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TIMEHRI
!
BEING

THE JOURNAL

OF

; {he Rona Aoviutarl wy omg

Society

OF

BRITISH GUIANA,

Edited by ... J. J. QUELCH, B. Sc., London, C.M.Z.S.

Vol. IV. (New Series) 1890,

Demerara: J. THOMSON, 18go.

London Agent ; E. STANFORD, 26 & 27 Cockspur Street,

London.

.

vi oe
658026
Rs. 57

PRINTED

Contents of Volume 4—(New Series.)
PAPERS

Diffusion of Sugar Cane, compared with double crush-
ing in Mills, by Nevite Lussock ,

Charles Waterton and his Demerara Friend, te Tee
Ropway : “

Mollusca of British eee by I. Ps Pane: as

Jamaica Proverbial Philosophy, by Rev, D. J. ee
NOLDS .. :

Our Railroad Age or South ae Deelenmenk
by T. P. PorTER

Jottings from the British Cadac Gold Dies ie
E. Fraser Lucxiz..

Defecation of Cane igh by Eleiciy, by S. M.
BELLAIRS : :

Rum, by W. M. mee. eh af ;

Note on Father Breton’s Carib-French Didionry, trans-
lated by Lady CHALMERS

On the Upper Demerara River, aes ee dae the
Great Falls, by J. J. Quelch ..

The Post Office in British Guiana before 1860, as
James Ropway , 7 °

Fireflies, by Lady Braxe

Statute Law Revision, by Dr. J. W. nd EE c. M. G.

The Necessity of Pure Air for Health, by Dr. RowLanp

Notes on the Geological a of British Guiana, by
J. J. QuEtcu

Parasites, by Dr. A. T. Onassis: ; alt

Contraéts with Cane Cutters, by . R, a hab

PaGE.

gi

96
37

47
59
63

71
78

91
96

187
214
225
246

272
278
298

Vi.

Notes on Scale and other Parasitical Inseéts,
Warp .. : .
On the Upper Berbice River wr I. {. Ourecn, ;
The Barbados Sugar Cane Experiments, by
HarRISON ae ate es aA a
OccasionaL NoTEs.—
The Discovery of Seed and Seedlings
Sugar Cane in Barbados
Luminous Larva . ae ee
Presentation to uate iranmanne
Cacao and its Inseét Pests
A Fungus-covered Moth

An Internal Parasite ve bs oe
Whip-worm oe 2 oe oe
Leaf-winged Locust ce

New Animals in the Museum .. Eee
The Hoatzin ie a ws as
The Fin-foot Se :

On Snake-poison Stories.. ns “-
Sociable Caterpillars bie ae Ne
Four-tailed Lizard te SE ve

The Wood-slave .. os iy; as
New Birds in British Guiana Bo
Gold in British Guiana .. “F a
Gold and Diamonds in British Guiana ..

Rice-growing in British Guiana .. as
Dried Ripe Bananas A ‘or oe
Scale Inseéts ai fe os oe
Young Aboma .. ae a ai

REPORTS OF THE MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY.—

by R.

of the

302
312

346

134
136
19s
138
139
140
140
143
141
144
144
145

14
148
149
150
I51
366
367
368
369
37°

Accounts and Treasurer’s statement .. 154, 165, 172

Addresses of Presidents ..

Agricultural Committee, Reports } So

Banana cultivation and trade .. ae

1545
167, 169,

179

380
177

373
161

Vii.

Bananas, dried .. 2 ~- 168, 171, 174, 199
Colonisation ae 7.8665, 171, 192, 176,103, 373

Commercial Committee, Reports oe thle
Correspondence Committee, Reports .. 156, 172, 377
376, 378

Eleéions 154, 164, 167, 169, 172, 175, 373, 380

Exhibitions .. ie : ee 174, 178, 379
Experimental growth of cae seed oh.2 i |e Ge
Honorary Membership .. i au sic DOL
Immigration afk te 171, £76, 179, 183, 373

Imperial Institute me : aa 159, 164
In Memoriam—kR. P. Hes it oa a= SS
Kiln-drying of corn aM 5% 158, 167

Motions ree Ae Ly ‘6an 168, 170, 171, 376, 377
Office-bearers, election of ne 6 Taher
376, 378

379, 384
Resident-Direftorship in London ee OER |i

Rice-growing ae xs “#8 aa 168, 169

Presentations 158, 167, 169, 172, 175, 179, }

Secretary’s Statement .. a a ax ges
Supplementary Catalogue a oF 165, 377
Timehrt .. +} J an oe fe? Ese
Tobacco .. wee a wa ae Sa) OG

Notices of Popular Science Leftures .. ae 186, 387

ala

Diffusion of Sugar Cane, compared with double
crushing in Mills.

By Nevile Lubbock.

FYNY modification of the present process of cane
| sugar manufaéture or any new process which
promises to reduce the cost of produétion,
requires the most careful consideration on the part of
planters. Competition, especially when aided by enor-
mous subsidies, as is the case with that which cane
sugar producers have to meet, will inevitably leave
those behind who do not adopt the most economical
means of production. While, however, sugar producers
will be wise to adopt any new process which tends to
economy, it behoves them to investigate any such new
process to the fullest extent, and to satisfy themselves
before adopting it that it will in reality conduce to the
end sought, and that its promises will not fail to be
fulfilled upon its pra€tical adoption.

It is well known that under the system which gen-
erally prevails, the quantity of cane juice obtained is
considerably below that which a€tually exists in the

sugar cane.
It may be assumed that the sugar cane contains
about 87 per cent. of its weight in cane juice. Where

ai

2 TIMEHRI.

single mills are used the expression of juice during a
crop rarely exceeds 66 per cent. of the weight of the
cane. In the case of double crushing about 72 to 74
per cent. of juice is obtained.

Whether the existing type of mills, at any rate
those in general use in British Guiana, is incapable of
improvement may possibly be doubtful; the result of
the De Mornay mill seems to shew that the abolition
of the trash turner would be attended with decided
advantage.

Up to the present, however, it has not been found
possible to extraét more than 72 to 74 parts of juice
from 100 of cane by means of mills.

It is contended that an extra¢tion from the cane
equivalent to 85 per cent. of juice can be obtained by
means of diffusion.

It may be remarked, however, that in the report on
the manufaéture of sugar by diffusion at Magnolia
estate in Louisiana, during the season 1888-9, by G. I.
SPENCER, the returns show that with canes containing
88-9 per cent. of normal juice, the extraétion amounted
to 83:3 per cent. only. In Demerara, taking a crop
through, canes probably do not contain more than 87
per cent. of normal juice; and, assuming the extraétion
by diffusion to be proportionate to the quantity of juice
contained in the cane, the extra€tion would be reduced
below 82 per cent. The canes operated upon at
Magnolia were plant canes, which accounts for the high
percentage of juice.

The difference, however, between one extraétion
of 72 per cent., and one of 82 per cent., is ob-
viously very appreciable. A gain of ro parts on

_ DIFFUSION COMPARED WITH DOUBLE CRUSHING. 3

72 is equivalent to nearly 14 per cent. It would,
therefore, appear at first sight, that diffusion ought
to be far more profitable than double crushing.

Whether this is really the case, however, obviously
depends partly upon the question of the relative cost of
the two processes. If the increased cost of diffusion is
equal to or greater than the increased gain, there will
be no economy in introducing it. Let us endeavour to
estimate the increased cost of diffusion as compared
with double crushing.

We must consider two cases, one in which a double
crushing plant is already in existence, the other in
which no plant exists.

In the first case we will assume that the plant is
complete but only sufficient for the manufacture of
sugar from the juice obtained. If we assume that the
cost of crushing the exhausted chips of cane is equal
to the cost of crushing the original cane, and that the
exhausted chips are double-crushed, the comparison
is much simplified. It is perhaps doubtful whether
this is so or not, but probably the difference will not
be great either way, and in the absence of sufficient
experience it seems at present the safest course to as-
sume that the cost of the one is equal to the cost
of the other.

In the case of diffusion we have (1) the cost of the
plant, (2) the increased cost of working it, (3) the cost
of increased quantity of fuel due :—

(a) to the increased evaporation,
(4) to the diminished value of the megass as fuel,
(4) the cost of packages for the increased quantity of
produce, (5) the cost of drogherage: of the increased
A2

4 TIMEHRI.

produce to ship-board, to set against the increased
quantity of sugar.

We may, perhaps, add the loss which might arise
from an increased liability to stoppages arising from
mishaps. Any such stoppages are as a rule costly both
in labour and fuel. It is, however, too soon to calculate
the value to be attached to this. The difficulties attend-
ing the starting of a new process and getting the hands
well acquainted with the work required of them, are
always considerable, and it would not be fair to assume
that because stoppages of various kinds have frequently
arisen in fa€tories where diffusion has been tried,
they may not with more experience be got rid
of altogether.

If we take the case of a fa€tory making 2,000 tons of
all sugars at present with double crushing, it seems
possible to estimate roughly what the value of the in-
creased sugar would be, and what would be the cost
of obtaining it.

We have already stated that it is claimed that the
diffusion juice obtained from the cane is equivalent to
an extra€tion of 85 per cent. of original juice. It may,
perhaps, be open to doubt whether the methods of
analysis and calculation by means of which the result of
85 per cent. is obtained, are absolutely reliable. A
very slight inversion in the sugar contained in the
exhausted chips would lead to very erroneous conclu-
sions if polariscopic indications of the cane sugar
contained in such juice are taken as the indication of the
extraétion. We think, therefore, that an expression
of 82 per cent., in view of the Magnolia results, is as
high as it is at present safe to calculate upon.

DIFFUSION COMPARED WITH DOUBLE CRUSHING. 5

Taking as our basis of comparison an extra€tion of
82 per cent. for diffusion against 72 per cent. for double
crushing, we have a gain in quantity of 14 per cent. of
sugar, this on a crop of 2,000 tons of all sugars repre-
sents 280 tons of sugar with its proportionate quantity
of molasses orrum. A fair valuation of 1 ton of sugar
with its offal would be about £15, and 280 tons at £15
will amount to £4,200.

The cost of the necessary diffusion plant may be
taken at about £16,000 and the interest and wear and
tear of this we will assume at ten per cent., or
£1,600 per annum.

The next item of expense will be the cost of the extra
fuel required. In the case of double crushing the
megass obtained forms a valuable fuel, and with the
assistance of about 5 cwts. of coal per ton of sugar, is
sufficient for the manufaéture of the sugar and rum
produced. It seems at present doubtful whether the
exhausted chips even when double-crushed are of any
value as fuel. This is, however, rather a difficult question.
At Aska and we believe in Java the exhausted chips have
been spread in the sun to dry and subsequently utilised
as fuel; the amount of labour required for this purpose is
very considerable and puts entirely out of the question
this method of dealing with the chips in British Guiana.
In this colony they are passed through a mill, or even
double-crushed, and are no doubt after such treatment.
available as fuel and theoretically of considerable
value for this purpose. There is, however, much greater
difficulty in burning cane refuse in this finely com-
minuted condition than in the case of either single or
double-crushed megass. The particles being small fall

6 TIMEHRI.

readily through ordinary grate bars, and they lie packed
so closely together that the free passage of the air
required for combustion is impeded. Hence if their
theoretical value as fuel is to be made available, some
special arrangement of furnace will have to be adopted.
We do not doubt that this will be done, as there does
not appear to be any greater inherent difficulty in
rendering these chips available as fuel than in the
case of sawdust. If we assume that their theoretical
value can be utilised, let us try to estimate this, and
compare it with the fuel value of megass from mills
with an extraétion of 72 per cent. With such an
extra€tion every 100 lbs. of cane yields 28 lbs. of
megass, this megass contains 13lbs. of woody fibre
and about 2°6 lbs. of sugar. The woody fibre and
sugar together contain about 7°65 lbs. of carbon.
With diffusion the sugar in the megass praéticaily
disappears altogether and we have the 13 lbs. of woody
fibre per 100 lbs. canes containing 64 lbs. of carbon.
Thus assuming the quantity of water per lb. of carbon
is the same in double-crushed megass and double-
crushed chips, the value of the fuel in the two cases
will be as 7°65 is to 6°50, or as 100 is to 85 nearly,
per 100 lbs. canes.

It will be more convenient, however, for our purpose,
if we compare the value of these chips with that of
double-crushed megass per ton of sugar made.

In the case of double crushing, 11 tons of canes will
give 1 ton of sugar in British Guiana and these 11 tons
of canes will give 3°08 tons of megass: 4'4 tons of such
megass are equivalent to 1 ton of coal (I assume that
1lb. of such megass will evaporate 1°36 lbs. of water,

DIFFUSION COMPARED WITH DOUBLE CRUSHING. 7

1lb. of coal evaporates 6 lbs.); 3°08 tons are therefore
equivalent to 15°4 cwts.

Assuming that with diffusion we should obtain 14
per cent. more sugar, 9°6 tons of canes will produce
1 ton of sugar, and if we assume that the canes contain
13 per cent. of woody fibre and that the double-crushed
chips contain 50 per cent. of water, these 9°6 tons of
canes will produce 1°87 tons of megass or double-crushed
chips. These chips, if the percentage of water is the same
as that in double-crushed megass, should be as valuable
as fuel Ib. for lb. ; taking therefore 4°4 tons of such
megass as equivalent to 1 ton of coals, 1°87 tons are
equivalent to 8°27 cwts.

Let us turn now to the increased evaporation required
in the case of diffusion, per ton of sugar; but we may
remark in passing that in addition to this, the water
of diffusion has to be kept hot during the whole time
diffusion is going on, and that this must involve a
continued loss by radiation and otherwise, thus necessi-
tating an expenditure of fuel over and above what
would be required for evaporation and cleaning alone.
A ton of sugar with fairly good juice can be obtained
from 1,700 gallons. With a dilution of 30 per cent.
2,210 gallons would be required or an addition of 510
gallons of water. Assuming that 1 lb. of coal will
evaporate 12 lbs. of water, we shall require 425 lbs. of
coal or 3°77 cwts. per ton of sugar to bring the juice to
its normal density. We have already seen that the
theoretical loss in the value of fuel per ton of sugar
amounts to 15.4 — 8.27 = 7.13 cwts.
adding to this the ... Ty ee

oe

8 TIMEHRI,.

we have a total quantity of 10.90 cwts. or say;
11 cwts. per ton of sugar, over and above, what is
now required. We may fairly value this 11 cwts. at
present at 10/- ;

It will be remarked that allowing 5 cwts. of coal per
ton of sugar with double crushing, and estimating the
megass as equivalent to 15 cwts. per ton of sugar, the
equivalent of 1 ton of coal is consumed per ton of sugar
made including its proportion of rum. In the case
of diffusion the calculation allows an equivalent
of 23.77 cwts.

