BARBADOES. 



253 



Barbadoes. argilla, bleached by exposure to the weather. Of 

 " v ' this variety of soil, the black mould is best suited for 

 the cultivation of the cane, and with the aid of ma- 

 nure has afforatd as great returns of sugar, in fa- 

 vourable seasons, as any in the West Indies, the prime 

 lands of St Kitts excepted. As this island has been 

 long under cultivation, the soil is supposed to be now 

 much exhausted. In order therefore to supply it 

 with manure, we find that great herds of a species of 

 small cattle, chiefly steers, are kept on the plantation 

 principally for this purpose. These are employed 

 instead of horses, in the heavy labours of the estate ; 

 and it is common to see from twelve to twenty-four 

 of them in a waggon, drawing a single hogshead of 

 sugar, or some other small load, which in this coun- 

 try would be conveyed with facility by two horses 

 in a cart. In consequence of such numbers of cat- 

 tle being necessary to furnish manure for the land, 

 there is a greater supply of beef and veal in their 

 markets, and fresh provisions are more abundant on 

 this island than in most of the other colonies. The 

 i'nimals, according to Dr Pinckard, are brought alive 

 into the market, to be killed after the different joints 

 are sold ; and it often happens that the meat is slaugh- 

 tered, dressed for dinner, brought to table, and used 

 by the guests without growing cold. 



In consequence of the general cultivation of this 

 island, and its full exposure to the trade winds, the 

 temperature of Barbadoes is more equal, and the air 

 more salubrious than in most other parts of the West 

 Indies. Indeed it is considered as the most healthy 

 of all the islands, so that it is common in sickness to 

 make a voyage from the other colonies to Barbadoes, 

 as the Montpelier of this quarter of the globe. 

 When Dr Pinckard was in this country, the thermo- 

 meter placed in the shade in the harbour was seldom 

 higher than 84, and at no time did it exceed 86 de- 

 grees. But though this island is blessed with exemp- 

 tion from excessive heat, from noxious vapours, and 

 from general sickness, it is visited by a malady so 

 much its own, as to have obtained the appellation of 

 the Barbadoes disease. It appears in the form of 

 elephantiasis, or what is here termed the glandular 

 disease, and is a peculiarly unsightly and distressful 

 malady. 



This island, after the settlement of the English 



upon it, appears to have rapidly attained a most Barbados, 

 flourishing state. We are assured that about the 

 year 10'70, there were nearly 50,000 whites, and 

 ] 00,000 blacks on this small spot, being upwards of 

 ii\ : hundred to every square mile, a population su- 

 perior even to that of Holland or China. About 

 this time, the trade of Barbadoes is said to have em- 

 ployed 400 sail of ships, which conveyed about 

 60,000 tons. The annual exports in sugar, indigo, 

 ginger, cotton, and citron water, amounted to up- 

 wards of 350,000, and the circulating cash at home 

 was about 200,000. But though this account is 

 probably much exaggerated, it cannot be doubted 

 that the population of Barbadoes has rapidly de- 

 creased after that time, as appears from the following 

 returns which were made of the inhabitants at differ- 

 ent periods during the last century : 



1724 

 1753 

 1786 



Whites. 

 18,295 



16,167 



Blacks. 



69,870 

 62,953 



Among the inhabitants of this island, there is a nu- 

 merous class between the great planters and the peo- 

 ple of colour ; a circumstance which forms a striking 

 difference between Barbadoes and the other colonies. 

 Of them many are descended from the original set- 

 tlers, and have no precise knowledge when their an- 

 cestors first arrived. They accordingly regard this 

 island as their nation and only abode, and do not, like 

 the planters or the negroes, look back to the scenes 

 of infancy as their better home. 



We are informed by Mr Edwards, that the annual 

 produce of this island had decreased during the last 

 century, in a much greater proportion than in any of 

 the other islands : but previous to the war with 

 France, the planters appear to have extended the cul- 

 tivation of sugar, in consequence probably of the ad- 

 vances upon that article in Europe. In 1736 the 

 crop of sugar amounted to 19,800 hogsheads, of 

 15 cw^. : but after this period, it fell to nearly one 

 half of this quantity, and did not begin to increase 

 until about the period of the French revolution, as 

 appears from the following account of the principal . 

 exports from this island at different periods : 



