196 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 



1187. The culture of" the sugar-cane in Jamaica in some respects resembles that of the hop in this 

 country. The ground being cleared and worked a foot or more in depth, the sets or cuttings of 

 cane, which are the tops of the shoots cut off about a foot long, are planted in rows, generally five 

 feet distant, and from two to five feet apart in the row, according to the quality of the soil ; 

 more plants being allowed for poor soil than rich. The ground is kept clear of weeds, frequently stirred, 

 and some earth drawn up to the plants. From each hill a number of shoots are produced : in six or 

 more months these will generally be from seven to ten feet high ; the skin smooth, dry, and brittle, 

 heavy with a gray or brown pith, and sweet glutinous juice. In this state the canes are cut, tied in bun- 

 dles or sheaves, and taken to the mill to be divested of their leaves and decayed parts, and then passed 

 through rollers to express their juice, &c. Cane plantations are made twice a-year, in May and June, 

 or December and January, these being the rainy seasons. The first cutting of the canes often does not 

 take place till a year after planting ; but an established plantation is cut over every six months. lu 

 good soil, the plants will last twenty years : in inferior soils not more than half the time. {Lett, to a 

 Young Planter, 8;c. Lond. 1785. Martin's Essay on PlantersMp, in Young's Annals^ xviii. p. 236. Rough- 

 ley's Jamaica Planter's Guide, 1823.) 



1188. The cotton plant cultivated in Jamaica is a different species from that grown in Italy, Malta, 

 and the Levant. It is the gossypium barbadense, Linn, a suffruticose biennial, growing from six 

 to fifteen feet in height, with lobed leaves and yellow flowers. It is propagated by the seed, which is 

 set in rows, about five feet asunder, at the end of September, or beginning of October ; at first but slightly 

 covered, but after it is grown up, the root is well moulded. The seed is subject to decay, when it is 

 set too deep, especially in wet weather. The soil should not be stiff nor shallow, as this plant has a 

 tap-root. The ground is hoed frequently, and kept very clean about the young plants, until they rise to a 

 moderate height ; otherwise they are apt to be destroyed by caterpillars. It grows from four to six feet 

 high, and produces two crops annually ; the first in eight months from the time of sowing the seed ; the 

 second, within four months after the first ;and the produce of each plant is reckoned about one pound 

 weight. The branches are pruned or trimmed after the first gathering; and if the growth is over- 

 luxuriant, this should be done sooner. When great part of the pods are expanded, the wool is picked, 

 and afterwards cleared from the seeds by a machine called a gin, composed of two or three smooth 

 wooden rollers of about one inch diameter, ranged horizontally, close and parallel to each other, in a 

 frame ; at each extremity they are toothed or channelled longitudinally, corresponding one with the 

 other ; and the central roller, being moved with a tradel or foot-lath, resembling that of a knife-grinder, 

 makes the other two revolve in contrary directions. The cotton is laid, in small quantities at a time, upon 

 these rollers, whilst they are in motion, and, readily passing between them, drops into a sack placed 

 underneath to receive it, leaving the seeds, which are too large to pass with it, behind. The cotton 

 thus discharged from the seeds, is afterwards hand-picked, and cleansed thoroughly from any little particles 

 of the pods or other substances which may be adhering to it. It is then stowed in large bags, where it is 

 well trod down, that it may lie close and compact ; and the better to answer this purpose, some water is 

 every now and then sprinkled upon the outside of the bag, the marketable weight of which is usually three 

 hundred pounds. An acre may be expected to produce from two hundred and forty pounds to that quantity, 

 or two hundred and seventy pounds on an average. [Long's Jam. vol. iii. p. 686, &c. and Brmvne.) 



