132 



HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part L 



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. 



•119."). New Brunnvick 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 of St. John's 

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

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

 The soil is thin and barren, except <>n the hanks of the river, where it produces grass, 

 hemp, and flax. A great improvement, however, in the agriculture of Nova Scotia is said 

 to have taken place, in consequence of certain letters written on the subject, which 

 first appeared under the name of Agricola, in the Acadian Recorder, a Halifax news- 

 paper. These letters are by John Young, secretary to the provincial agricultural board, 

 and have since been collected and published in a separate volume. Some account of 

 them, accompanied by extracts, will be found in the Farmers Magazine, vol. xxiv. p. 81. 

 1 1 96. 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, [line, and fir, numerous ponds and morasses, and some dry barrens. The chief 

 produce of these islands, as well as of the other British possessions in America, consists 

 of furs and skins; and the same remark will apply to the Bermudas and the unconquered 

 countries, which need not be further noticed. 



Subsect. 4. Of the present State of Agriculture in the West India Islands. 



*I 197. 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. 



1198. 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 teinperate ; 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 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 flavour of any pro- 

 duced 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 (Swietem'a Mahdgnni). 

 (fig. 161.) In 17G3 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 island abounds with "™ R 

 mules, horses, sheep, wild boars, bogs, and fine black cattle. The horned cattle have 

 increased so much that the forests are filled with droves of them, which run wild, and 

 are hunted and killed for their hides and tallow. The chief birds are paroquets, turtle 

 doves, and partridges ; water-fowl are numerous ; and on the coast turtles are abun- 

 dant ; mullets and shads are the principal fish. 



1 1 99. Jamaica has been in possession of the English since the middle of the seventeenth 

 century. The climate is extremely hot throughout the year, though mitigated by various 

 causes. The surface of the country is very irregular : a ridge of mountains from east to 

 west divides it into two parts. At a small distance from the shore it rises into hills with 

 gentle acclivity, which are separated from each other by spacious vales and romantic in- 

 equalities. On the southern side of the island there are precipices and inaccessible cliffs, 

 amidst which are vast plains covered with extensive cane fields. To the inequalities of 

 surface that distinguish this island it is owing, that, although the soil in many parts of 

 the island is deep and very fertile, yet the productive land is but of small extent in pro- 

 portion to the whole. That which is actually cultivated is of a middling quality, and 

 requires labour and manure to make it yield liberally. 





