18 
“ think it might be grown nearly all over the Colony on the low- 
“ lying front lands.” According to this witness the first cost of 
preparing the land by cigars, levelling. &c. is somewhat heavy, 
and may amount to $16 to $24 per acre. This, once done, does 
oe need to be renewed. The cost of planting, weeding, picking, 
threshing, and husking (including $8 for rent) amounts to $15.52 
per ers a tia return per acre td = is eight bags of 
cleaned r Five crops at Uae uced i o years. The rice 
seta: locally at abet. $6 p This a SEE lowe to yield a 
return of $48 p er crop ake i "apparent expenditure of $15.52 
Mr. Winter further states : ‘ bie immigrant population like the 
“ rice cultivation, oe if they can obtain a small piece of land of 
“ their own on w to build a ag ae with land T for rice 
“ cultivation within easy distance I think.a good many woul 
“ settle down in the Colony, thereby saving the cost of their 
“return passage, bosine, me Tey would contribute to the 
“ general revenue. Ther 250 coolies on this aereto and last 
“ financial year they a pane oe to the value of $315 
54. Mr. H. T. Perkins, the Acting Commissioner of Mines in a 
memorandum submitted to the Royal Commission, states: “ Rice 
“is at pre grown chiefly by the East Indian immigrants, who 
“ have acquired Jaren of land in various localities, but there are 
“ not many of large area. A proper system of water supply and 
“ drainage and cultivation would be of immense advantage to the 
Is people, who are too poor to uudecióke large works of this kind 
x SED The grain produced is full and well grown and 
“ furnishe ery nu sh ee food, being preferred by many 
ells 
se “Dag and is also a wo ‘food for cattle and horses and pigs, 
and if it were more largely grown on the thousands of acres so 
sg sell adapted for its cultivation, a large export trade might, in 
“ years to come, be built up by means of sufficient capital.” 
55. “ The best rice lands are in the rear of the sugar estates 
“and on the Mahaica, Mahaicony, and Abary creeks and coasts 
“the Barima and Waini rivers, and on the Corentyne coasts.” 
The Louisiana nb after reviewing ‘the circumstances of the 
coast lands in t olony remarks, “c all this would indicate an 
« ideal country for the culture of rice.’ 
Mr. pao hee gaa in arog re before the Royal Commission, 
ment ioned that “on Estates Bath and Adelphi, three-fourths of 
“ the houses E the i TE a full of paddy rice grown by them- 
“ selves. . . Some of them had as many as 25 bags.” The 
Honourable A. Webber stated that “in the first instance there is 
a4 locas field for rice cultivation f gon ly local cons mption. 
at alone would tend to keep a million anios. in the 
se Colony.” 
56. There can be no donbt as to the decidel opinion which 
prevails that rice-growing is a most promising industry on the 
coast lands of British Guiana. The deen pip so far has been 
undertaken on comparatively small areas by coolies, and with 
yery crude appliances for threshing and Tuking the grain, 
