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others. Thus, on my estate in St. Thomas's in the 

 East, they can allow of ten ratoons from the 

 same plant, and only dig cane-holes every eleventh 

 year ; while, at Cornwall, the strength of the cane 

 is exhausted in the fourth ratoon, or the fifth at 

 furthest. The fresh plants are cane-tops ; but 

 those canes which bear flags or feathers at their 

 extremities will not answer the purpose, as dry 

 weather easily burns up the slight arrows to which 

 the flags adhere, and destroys them before they 

 can acquire sufficient vigour to resist the climate. 



March 10. (Sunday.) 

 I find that I have not done justice to the cotton 

 tree, and, on the other hand, have given too much 

 praise to the Jamaica kitchen. The first cotton 

 trees which I saw, were either withered by age, or 

 struck by lightning, or happened to be ill-shaped 

 of their kind ; but I have since met with others, 

 than which nothing could be more noble or pic- 

 turesque, from their gigantic height, the immense 

 spread of their arms, the colour of their stems and 

 leaves, and the wild fantastic wreath ings of their 

 roots and branches. As to the kitchen, nothing 

 can be larger and finer in appearance than the 

 poultry of all kinds, but nothing can be uniformly 

 more tough and tasteless ; and the same is the case 

 with all butcher's meat, pork excepted, which is 

 much better here than in Europe. The fault is in 

 the climate, which prevents any animal food from 



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