9 
Chap. III. 
of the El^GhlS H in A MERIC 
Pajfage-Fort-^ than within Land, as 2X.St.Jag0 de la Vega, or 
Spanilh^f own as on the contrary the Land-Wind blows 
harder at the Town than at Pajj age- Fort or Port-Royal. 
The Land-Wind blowing at iNight, and the Sea-Breeze 
in the Day-time, no Shipping can come into Port ex- 
cept in the Day, nor go out, but at break of Day, or 
very foon alter. 
The Norths, as they call them, come in when the 
Sun is near the Tropic of Capricorn, and fo farlheft off 
Southerly, and are very cold and unhealthy Winds, more 
violent in the Night, becaufe it is then they have the ad- 
ditional Force of the Land-Wind. They check the Growth 
of Canes, and all V. getables on the North-fide, but are 
hindered by the Ridge of Mountains from fhewing much 
of their Fury on the South, where it feldom rains with this 
Wind. Tnc South Winds bring the moft lafting Rains. 
The Rains from the South are lafting on the South-fide 
of this Wand. As at Sea with the Trade-Winds one meets 
with Tornadoes, fo at Land here fometimes will be a 
violen. Weft, diredtly contrary to the Trade, Wind j but 
this happens feldom, and is foon over. The Sea-Breeze, 
when It blows hard, is thought to hinder the Rain from 
coming to the Plains, it for the moft part then raining on 
the Hills. On this account it is that there are in the 
Mountains many Springs and Rivers, and few or none 
"in the Plains. And this is likewife the Caufe why there 
is never any Want of Water in the Rivers coming from 
them through the Plains, and likewife that, fometimes. 
Rivers futfer very great Increafe and Inundations 
in the rlains, when no Rains have fallen in the Places 
where fuch Inundations appear. 
Earthquakes, as they are very frequent in Hijpaniola, 
where they have formerly thrown down the Town of 
St. Domingo ; io they are too common alfo here ; The 
Inhabitants expedt one every Year, and fome of them 
think they fohow their great Rains : One happened on 
Sunday the 19th oi February, 1688; As if People had 
raifed the Foundation of the Houles, it was felt all over 
the Wand about the fame time, fome Houfes being 
wrecked, and very near ruined, and very few el'caped fome 
Injury ; the People were in a very great Confternation, 
and the Ships in Port Royal Harbour felt it : It was ob- 
ferved, that the Ground rofe like the Sea, in Waves, as 
the Earthquake paffed along. But this was nothing to 
the Earthquake which happened at Port Royal in the 
Year 1692, by which that Town was almoft fwallowed 
up. Thunder is heard almoft every Day in the Moun- 
tains, with the Rains there, fo that any Perfons in the 
Plains may hear it, as well as fee the Rain •, it does not 
lb ordinarily accompany thofe Rains that come from the 
Sea, although when it does it is very violent. Lightning 
for the moft part precedes Thunder, in this Wand, as 
elfe where ; and, it it be fair Weather, efpecially in the 
hotteft Seafons, it lightens almoft all the Night, firft in 
one Part of the Sky, or Horizon, out of fome Clouds, 
and then out of others oppofite to them, as it were an- 
Iwering one another. Froft or Snow are never feen in 
this hot Climate ; but fometimes Hail, and ■ that very 
large ; it comes with very great Norths, which reach 
with great Violence to the South-Iide, and throw down 
every thing before them. 
The Dews here are fo great within Land, that the 
Water drops from the Leaves of the Trees in a Morning, 
as if it had rained ; a Man riding in the Night, will fi^ 
hisCloaths, Hair, very wet in a fmall time-, but 
there are feldom any Fogs in the Plains or fandy Places 
near the Sea. The Rains there are violent, and the Drops 
very larger according to thedifferent Pofitions of Places, 
fo the Rains are more or lefs violent, and come at different 
times, but generally fpeaking the great rainy Seafons are 
in May 2 .nd.Ogfober', in which Months, at new or full Moon 
they begin, and continue Day and Night for a whole 
Fortnight, fo that the Earth in all level Places is laid 
under Water for fome Inches, and it becomes loofe for 
fome Inches deep, and confequently the Roads are al- 
moft impaffable, “ In the Town of St. J ago de la Vega, 
in thofe rainy Seafons, I was forced to ride on Horfe- 
“ back Sloane) although but from Door to 
Door, to vifit the Sick.” And thefe Seafons, as they 
are called, from being fit to plant in, are generally fo 
VolHI. Numb. 87. 
o ver the whole Wan'd, though they are niuch' altered in 
their Time and Violence of late Years, which arifes from 
the clearing much of the Country of Wood. In the Month 
of January is likewife expedted a Seafon, or Rain j but 
this is not fo conftant and- violent as the other two, and 
probably may come from the violent Norths, at that 
. time paffing over the Mountains, with part of their 
Rains with them. 
