the Sugar Anfu 355 
they fay, Martinique and Barbadoes were freed from their bad 
effedts without a hurricane or any other apparent caufe. 
The idea of any fuch extraordinary and unheard-of devia- 
tion of nature is too contemptible to deferve an anfwer ; but 
the reafon is obvious. The planters there either abandoned 
their cane lands, or planted them in coffee, cocao, cotton, in^ 
digo, &c. none of which, according to the above obfervations, 
afford the ants proper conveniency for the propagation of their 
fpecies; and therefore their numbers rauft have fo much decreafed 
as to re-admit the culture of the fugar-cane as before. At the 
fame time it is very probable, that this diminution might have in 
part been owing to fomething of the hurricane kind ; for it is 
well known, that ftrong fqualls of wind, attended with heavy 
rains, are frequent in the Weft Indies, although they do not 
laft fo long, nor are fo violent, as to deferve the name of a 
hurricane. 
It mu ft not however be denied, that though nature, for a 
time, may permit a particular fpecies of animal to become fb 
unproportionabiy numerous as to endanger fome other parts of 
her works, (he herfelf will in due time put a check upon the 
too great increafe ; and that is often done by an increafe of 
fome other animal inimical to the former deftroyers. In the 
prefent cafe, however, nothing of that fort appeared ; there- 
fore, when a plain natural caufe, obvious to our fenfes, 
occurred, by which we can account for the amazing and fudden 
decreafe of thofe ruinous infedts, it is unneceffary to recur to 
other poffible caufes, too minute for our inveftigation. 
All I have faid on this fubjedt would certainly be of little or 
no confequence, did it not lead to the true method of culti- 
vating the fugar-cane on lands infefted with thofe deftrudtive 
A a a z infe&s ; 