Most praétical planters in British Guiana will be dis- ©
posed, we believe, to think that the value of diffused
chips as fuel is much over-estimated in the foregoing
calculation ; and we freely admit that, at any rate in
the Western Hemisphere, the value of diffused chips as
fuel has not been demonstrated ; and that, according to
public report, the quantity of coal a¢tually consumed,
where diffusion has been pra€tically carried out, has
been largely in excess of the quantity set down.

The increased cost of labour is the next item. The
cost of labour for manufa€ture in the buildings is usually
about $3 per ton of sugar made. We believe that $4.50
per ton made is a fair estimate of the cost with
diffusion. This is an increase of $1.50 or 6/3 per
ton of sugar.

We have lastly the cost of packages for the increased
quantity of sugar made, which we may put at 14/- per
ton of sugar including the rum puncheons—if no rum is
made the cost would be higher—and drogherage to ship
which varies considerably on different estates, probably
$2 or 8/4 per ton is a fair average figure.

DIFFUSION COMPARED WITH DOUBLE CRUSHING. 9

Summing up we have value of

increased produ€& ... bay £4,200
Less :
Interest and wear and tear ve $1,000,
Fuel, 2,280 tons sugar at 109/-
per ton... nt sa es TOG

Extra labour, 2,280 tons at 6/3

perton ... eee “ 712 ‘10S.
Packages, 280 tons at 14/- per ton 196
Drogherage, 280 tons at 8/4 per

ton eee ae — 116 10s. 4,791

eee

Loss va £ 591

If these figures are fairly corre€&t, there does not
appear to be any advantage in adopting diffusion on
estates where a satisfa€tory double crushing plant
already exists.

In the case where no plant exists, diffusion would
compare rather more favourably as the required machi-
nery could be somewhat more cheaply ere€ted, than in
the case where it must be in the form of additional
machinery. The difference, however, would not be very
appreciable. Moreover, the fact that a larger capital
must be locked up in a diffusion plant than in a double-
crushing plant, would deter most people from adopting
diffusion, even though the increased profit left a fair
rate of interest on the extra capital employed. So long
as bounties are allowed to continue, cane sugar pro-
duétion must be looked upon as an extra hazardous
industry, and a proportionate profit will be looked for
before capital is embarked.

B

10 TIMEHRI.

In the foregoing calculations we have endeavoured to
make the comparison as fairly as possible between the
two methods. We are well aware that those who are
partisans of diffusion will think that the increased
quantity of sugar which can be obtained is greater than
that set down, they may also perhaps take a different
view of the fuel question, as also that of labour. On the
other hand, it is fair to point out that as much as 74 per
cent. of juice has been obtained by double crushing and
that there is room for some diminution in the fuel with
this process. We have endeavoured, however, to avoid
taking extreme figures and we believe that those set .
down are as close to what may be reasonably expeéted
as the present state of our knowledge admits.

Further experience will, however, shortly be forth-
coming, and prudence suggests that it would be wise to
await this experience before embarking capital in
diffusion.

Charles Waterton and his Demerara Friend.
By Jame Fed eedaay ELS.

1O the thousands of eta of that delightful
| book “ Waterton’s Wanderings,” any little
“a contribution to the personal history of its
author will, no doubt, be interesting, and as I have come
across some particulars concerning ‘the most valued
friend he ever had in the world,” CHARLES EDMONSTONE,
it has been thought desirable to bring them before the
readers of 7imehri.

In Demerara we see around us the beautiful scenes
which the traveller and naturalist so vividly described,
and in a walk along the West Coast, may observe the
descendants of the curri-curris, egrets and spurwings
which he admired so much. In a few hours’ journey up
the Demerara river we may reach the Camouni Creek,
pass through its affluent the Warratilla, and follow the
windings of that little stream into the Mibiri, where
WATERTON spent many happy days in the enthusiastic
study of the forest creatures he loved so much. The
house is gone, and there is nothing remaining of the
wood-cutting establishment, but the forest remains and
the fauna is still the same. The howling of the red
monkey, the barking of the toucan and the screaming of
flocks of parrots overhead, may be heard and appre.
ciated to-day as they were eighty years ago. At, night,
when lying in our hammocks we can compare the voices
of the owls and goat-suckers with the description in the
Wanderings, and listen to their weird cries of “Whip
poor Will,” ‘Who are you,” and that other wailing

B2

12 TIMEHRI,

series of notes which he so well describes as like “ the
departing voice of a midnight murdered viétim.” Daddy
QUASHIE is gone, but there are plenty of his successors
to guide the traveller through the forest, and help the
huntsman in finding out the lurking places of the acourie
and labba. At Soesdyk the descendants of that LOUISA
BACKER who prepared WATERTON’S dose of castor oil,
are doing business as boat-builders, while some of the older
people still remember having heard of the traveller.

CHARLES WATERTON sailed from Portsmouth in the
ship Fame, Captain BRAND, on November the 2oth, 1804,
and arrived in Stabroek after a passage of about six
weeks, that is, in January, 1805. His uncle, CHRIS-
TOPHER WATERTON, was proprietor of the two planta-
tions La Jalousie and Fellowship on the West Coast, and
his father having lately bought an estate for the benefit
of his younger children, CHARLES was sent out to
superintend the property. His uncle appears to have
gone to England soon afterwards, leaving his nephew in
charge of La Jalousie and Fellowship as g. g. or attorney,
in which capacity he acted until 1812, with the exception
of short intervals during which he made one or two
trips to England.

How his uncle found his way to Demerara is thus told
in WATERTON’S “ Autobiography” :—

“ My father’s sister was remarkably handsome. As
she was walking in the Streets of Wakefield, a gentle-
man, by name DALY, from Demerara, met her accident-
ally and fell in love with her: they were married in
due course of time, although the family was very
much averse to the match. Soon after this my father’s
younger brother, who had no hopes at home on account

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 13

of the penal laws, followed his sister to Demerara, and
settled there.”

I have been unable to find the date of the marriage
and departure, but it was probably about 1773. Mr.
MICHAEL DALy, the uncle of WATERTON was a
very influential planter in Demerara in the latter
half of the last century; his father was JOHN DALy,
Senior, who owned Pavica, while his brother JOHN was
proprietor of Schoon Ord, and himself of Bellevue.
His name does not appear as Member of the Court of
Policy, probably on account of his religion, a Roman
Catholic not being permitted under the regulations of
the colony, to hold any post of honour or profit. He
died about 1788 leaving several children.

About 1790, CHRISTOPHER WATERTON married the
widow BIRMINGHAM, daughter of Dr. JOHN WADDELL,
and thus became possessed of La Falousie & Fellowship,
two of the finest estates in Demerara. A Land-brief
was granted to him on February 1st, 1791, for Pln.
La Falousie, and a year or two later he applied for and
received second depths of both his plantations. Under
the British rule, in 1797, CHRISTOPHER WATERTON
was elected a Financial Representative for Demerara,
and at a meeting of the Combined Court on August 2nd,
he spoke in favour of some acknowledgment being
given to Captain ROCHELLE and the Dutch soldiers who
had lately done such good service to the colony by
defending the Morocco Post against the Spaniards. The
Colonial Chest was empty and it was decided that a tax
of f2 15 should be raised on all ordinary slaves without
distin€tion of age, and double for those who were trades-
men not belonging to plantations. Mr. WATERTON then

14 TIMEHRI.

ee eee
submitted that, although no sum had been put on the
estimate for the soldiers and officers who had so gallantly
repulsed the enemy from Morocco, he was of opinion
that a surplus would arise from the proposed tax, and
the inhabitants would approve that something be given
to Captain ROCHELLE and his gallant soldiers. His
proposition was accepted and carried out at a later
meeting.

The colony was at this time a field for party
strife. There had always been two great divisions, the
English and Dutch, but now the latter had become
divided into those favourable to the Prince of Orange
and the republicans. As may be supposed, the English
and the Orange party were agreed, and being in the
majority, managed to keep Liberty, Equality, and
Fraternity in the background. CHRISTOPHER WATER-
TON in his position as estate proprietor and slave-owner
was naturally against unbridled license. In 1795, he
with the other planters on the West Coast had suffered
severely from a slave insurre€tion, and at one time it
appeared as if the colony was to be another St. Domingo.
However, the revolt was put down with a strong hand,
and things in general became more settled under the
English rule.

CHARLES WATERTON on his arrival necessarily joined
the Militia and was soon made Lieutenant ; he appears
to have led a very quiet life altogether, performing the
duties of an estate’s attorney and spending his leisure
time in studying the habits of the birds which frequent
the mud flats in front, or the swampy savannahs behind
the estates. Being in the position of a slave-owner, he
naturally had his opinions on the vexed questions of the

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 15

time, abolition and emancipation. The reasonings of
such a just and benevolent charaéter are naturally
worthy of note, and as they probably represent the views
of a good master, the following extraét will be interest-
ing :—‘‘ Slavery can never be defended ; he whose heart
is not of iron can never wish to be able to defend it:
while he heaves a sigh for the poor negro in captivity,
he wishes from his soul that the traffic had been stifled in
its birth; but unfortunately, the governments of Europe
nourished it, and riow that they are exerting themselves
to do away with the evil and ensure liberty to the sons of
Africa, the situation of the plantation slaves is depicted
as truly deplorable, and their condition wretched. It is
notso. A Briton’s heart, proverbially kind and generous,
is not changed by climate, or its streams of compassion
dried up by the scorching heat of a Demerara sun; he
cheers his negroes in labour, comforts them in sickness,
is kind to them in old age, and never forgets that they
are his fellow creatures.” *

Up the Mibiri Creek lived CHARLES EDMONSTONE,
and here WATERTON’S future wife was born in 1812.
The concession was named Warrow’s Place, and stood
on a slight elevation above the swamp, through which
meandered the tortuous creek. It was not a plantation
but a wood-cutting establishment, standing quite alone,
there being no inhabitants living nearer than the mouth
of the Camouni. Here WATERTON spent the intervals
between his forest wanderings, in the pleasant company
of his most valued friend and that gentleman’s family.
It has been stated that he had a liking for little ANNE
when he saw her as a child, but however that may have

* Wanderings Second Journey.

16 TIMEHRI.

been, the lady afterwards had all the advantages of an
European education, and no doubt was very different from
the little forest maiden of Mibiri Creek.

Captain EDMONSTONE was a tall man with a martial
countenance, looking as if born a commander. His
chara€ter was, like that of his friend, thoroughly honest,
and this is shown in all his dealings withthe Indians, as well
as the bush negroes captured in his various expeditions.
He was well acquainted with the forest, and for about
fifteen years was concerned in all the different raids upon
runaway slaves. From about the year 1770 there had
been continued trouble with the negroes in Demerara.
A few runaways would colle€t together on one of the
various sand reefs behind the sea coasts of Demerara
and establish a small settlement, from which they made
incursions into the neighbouring plantations, carrying off
provisions and often inducing other slaves to go with
them. The free coloured people generally sympathised
with the runaways and on pretence of going up the
creeks to fish, carried supplies and traded for such things
as they raised in their provision grounds or colleéted from
the bush. On the West Coast, the settlements of bush
negroes were situated in the distriét where the three
creeks of Camouni, Hoobabo and Boerasirie take their
rise. On the East Coast, the settlements were scattered
aback of the estates from the upper Madewinie as far as
the Abary. Throughout these distri€ts swamps extend
in every dire€tion, with here and there a slight elevation
of sand. On these little islands the runaways built huts
like the Indian benabs, and planted various ground pre-
visions in the neighbourhood, while the swamps were used
for rice cultivation. The foot path was generally under

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 17

water, and laid out so as to require great skill on the
part of the Indians to find the way. The whole of the
settlement was surrounded by a circle of sharp stakes,
which being under water effectually prevented an enemy
from penetrating inside except through the winding
path, which was concealed by lines of similar stakes.
Only Indians could find these hidden passages, and
without these people nothing could have been done to
suppress the evil. Every effort was therefore made to
conciliate the various tribes by means of presents, which
in 1812 became such a burden to the colony that Gover-
nor CARMICHAEL was compelled to stop these subsidies
except in the shape of payment for services a@tually
performed. The Indian chiefs were rather important
personages in those times, as they received the annual
presents and distributed them to a considerable extent
by favour. It naturally followed, that being commis-
sioned by the government and provided with a silver-
headed stick of office, an Arrawack chieftain thought
himself a somebody. In the latter half of the last century
a daughter of one or these Owls, as they were called,
who went by the name of ‘‘ Princess MINDA” was mar-
ried to WILLIAM REID, a Scotchman, and one of their
children became Mrs. CHARLES EDMONSTONE. The
gallant Burgher-Captain was therefore conneéted by
marriage with the Arrawacks and no doubt this was one
reason why he had such great influence over them.

The Burgher-Captain of the time had a great number
of duties to perform: he was really the medium of com.
munication between the Government and the citizens,
Once a quarter he had to colleét a sort of census return
of the people, produce of their plantations and a number

Cc

18 TIMEHRI.

of other particulars. In such a large distriét as that of
the Upper Demerara this was no light matter. If they
should come to his house he would be bound to enter-
tain them, as it would not be in accordance with the
rules of hospitality to send them away at once when
their business had been transa€ted. Every Publication
of the Governor and Court had also to be distributed,
and as these publications were written, they had to be
sent from one plantation to another, each proprietor
endorsing the single copy with his name or that of the
estate. At regular intervals the Militia were called
together for drill and the Burgher-Captain was respon-
sible for that also. Sometimes the Court of Policy
wanted the opinion of the Burghers on some particular
matter, or there was an eleétion of a Keyser, and ali
these things necessitated a boat and negroes as well
as great loss of time. The public services of CHARLES
EDMONSTONE, appear to have been done thoroughly,
and were much appreciated.

The first important expedition of EDMONSTONE is so
well described in the Wanderings that it is unnecessary
to repeat it here, but there were several others not
mentioned by WATERTON, in which he showed his
courage and endurance. As some of these will probably
be interesting as pictures of circumstances which can
Never recur, and as they are all concerned with
CHARLES EDMONSTONE, no apology is needed for their
introduétion.