As to the Produce of the Wand of Jamaica, it is not 
eafy to give a very clear Account thereof in a narrow 
Compafs ; however, I fhall do the beft I cam In the 
firft place, I fhall mention Cocoa, of v/hich there ftill 
comes more from this than from any of our Plantations ; 
and as it is known to be a very rich and valuable Com- 
modity, the Reader will probablybe pleafed With a parti- 
cular Account of it. Cocoa grows on a Tree in Cods, 
green, red, and yellow, every Cod having in it three, four, or 
five Kernels, about the Bignefs and Shape of fmall Chefs- 
nuts, which are feparate from each other by a Subftance 
like the Pulp of a roafted Apple, moderately ftaarp and 
fwcet, from which its Nuts are taken when ripe, and by 
drying cured. The Body of a Cocoa Tree is commonly 
about four Inches Diameter, five Foot in Heighth, and 
above twelve to the T op of the T ree. Thefe T rees are very 
different; for fottie flioot up intwoor three Bodies ; others 
in one ; their I^eaVes are, many of them, dead and moft 
difcoloured, unlefs on very young Trees ; . a bearing Tree 
generally yields from two to eight Pounds of Nuts a Year, 
and each Cod contains from twenty to thirtyNuts. The 
Manner of curing them is, to cut them down when ripe, 
and to lay them to fweat three or four Days in the Cods, 
which is done by laying them in Heaps ; after this the 
Cods are cut, the Nuts taken out and put into a Trough 
covered with Plantain Leaves, where they fweat again 
about fixteen or twerity Days ; the Nuts that are on each 
Cod are knit together by certain Fibres, and have a white 
kind of Pulp about them, very agreeable to the Palate, 
as has been hinted before; by their turning and fweating, 
their little Strings are broken, and their Pulp is imbibed 
and mingled with the Subftance of the Nut : After which 
they are put to dry three or four Weeks in the Sun, and 
then they become of a reddifh-dark Colour. The Cods 
grow out of the Body, or great Limbs and Boughs ; at 
the fame Place there are Bloffoms, and young and ripe 
Fruit. It is planted firft in theNight, and always under 
Shade ; fome fet them under Caflave, others under 
Plantain Trees, and fome in the Woods. The Spaniards 
ufed a certain large ftiady Plant, called by them Madre 
di Cocoa, the Mother of Cocoa ; the Englijfo ufe the 
others only. 
It muft always be flieltered from the North-eaft Winds. 
The People at Jamaica feldom tranfplant it, only when 
it falls, as it does often, in open, poor and dry Lands; for 
this Tree requires to have a flat, moift, low Soil, which 
makes them be planted commonly by Rivers, and be- 
tween Mountains. ’Tis an Obfervation, that it is ill 
living where there are good Cocoa Walks. In a Year’s 
time, the Plant becomes four Feet high, and has a Leaf 
fix times as big as an old Tree, which, as the Plant 
grows bigger, falls off, and a lefler comes in its place. 
The Trees are almoft always planted at twoFeetDiftance; 
and fometimes at three Years old, where the Ground is 
good, and the Plant profperous, it begins to bear 
a little, and then they cut down all or fome of the Shade, 
The Fruit increafes till the tenth or twelfth Year, when 
the Tree is fuppofed to be in its Prime. The Root 
generally fhoots out Suckers, they fupply the Place of 
the old Stock when dead, or cut down ; unlefs any ill 
Quality of the Ground, or Air, kill both. 
The Manner of planting them is, in Order, like our 
Cherry-Gardens : They place a Plantain by every Tree, 
and when it is grown up it refembles a Cherry Tree ; it 
delights in Shade, and for that Reafon has the Plantain 
fet by it. The Cocoa-walks are kept clear from Grafs 
by hoeing and weeding. The Trees begin to bear at 
three, four, or five Years, and, did they not almoft al- 
ways die before, would come to Perfedfion at fifteen 
Years Growth, and laft till thirty ; which renders them 
the moft profitable Tree in the World, one Acre of them 
having cleared above two hundred Pounds in a Year j 
Y y y but 
