42 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 



July Ir?. — Great mortality among the cattle. 



1780, April 17 The Company's flock of sheep in bad condi- 

 tion " from the long drought and present failure of our summer 

 rains." 



June 5. — The island in a distressed state. 



1781, March 1. — Torrents damaged Sandy Bay fortifications. 

 June 2. — The island had sustained severe drought for three 



years. 



1791, April 13. — Colonel Brooke informs Doctor Anderson at 

 Madras, that while the grass is burnt up, his Guinea grass, at 

 High Knoll, looked " green and beautiful." 



May 30. — Thirty-two of the Company's cattle (including calves) 

 died during six months. The Company's stock on July 11, was 

 340 cattle. 



October 21. — The season continued alarmingly dry — the crops 

 of potatoes failed^the yam grounds grown very unprofitable — 

 and numbers of the cattle have died. 



1792, April 9. — Company's cattle, December 31 - 369 



Dead . - - - 91 



Here it appears that one fourth of the Company's stock died. 

 1792, August 17. — The planters petition to Government, repre- 

 senting that they " have, by the late drought, lost one half of 

 their stock of cattle." 



Philosophers of all ages have built a hope of being able to 

 discover by repeated observations, some rules concerning the 

 variations of seasons, and changes in the weather, convinced 

 that such discoveries would be of the highest utility, especially in 

 agriculture ; because by foreseeing, even in part, the circum- 

 stances of the seasons, we should have it in our power to prevent, 

 at least in some degree, the losses arising from them. But from 

 the imperfection of our present knowledge of this subject, it is 



I 