On the 27th of O€tober, 1802, EDMONSTONE wrote
the following letter to the English Governor :—

“T think it my duty from the observations | made
in my late expedition to represent the alarming opera-

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 19

tions of the Maroon slaves, who from being molested
have extended a continuous line of communication from
close to Stabroek almost up to the Loo plantation,
through which they seem to have a regular correspon-
dence, and seem extending up the country as much as
they can, and endeavouring to plant provisions for them-
selves, in which case unless rooted out before they gain
too great a head to be overcome, will become a most
serious evil that will not be avoided without great
trouble and expense. Their correspondence is so exten-
sive that they pass in large bands across the head of
Mahyka so far as Berbice, in such force that the Indians
and others are often obliged to fly and give way to them.

““As soon as Your Excellency and the Honourable
Court have consulted on the subje@, | find myself so far
recovered of my wound as to say I shall be happy once
more to go out in the service of the colony.

“‘T have sent an express to the Postholder, FEEDKOW;
as soon I| hear from him or see him (I suppose by Sun-
day) I will do myself the honour to wait upon Your
Excellency to receive your commands, as it is impossible
to cross the country to Mahyka in its present state.
There are about forty Indians desirous of joining us if
Your Excellency would please to give the necessary
orders to Mr. BUCHANAN to collect them for the purpose,
to join at any appointed day.

“ ] cannot help taking notice to your Excellency and
Honourable Court of a scandalous report with regard to
the Black Troops that were with me,—that they had
abandoned me in the woods,—which was circulated as
far as Berbice. I think it therefore my duty to declare
that their conduét was highly meritorious, and did

C2

20 TIMEHRI.

honour to the Corps to which they belong. As it is an
insult to Colonel HisLop, I hope the authors of the
report will be traced and obliged to ask pardon of the
Colonel, and also be obliged to go out on the first
expedition against the Maroons.”

As a result of the above letter, an expedition was
fitted out early in November which arrived at the mouth
of the Camouni on the 11th. It consisted of 50 non-
commissioned officers and privates of the 11th W.I.
Regiment under the command of Captain MACRAE,
Captain EDMONSTONE and four other gentlemen with
twelve of their trusty negroes, well armed, the Indian
Captain CORROWELL, with sixteen other Indians, and
Lieut. BROUGHTON, Commander of H.M. Brig Staunch,
with a Sergeant and six marines. The “ indefatigable
zeal and aétivity’’ of EDMONSTONE procured sufficient
boats in a few hours to convey the party up the Creek,
and also provided thirty-six negroes to carry five days’
provision. This expedition scoured the country from
the source of the Camouni to the head of the Boerasirie,
destroying several camps and taking a number of
prisoners.

On the 28th April, 1807, Governor BENTINCK in-
formed the Court of Policy that Mr. CHARLES EDMON-
STONE, notwithstanding his ill-health from the wound
received in a former expedition, had again come for-
ward to lead the late expedition, had aétually shared in
all the danger and fatigue incident thereto, and had
dire€ted everything with so much perseverance that the
almost inaccessible recesses of the Maroons had been
discovered and totally destroyed. The Governor was of
opinion that the fresh services lately rendered, and the

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 21

repeated proofs he had given of his readiness to
sacrifice his health and expose his life for the preserva-
tion of the inhabitants of this colony, gave him a just
claim to the Court’s consideration. After deliberation
it was resolved to forward to Captain EDMONSTONE the
thanks of the Court, and as a further token of their
sense of his services to procure a silver vase of the value
of a hundred guineas, with a proper inscription, to be
presented to him when it should arrive from England.

The expedition in question had been arranged in such
a manner that by one party under Capt. GRAVESANDE
proceeding up the Mahaica Creek and the other under
EDMONSTONE up the Madewinie, the bush negroes
would be easily surrounded. The expenses amounted to
f13,105'2 (about £1,100); among the ‘items being one
of £825 to LOovE ANN JORDAN for attending JOHN
HADFIELD who had received a wound in the expedition,
and another of f1,100 to Dr. LLOyD for medicine and
attendance for the same person. Five of the officers
who had been reported as having merited the thanks of
the Court, were each to be presented with a gold medal
of the value of twenty guineas.

Perhaps the most important of these expeditions was
that of 1809. About September of that year the planters
of the West Coast of Berbice were considerably
alarmed at the number of desertions continually taking
place, and on enquiry found that a camp of Bush
Negroes were settled on a sand reef up the Abary
creek, whence they visited the estate and enticed the
negroes to run away. As this was sucha serious matter,
and the runaways were located on Demerara territory,
the Berbice authorities represented the case to the sister

22 TIMEHRI.

colony and it was agreed that expeditions should be
sent out by both colonies. Accordingly CHARLES
EDMONSTONE was appointed to lead the Demerara
contingent which resulted in a very great success. The ©
following is one of the reports of the Captain to
Governor BENTINCK, read in the Court of Policy on

January 18th 1810 :—

“My former despatches from Mahaicony would ac-
quaint you of my succeeding equal to my most sanguine
expectations ; for, on holding out a promise of freedom,
23 negroes surrendered; 43 were surprised while con-
.certing on the proffered terms, 1o were taken prisoners
and 26 more were killed, making altogether 102. The
conditions on which they surrendered were, besides a
free pardon of life or corporal punishment, that they are
never to be returned to their former owners, but be sent
from the colony and disposed of in some of the adjacent
islands. These I conceive are agreeable to your Ex-
cellency’s wishes, and are strictly the conditions. I
trust that as I have pledged my word of honour, no
objection will be made by any member of the Court, for
I must candidly assure your Excellency that were these
negroes left alone the consequences would be serious,
not only to that colony, but to this also. Such however
is the confidence I have in the negroes brought in, that
with all due deference to your Excellency and the Hon-
ourable members of the Court, I beg to suggest that 20
or 25 might be sele€ted to aét as guides, or to form part
of a Yager Corps to assist in any future expedition. 1
consider it highly necessary that two of the negroes
should be sent immediately from Mahaicony with an offer
of pardon to the remainder, and in two weeks after, a

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 23

party to receive them, and destroy all their provision
and rice grounds; this mode I am convinced will be
attended with success.

“T leave to your Excellency’s judgment to determine
whether the 43 that were surprised are entitled to the
grace offered in your pardon. The quantity of rice the
bush negroes have, just rising from the ground, is very
considerable, independent of yams, tannias, plantains,
tobacco, &c., and as it will be three months before the
rice is fit to gather I would recommend at that period
that another expedition be sent to destroy the same»
under the command of one of the gentlemen who so
readily volunteered their services on the last occasion. I
cannot conclude without mentioning my obligations to
Major BRANDT and L. AVERY EsqQ., to whom it devolved
to destroy all the provisions that could be met with;
this they did most effe€tually, fourteen houses filled with
rice and several fields in cultivation being by their exer-
tions totally. destroyed. Mr. AVERY is particularly
entitled to the notice of your Excellency and the colony,
for during the time we were at Mahaicony fourteen of
his negroes were constantly employed in attending the
expedition for upwards of four weeks, and he must have
been at considerable expense in entertaining those
gentlemen who had occasion to assemble at his house.
I take upon me to say, from these gentlemen’s report, that
on a moderate calculation, the quantity of rice destroyed
(independent of ground provision) would have been
enough to support 7oo negroes for twelve months. I
further beg leave to observe to your Excellency and the
Honourable Court, that by information from the
prisoners, a general revolt on the windward part of

24 TIMEHRI.'

this colony and the west sea coast of Berbice would
have taken place, had your Excellency not so promptly
adopted the expedition, the result of which I hope will
be satisfa€tory.”

The Court thanked the Governor for his zeal and
energy, and resolved that ‘their thanks be given to
Captain EDMONSTONE for the alacrity with which he
had again come forward and taken charge of the party
who went to the woods, and in order to testify in the
most gratifying manner their high estimation of his
services, it should be proposed to the Financial Repre-
sentatives at the next Combined Court, to unite in grant-
ing Captain EDMONSTONE exemption from Colonial
Taxes for the period of his life.

The expenses of this expedition amounted to the large
sum of 100,000, and the Colony Chest being empty,
the Governor was obliged to borrow /19,000 from the
Orphan Chamber to pay the Indians for their services.
Some difficulty occurred in adjusting the share of Berbice,
but it was at length decided that the whole cost should
be divided between the two colonies in the proportion of
one third to Berbice and the remainder to Demerara.
To pay the latter, a produce tax was imposed in Demerara
and Essequebo.

The great difficulty that remained was the disposal of
the prisoners. The Berbice planters wanted to get their
slaves back, but in accordance with EDMONSTONE’S
terms this could not be granted. It was decided that
the Governor should try to sell them in some of the
West India Islands, but none of the colonies would allow
them to be brought within their jurisdi€tion. The
Governor tried Trinidad and Martinique, and sent a

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. _— 25
special Commission to St. Croix, but without effeét.
Then he asked the military authorities at head-quarters
in Barbados to buy them as pioneers, but this was
also refused. Meanwhile they had been first put on
board some vessels in the river, and ultimately most of
them were kept prisoners and placed with the chain
gang, while 38 were sent to work at Post Morocco.

Among the captives were two infants whose parents
had been killed. On the 29th of January the Governor
stated to the Court, that he understood Mr. EDMONSTONE
was willing from motives of humanity to take charge of
these children, and had intimated his readiness to pay
whatever value the Court might place on them. After
deliberation it was decided that as these infants could
not come under the regulation as to banishment, Mr.
EDMONSTONE should be allowed to retain them as his
property without any payment.

Another interesting matter in this connection shows
the good feeling that often existed between master and
slave. Anegro named TONY, the property of Mr. AVERY,
had aéted as guide to the expedition and rendered him-
self eminently useful. With a view of rewarding him
for hhis diligence the Court proposed to buy him from his
master and grant him his freedom. The master was will-
ing to part with him on these terms, but the slave
stipulated that the manumission should not be granted
until such time as he should point out, From affe&tion
to Mr. AVERY, TONY was perfe€tly satisfied and desirous
of remaining with him as long as he should be in the
colony. The slave received the promise, which he peti-
tioned the Court to perform several years afterwards
when his master went to England, and a proper manu-

D

26 TIMEHRI.

——— 7 EE ne

mission was then granted. As a further mark of the
Court’s approbation TOoNy was allowed to retain as his
wife one of the prisoners taken during the expedition.

In the ‘‘ Wanderings,’’ WATERTON speaks of a gold-
hilted sword having been presented to EDMONSTONE. Up
to 1810 this sword had not been received in the colony
and the matter was referred to in the Court on January
gist of that year. It was observed by a member that the
swords which had been awarded to Mr. C. EDMONSTONE
and the late Mr. VAN DER LOTH for services in an
expedition against runaways in November 1802, had
never been obtained. The Colonial Receiver had paid
the amount granted into the hands of Mr. VAN DE
VELDEN, but owing to the war the order had not been
forwarded. The Court resolved that Mr. VAN DE
VELDEN be requested to refund the money, and in order
that Mr. EDMONSTONE and the heirs of Mr. VAN DER
LoTH may no longer be disappointed, the Secretary,
Mr. P. F. TINNE, who was shortly proceeding to England,
be required to order two richly double gilt sabres, with
belts and other accoutrements, of the value of £50 each,
with proper inscriptions. On the 5th of December fol-
lowing, the Governor reported that the swords and the
piece of plate granted in 1807 had at last come out, and
would be shortly presented.

On the first of August, 1810, EDMONSTONE was
appointed Proteétor of Indians in the Demerara River.
The post was then at Mora, and the Post-holder Mr.
BREMNER, who had lately been promoted from Mahaica.
As his assistant he had the Indian SIMON, who received
a salary of f22 per month in consideration of his services
in several bush expeditions, with the proviso that he be

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. —.27

always ready to assist the colony when his services
should be required. EDMONSTONE sent in a report on
the Post on Oétober 31st, in which he recommended its
removal to the Rock Saba, and that a proper house and
logie be built. Numbers of Indians from the interior
often came to the Post in a most deplorable state of
starvation, and he wanted a supply of plantains, or if
the Court thought better a number of the chain gang
negroes to plant and weed a piece of cassava ground.
He further referred to the necessity of providing
accommodation when the Indians visited Stabroek, as
they were exposed to ill-treatment from ignorant persons.
The muskets given to them often got out of order and
he would be glad to have a person at the Post who
could repair them. The Indians complained to him that
they were grieved to find they were not treated by the
British Government with as much consideration as they
had been by the Dutch, who gave them more presents
than they nowreceived. The Court allowed the removal
and ereétion of buildings, granted permission to purchase
provisions when necessary, and ordered that the armourer
of the Militia should repair the muskets of the Indians
free of charge.

EDMONSTONE was consulted in nearly everything con-
ne€ted with the Indians. One of the most interesting
stories of the time is that of MANARIWAU the Carib
Chief who came to make a treaty with the Governor on
behalf of what he reported to be a great nation, and
to offer a supply of Indian slaves.

On the 29th of O€tober, 1810, the Governor reported
to the Court that a Chief of the Caribs had lately arrived
accompanied by a numerous following. An Indian

D2

28 TIMEHRI.

I

had come to town about six months before in the
charaéter of an Ambassador from the Great Indian Chief,
making grand representations, but having little appear-
- ance to warrant his pretensions. The Governor had not
given much credit to his assertions, and told him that to
discuss such important business required the presence of
his chief. The Ambassador had then received some
presents and returned to the woods. Now that the Chief
had arrived it becameabsolutely necessary tocome to some
determination on the matter. As to selling their Indian
prisoners for slaves in these colonies, this could not
be allowed, but some means must be devised to satisfy
them, and prevent their attacking the Indians near the
back lands or murdering their prisoners, which they threat-
ened to do if presents were not given them. Considering
their well-known hatred of these friendly tribes and their
ferocious dispositions, there could be little doubt that
they would execute their threats to the fullest extent if
not satisfied. He was not in favour of their being
allowed to settle in the neighbourhood of the colonies,
nor that their alliance should be courted for internal
defence. Their restless dispositions could not but make
them troublesome neighbours, while the assistance of
the Indians in the back lands was always sufficient for
what was required. With regard to what the Chief
stated of his nation having formerly been of great use to
the colony, this had been certainly the case when it was
lawful to employ the other tribes as slaves, the Caribs
being very useful in procuring them ; now, however, this
was not applicable, since the trade had been prohibited.
Previous to taking any resolution he considered it expe-
dient for the Court to hear what the Chief had to say.

