26 
upkeep of this property are equal to anything in the West Indies. 
The yield of trees now in bearing is about 50,000 Ibs., bringing in 
a gross return of £1,040. Mr. Barclay’s evidence given before the 
Royal Commission is most valuable, as indicating the possibilities 
of establishing subsidiary industries on the Demerara 
Some parts of the estate have been established by the aid of catch 
crops, Which have brought in a total i of £1,200 for plantains 
and tanniers, disposed of in the Colo 
81. Land of Canaan, the eee of Mr. Charles Ross, is 
Stns aa both in Liberian coffee and cacao. There are also 
e flourishing kola and nutmeg trees. Thisis in charge of an 
intelligent black man, Spupeivined by pe ee Hag from the pro- 
The estate is carefully managed, and the cacao trees are 
bearing good crops. It must be sala A that all the coffee 
and cacao me so far established have been ane? ied efforts, 
and, as one of the posa stated in evidence, “if he were 
“ commence again he would plant his estate at es half the a 
It cannot be too kartis a that no new industries teen 
be attempted to be started in British Guiana, except by men witha 
special knowledge of them. A mae or cacao planter requires as 
much training and experience as a sugar planter. The failures 
and disappointments hitherto ad in regard to subsidiary 
feiras in this colony have been almost entirely due to a want 
of knowledge and to errors in the selection of land 
82. A very important means of reducing the cost of establishing 
coffee and cacao plantations would be to find a market for the 
bananas and plantains that might be grown on the land as catch 
crops during the time the permanent trees are attaining the 
bearing age. On this point I cannot do better than quote 
Mr. Jenman, bleee in 1888, very igea iiy stated his views in the 
following words 
“ Were an os banana or plantain trade once established,a very 
“ great impetus would thereby, no doubt, be given to the establish- 
“ ment of cacao and coffee plantations. There is no exportable 
ei pomo dity of a character now that will pay ar cultivator to 
wona ee scale between the trees during the years of their 
fancy. Yet it is essential for the well- -being of the plants that 
“ generally, the population dependen eady to adopt such 
“« means of getting a living, would be vest price Aird insufficient 
“to make it successful. A large and permanent demand for 
“ bananas or plantains would meet the case entirely, and the cacao 
“ or coffee planter, while establishing his trees, would be able to 
“make a living, with some margin of profit beyond, in the pro- 
“ duction of these fruits. All cultivators in the Colony, whatever 
“ As I mentioned in a note a few weeks ago, the cane farmer 
“ would be enabled to adopt, to some extent, at any rate, a 
