Mi.Y 1, 1901.] 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
753 
for a bachelor conld be built locally, by nsing native 
timber and shingles, foi- something under £75. 
Sufficient furniture could be purchased for £'25. 
After the first year, the planter ought to^ begin to 
make some mouc-y out of " catch-crops," such as 
eady vegetables, banauas, tobacco etc. Pineapples 
yield a ciop after 20 months, and their cultivation 
gives large profits. VaniUa and coffee bear in three 
years. Limes and oranges give good crops at four 
yt»ars. An acre in cocoa, five years old, ought to 
yield from six to nine cwt. of beans per annum, 
and the price, during th3 last 20 years, has averaged 
over 603 a cwt. Trinidad cocoa fetches over 90s a 
cwt.. a'ld there is no rea-.on why the Dominica 
product, if properly cured, should not be equally 
valuable. Nutmegs are of slow growth, but the 
value of their yield is very high. The cultivation 
of ramie-grass has lately been commenced m Do- 
minica, and promises much success. There are vast 
areas particularly suited to ^rubber, and the " Casti- 
loa" is found to thrive admirably. In fact, the 
most eminent authorities on tropical agriculture have 
given the opinion that owing to its diversity of 
soil rainfall and altitude Dominica offers remark- 
able advantages for the profitable culture of almost 
every sub-tropical product. There are good ship- 
ping facilities to the markets of America and the 
Uaif.ed Kingdom, and an increasing demand for all 
ita products. 
20. Supply of Lbour —The local supply is pro- 
vided by the coloured inhabitants of the Island, and 
is fairly abundant. The field hands require to be 
dealt with tactfully. There is a considerable influx 
of labourers from the Sugar Islands further north, 
and in 1899 these immigrants numbered over 1,700. 
In the event of very large demands arising for an 
increase of labourers, it is probable that coolies would 
be imported from India. 
21. Danger from Hurricanes ?— Dominicahas been 
remarkaDly free from hurricanes for very many years. 
Th« last severe storm occurred in 1883, but did com- 
paratively little damage. The very accidented con- 
figuration of the island woald probably prevent any 
wholesale destruction of growing crops, and there is 
really very little danger to be apprehended from 
hurricanes in Dominica. 
22 Insect Pests ?— The island is very free from 
noxious insects. Lime trees in some localities are 
troubled by a borer, but the damage done is, so far, 
not serious. Great care is taken, to guard against the 
importation of plant diseases from abroad. There are 
no venomous snakes and mosquito curtains are rarely 
used in the country districts. 
23. Crown Lands v. Old Sugar Estates?— The 
whole of the coast lands, right round he island, 
are occupied by old e.-^tn.tes which, for the most part, 
once produced sugar but are now planted with cacao, 
limes and fruit. Very tew of them are for sale, and 
it is a significant fact that it is almost impossible to 
buy, for a reH.Honable figure, a plantation that is 
already yieldi. g a large crop of either cacao, limes 
or fruit. The returns from these products are too 
valuable to be parted with save under force of cir- 
cumstances. The Grown lands comprise about 120,000 
acres, and occupy the whole of the centre of the 
island. They are undulating, well-watered, and 
covered with a magnificent forest growth. The soil, 
in most places, is remarkably fertile, and no fertilisers 
would be necessary for many years. In these virgin 
lands there are practically no weeds, and the con- 
tinual tillage required on old plantations would be 
largely avoided. 
The felling, clearing and burning of the forests is 
usually clone by native contractors, and it has been 
estimated that the clearing, draining and planting 
of au acre of virgin land costs in the first year, 
between £4 and £5. 
The "Imperial Boad " which is now being con- 
structed through a large seotipEi 9* Crown lands, 
opens up two large "spheres" of soil, and will soon 
render available some 30,000 acres. In one locality, 
the land varies in altitude from 3,500 feet, o 1,000, 
and this tract is principally suited to the cultiva- 
tion of high-grade coffee, nutmegs, oranges, rubber 
and early English vegetables; cacao, limes, vanilla 
and pine-apples are believed to be better adapted 
to lands varying from 500 to 1,000 feet, and the 
best conditions are to be found in the Layou Valley. 
24. Instruction in Agriculture ? — The Curator of 
the Botanic Station and the Agricultural Instructor 
are always ready to afford all assistance in their 
power, but it should be clearly understood that the 
Government will assume no responsibility for the 
success or otherwise of any settler. An intending 
planter should carefully follow the work that ia 
being carried on in the sample cultivations at the 
Botanic Garden, and he would gain much valuable 
information. The planters in Dominica are very 
friendly and hospitable, and any new-comer with 
proper recommendations would be welcomed and 
assisted by them. It would be advisable for any 
inexperienced person not to decide upon the pur- 
chase of land until he shall have stayed some weeks 
in the Island. He will then be in a position to judge 
for himself of the merits and prospects of variona 
cultivations, and be able to decide upon the nature 
and locality of the soil which would best suit his 
purpose. The return fare to Dominica is only £40, 
and a month's expenses in the Island could easily 
be restricted to £M. For an outlay of £60, a single 
man could most pleasantly spend a couple of months 
in making a voyage to Dominica and back, and 
there is every reason to believe that, having once 
seen that very beautiful and promising Island, ho 
will develop a strong desire to identify himself with 
ita progressive fortunes. 
For farther information concerning Dominica, see 
" Report on the Agricultural capabilities of Dominica,'' 
by C O Naftel late Inspector of Estates in Ceylon. 
This pamphlet is published by Messrs. Eyre and 
Spottiswoode, Bast Harding Street, Fleet Street, and 
costs 9h,<i. It contains a good map of the Island 
and a large amount of valuable information oon« 
cerning the cultivation of various products that are 
suited to Dominica. 
NEW AND OLD PRODUCTS. 
So far as the Directory estate results have! 
Vjeen worked out, the most striking fact 
to our mind, is the great extension of the 
planting of coconut palms in the old coffee 
and young tea districts below a certain 
elevation. Tlie Dumbara, Matale and Gam- 
pola Valleys have -long been known to 
grow excellent coconuts ; and still greater 
success should be anticiptited 'ower down, 
where soil and climate are suitable. So, it 
is no wonder that the Kelani Valley planters 
and their brethren in adjacent districts, North 
and South, have selected the coco-palm as a 
second string to their bow, after tea. But we 
are disappointed to find that so little has been 
done with the pepper vine, in the districts 
par excellence, best adapted for its growth- 
We cannot at all see why we should not devel- 
ope ah annual export of first-class pepper, 
equal to the quantity the Dutch shipped from 
Ceylon some 150 years ago and which was 
then nearly all produced by the Sinhalese of 
the Kegalla, Avisawela, Hanweia and Matara 
districts. A bounty, a medal and "order of 
merit " should go to the first Sinhalese hind- 
owner bringing five cwt. of good pepper for 
export froiMi Colombo, 