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 29

A message having been sent, MANARIWAU appeared,
in the Court, accompanied by several of his relatives, a
number of musicians and other attendants. Through the
medium of an interpreter he was questioned and made
sensible of the utter impossibility of his being allowed to
sell his prisoners in the colony. After some discussion it
was agreed that the Court should give him and his people
such articles as he had demanded, and that the same
kinds of presents would be distributed annually when
called for, also that a person should be sent with him to
report on the condition of his nation and the number of
people for whom presents should be provided. In con-
sideration of this the Chief solemnly pledged himself not
to make war upon the Indians residing in the back lands
or conneéted with this colony; that he would spare the
lives of his prisoners and use them as domestics; and
finally that he and his people would behave themselves
peaceably and amicably towards the whites and those who
lived under their prote€tion, expe€ting in case he should
be molested, such redress from the Government as might
be justly due.

After the Chief had left the Court a vote was passed
for {12,620 (about £1,050) to buy guns, powder and shot,
cutlasses, knives, beads and corals, linen and salempores,
looking-glasses, axes, hats, salt, 2 parasols, iron pots
crockery, &c. EDMONSTONE was deputed to distribute
these presents, the Court being persuaded from the
experience they had of the public spirit of that gentle-
man that the matter could not be entrusted into
better hands.

It appeared afterwards that the Chief had made a
misrepresentation of his power and importance, as the

30 TIMEHRI.

Post-Holder who went up the Essequebo to see and
report on the great Carib nation found the usual
colleétion of Indian benabs ; the only riches being the
presents which the party had succeeded in procuring from
the colony. The system of annual presents became so
burdensome to the colony, that Governor CARMICHAEL
in 1813 was obliged to put a check on the demands of
the Indians, after which time the expense was gradually
reduced. The following extraét from one of CAR-
MICHAEL’S speeches will show his opinion on the
matter :—

“Thave also much gratification in acquainting you
with an extract from His Lordship’s (Secretary of the
Colonies) letters relative to the Indians and the presents
heretofore granted them by the colony. The tone of
demand held by some of those people as I understood it
on former occasions, as well as on their last visit, made
me think it my duty to state the matter to His Majesty’s
Government, as I did not consider it justifiable in an
aéting Governor,—without special orders or actual
treaties, properly ratified by authority—to admit the
principle, or consent to any part of His Britannic Majesty’s
possessions in my charge submitting to pay tribute or an
annual stipend to any nation or body of people whatever ;
either to deprecate their animosity or purchase their
friendship ; particularly as from the language of the last
five Chiefs who came down with 300 followers, on being
told that there were no presents forthem replied, they could
wait no longer, they had waited long enough, and if they
got nothing they would make prisoners and sell them.
I told them that if they talked that way they must go
back immediately and that it was the orders of the

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 31

Governor that they were not to attempt to make war or
prisoners, at their peril. I immediately communicated
with Mr. EDMONSTONE, the circumstances and the
reason of their dismissal without any gifts, and dire&ted
that those gentlemen to whose care these people are
committed and to whom with good reason the tribes in
his vicinity were personally attached, to impress upon
them more fully the impropriety of their demands, and
that nothing but their services, and proofs of friendly
disposition by good behaviour, could ever induce the
Colony to bestow gifts upon them, except on such occa-
sions and at such times as the Government might think
proper, or when the Indians deserved them. I felt the
more necessity to use such precaution upon these points,
as however insignificant or trivial they might appear at
the commencement, they would possibly in a few years,
or even a shorter period, become a very great inconve-
nience and be attended with unpleasant consequences.”

The last Bush expedition in which EDMONSTONE
appears to have been concerned, took place in O&ober,
1814. One of the Indians reported that thirty runaways
had located themselves within a days’ journey from
Warrow’s Place, and that most of them had guns.
EDMONSTONE organised the expedition, which consisted
of the Post-holder, several gentlemen, and eighty Indians,
under the command of Lieut. LEES. Under the guidance
of the Indian who had discovered the camp, they
started on the 4th of O&ober, and found no very great
difficulties in marching through the bush and over the
savannahs. At nightfall the party encamped, and the
following morning at dawn they proceeded to surround
the settlement of the runaways. Their projeét was how-

32 TIMEHRI.
nn nee aE UE SUE USS ESE EE REESE

ever discovered by a negro sentry, who pointed a gun
at one of the Indians, telling him to come on, for they
were quite ready. This precipitated matters; the sentry
was killed and a free fight ensued, in the course of
which two more of the runaways were killed, several
wounded, and seven captured. The others managed to
escape, and the forest was scoured in every direétion
without success. However, after the return of the party,
EDMONSTONE sent one of the prisoners with a _pro-
clamation of pardon if they surrendered, and this ¢e-
sulted in the return of nineteen runaways.

These expeditions, with others organised in Essequebo,
gave the death-blow to most of the Maroon settlements
in the colony. EDMONSTONE had scoured the country
from the upper Boerasirie to the Abary, and now special
precautions were taken against future desertions. The
planters were required to keep their negroes from the
bush, not even allowing them to fish or cut troolies, for
which purpose it was advised to employ Indians. The
Hoobabo Creek was visited continually, especially on
Sundays, when every negro or coloured person was
required to give an account of himself. By these
measures and stri€t attention on the part of the Boera-
sirie Post-holder, the great lurking place for the runaways
was rendered unsafe. When it is considered what hor-
tible crimes resulted from the congregation of Maroons
in Surinam and Jamaica, we cannot but feel that the
leader of these expeditions is deserving of remembrance
in the colony.

In all his a€tions he showed a kindly spirit towards
the prisoners, while his behaviour to the Indians was
striétly honourable. On the last occasion, in writing to

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. = 33

the Court of Policy, he spoke very strongly of his
promises to the Indians, and declared that he would see
them paid if he had to do it from his own pocket. The
Court thought this needlessly strong language, and
granted the amount required without further trouble, at
the same time thanking him for his services.

Lord BATHURST in writing to Governor MURRAY in
1815 thus expressed his opinion on the bush expedi-
tions :—

“T entirely approve of: your measures for finding out
if there are any settlements of bush negroes in the
interior likely to be dangerous, and learnt with
great pleasure that their number was not such as to
excite alarm, and that they submitted with a slight show
of resistance. Your humanity in extending the reward
for unmaimed prisoners and withdrawing the encourage-
ment, which, to the disgrace of the colony, it had been
usual to give to aéts of wanton cruelty, is approved,
Considering your opinion that these unfortunate persons
had been driven by the cruel treatment of their masters
to take refuge in the woods, and that they had committed
no crime except desertion, and that they surrendered
without a€tual resistance, they might have been merely
restored to the estates and not made to work in chains.”

From the concluding sentences of the above it appears
that the Colonial Secretary, like so many other English-
men at that time, knew nothing of the real state of
affairs. Very little can be said on the slavery question
in the present article, but the matter of desertion may
be aptly compared with what we know of school-boys
and apprentices, who often rnn away on the slightest
pretexts.

E

34 TIMEHRI.

From EDMONSTONE to bush negroes and thence to
slavery, may be thought out of place here, but really a
great deal more might be said in these matters. We
have read of man-hunters in such books as “ Uncle Tom’s
Cabin ;’’ I have attempted to sketch another type; this
zs true to life whatever Mrs. STOWE’S chara€ter may €e.

Near the border of the clearing at Warrow’s Place
lived the eccentric Swedenborgian, “Old GLEN.” His
story was a curious one. Coming to Demerara as the
mate of a merchant vessel, he received a grant of land,
settled down, bought a few negroes, and in seven years
gained an assured position, while after twenty years he
became a man of some importance. Going on board a
Dutch vessel one day he found the Captain reading one
of SWEDENBORG’S books, and being taken with the new
religion GLEN was very pleased when the owner presented
him with several works of that mystic author. From this
time he becamean enthusiast. His estate was negleéted,
everything went wrong, the negroes ran away or became
careless and lazy, and every day GLEN became poorer and
poorer. Having ordered a large consignment of the
books of his beloved author, he was unable to pay for
them, and consequently the estate was sold. Being
destitute he set up as a preacher to the negroes, but this
not being allowed, he went to Berbice and enlisted as a
private soldier. Here he fell into disgrace for sleeping
on duty and was sentenced to “run the gauntlet.” In
pity the commanding officer would have remitted the
sentence, but GLEN refused, and was so determined to
receive his punishment that he would not pass his com-
rades until they gave him the customary blows, even
going so far as to chide them if they did not strike hard

WATERTON AND HIS DEMERARA FRIEND. 35

enough. Returning to Demerara EDMONSTONE found
him destitute and offered him a home at Warrow’s Place.
GLEN would not live in the house but built himself a
benab in the forest. He was very gentle and kind to
the Indians, many of whom came to him for medical
treatment, which he praétised by means of some of the
forest remedies. Among other kind aétions he taught
the little EDMONSTONES their letters, and Mrs. WATER-
TON probably received the rudiments of her education
from him.

With such a friend as EDMONSTONE, the traveller
must have learnt a great deal of the Indians, and
probably this friendship helped him in his long journeys.
Far away in the interior the knowledge of the Proteétor
of Indians had been carried to different tribes, and
naturally they were glad to do anything for his friend,
After WATERTON’S return from his first journey he took
home the despatches to Lord BATHURST, in which
Governor CARMICHAEL spoke of his travels and the
resources of the colony. In a despatch dated April 21st,
1813, the Secretary for the Colonies said His Royal High-
ness the Prince Regent was satisfied with the Governor’s
account of the fertility and resources of the colony, and
was anxious that every endeavour should be made to
supply corn and rice to the West Indies, the war with
the United States having stopped the supplies. The
Indians should be encouraged by proper rewards tothe
industrious, and be provided with seeds and implements
of husbandry. Specimens of the many varieties of woods
were wanted. The illness of Mr. WATERTON had hitherto
prevented him from availing himself of that gentleman’s
local knowledge, and he was therefore only able to recom-

E2

36 TIMEHRI.

i

mend to the Governor's serious consideration the possi-
bility of deriving from the colony supplies of provisions and
lumber, which would not only greatly enhance the value
of the colony, but would lay the foundation of a solid
prosperity to the Empire, by rendering the other pos-
sessions less dependent on the United States.

CHARLES EDMONSTONE returned to Scotland between
1816 and 1820 and the wood-cutting establishment was
carried on for some years afterwards by ROBERT EDMON-
STONE and Company, but it does not appear that War-
row’s Place ever afterwards became anything but the
abandoned wilderness which WATERTON so well des-
cribes. ROBERT WATERTON, the last representative
of the traveller’s family in Demerara, died in 1837, and
some years afterwards the estates passed entirely out of
the family.

[THE AUTOGRAPH OF CHARLES WATERTON. ]

“Mollusca of British Guiana,

By the Editor.

HE present communication deals with but the
land and freshwater forms of this group,
since up to the present, no detailed examina-

tion has been made of the marine species. As a group
of beings, the Mollusca or shell-fish, as the more common
forms are generally termed, are entitled to a considerable
degree of attention from a praétical stand-point. In
nearly all the tropical portions of the globe, various
forms, chiefly of the marine shell-secreting species, have
become the bases of by no means unimportant indus-
tries; while in temperate as well as tropical climes, a
very considerable number furnish food, not only highly
nutritious but in a few cases, as in the Oyster, almost
unsurpassed for its delicacy.

For a long time a small species of Cowry has
been utilised, in portions of W. Africa, as the medium
of exchange, and was imported in large quantities from
the Eastern seas; the great Fountain-shells or Strombs,
the Helmet-shells, and the large Cowries are choice
subje€ts for the costly cameos, and for this purpose are
largely imported into Europe; the fine thread-like and
silky attachments of the great Wing-shells have been
utilised for the manufa€ture of various fancy articles ; the
Pearl and Mother-of-pearl shells form the staple of
extensive trades for the manufacture of jewelry and
other ornamental or useful articles ; while an enormous
number of other species are normal articles of house

38 TIMEHRI.

decoration, among which special forms, such as the
Pearly Nautilus, the Ear-shells, the Top-shells, ete.,
when cleaned of the outer and earthy-looking layers so
as to lay bare the under nacreous and iridescent sub-
stance, yield articles of ornament unsurpassed for
beauty by any other of the multitudinous produétions of
nature or of art.

In the utilisation of the Molluscs for food, a world-
wide appreciation is given to the various species of
Oysters ; but the Whelks, Periwinkles, Sea-cars, Clams,
Mussels etc., are also variously esteemed in civilised
communities ; while among primitive races the commonly
occurring species of the locality furnish a normal and
welcome article of diet.

Apart from their economic importance, however, the
group of the shells has for ages been regarded. with
popular interest, as subjeéts for colle€tion, for which
their varied form and colouring, their wide distribution,
and the ease with which they may be preserved, ad-
mirably fit them ; and the large prices, sometimes as much
as fifty pounds, which have at times been paid for certain
rare individual species, often of small size, will give
some idea of the estimation in which they were and are
still held by special colleétors.

It is to the biological student more particularly,
however, that the group of the Mollusca presents
the highest degree of interest; for not only does
the highly specialised plan of organisation which
is presented by the group, furnish him with an
endless field of research in its origin and history and
its many degrees of modification, but the occurrence of
special characteristic types of stru€ture in the various

MOLLUSCA OF BRITISH GUIANA. 39

strata of the sedimentary rocks furnish often most valu-
able confirmatory evidence for the stratigraphical
arrangement of the rock formations; while in many of
the calcareous formations, the remains of shells form an
appreciable amount of the rock. At the present day,
too, the distribution of the land and freshwater Mollusca,
especially in insular areas, lends a not inconsiderable
amount of assistance in determining the relation of the
land areas in former ages.

