NORTH AMERICA. 
6 5 
fular eftates, who rear flocks of horned cattle, 
liorfes, fwine, and poultry, and protect the game for 
their proprietors. The inhabitants of thefe iflands 
alfo lie open to the invafion and ravages of pirates, 
and in cafe of a war, to incurfions from their ene- 
mies armed veffels ; in which cafe they muft either 
remove with their families and effedts to the main, 
or be flripped of all their moveables, and their 
houfes laid in ruins. 
The foil of thefe iflands appears to be particu- 
larly favourable to the culture of indigo and cotton, 
and there are on them fome few large plantations 
for the cultivation and manufacture of thofe valu- 
able articles. The cotton is planted only by the 
poorer clafs of people, juft enough for their family 
confumption : they plant two fpecies of it, the an- 
nual and Weft Indian; the former is low, and 
planted every year ; the balls of this are very 
large, and the phlox long, ftrong, and perfectly 
white ; the Weft I ndian is a tall perennial plant, 
the ftalk fomewhat fhrubby, feveral of which rife 
up from the root for feveral years fucceffively, the 
ftems of the former year being killed by the winter 
frofts. The balls of this latter fpecies are not quite 
fo large as thofe of the herbaceous cotton ; but the 
phlox, or wool, is long, extremely fine, filky, and 
white. A plantation of this kind will laft feveral 
years, with moderate labour and care, whereas the 
annual fort is planted every year. 
The coafts, founds, and inlets, environing thefe 
Iflands, abound with a variety of excellent fifb, 
particularly Rock, Bafs, Drum, Mullet, Sheeps- 
head, Whiting, Grooper, Flounder, Sea Trout, 
[this laft feems to be a fpecies of Cod] Skate, Skip- 
jack, Stingray. The Shark, and great Black Sting- 
F ray, 
