Report of Society's Meetings. 121 
provision farmers and rice growers. In Demerara and 
Essequebo the exceptional downpour was followed by 
almost continuous rains during the next six months, and 
in March and April, 1898, taking four estates, as repre- 
senting Essequebo, the River Distri6^s and the East 
Coast, the rainfall was 35 ins. 77 parts, 35*62, 37*12 and 
34*64. This was the cause of a great falling off in the 
crops of the two Counties he had mentioned, but many 
of the most experienced planters were in July and August 
deceived by the general appearance of the canes, which, 
although comparatively green, showed good signs of 
growth, and it was hoped thai some of the leeway 
would be made up. This was not the case. The re- 
turns from estates in Demerara and Essequebo fell off 
as badly, as, or even worse than, he had every known 
them to do. The County of Berbice was a great deal 
more fortunate as the rains were not so heavy, and the 
result was that the crop there was an exceedingly good 
one. The rice crop had also suffered, as the cultivation 
so far as it had gone depended almost entirely on the 
weather. There was no system of drainage and irriga- 
tion, but that was a thing which was essential for the 
success of the rice industry in the Colony. He was borne 
out in this idea by one who had a great deal of intt rest 
in the rice cultivation of the Colony. In a letter, Mr. 
Murray, of Port Mourant, who had perhaps done as much 
to encourage the rice industry in the district in which he 
lived as almost anybody in the Colony, informed him 
that as the two important things, drainage and irrigation, 
were extremely good on that estate, the crop returns 
averaged 40 bags of paddy weighing 120 lbs. net each 
per acre. That was certainly an excellent yield, and it 
showed what could be done if the rice industry was taken 
up con amore and the necessary capital spent upon it. He 
was glad to say that the prospects of the rice crop for 
the coming season were quite up to the average, and it 
might even be larger than it had previously been on the 
lands which were drained and irrigated. Of course, on 
other lands it would depend on the weather. While on 
the subject of the rice cultivation, he thought he might 
refer to the coolie settlements which were being estab- 
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