The land and freshwater Mollusca of British Guiana,
when compared with those occurring in close-lying
distri€ts, are, so far as they are known, few in number; but
this is certainly largely due to the want of investigation,
for with the exception of the list, given in SCHOMBURGK’S
“ Reisen in Britisch Guiana,” of the 22 species met withby
him during his travels, there has been no serious attempt
to throw light upon this branch of Natural History.
Lately, from specimens of 24 species which have been
colleéted for the British Guiana Museum, it has been
possible to extend the list of our forms, since but two
(Melania atra and Anodonta enstformis) out of the 24,
are certainly identical with species obtained by SCHOM-
BURGK ; and more than seven other genera are now
for the first time recorded from the colony. It has not
been possible in the present communication, in the
absence of specimens and suitable books, to give a revision
of the species mentioned by SCHOMBURGK; but the
following list of recently identified species is given as a
basis for future work. With the exception of the testi-
ferous slug, and an additional species of Bulimus, the
specimens have all been identified by Mr. EDGAR SMITH,
F.Z.S., etc., etc., Conchologist of the British Museum of

40 _ TIMEHRI.

Natural History, to whom I desire to express my hearty
acknowledgment.

UNIVALVES (Gasteropoda,)
1. Ampullaria glauca, Linné.
2 ri cornu-artetes, Linné,
3 3 peristomata, d’Orb.
4 2 sp. (papyracea ?)
5. Melania atra, Rich.
6 i; circumsulcata, v.d. Busch.
7
8

. Streptaxis deformis, Fer. (=S. glabra, Pfeiff.)
- Bulimus oblongus, Mill.

on r fraterculus, Pfr.
10. ks bensont, Reeve.
rr. * sp.

12. Stenogyra octona, Chemnitz.
Le. = goodalli, Miill.
14. >: becktana, Pfr.

15. Leptinarta lamellata, Pot. et. Mich.

16. Vaginula occidentalis, Guilding.

17. Parmacella sp. (?)

18. Physa sp.

19. Hyalina Sp.

BIVALVES (Lamellibranchiata.)

20. Ayria schomburgkiana, Sow.

21. Prisodon latialata, Sow.

22. Paxyodon latilobiata, Sow.

23. Anodonta enstformis, Spix.

24. Sp.
Of the Univalves, the Black-shells (Afe/anza) and the
Apple-snails (Ampullaria) are aquatic, and breathe by
means of plume-like or peétinated. gills, which are

MOLLUSCA OF BRITISH GUIANA. 41

specialised portions of the men¢/e, or that integumentary
layer that covers over the viscera of the body and
secretes the shell of the Mollusca. By the folding
of the mantle over the neck of the animal, a large
chamber is formed for the gills, and water is ad-
mitted and driven from this chamber for respiratory
purposes.

A most noteworthy feature in conneétion with the
respiratory system of the Apple-snails, is the existence
of a capacious pulmonary air-chamber situated above the
branchial chamber, and opening direétly into it by a
small hole in the front towards the left side. By certain
writers this chamber has been treated as equivalent to
a swim-bladder or float, but as its walls are richly
supplied with vessels leading to the expanded auricle
of the heart, its fun€tions are evident. In the
large specimens of the Ampullaria glauca, the
details of its stru€ture are easily made out. If the
animals are kept under observation, they will frequently
be seen ascending to the surface and pumping in air by
_means of the siphonal neck-lappet, even though the
- water in which they are living be well aerated for
branchial respiration. This additional pulmonary cham-
ber is extremely suggestive in its relation to the develop-
ment of that of the true air-breathing forms, such as the
land-snails and slugs etc., in which gills are never de-
veloped; while it helps to explain the survival of the
animals when purposely kept for long periods, in some
cases even for years, out of water..

Both in the Melanias and Ampu.larias, when the body
is retra€ted into the shell, the aperture is closed by a
horny plate or operculum which is secreted by the

F

42 \TIMEHRI.

posterior end of the broad walking base—the so-called
foot of the Mollusca.

The Melanias, which are widely distributed along the
banks of the great rivers, and are especially nume-
rous in certain places among the rapids of the
Essequibo, are easily distinguished by their elon-
gated, and turreted spiral shells, the aperture of which is
nearly oval, and pointed above. Often the shells are.
markedly eroded by the aétion of the water, and may even
become truncated. J/elania atra is long, and strongly
ribbed; while 1. circumsulcata is shorter and rounded,
and not ribbed.

The Ampullarias are more or less globular, with a
small spire, and have the aperture wide and open, cor-
responding to the swollen body-whorl. The surface is
striated and generally marked with a variable number of
bands. They are abundant in weedy ponds and trenches ;
burying themselves in the mud during drought, and
depositing their egg capsules in little elongated masses
upon plants and other objeéts raised above the water-
level. Two species are very widely distributed along
the coast, the mcre common (Ampullaria glauca)
having a thick, strong shell, with a wide and open hollow
axis to the spire—the axis being thus perforated or
umbilicated—and depositing green eggs; while the less
common (A. papyracea 7) has a thin, weak shell, with a
very narrow fissured axis—thus being rzmate—and
depositing pink eggs. The shells of the latter species
brought from the shallow ponds of the Rupununi
savannah, where the supply of carbonate of lime is
evidently very small, are peculiarly thin and brittle.

In the well-marked species, A. cornu-arietes, the shell

MOLLUSCA OF BRITISH GUIANA. 43

is discoidal, the coils taking place in one plane. They
have been obtained from the ponds on the savannahs of
the interior. In A. peristomata, in which the shells are
ventricose, the surface markings are linen-like.

The true Snails, the Pond-snails and the Slugs, are
easily distinguished by their breathing air direétly ina
pulmonary chamber, formed by a folding of the mantle—
similar in its development to the folding that gives rise
to the branchial chamber in the gill-bearing forms such
as the Apple-snails—and by the absence of a shelly
operculum.

In Streptaxis, the shell is nearly globular, and the
axis of the spire is distorted, that of the lower not agree-
ing with that of the upper whorls, and giving an oblique
appearance to the shell. The S. deforms, which occurs
commonly in moist situations under old rubbish and
rotting vegetable matter, has a diameter about equal to
that of acommon shirt-button. In the young stages, the
shells are nearly discoidal and hyaline, being then super-
ficially very similar to specimens of Ayalina ; but with
the growth of the whorls, the sub-globose condition is
reached, and the axis becomes slightly perforated, and
the lip thickened.

In the Lemon-snails (Bulimus) the shells are oblong
or turreted, with the margins of the aperture unequal. In
Brazil, the large species are eaten, and are said to be sold
commonly in the market at Rio. The largest of the Guiana
species, B. oblongus, is about 4 inches in length, with the
peristome thickened and red. No doubt it would make
a very palatable food. It occurs plentifully on the
savannahs of the interior, in the neighbourhood of ponds,
and streams. What its food may be, in its wild condi-

F2

44 TIMEHRI.
5 a RS Some A ig SS aR
tion, I am utterly unable to say, but when kept in confine-
ment, they are particularly fond of the succulent
leaves of the different species of lily-like plants.
Its eggs are about the size of those of the pigeon,
with a hard, granulated, glistening surface, and they are
frequently mistaken for birds’ eggs. It appears to be
identical with the B. hemastoma of SCHOMBURGK’S list.
In B. fraterculus, the shell is small and thin, less than
an inch in length, of a brownish colour, and with a
thin lip. It is found in moist places, as in the case of
Streptaxis. The prettiest of these shells is the
B. bensoni, in which the length is about 14-2 inches,
regularly turreted, and having the whorls marked with
faint purple-brown blotches along the line of growth, and
with irregular bands in the direétion of the sutures,

Most widely distributed throughout the colony, under
every variety of objeéts in moist situations, are to be
found the minute elongated, turreted, and many-whorled
shells of Stenogyra octona. The apex of the shell is
rounded and frequently truncated, and the aperture thin
and rounded. The whorls increase considerably in size
with growth, and the last or body-whorl is, compara-
tively, much enlarged. In the S, deckiana, the apex of
the shell is pointed, the whorls are very narrow and
equi-sized, the body-whorl being scarcely or not at all
enlarged. The S. goodalli is excessively minute and
few-whorled. This last species has been introduced into
English and European hot-houses from the New World,
and it is now almost a common English form.

In situations where the small species above described
occur, will sometimes be found the glistening shells of
Physa and Hyalina—the latter discoidal, and the former

MOLLUSCA OF BRITISH GUIANA. 45

with a large elongated body-whorl and a minute spire.
With these also a small pale and rather thick shell, in
size and shape very much like Bulizmus fraterculus, will
occasionally be noticed. This shell is Leptinaria lamel-
lata, and may be recognised by the raised or expanded
inner or columella lip.

The two species o, slugs are commonly distributed
and are rather plentiful. They may easily be obtained
along the upper part of the central avenue of the Botanic
Gardens, in the early morning—the larger of the two
species being sometimes found feeding on the fallen
flowers of the Oronoque trees (Erythrina glauca). Inthe
one (Vaginula occidentalis), the body reaches a length of
from two to three inches and is covered throughout
by a brownish green, or dark and nearly black, coriaceous
mantle, entirely destitute of a shell; in the other
(Parmacella sp.) which is much smaller, a shield-
like external shell is placed over the raised hump-
like middle of the body. The shell is thin, oblong
and slightly concave below and destitute of any spire,
the edges of the shell being more or less covered by the
mantle; the walking disk or foot is large and pointed
behind ; the generative pore is situated on the right,
below the large oculiferous tentacle; and the anal is
posterior to the respiratory pore, both being situated
toward the middle of the edge of the mantle on the right
side. The body is hyaline, but marked along the back
with two wide and dark longitudinal bands, and with a
variable number of longitudinally placed lateral spots.

The Bivalves in the list are all species of the river-
mussels ; and have been found along the higher Essequibo
in the sand pools among the rocks of the rapids, and in the

46 TIMEHRI.

pools of the savannah streams. The Anodonta ensiformis
is easily recognised by its thin and narrow but very elon-
gated shell. In Hyria schomburgkiana, the shell is some-
what cockle-shaped, swollen and very strongly ribbed.

The species of Paxyodon is a very interesting one,
growing to a very large size, and attaining a width and
length of more than eight inches. The valves become very
thick with age, and are often extensively eroded on the
exterior, especially in the region of the hinge so as to lay
bare the beautiful nacreous substance beneath. As the
British and Chinese river-pearls are obtained from closely
allied forms, it is likely that the native forms are similarly
produétive, or, at least, may be made produétive when
treated on the Chinese plan of introducing into the
living animal, shot, josses etc., between the mantle and
the valves, where they become covered by the pearly
substance which is continually being secreted by the
mantle to form the shell.

Jamaica Proverbial Philosophy.

By the Rev. D. $. Reynolds.

SGQROVERBS from very early times have
| been charatteristic of man the wide world
over. Men of all climes and countries display

a strong { prediletion for expressing themselves in pro-
verbs. The savage as well as the man of culture
illustrate in this, as in some other indications of their
common humanity, the fa& that: ‘‘a touch of nature
makes the whole world kin.”

Proverbs are to be found in sacred as well as in
profane history.

Holy Scripture as we know has honoured the pro-
verbial form of speech, in that some of the wisest and
weightiest lessons of morality and religion are delivered
in the form of proverbs; Our Saviour himself not
disdaining their use when it suited His holy purpose so
todo. They abound in every language, and from the
days of ARISTOTLE, who was the first colle€tor of them,
until now, they have not been deemed unworthy the
attention of some of the greatest intelleéts.

SHAKESPEARE makes frequent use of them in his
immortal plays, a special instance occurring in “ Corio-
lanus,”’ Aét 1., Scene tf.

Hang ’em!
They said they were an hungry ; sigh’d forth proverbs ;
That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat,
That meat was made for mouths, that the Gods sent not

Corn for rich men only :—With these shreds
They vented their complainings.

48 TIMEHRI.

JAMES HOWELL, who made a colle€tion of them in
the seventeenth century, thus sings of them :-—

“The people’s voice the voice of God we call,
And what are proverbs but the people’s voice,
Coined first, and current made by common choice
Then sure they must have weight and truth withal.”

Lord BACON speaks of them as being strong evidence
of national life and charafter. ‘The genius, wit and
spirit of a nation,’ says he, ‘‘are discovered in its
proverbs,”

Lord JOHN RUSSELL defines a proverb as being “ the
wisdom of many and the wit of one.”

TENNYSON sings of proverbs as

“ Jewels five words long
Which on the stretched forefinger of all time
Sparkle forever.”

Archbishop TRENCH, one of the most celebrated
theologians of the Irish Church, largely studied and
le€tured upon the subject of proverbs, and speaking of
them he says :—‘'‘ What a body of popular good sense
‘and feeling is contained in the better, which is also the
“more numerous portion of them, what a sense of
‘natural equity, what spirit of kindness breathes out
“from many of them, what prudent rules for the manage-
‘ment of life, what shrewd wisdom, which, though not
“ often of this world is most truly for it, what frugality,
“ what patience, what perseverance, what manly inde-
‘“‘ pendence are continually inculcated by them, what a
“ fine knowledge of the human heart do many of them
‘display, what useful and not always obvious hints do
“they offer on many most important points; as on the
‘* choice of companions, the bringing up of children. the
“ bearing of prosperity and adversity, the restraint of all

JAMAICA PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY. 49

‘ immoderate expe€tations. And they take,’ continues
the good Archbishop, “‘a yet higher range than this;
“they have their ethics, their theology, their views of
“man in his highest relations of all, as man with his
“ fellow man, and man with his Maker. Be these views,”
says he, “ always corre€t or not, and I should be very
“ far from affirming that they always are so, the student
“ of humanity, he who because he is a man, counts
“nothing human to be alien to him, can never without
“ wilfully foregoing an important document and one
“ which would have helped him in his studies, altogether
. * negle& or pass them by.”

This is just our standpoint in relation to our Jamaica
Proverbs, and it is because we thus regard them that we
have made it our business and our pleasure too, to colleét
and study them for many years past.

The result of that study has been the convi€tion, that
there is no country which can boast of a colleétion of
secular proverbs more pithy and instruétive, more
replete with wit and humour, or more terse and compaét,
than those which are associated with our beautiful ‘‘ Isle
“ of Springs.”

From our colle€&tion we now submit a sele€tion of some
of the most striking and piquant, giving generally their
English equivalents, and in a few cases equivalents in other
countries, from which it will be seen they are not inferior
in all those essential features which go to make a good
proverb, to those with which they are compared.

1. When snake bite you; you see lizard, you run.
The burnt child dreads the fire.
2. Bowl go, calabash come, or Hand go, hand come.
One good turn deserves another.
G

50

3°

4.

12.

TIMEHRI.

Bush hab ears, and ’tump wear hat.

The hedges have eyes, and the ditches have ears.

