Late Rainpalls ; some op their Effects. 93 



plying; and also the great damage done lately by borers 

 and caterpillars, a natural sequence to weakly, unhealthy, 

 young canes ; as well as the presence of late years of a 

 regular plague of red stinging ants in the cane-pieces, 

 adding much to our difficulties in getting people to work 

 the fields, and so on, but I have already said enough to 

 show how very adverse the effe6ls of late rain-falls have 

 been and I shall now conclude by saying that a further 

 reference to the B. G. Dire6lory will show that to the end 

 of last year, the names of some 9 sugar estates, other than 

 those amalgamated, have disappeared since i88g, and 

 though it would perhaps be too much to say that adverse 

 seasons were entirely responsible for this, still there is no 

 doubt they materially helped in their downfall. 



A high if not the highest authority in the colony on 

 climatic changes says these generally occur in cycles of 

 5 or 7 years. We have had 5 years already, appearances 

 this year point to a very favourable change in the 

 weather, so let us hope we are done with bad seasons 

 and that we shall have a return of our former good 

 times, to put those of us who have come through so many 

 disappointments lately, into good heart, to renew with 

 energy the all important fa6lor in the colony's welfare — 

 the careful cultivation of the soil. 



