Flora or the Estates. 
save the plantations from being flooded in the rainy season from the land 
side, a similar dam is raised there. Trenches or canals divide the dif- 
ferent properties one from another, with, in addition, a main-outlet canal, 
12 feet broad and 6 feet deep surrounding every estate into which all the 
smaller ones open. With the commencement of the ebb, the banked-up 
waters within can be run off by means of large sluices into the main 
canal, this being in communication with the so-called navigation trenches 
that divide the estate into different fields, and along which the cut-down 
sugar-cane is transported in large punts to the mill. 
199. Originally every Colonist was allotted a frontage of 100 Dutch 
roods and a depth of 750 roods, or 250 acres for cultivation. It was 
only when this area was cultivated and cleared that he was allowed 
an extension of his property and in return for a small sum another 250 
acres could be granted him. Every Colonist was allowed to procure 
land in this way until, on coming into collision with the next estate, 
iie found an insurmountable obstacle to the further extension of his 
property. The superficial area of individual estates varies mostly be- 
tween 300 and 2,000 acres, although at present only a few can keep more 
than from 100 to 500 acres under cultivation. The cultivated ground 
usually consists of a rich stiff and clayey marshy soil of great depth 
which is in many cases mixed with salty and vegetable matter. In this 
soil, the sugar cane lasts for from 20 to 30 years, and indeed even up 
to 50 years without requiring new transplanting. If only to give an 
example of the extraordinary fertility of this soil, [ would mention that 
6000 lbs. of sugar or 26,000 lbs. of plantains are often harvested annual- 
ly from one acre, though one finds such capacity for produce only quite 
close to the coast, and on the banks of the rivers: amongst the latter, 
only so far as the salt water reaches at flood-tide, which on an average 
is mostly ten miles. Beyond this, are to be found barren sandy or yel- 
low loam flats which are very generally covered with a three to four foot 
deep light vegetable substance called Pegass. This soil is suitable only 
for coffee planting. 
2l)0. The district comprising the estates, like that of the city, has a 
flora of its own. The luxuriance of the gardens and open spaces, to the 
wealth of which the East Indies, Africa and the West India Islands 
have contributed, disappears here and the monotonous uniformity of 
Rhizophora and Ficus is only occasionally interrupted by pleasant 
avenues of Erythrina Coralldcndrun Linn., Tuinarindus' Indian Linn., 
Artocarpus inaisa Linn., Parsed gruHssima and Orange-trees. These 
either lead to the individual estates’ properties, or stretch along the dams 
and canals dividing the different plantations from one another; they are 
hemmed in with a 'thick undergrowth of Lantana in a number of varie- 
ties, as well as with Cordia hirsuta Willd., C. Pchoiuburgkii Benth., 
Cassia alata, C. occidentalis Linn., C. latifolia Meyer, C. vcncuifera Rod., 
C. calliantha Meyer, Psidiuni and a number of Mimosa. The broad 
grass and pasture flats are generally covered with Ascdepias curassa- 
riaca Linn., Crotala ria glabra Willd., Rucllia luberosa, Hibiscus hie- 
ornis Meyer, H. spinifeac Linn., H. brasiliensis Linn., Leo not is nepetae- 
folia, Tiaridium -indie uni Leh., Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Vahl, 
Solanum erythrocarpum Meyer, S. mammosum Linn., S. verbascifolium } 
