32 SUGAR 



eight or nine hundred hands ; small, that is to say, in 

 comparison with some of its neighbours, one of which 

 embraces ten thousand acres, and has a staff numbering 

 fully eight thousand men, women and children. 



But the size of an estate makes little or no differ- 

 ence to the out-of-door plantation work in Demerara, 

 and in this scorching sun you will not want to make a 

 very long trip, seeing that a short one will serve our 

 purpose equally well. In the case of the mills, how- 

 ever, size is apt to affect working methods, so when I 

 want to show you how Demerara sugar is made, I 

 shall take you to the biggest mill in the Colony, where 

 you can see the latest improvements for extracting the 

 juice from canes, and turning it into crystals. 



By kind permission of the manager, we step into the 

 little Noah's Ark which is kept at a landing-stage near 

 his house, to be used by himself and his overseers for 

 daily tours of inspection. Our craft was designed for 

 hard wear and tear, and makes no pretension at being 

 either beautiful or comfortable. Her coat of paint is 

 of serviceable grey hue ; canvas sugar-bags do duty as 

 carpets and seat coverings ; and fitted to the hut 

 amidships are sun-bleached, shower-mottled blinds, 

 haunted by ghostly stripes. It is a mere accident of 

 taste that the little boat's quaint form and appearance 

 have a decided charm for us. 



As we take our seats within the hut, a black boy and 

 a coolie lad attach a mule to the boat by a long chain ; 

 a moment later, the darkie deftly jumps astride the 

 rudder, and the coolie flicks his whip. A lengthy 

 interval elapses, in which we wait the mule's pleasure 

 to step forth and tow us along. At last we are under 

 way. Your eyes wander from left to right, from right 



