SETTLEMENTS ON THE DEMERARY, &C. 97 



white made all his companions laugh aloud. The poultry- 

 house contained nearly a thousand head of feathered stock, 

 consisting of chickens, turkies, and ducks, which were taken 

 care of and reared by an old negress, whose sole time was de- 

 dicated to that: she always counted them morning and night, 

 and gave a tally to the overseer both times, with an account 

 of deaths, losses, and increase, and a circumstantial list of 

 all the laying hens, and of the number of eggs, which were 

 delivered to the dairy-maid. There were only eight or ten 

 sheep in the pen, which were fattened and made ready for 

 the knife, previous to being sent from the sea-coast estate, 

 where the body of the flock, consisting of one hundred and 

 fifty, was kept, as they thrive much better on the saline 

 than on the fresh land of the river. A regular account of 

 these was delivered in, every evening, by the shepherd, as well 

 as of the swine, by the pig-keeper, of which there were be- 

 tween twenty and thirty: as they are apt to do considerable 

 damage on sugar estates, these gentry were obliged to be con- 

 fined to the stye. Instances are frequent of some escaping 

 into the woods, where they live wild, and their increase has 

 been immense. They are at chance times to be shot, which 

 IS the only way of taking them. The other stock which 

 attracted my notice, were some goats, and between twenty and 

 thirty head of cows : the former provide milk for coffee, the 

 latter supply the family with butter; besides which, bub, or 



o 