John Crow (the carrion crow, vulture) tink him picney
white.

Blood is thicker than water.

Cuss John Crow “‘ peel head ” and turkey pee pee bex.

Offend one monk, and the lappets of all cowls will
flutter as far as Rome. (Spanish.)

Calabash don’t grow ’pon pumpkin vine.

As you sow, so you reap.

. Cow tail cut off, God A’mighty brush fly for her.

GOD tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.

. Kitchen dresser fall down, mauger daag (dog) laugh.

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. (Scotch.)

. Too much ratta nebber dig good hole.

Too many cooks spoil the soup.

. When you go da tumpa foot dance, you must dance

tumpa foot.
When you go to Rome, you must do as the Romans do.

- Quattie (the smallest Jamaica silver coin of the value

of 13d. now out of circulation) buy trouble, hundred
pound can’t pay for it. .
Mischief comes by the pound, but goes away by the
ounce.
Hang your bunkra (basket) where you can reach it.
Cut your coat according to your cloth.

. Play wid puppy, puppy lick you mout.

Too much familiarity breeds contempt.

. Puss gone, ratta tek house.

When the cat’s away the mice will play.
Cotton tree (the gigantic ceiba) ebber so big, little
axe will cut him down,

JAMAICA PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY. 51

Little strokes fell great oaks.

16. Pot laugh after kettle, say him black.

The pan says to the kettle, “keep off you will
smutch me.” (Italian.)

The raven cried to the crow, “ avaunt Blackamoor.”
(Spanish.)

One ass calls another ass long ears. (German.)

17. Half-a-mout tell you him no yerrie, whole-a-mout tell
you it too late.

They said to the camel bird (the ostrich) “ carry,”
it said: I cannot, for I am a bird; they said:
“fly,” it answered: I cannot, for I am a camel.
(Asiatic.)

The following are descriptive of certain unlovely
aspects of human life and chara€ter !—

Selfishness—Daag (dog) drink water, “for you for you.”

Envy—Man da eat good, ugly da watch him.

Scheming men plotting—’Ceitful fire roast plantain,
cuncassa (soft soap) scrape it.

Youth mocking at Age—Man no done grow musn’t
laugh after long man.

A man who ts so afraid of another man that he cannot
say his soul ts his own—Cow belongs to butcher, can
nebber say, ‘‘I berry well.”

Ingratitude—You sorry for mauger dog, him turn
round and bite you.

An intermeddler who has got into trouble—Dog lib
well, him go trouble cow a pass (in the road), cow kick him.

A boaster in a fix—Trubble ketch bull-dog, monkey
breeches fit him.

A hypocrite—\f you no hab yeye water when you go
da berrin, begin cry soon.

G2

52 TIMEHRI.
en eee

The following we give without note or comment, as to
do so would prolong our article to an unreasonable length,
only remarking that the wit and humour which sparkle
from them can only be fully appreciated by those who
are acquainted with the idiom of the “ old time negroes”
of the West Indies.

Bad fambly better dan empty pig sty.

When man say him no mind, a den him mind.

Man no know him no know.

Nebber mek goat trustee for bread-fruit-tree.

Behind dog, it is dog; before dog, it is Mr. dog.

Hungry mek monkey blow fire.

Play wid monkey, but no play wid him tail.

Lazy man nebber nyam (eat) green corn.

Monkey gib him dog name, say: —“ Sit-down-look-tay~
bam-bye-we all-wi-see.”

De same knife kill goat, will kill sheep.

Dog hab too much owner, him sleep widout him
supper.

Any way you cut dog tail it will fit him.

Finger nebber say ‘‘ look here,” but always say ‘look
yonder.”

Poor man say: “hold ya nek me cut” ; rich man say :
‘put de whole da pot.”

Man lib well, him tell cow, how-dye.

Married hab teet, and him bite hot.

Pocket full and basket full, ’ooman laugh.

Hansome face ’ooman not the bestest kind of ’ooman,

Hungry fowl wake soon,

Mean man go to market two time.

One tief nebber like fe see anodder tief carry a

long bag.

JAMAICA PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY. 53

Shut mout nebber ketch fly.

When yeye (eye) meet yeye, man ’fraid.

Man no dun cross ribber musn’t cuss alligator, “long
mout.”

lf fish come from ribber bottom tell you alligator hab
teet-ache, believe him.

Rain nebber fall a one man door.

No tek narra somarri yeye so sleep.

Tiger old, dug bark after him.

Hen da cattle and da ’joyment himself, him no know
say hawk da watch him.

Man hate you, him gib you basket for carry water,
but if you clebber you will put plantain leaf in dey.

Lie worse dan sore.

Dog say, sooner dan pay sixpence for trousers, him
will pay doubloon (a Spanish golden coin of value
£3 4s. od.) for bone.

Dog massa gib him money for buy bench, dog tek it,
buy bone, and say, Big Massa (the Creator) nebber ben
mek him for sit down ’pon bench.

Fowl nebber lick him own chicken too hot.

Horse no business da cow play.

Cow horn nebber too hebby for cow head.

If foot miss pass, him can find it, but if moué miss
pass, him no can find it.

Shoes one know say ’tocking hab hole.

When you hab berrin’ you no pick and choose you
grabe-digger.

Braggin’ ribber nebber drown anybody.

Sit down nebber tell him Massa “ get up.”

Big word nebber crack man jaw-bone.

Ole fire-stick soon ketch.

54 TIMEHRI.

If you want for eat old ’ooman pepper-pot, tek time
*cratch him back.

Cockroach mek dance him nebber ax fowl.

Cockroach ebber so drunk him nebber walk into fowl
yard.

Flea say him redda (rather) a man wid him two eye fe
ketch him dan a blind man fe hold him.

Driber nebber ’fraid fe long whip.

Cow ded lef trouble gib cow-kin.

Rock-a-tone a ribber bottom, no know say sun hot ; or
Rock-a-tone a ribber bottom, no know wha Rock-a-tone
a road da feel.

Ebery day debbil help tief, one day Big Massa (the
Creator) will help watchman.

Go a heaben no boy.

If you tan a market long, you will owe debt.

Duppy (ghost) know who fe frighten.

A pound ob fretment won’t pay a gill ob debtment.

Hab money hab fren.

“ Yerrie say,” can’t go to law.

Greedy choke puppy.

A no because cow no hab tongue mek him don’t talk.

A no parrot one nyam plantain but because him mek
noise dem say a him one.

Nyam some, lef some memba to-morrow.

Ebery ting good fe eat, but no ebery ting good fe talk.

Patience man ride jackass.

Dog a run fe him charaéter, but hog a run for him life.

When black man tief, him tief “ Quattie” (14d.), but
when Buckra tief, him tief whole a estate.

When fowl drink water, him lift up him hed say “ tank
God, tank God ;” when man drink water, him say nothing.

JAMAICA PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY. 55

Let any one who is at all acquainted with West Indian
negro life and charaéter as it existed in Jamaica half a
century ago, examine these old time sayings and he will
find in them a depth of thought, a power of imagination,
and a brilliancy of wit, which at once places the Son of
Africa in a position to ask his more intelligent, simply
because more favourably situated fellows, “ Am I not a

man and brother ?”
*‘ Children we are all

Of one Great Father, in whatever clime,

His providence hath cast the seed of life,

All tongues, all colours ; neither after death

Shall we be sorted into languages

And tints,—white, black and tawny, Greek and Goth,
Northmen and offspring of hot Africa;

The Allseeing Father—He in whom we live and move,
He, the impartial Judge of all, regards

Nations, and hues, and diale€ts alike.

According to their works shall they be judged,

When evenhanded justice in the scale

Their good and evil weighs.”

Our Railroad Age; or, South American
Development.

By T. P. Porter.

}HE praétically isolated position of the Guianas,
hemmed in as they are by the impenetrable

“a and unexplored wildernesses that stretch away
westward to the Cordilleras and southward to the
Amazon, effeétually separates those European colonies
from the great and progressive centres of civilisation of
this continent. It is therefore not to be wondered at
that in the British, French and Dutch Colonies, sympathy
in the progress and development of the neighbouring
States is at zero. Even the geography of the continent
is taught in a very cursory sort of manner here, and
whilst it is probable that any of the school pupils
know equally well that the Amazon is the largest river
in the world and the Danube is the greatest in Europe,
it is a question whether they could rattle off the bounda-
ries and name the capitals of the South American
Republics, as easily as they could those of the Balkan
States. And how many people in British Guiana, whether
school children or adults, are aware that with the
exception of the cataraéts and a single land portage of
two hours, there is a free water communication between
the Essequibo River and Para on the Brazilian Coast,
Angostura in Venezuela, and innumerable interior ports
of Brazil and Peru? At present this communication is
valueless, not only because the Guianas have no interest
in or conne¢étion with their neighbours, but also because

Our RAILROAD AGE. 57

it traverses what has above been designated as a wilder-
ness—prodigious primeval forests that are practically a
terra incognita to civilisation. Still, the general igno-
rance of its very existence indicates how, very little is
really known of the possibilities of this Continent, even
by those who reside in their very midst.

The time is now approaching, however, when this
ignorance of and indifference to the neighbouring States
will be greatly modified ; and when, indeed, it may be
found of vital importance to the commercial and indus-
trial interests of the Guianese to open up communication
by railroad with their Latin neighbours—either to the
West or South; as the case may be. And as that time
is within measurable distance, a description of the vast
South American railroad system now being projeéted
may not be found out of place in the pages of this
journal. As will probably be known to many readers of
this article, several lines of railroad have already been
construéted in Brazil, the Argentine, Chile and Peru,
whilst a great many more are in process of constru€tion.
Already the line from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso is
nearly through, the last, the trans-Andean seétion, being
within two years of completion. Throughout the Argen-
tine and Peru there is a perfe€t network of lines in
course of construétion, and which, in the case of the
latter country, owing to the fortunate settlement of the
foreign debt and the concessions given the bondholders,
will be continued on to the Purus and Amazon rivers,
Lake Titicaca and La Paz, and other Bolivian cities.
Meanwhile, the northern branch of the Argentine road
is being steadily pushed forward to the Bolivian frontier,
whilst in Bolivia arrangements are being made to con-

H

58 TIMEHRI.

ee ee

stru& a line from La Paz to meet the Argentine line on
the frontier. Again, a proje€t is under discussion to
extend the Rio Janeiro line, under international conces-
sions, right on to the north-west, through Bolivia and
into the heart of Peru. There are several other lines,
but being more stri€tly local these call for no particular
mention here, and we may therefore now proceed to the
consideration of another and yet greater project that is
being floated in the United States, and which is destined
to link together, as with one continuous chain, all the
countries of the New World, from Ottawa to Buenos
Ayres and from San Francisco to Viétoria in Chile, thus
bringing New York within twelve days of Valparaiso.
The Colombia Railway Company, with a capital of
$100,000,000, proposes, as the prospectus expresses it,
to constru& a railroad “ to skirt the Andes, cross the
Pampas, and conneét generally with everywhere’’—in
South America, of course. The Company as organised
includes the establishment of steamship lines to ply
between the North and South American termini
until such time as the present Mexican lines shall have
been connected with those of Central America, thus
completing the last link of the chain between the North
and the South. The Northern South American terminus
of this gigantic road will be at Carthagena, on the Carib-
bean Coast of Colombia. Thence the line will go south,
skirting the eastern flank of the Andes and the head
waters of the Amazon, to points in Peruvian and
Argentine territory, where it will conneét with the
railroad systems of those countries described above,
as either now in operation or in course of con-
struétion. The steamers of this line. will con-

OuR RAILROAD AGE. 59

nect Carthagena with the Florida and New Orleans
termini, but when the Central American road is com-
pleted, the ferry will only be across the mouth of the
Bay of Panama, from Azuero in Panama to Cupica bay
in Antioquia, 135 miles, whence a special branch railroad
will convey passengers and freight to the central line.
A distinguished and enterprising American railroad man,
Captain H. C. PARSONS, is the originator and controlling
spirit of this greatest railroading projeé& ever undertaken,
and he has spent upon it fifteen years of study anda
considerable amount of money in travelling, investigating,
examining surveys, and colleéting all information gene-
rally, and he has now been at last enabled to demonstrate
to the satisfaction of capitalists its feasibility, The only
part of the proposed route that remains absolutely un-
known is that region lying between the sources of the
Magdalena and Napa rivers, over the dividing ridge of the
Cordilleras in Ecuador, and which is about one hundred
miles in extent, and there the only real difficulties will
be met with. A chain of mountains will certainly have
to be crossed, of the formation of which nothing is
known, savage tribes having hitherto rendered all efforts
at exploration abortive. The explorations and surveys
will therefore have to be made under an armed escort,
but there can be no doubt that the savages will soon
yield to the inevitable advancement of civilisation. As
regards all the rest of the route, the official data col-
le€ted by Captain PARSONS at the expense of so much
time and capital, go to show that the obstacles to be
encountered are far less than those overcome in the
construétion of the Canadian Pacific and the Denver and
Grande lines in North America. The estimated length
H 2

60 o TIMEHBRI,

/

of the main line is 2,000 miles, one half of which distance
will skirt streams, navigable for moderately sized
steamers, that are tributary to the great water-ways of
the South American Continent. At Cuzco and Cerro de
Pasco a jun@tion will be effe€ted with the two Peruvian
lines from the seaports of Molendo and Callao, whilst at
the former point will be met, the railroad from Buenos
Ayres on the Atlantic.

Vast, and it might almost be said inconceivable, are
the commercial and industrial possibilities that will be
developed by the construétion of the lines mentioned.
Lima will be brought within nine days of New York
and sixteen of London, and Valparaiso will be in thirty
hours distance of Lima. This will of course revolutionise
the commercial interests of the South American States,
but unquestionably the greater impulse will be given to
their industries, that now lie pra€tically dormant. Not
to dwell too long upon this aspeét of the development
to be effected, let it suffice to state that at Cuzco and
Cerro de Pasco the heart of the mineral region will be
reached, and that at the latter place there lie uncovered,
ridges of silver ore estimated to produce 42,000 tons of
pure silver, for which no means of transportation to
smelting works are now available! And this gives us
but a passing glimpse of the mineral wealth of the
regions that will be opened up. The agricultural possi-
bilities of the soil of South America are too well-known
to call for comment.

