 are found very abundantly in the woods. A kind of vine is also indigenous ; but the 

 grapes produced by it in its uncultivated state are very poor and sour, and not much larger 

 than fine currants. In the forest there is a great variety of trees; such as beech, oak, elm,, 

 ash, pine, sycamore, chestnut, and walnut; and the sugar maple-tree is found in almost 

 every part of the country. Of this tree there are two kinds; the one called the swamp 

 maple, being generally found on low lands, and the other, the mountain or curled maple,, 

 from its growing upon high dry ground, and from the grain of its wood being beauti- 

 fully variegated with little stripes and curls. The former yields more sap than the latter, 

 but its sap affords less sugar. A pound of sugar is frequently procured from two or 

 three gallons of the sap of the curled maple, whereas no more than the same quantity 

 can be had from six or seven gallons of that of the swamp tree. The maple sugar is the 

 only sort of raw sugar used in the country parts of Canada, and it is also very generally 

 used in the towns. 



1170. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are intensely cold countries, and only partially 

 civilised. The vale of St. John's river is the principal scene of cultivation in New 

 Brunswick. The upland parts of the country are chiefly covered with forests of pines, 

 hemlock, and spruce fir, beech, birch, maple, and some oak. The pines on St. John's 

 river are the largest in British America, and afford a considerable supply of masts for 

 the royal navy. Nova Scotia produces little grain ; supplies being sent from England. 

 The soil is thin and barren, excepting on the banks of the river, where it produces grass, 

 hemp, and flax. 



1171. In the island of Cape Breton the soil is mere moss, and has been found unfit for 

 agriculture. Newfoundland seems to be rather hilly than mountainous, with woods of 

 birch, pine, and fir, numerous ponds and morasses with some dry barrens. The chief 

 produce of these islands, as well as the other British possessions in America, is furs and 

 skins ; and the same remark will apply to the Bermudas and other unconquered countries, 

 which need not be further noticed. 



SuBSECT. 4. Present State of Agriculture in the West India Islands. 



1172. The principal West India islands are Cuba, St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto 

 Rico ; and next the Windward islands, Trinidad, the Leeward islands of the Spanish, 

 and the Bahamas. 



1173. Cuba is an extensive and naturally fertile island, but from the indolence of the 

 Spaniards not above a hundredth part of it is cleared and cultivated. Like most islands in 

 the West Indies, it is subject to storms, but the climate is, upon the whole, healthy, and even 

 temperate ; for though in this latitude there is no winter, the air is refreshed with rains and 

 cooling breezes. The rainy months are July and August ; the rest of the year is hot. A 

 chain of mountains extends the whole length of the island from east to west, and divides- 

 it into two parts; but the land near the sea is in general -^^^ 197 

 level, and flooded in the rainy season. The soil is equal in 

 fertility to any in America, producing ginger, long pepper, 

 and other spices ; aloes, mastich, cassia fistula, manioc, maize,-' 

 cocoa, &c. Tobacco is one of its principal productions, and 

 it is supposed to have the most delicate flavor of any produced 

 in the new world. The cultivation of sugar has lately been" 

 introduced ; but the indolence of the inhabitants renders it 

 in every respect much less productive than it otherwise might 

 be. The quantity of coffee is inconsiderable. The chief^ 

 plantations are in the plains, and are cultivated by about 

 25,000 slaves. Among the trees are oaks, firs, palms, ^ 

 cotton trees, ebony, and mahogany, (Swietenia Mahogani, 



jig. 197.) In 1763 bees were introduced by some 

 emigrants from Florida, and they multiplied so much in 

 the hollows of old trees, that they soon obtained honey, 

 enough for their annual consumption. In 1777 they' 

 exported honey to the amount of 715,000 pounds. The 



