434 
A VOYAGE TO [At Mauritius. 
isos. garden ; the waving bamboo, whose numberless uses are well known, 
September. ^ p| antec | by t he sides of the rivers and canals. 
A notion of the working and produce of a plantation at V acouas 
will be most concisely given by a statement of the ordinary ex- 
penses and returns ; and to render it more nearly applicable to the 
case of such persons in Europe as might form the project of becom- 
ing settlers, I will suppose a young man, with his wife and child, 
arrived at Mauritius with the intention of employing his time and 
means on a plantation in this district ; and at the end of five years 
other affairs call him thence, and he sells every thing. He is sup- 
posed to possess 18,000 dollars in money or property, to be active, 
industrious, and frugal, and though unacquainted with the business 
of a planter, to be sufficiently intelligent to gain the necessary in- 
formation in one year. With these requisites, I would examine 
whether he will have been able to subsist his family comfortably 
during the five years, and what will then be the state of his funds 
Dollars. 
1,800 
3.000 
4.000 
1,500 
1.000 
450 
100 
100 
200 
expenses. 
In town the first year, _ - 
Price of an uncleared habitation, 
Twenty negroes, some being mechanics, 
Ten negresses, 
Ten children of different ages, 
Maize 500lhs. (7£ D.), sweet potatoes 
1250lbs. (3-| D.), to subsist each slave 
the first year, - 
Head tax for 5 years, at \ D. each per an 
Maroon tax for ditto - - . 
Surgeon to attend the slaves, 
Building and furnishing a house, maga- 
zine, &c\, exclusive of wood and la- 
bourers from the plantation, - 2,500 
Agricultural utensils, hand mills, &c. - 300 
100 fowls and 50 ducks for a breed, - 100 
Ten goats, - - - 60 
Ten pigs, - i0 '; 
A horse, saddle, &c. 
A good ass, side saddle, &c. - 120 
Seeds and fruit trees, 50 
Coffee plants 30,000 for 20 acres, - 450 
Expenses at the plantation in 4 years, 
exclusive of domestic supplies, 3,600 
Losses from two hurricanes, - __ 2 > 0<)0 
Total 21,680 
RECEIPTS. Dollar* 
Of 60 acres cleared to raise provisions, 
30 are necessary to support the slaves ; 
from the rest may be sold 150,0001bs. 
of maize in 4 years, for - 2,250 
Ebony, timber, planks and shingles, sold 
on the spot during 5 years, - - 3,000 
Coffee reaped on the 5th year, 50 bales 
(lOOlbs. each) at 15 D. per bale, - 750 
Vegetables and fruit sold at thebazar, aver- 
age 2 D. per day, during four years, 2,920 
Fowls and ducks 2000 at £ D. - 1,000 
Thirty goats sold, - - 160 
Thirty hogs, - - 600 
At the end of 5 years, the plantation, 
buildings, &c., will probably bring, 
Probable value of the slaves, . - 
Pigs, goats, and poultry remaining. 
Horse, ass, &c. probably not more than 
Whole receipts 
Expenses and losses 
Increase 
7,000 
5,500 
260 
200 
23,660 
21,680 
1,980 