All this, however, affects the Guianas but remotely.
The immediate development of the neighbouring Latin
Republics will probably have no more influence on their
commerce and industry than the similar development that

OurR RAILROAD AGE. 61

is going on in Central Asia. The time will come, how-
ever, when the establishment of railroads throughout the
Republics of Venezuela and Colombia, and which will
conneét with the great central line, will indicate the
desirability of a Guiana line to connect with the
Venezuelan system, thus placing British Guiana within
reach of the benefits of the great railroad system of the
continent of which she forms an integral portion. She
is a growing colony, with almost unlimited room for ex-
pansion, and her commerce and industries will not always
be so restri€ted as they are at the present time. And
in the days of rapid transit that are coming swiftly and
surely upon the world, it will not do to be behind hand
and dependent upon ocean transit wholly, whilst coun-
tries thousands of miles farther from Europe and the
United Statesthan we are, will be brought by rail within
two-thirds nearer, by time, than we will be of those
centres of civilisation. These faéts should be an incen-
tive to the pushing forward of local railroads toward the
west, even into the very penetralia of the vast wilderness
that lies between the Essequebo and the proposed Central
line of the South American railroad system. Besides, as
is well-known, the railroad is the pioneer of civilisation.
Colonisation follows the railroad into the wilderness, it
never precedes it, properly speaking,—at least not in
that systematic manner that can alone guarantee per-
manent development. Fer the aétual progress and
prosperity of the country in the immediate future, there-
fore, as well as to enable her to keep pace with her
neighbours in times that are comparatively more remote
although praétically not more than a generation ahead of
us, if so far, it is fast becoming an imperative necessity

62 TIMEHRI.

for those responsible to bestir themselves in the matter
of constructing railroads throughout the colony. Nor
need these necessarily be a charge on the finances of
the country. In Spanish America syndicates of foreign
capitalists gladly avail themselves of ‘‘ concessions,” in
return for which, together with a moderate guaranteed
per centage of interest on the capital invested, they
undertake to run railroads right through forests, over
rivers and round or through mountains. Under sucha
Government as that of British Guiana, and in view of
the possibilities of the country’s latent industries, how
gladly would not English and American capitalists
respond to any overtures that included concessions and
privileges similar to those offered by our Latin neigh-
bours, but the insecurity of whose “ guarantees” is not
amongst the minor drawbacks to the investment of
capital that have to be considered. It is about time to
be up and doing, and those who have the interests of this
magnificent country really at heart will surely look
forward with eagerness for the first movements in the
dire€tion indicated in the foregoing pages.

Jottings from the British Guiana Gold Diggings.

By E. G. Fraser Luckie.
AORK in the British Guiana Gold Bush affords
47 an excellent opportunity for observing the
3 manner of all the people engaged in the gold
industry. To begin with, all concerned must live in
common, and frequently a stranger can hardly distin-
guish the manager of a placer from the labourers. This
community of living allows us to see much more of
the habits of those engaged in the work than is possible

in the comparatively civilised portions of British Guiana
where artificial boundaries and distinétions of classes
exist. In many respeéts, speaking of gold diggers asa
class, we may use the words of the proverbial midshipman :
“* Customs beastly, manners none;’’ but in one respeét,
as regards personal cleanliness, they set an excellent
example. As a rule, they wash whenever possible, and
when a dirty member falls among clean ones, I have
known him to be held down after the day’s work and
vigorously scrubbed over with the brush used to clean
down the sluice or tom. This treatment generally con-
vinces such an one that cleanliness is indeed next to
godliness, and he aéts accordingly.

In describing the habits of our subjeéts, we begin at
the head and commence with the most curious of head-
men, the ‘‘pyjama manager.” He carefully avoids over-
exertion, and indeed, exertion of any sort, when travelling
up the rivers. He generally requires an umbrella to
prote€&t his complexion from the sun. He is affli€ted

64 TIMEHRI.

with various extraordinary and complicated diseases. Of
these managers there are two classes. The first kind
frequents the waterside camp, and this for obvious
reasons. The way to the back or gold placer proper is
a steep, muddy and difficult road to travel. It generally
occurs to these intelligent men that as personally they
were never intended for hard work, it will be an
economy to the capitalist for them to remain at the
waterside camp and keep the stores under their own eyes,
thus saving any waste, the expense of a watchman and
the cost of transporting their own food and clothing to
the placer. This class of man is known as the waterside
prospeétor.

The manager of the second class generally reaches the
back camp some time after arriving at the waterside, and
incontinently takes to his hammock to rest him after his
labours. After that, an occasional turn round the place
suffices. His time is divided between his draught board
and working out petty spites against offending labourers.
When he does go his rounds, he insists on being called
“Manager,” and occasionally he will exhibit his personal
strength and prowess inan awkward struggle with some
tool or other, surrounded by the admiring gang in a
delightful state of ina€tivity. The “ pyjama managers,”
of whom fortunately there is not a large proportion, are
thoroughly satisfied with their achievements, and
convinced that all their duty consists in finding gold,
irrespective of cost. Under such circumstances it is really
surprising that labourers work as well as they often do,
and the only possible explanation is that frequently, as
the men well know, it is: no gold, no money. Happily
for those providing the funds for these expeditions,

BRITISH GUIANA GOLD DIGGINGS. | 65

there are many men, and I am bound to say as
often black as white, who faithfully try to carry
on the work entrusted to them, and do not shirk
their share of it. Of course a certain amount
of gold is stolen and generally by the manager
himself, but this is kept within bounds by the necessity
for clearing expenses or clearing out. Most placers find
employment for a clerk whose day’s work can generally
be done in half an hour, unless, as I once saw, the
manager can induce the man to cook, and then I suppose
he may be said to work for his living.

We come now to the sinews of the camp, the labourer.
He is never so happy as when he is grumbling, and that
he is always ready to do. In the morning, the clock is
fast; at night he accuses you of shifting the hands
and declares that it is slow. He frequently assures you
that he is devoted to your service. All he needs is a
little encouragement, liberally interpreted, “grog.” He
is continually assuring you that if you can treat him well,
that is, give him more than his allowance of food, he will
indeed work for you. He abounds in honied words,
commonly known as “sweet mouth” or “rattle,” and at
such times, beware! he is fooling you.

These remarks are intended to apply only to the
creole labourer, who, after all, is the only one suited to
this work. As to the others, the coolie and “ Bill” are
too liable to sickness, and the Chinaman is too smart.
‘‘country,” i.e., the Barbadian, is too delicate, and the
Portuguese and Mulatto population are physically unable
to do the work. Above all, in engaging labourers,
beware of the “boots man!’”’ On no consideration
engage a man who seems at home in his boots, and,

I

66 TIMEHRI,

generally, look for the barefoot man. “Bill” generally
gives out before his time is done. He takes his advance
to his uncle, and comes into the bush utterly unprovided
with clothing—sometimes without even a hammock.
He has to subsist on food entirely different from that to
which he has been accustomed, and the poor feeding
alone renders him an easy prey to malaria and dysentery.

It is about his food that the ordinary labourer is most
troublesome. He is perfe€tly aware of the amount of
his allowance, and never wearies of telling you that he
knows that, though you personally have nothing to do
with it, the cook is robbing him.- When told that under
the circumstances it will be advisable to take his raw
vituals and cook them, he will find numberless okje€tions
to such a course. Many make a regular praétice of
begging, giving one the disagreeable necessity of
refusing. These few drawbacks, excepted, they area
happy lot, and generally work very well.

At night when their work is done, and particularly
when there is a large gang, song after song is sung, and
the chorus taken up in perfeét harmony and unison.
Certainly the songs are frequently mere repetitions and
very meaningless, but in the still nights the singing is
far from unpleasant, and appears to afford the pertormers
infinite delight. The variety of the instruments is
marvellous. Besides concertinas, flageolets, violins,
guitars, etc., which they bring with them from town, they
invent many more. They will rattle aspoon on a pudding
pan very musically, they make use of the familiar comb
and piece of thin paper, they whistle very fairly, they con-
struct flutes with old bones, violins with meat cans, and
wonderful to relate, they make even violoncellos, °

BRITISH GUIANA GOLD DIGGINGS. 67

This last instrument is so remarkable that it deserves
a separate description. A piece of strong, pliable wood,
about three feet long, is bent into a half circle by means
of a piece of stout whip-cord. An ordinary fiddle bow
is made with wood and thread, and both the thread and
whip-cord are thoroughly waxed with a little of the soft
sealing wax off the top of agin flask. An empty paraffin
can is next obtained, to be used as a sounding board.
The performer sits holding the bent wood, one end
resting on his left shoulder, and one on the paraffin tin,
bracing the whole and holding it in position with
his left leg. The bow is held in the right hand,
and by drawing it across the whip-cord, a good, well-
toned sound is obtained, very similar to the note of a
violoncello. The notes are obtained by holding the
whip-cord between the first finger and thumb of the left
hand, fingering up and down the single string. With
this primitive instrument, really wonderful results can be
obtained, and to hear the men playing it on Sundays to
accompany their hymns, quite reminds one of church.
Its resonance is indeed remarkable.

On the river they like to sing to the time of the oars
or paddles, and, when possible, to rattle their hoes and
spades, in time to some popular tune when working at
the tom. If there is any hauling to be done, they are
delighted with the opportunity for clearing-their throats,
They are also very fond of dancing. On moonlight
nights they dance the “tobo” or the ‘‘kumfo.” Give
them a clear space, no matter how rough, and soon it
will be level and smooth. They seem to. be utterly
regardless of the soles of their feet, the skin of which,
from continuous exposure and long use, becomes as thick

12

68 TIMEHRI.

and hard, comparatively, as boot sole. When dancing,
they will stamp with their feet and the noise can be
heard at a great distance,

On Sundays, religion holds its sway. Service is held
twice a day. One or more of the men take in the “ War
Cry” regularly, and racy extraéts from that humorous
publication together with the meals, fill up the intervals.
The most energetic pay calls at the neighbouring placers.
Gold diggers, as a rule, are very religious. They
invariably say, ‘God willing,” or ‘by God’s help,” in
reply to an order. When called upon to turn out in the
morning, they are generally in the midst of some
very lengthy morning prayers. If you catch a thief, the
morality with which his ‘ matties” will cry shame upon
him, is very instru€tive—but as you will generally catch
a large proportion of them in some dishonest aét before
you have done with them, it can hardly be edifying. I
have heard them say: ‘‘ Thou shalt not steal, but take a
little to help thyself.’ Their motto seems to be “ beg,
borrow, or steal’? ; although it is only when they cannot
steal, that they will condescend to beg or borrow.
They are extremely superstitious, and their tales
of the supernatural are only equalled by their nancy
stories, jokes and parables. All of these are surprising
in their way, but they must be heard to be appreciated.

At this present moment, on the placer where I am
stopping, we can boast of a ghost, and a phantom tom.
One day when cutting posts, a man discovered a grave
on the side of a hill. Since then, the ghost experiences
come fast and furious. Frequently at night, the tom is
heard working! Nobody, under any consideration
can be induced to go alone on the “grave hill.” The

BRITISH GUIANA GOLD DIGGINGS. 69

man who found it, dropped his tools and ran, and it took
three men to fetch them away. One day, crossing the
creek on a fallen tree, I had the misfortune to slip in, and
five independent and reliable witnesses came forward
and stated that they saw “ that worthless fellow,’’ mean-
iug the ghost, deliberately “shove me in.” When there
has been a bad day’s work, I am frequently told by the
men that they saw the ghost watching them, “ in his
flannel and sliders.”

One thing is very noticeable and satisfaétory with the
men; they are always glad when they find gold, although
it is not for themselves. They seem to take an interest
in their work, and in my opinion they work very hard for
their money, which, when they get it, they squander
recklessly. Occasionally a hammock man enters on
the scene, and he is best got rid of before he
spoils good hands. It is always easy to make things
warm for a lazy man, so that he is glad to go before
worse befal him. I know a manager who wishing to get
rid of such a man, put him to dig ‘‘a task” on the top of
a hill. Now ‘‘a task” is a portion of work to be com-
pleted in a day, and for which one day’s pay will be given,
whatever time it may take to finish. Its dimensions are
seven feet square, to dig until ‘‘ pay dirt” is found. Af-
ter digging fruitlessly for several days, our poor friend
said to the manager: “Mr. S., I’m digging and digging
and can’t get the gravel, sir.” He replied: “ Bo-oy,
dig no! Am is dere de Mama dere.” After that the boy
dug again for some days and then said: ‘I can’t catch
the gravel, sir, the place is too deep.” The reply came
back : ‘I know it’s deep. That’s why I put you there.
_ Am is dere de Mama dere.” After a time the boy gave

70 TIMEHRI.

the thing up as.a bad job. To all his representations
Mr. S, would only say: ‘‘Bo-oy, you better shake you
shirt-tail and do de buckra work.” After a time the
young man made up his mind to clear out, else he might
possibly have been there still.

Frequently men come into the bush sick, and such
are an expense to their employers. It is a pity that a
medical examination could not be added to the system
of registering the men now existing. It would save the
greater part of the present number of deaths in the bush.
I believe that a medical pamphlet on those ailments
most frequent in the bush would be much appreciated by
those working there.

There is no doubt that the present Ordinance is keep-
ing back the gold industry. Let licences be given to
purchase raw gold on the spot where it is found, and
stores and farms will rapidly be established there. Let
the registration of labourers be made optional, and they
will be engaged and paid weekly, or daily, on the spot
itself. A great economy of labour will thus be efieéted,
and the laws of demand and supply will regulate its
price. The country would be opened up. We should
no longer hear of boat-loads of stuff being trans-
ported up and down the river, of placers giving
out and causing a loss on unemployed labour,
and of labourers starving in the bush and some-
times returning to town after a four months’ trip to
find they cannot get their money. The system of ad-
vances would probably be done away with, and the in-
dustry largely developed. We live in hopes. Giveusa
new Ordinance is the cry of the gold-diggers! Who will
hear us?

P,
Ks

Defecation of Cane Juice by Electricity.

By Seaforth M. Bellairs.
ey/T is now a good many years since the influence
of ele&tricity on cane juice, first became the
subje& of consideration.

At present, it is somewhat of a sore subjeét, owing to
the shameful swindle of a Company, that pretended to
have discovered a method of refining raw sugar into
pure sugar, dry, and in one operation, by the supposed
influence of ele€tricity. But, because unprincipled ad-
venturers have used the term eleétricity to cover a

swindle, it by no means necessarily follows that there
may not be something in the aétion of ele€tricity, which
may prove useful to the sugar maker.