1189. The indigo cultivated in the West Indies is the same species as that grown in the East Indies 

 and other places" {Indigofera tinctoria), though there are various species and varieties which 

 affbrd a similar dye. Indigo thrives best in a free rich soil, and a warm situation, fre- 

 quently refreshed with moisture. Having first chosen a proper piece of ground, and cleared it, hoe 

 it into little trenches, not above two inches, -or two inches and a half in depth, not more than 

 fourteen or fifteen inches asunder. In the bottom of these, at any season of the year, strew the 

 seeds pretty thick, and immediately cover them. As the plants shoot, they should be frequently weeded, 

 and kept constantly clean, until they spread sufficiently to cover the ground. Those who cultivate great 

 quantities, only strew the seeds pretty thick in little shallow pits, hoed up irregularly, but generally 

 within four, five, or six inches of one another, and covered as before. Plants raised in this manner 

 are observed to answer as well, or rather better, than the others; but they require more care in the 

 weeding. They grow to full perfection in two or three months, and are observed to answer best 

 when cut in full blossom. The plants are cut with reaping hooks, a few inches above the root, tied in 

 loads, carried to the works, and laid by strata in the steeper. Seventeen negroes are sufficient to manage 

 twenty acres of indigo ; and one acre of rich land, well planted, will, with good seasons and proper 

 management, yield five hundred pounds of indigo in twelve months, for the plant ratoons (stools, stoles, 

 or tillers ; i. e. it sends out stolones, or new growths), and gives four or five crops a-year ; but must be re- 

 planted afterwards. [Browne.) 



1900. The coffee-tree [fig. 202.) is less cultivated in Jamaica than in Bar- 

 badoes, Domingo, and some other islands : the richness of the soil is found 

 to lessen the flavor of the berry, when compared with those produced in the 

 sandy, dry, hot soil, and arid climate of Arabia. In a rich soil and cool 

 situation in Jamaica, Browne informs us that it produces so great a 

 quantity of fruit, that the branches can hardly sustain the weight ; the 

 fruit large and succulent, and the berries lax and clammy. Some affirm, 

 that by keeping these, and other West India berries, for ten or fourteen 

 years, they will become equal to the best now brought from Turkey. 

 Small-grained coffee, or that which is produced in a dry soil and warm 

 situation, will in about three years be as good as that in general use in 

 London. 



1191. In cultivating the coffee, the berries are sown immediately after 

 being gathered, as they are found to retain their vegetative quality 

 only a few weeks. In three months they are fit to transplant, either to 

 a nursery or to a final plantation. In the low lands they are planted five 

 feet apart, and in the mountains ten feet or more. In three years the plants 

 will produce a crop, and continue bearing a number of years. The ber- 

 ries are gathered when they are just about to drop ; and are immediately 

 carried to sheds, where they are dried upon cloths or mats, till the husk 

 shrivels. They are then passed through between wooden rollers turned | 

 by a mule, which separates the husk, after which they are winnowed, 

 sifted, cleaned, exposed to the sun for a few days, and then barrelled up 

 for sale. The produce of a good tree is from one pound and a half to two 

 pounds weight. [Broivne's Hist, of Jam. p. 161.) 



1192. The cocoa-root or eddoe, [Arum esculentum) and also a species of caladium, produce a root some- 

 thing like the Indian yam [Dioscorea saliva, fig. 203.), but differ from them in lasting for several years. 

 Both the cocoa root and yam are cultivated much in the same way as our potatoe. They have what 

 they call Bourbon cocoas and country cocoas, and Negro and white yams ; the yams have a stake driven 

 in at each hill for the vines to twine on after the manner of hops. 



1193. The plantain (Musa paradisiaca) is cultivated in rows ten feet apart, and the plants seven feet 

 asunder in the row. The following account of the manner of planting and managing will give some idea 

 of the mode in which agricultural operations are carried on by a slave population, and how they are 

 described by a writer who has been " nearly twenty vears" at the business. " The ground being all 

 cleared from grass, bushes, and weeds, and lined out and pegged every seven feet, the great gang 

 should be put in with hoes to dig the plaintain holes at every peg, ajNegro to each row. The holes should 



