The Cultivation of ihe Sugar-Cane. 



35 



cane, to which this forms a sure guide. J>oin each joint springs a nar- 

 row and rather graceful leaf, which, however, are stripped off as the plant 

 approaches maturity, to within three or four joints of the top. By the 

 side of these gigantic canes, yellow in their stem and bright green in their 

 leaves, and waving to the breeze, the tall Malabar cooley appears quite 

 dwarfed, and a whole gang of a hundred laborers soon becomes quite hid- 

 den amongst the dense groves of sugar-cane, which stretch on every side 

 for manv miles, through valleys, round hills, and across ample plains. 



The world-famed names of Paul 

 and Virginia, consecrated by one 

 of the noblest works of fiction an<l 

 fact in existence, are still to be seen 

 engraved on a simple tomb at the 

 foot of the Pamplemousse moun- 

 tain, surrounded by scenery which, 

 of itself, without the hallowed re- 

 collections of the tale, would suf- 

 fice to give a charm to any spot. 

 Birds of softest note warble a- 

 mong the deep green foliage of 

 mango and tamarind trees. The 

 i^ squirrel leaps from the wide bran- 

 ches of the bread-fruit tree, and 

 the gay fluttering plumage of the 

 paroquet and the dove may bo 

 seen darting amidst the waving, 

 broad leaves of the bananas. A 

 cottage is near the lovely spot, 

 surrounded by a grove of orange 

 WEEDING A scGAR PLA^■TATIO^^ and jarabo trees. A small garden 

 of cotton, and tobacco, and melons, is attached, and the sound of soft, 

 Kweet voices comes from beneath its roof. Can it be some kindred spirit 

 to the eentle Viro-inia that dwells therein ? 



Voices are heard over the fields from where the canes are being cut, 

 the first of the new harvest. The toil of that burning day is over. A 

 fine-limbed, swarthy Malabar cooly, with streaming black locks, hastens 

 up the hill from his comrades. A small, graceful figure emerges from 

 the orange grove : the genius of the spot darts down the path, and wel- 

 comes the laborer home. It is the first night of the new harvest, and 



