COUNTY OF CARONI. 305 



under Point Manzanilla, there is no shipping-place along the 

 whole line of coast. At one time, it was in contemplation to cut 

 a canal of communication between the Oropuche and Caroni, 

 and the survey was actually made, in 1804, by Colonel Ruther- 

 ford : it started from the junction of the Sangre Chiquito with 

 the Oropuche, reached the mouth of the Cumuto, and then fol- 

 lowed the left bank of the Caroni to its junction with the Arauca. 

 Such a canal would certainly have afforded the advantage of 

 draining the country which it traversed ; but it is to be feared 

 that, during the dry season, it would have had too little water to 

 be of any utility in the way of transport : a tram-road would be 

 by far the most advantageous medium of connecting the counties 

 of St. Andrew and St. David with the gulf of Paria, and so with 

 Port-of- Spain. All that has been said regarding Manzanilla, is 

 pretty applicable to the whole county of St. Andrew. That part 

 of the country contiguous to St. George and Caroni, is barren ; 

 but from the river Cunape eastward, the quality of the soil im- 

 proves from deep clay to a black loam, near Morne Calabash 

 where, as already stated, it becomes of a very superior, and even 

 first-rate quality. The lands in the whole county are undulating, 

 or generally hilly. It is traversed by the high-road leading from 

 town to the eastern coast : at Morne Calabash the road branches 

 off in two directions to Manzanilla on the north-east, and to the 

 Cocal on the south-east thus establishing a communication, along 

 the sea-shore, with Mayaro. Population, 257 145 males, 112 

 females. Church of England, 175 ; church of Rome, 81. 



County of Caroni. This county has been divided into six 

 wards: Upper and Lower Caroni, Chaguanas, Carapichaima, 

 Savanetta, and Couva. Upper Caroni possesses a great variety of 

 soils, from the worst to the best ; the level section is a cold 

 bluish or red clay ; the vegas, or river hollows, and the undu- 

 lating land towards the east and south are excellent. Maize and 

 cacao are almost the sole cultivations ; plantains also thrive 

 remarkably well, but are not extensively grown, on account of the 

 annual flooding of the Caroni and its tributaries. The only parts 

 under culture are along the banks of the rivers such as the 

 Cumuto, Tumpuno, Arima, and Caroni, or in their immediate 

 vicinity. The produce is taken down the rivers to town, except 

 that from Cumuto, which is brought to Arima on mules. Nearly 

 all the properties in this ward are owned by the mixed descendants 



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