248 IN THE GUIANA FOREST 



day on which he cut down the living barrier which 

 obstructed his view of the sea, is hard to tell, but 

 that many have suffered on this account is certain. 

 It would not be difficult to collect the details and 

 show how the front lands of sugar plantations have 

 been flooded, the canes destroyed by salt water, and 

 thousands of pounds spent in repairing the damage 

 all perhaps from thinning (and thus weakening) 

 the living barrier. 



We shall not, however, go into these details, but 

 proceed to show how the courida builds up islands 

 and how quickly this is done. A century ago the 

 east coast of Demerara was drained by a creek 

 which had its exit near what is now the sugar 

 plantation Lusignan. At that time there were no 

 estates in this district the drainage was nature's 

 work, and she did it in a way entirely suitable to 

 the conditions then existing. A little later, how- 

 ever, one plantation arose after another, each with 

 its drainage canals to carry off the water from its 

 own area. It naturally followed that the Coura- 

 banna Creek became diminished in its volume of 

 water as well as in its velocity, with the result "that 

 it could no longer contend with the banks of mud 

 thrown up by the tide at its mouth. Soon an 

 extensive bar was formed, and later this rose to 

 the surface and became a mudbank, forcing the 