By the term “ Sugar Maker,” I mean more the maker
of sugar than the refiner. The two are not at all the
same thing. The sugar maker takes the juice of a plant,
generally cane or beet, and extraéts therefrom one of its
constituents, sugar. The refiner takes raw sugar and
separates the sugar from other substances, which we
may call impurities, which are mixed with it, rather
than in it.

For instance, yellow sugar, such as Demerara usually
exports to England, is really white pure sugar, each
crystal of which is covered with a very thin film of a
sticky colouring substance ; and dark sugar, shipped to
the United States, is much the same except that the sticky
substance is dark and dirty-looking; there are some
particles of dark matter, incorporated inside some of the

72 TIMEHRI. |

crystals, but they are shut in more as a fly is sometimes
found in amber, than incorporated as copper is in brass.

Therefore the separation of impurities in commercial
sugar is not the same process as the separation of sugar
from the other constituents of the juice of a plant. And
what may answer in the one case need not necessarily
be a success in the other.

Let us consider what the sugar maker here has to deal
with. It is the stalk of a plant, the sugar cane.
If a transverse se€tion of this stalk be made, it will be
seen that it is divided into two parts; the circumference
and the inside. The circumference is a rind, the juice of
which is sap which rises-to nourish the plant. This sap
consists of substances useful to the plant, that would
eventually be converted into sugar by nature’s chemistry,
but they contain no sugar yet. ‘The inside is a quantity
of cells made of woody stuff and filled with a clear
limpid liquor, which chiefly consists of water and sugar.
The spaces between the joints are a mass of cells.
At each joint is an eye and a circle of spots. These
eyes are the germs of future shoots, and these spots are
the germs of future roots, and these are fit for
growth, unless, as in ripe canes, they are dried and
withered by age.

In faét, the internal economy of the cane reminds one
of the arrangement of a honey-bee’s hive : the cells of the
cane remind one of the combs containing bee-food, while
the joints are somewhat similar to the combs containing
eggs and larve.

The middle of a cane is the sweetest, because it con-
tains the largest proportion of centre cells ; and the upper
end is the poorest, because it has a large proportion of

DEFECATION OF CANE JUICE BY ELECTRICITY. 73

sap and a small proportion of ‘‘cane juice.” As the sap
is in the exterior, it is advisable to have canes of the
greatest possible diameter, so as to have the sap in the
least possible proportion to the juice. Provided always
that the cane be full-grown and mature, or ripe.

It is easy to prove that canes are divided into parts
with different fun€tions. Take two half-grown canes; in
one case, scrape off all the rind, and the head will die.
In the other, open the cane and cut out all the inside
cells leaving only the rind, and the cane will continue
growing as though uninjured. In faét, canes are con-
stantly seen in full growth conneéted to the root by only
a narrow strip of rind.

Canes are brought to the fattory and there either
crushed in a mill, or sliced up and diffused.

Advocates of diffusion claim that, by that method, the
greater portion of the sap remains in the chips; while
the sugar from the cells passes out dissolved in the
water. This may be so, but the liquid obtained by
either method is by no means a mixture of water and
sugar, exclusive of other substances; there is always a
large proportion of sap, and the contents of the cells
themselves are not pure sugar and water, but contain
other vegetable substances. *

In the liquid flowing from the mills, is contained all the
sap both from the rind and from any cane leaves that
may be mixed with the canes.

The problem is, how to separate all the constituents of
this liquid obtained from the cane; to retain the water
and sugar, and get rid of all the other substances. When
this is done, the water is easily evaporated, leaving only
the sugar.

K

74 TIMEHRI.

The present method is the addition of an alkali, gene-
rally a solution of caustic lime. This, coupled with heat,
coagulates the greater portion of the sap, which sub-
sides ; most of what remains, on the further application
of heat to boiling point, rises to the surface and is
removed in the shape of scum.

The result, however, is by no means the desideratum,
a mixture of sugar and water ; it contains a large propor-
tion of glucose and also some soluble salts of lime. Right
through the subsequent operation of evaporation, these
salts are present, and it is to be presumed that they
continue to do a deadly work and convert crystallizable
into uncrystallizable sugar.

Doubtless the ‘‘sugar doétors’” of the colony have
succeeded in largely increasing the recovery of the sugar.
This increase is chiefly due to the adoption of the
modern method of evaporation at low temperature in
vacuum. But the polariscope still shows an amount of
sugar largely in excess of what is obtained, even when
allowance is made for the deleterious aێtion of the glucose
which is revealed by the ‘‘ copper test,’ and the natural
salts found in the ash of the cane juice.

The question is, therefore, whether all or at least a
great part of this separation could not be better effeéted
by ele€tricity, which could not add a foreign substance
to the cane juice. Would not cane juice so defecated
be more nearly the desideratum, viz., a mixture of sugar
and water?

The first experiment in this dire€tion, that I ever saw,
was made at Plantation Bel Air many years ago.
An attempt was made to filter cane juice through
granules of two metals, such as iron and zinc, which were

DEFECATION OF CANE JUICE BY ELECTRICITY, 75

supposed to set up a galvanic aétion. The result was a
beautifully clear limpid liquid ; but alas! on application
of lime and heat this clear liquid was found to be subjeét
to the usual coagulation, and its beauty was therefore
due, chiefly, if not wholly, to the mechanical aétion of the
filtration it had undergone.

Subsequently, Mr. GILL, since dead, devised an appa-
ratus which was tried at Plantation Hague, and after-
wards, in 1879, at Plantation Caledonia, Wakenaam.

This apparatus consisted of an oblong wooden box,
which aéted as a bath to a sort of galvanic battery, con-
sisting of a square double box, each side of which formed
a V. This box was made of zinc and the sides were
smeared with a “ patent composition” made, apparently,
of a mixture of tallow, iron filings and some acid. The
juice was supposed to enter into this zinc box and to
percolate through sand under it, (it stood on four short
legs,) and then to be filtered through diaphragms made
of zinc, perforated in large holes, and covered with cloth.

This apparatus may have been a success in the labo-
ratory but was far too slow for a fa€tory. The sand and
filters may, perhaps, have caught impurities, but they so
impeded the flow of juice, that, in a very short time, the
bath filled up ; and the whole arrangement disappeared
in a sea of cane juice, and then everything came toa
stop till the apparatus was relieved.

Nevertheless, in spite of its defeéts, and notwithstanding
that a large portion of the juice was very imperfeétly, if
at all, treated by the eleétricity, sugar was, on one
occasion, made without the addition of any lime at all.
And, what is even more significant, some of this cane
juice, thus treated, was stored in the ordinary liquor vats

K2

76 TIMEHRI.

eS

of the distillery, and this liquor showed no signs of the
usual vinous fermentation, which, though undesirable
from a distiller’s point of view, shows that a radical
change in the constituents of the juice had been effeéted.
Unfortunately, the apparatus, with its sand and dia-
phragms, proved quite unworkable, and it was condemned ;
and I have heard no more of it.

The failure of this particular plan may have been due
to details which could be altered. It seems a pity to let
the question drop. If eleétricity will defecate cane
juice, surely the method of the application need present
no insuperable difficulties.

Mr. C. WILLIAMS, who watched the experiment with
Mr, GILL’s process, wanted to see if similar juice, with-
out lime, which had not been galvanized, would have
crystallized. He thought that the partial success might
have been due to an exceptional purity of cane juice at
that particular time, and was not to be attributed to any
ele€tricity at all. Unfortunately, the experiment could
not be tried, as the smallest pan on that estate was so
large, that failure meant a serious monetary loss.

It seems strange that there is no experimental faétory
in the colony, a laboratory where experiments could be
conduéted on a commercial scale—large enough to see
how new methods would work in the plantation factories,
and yet so small that failure should not cost so very
much. The expenses connected with a small fa€tory,
with a little pan, of half a ton or so capacity, would not
be very great; and they might, by arrangement, be
divided among all interested, namely, the proprietors of
sugar plantations.

Experiments on a large scale, even when successful, are

ee

.DEFECATION OF CANE JUICE BY ELECTRICITY. 77

very expensive. The careful weighings and measurings
keep back the work; and all the time wages and con-
sumption of fuel go on.

Attached to this small fa€tory might be a miniature
estate, of say 50 acres, laid out in plots, or fields, of an
acre or so each. In these plots questions conneéted with
agriculture, such as the best system of irrigation, the
values of different manures, the advantages of different
kinds of canes, and the possibility of obtaining fecundated
cane seed, could be solved; and in the experimental
fa€tory, experiments could be conduéted on such subjeéts
as new styles of mills, diffusion, different systems
of defecation, the aétion of various chemicals on the
juice, methods of evaporation, best ways of hanging
boilers &c., &c., besides all the questions conneéted
with the distillery. These questions, which are of the
very greatest importance to the welfare of our staple
industry, could be solved at small cost. As it is, planters
are groping more or less in the dark, deterred from
settling many matters by experiments, owing to the
great expense and risk attending them.

Rum.

By W. M. Miller.

‘Sone of the commercial produéts of the colony,
| the subject of this paper is one concerning
which but little has been written. It does
not even form a topic of conversation amongst the

planters. In reports on estate’s work it may have a few
lines devoted to it; but it is seldom that any genuine
interest is taken in it, either in its manufa€ture or in its
quality. The usual feeling is that the rum makes
itself, and does not require any looking after. The
molasses is diluted and the wash distilled; and if the
results are low, the molasses is blamed ; and if the rum
is bad, the distiller gets a reminder.

But in these latter days there has been a brightening
up of interest about rum. The Government meditate
new legislation; and home buyers are becoming more
fastidious owing to the quantities of continental root
spirit, called ‘‘Rum,” that are thrown on the English
market. This latter reason soon affects the manager of
the estate, and for some time there is continuous rubbing
of hands and sniffing, with more or less satisfa€tion—
generally less. The smelling business is not satisfac-
tory, and to those more initiated the dilution with water
seems uncertain. Altogether there is a general feeling
that something is wanted, like a polariscope for sugar,
that will give in a figure at once, whether the sample is
good, bad, or indifferent, But the polariscope only serves

Rum. 79

to pass or condemn non-chemical sugar, it, unfortunately,
cannot gauge the price of a yellow sugar.

We have the misfortune to cater to a fancy of
the most changeable type. So it is with rum. We
have to suit an unknown personal taste, and, let
us do our best, if we halve a sample, A. will laud it, while
B. will probably call it “‘ beastly stuff.” But the chances
are that B. does not know what a good rum is, as
the sniffing test is still fashionable; and we come
back again to the desirability of a ‘ polariscope,”
wherein B’s taste is the optical part that indi-
cates “beastly stuff.” In others words, if we had
such ready chemical tests as could permanently record
B’s taste in some fixed way, we should be able to avoid
shocking B., and at the same time to please A.

It is with the hope, therefore, that some universal
method may be introduced, not only here but by the
buyers also, sothat every one’s particular liking may be
recorded in figures, that I have come forward with the
following contribution to the subje€t. The “ everybody”
in this case is probably a few individuals in two or three
markets.

Another reason that should demand the more system-
atic analysis of rum is the desire to guard our produét
from being imitated by the Continental spirit. Unless
analyses of the genuine spirit be well known and widely
circulated, analysts would find some difficulty in distin-
guishing the genuine from the imitation.

In no book or paper have I met with any analysis of
rum. Writers content themselves with the mere
mention that Rum is the spirit obtained from the
fermentation of cane sugar molasses. BLYTH further

86 TIMEHRI.

gives the usual strength, and that it is always slightly
acid, about :5 per cent. (whatever that may be is
doubtful), and that the solid residue varies from *7 to
1°5 per cent. and the ash seldom more than o'1. ALLEN
goes a little further and says: “The chara€teristic
“ flavour of rum is due to the presence of ethyl butyrate
‘and formate.” He further gives the means by which
some tactitious rums are concoéted, and then mentions
that ‘‘the presence of formates might perhaps serve to
“ distinguish genuine rum from a fa€titious produét.”
Beyond the above, on rum proper, very little has been
printed ; but on the examination of spirits, mostly for
impurities, there is scarcely any limit.

The examination of the rum should take place on the
estate. Very little or nothing can be done after it
has left the estate. But first 1 may be excused if
I very briefly indicate some points that influence’ the
rum while it is still in the fermentation vats.

The usual custom here is to allow the fermentation to
proceed spontaneously, and if a return of 5 per cent. to
6 per cent. of 40 O.P. spirit be obtained from wash set
up at 1060 the result is considered satisfactory. It
may be interesting to calculate the highest possible. that
may be obtained, as the point is conneéted with the
proposed legislation, which requires that for every 5 deg.
of attenuation of the wash (water=1,000), three-fourths
of one gallon of proof spirit shall be obtained, There is
some uncertainty in the above requirements. Isit three-
fourths of a gallon measured at 80 deg. F. of proof
spirit that is required, or is it three-fourths of the
standard gallon that only exists at 51 deg. F. and weighs
9.2306 Ibs.? This is a matter, to the revenue at least,

—_—s-eC

OO a a a oF

' RuM. 81

that is of considerable importance, for the weight
of the gallon of proof spirit that exists at 80 deg. F,,
weighs only 9.109 lbs. The difference in the definition
between the gallon of water and the gallon of proof
spirit is, that, in the case of water, it is that volume of
water that weighs ro lbs. at 62 deg. F., while in the
case of spirit it is the gal/on of spirit that at 51 deg. F.
weighs 9°2366 lbs.

By dire&t experiment it has been found that on
fermentation the following results are obtained :—

100 parts Sucrose 100 parts Glucose

produce. produce.
Alcohol ... aaa Sn SI'it 48°40
Carbonic Acid ... at 49°42 46°60
Glycerine Re a 3°16 3°30
Succinic Acid... es 0°67 o'61
Cellulose, fat, etc. — 1'00 1'20

It will be noticed that 100 parts sucrose produce 105'36
in different bodies; as in the invertion of the cane
sugar, water (or the elements of water) is assimilated,
and the solution becomes denser.

If, therefore, a wash be set up with sugar at a density
of 1060, the density will increase to 1063 before
attenuation sets in. Which of these is the true “‘ originate”
density ? If the first, then the 3 deg. extra cannot be
claimed, nor its produ€étion of 0°47 gallon proof spirit per
100 gallons wash. And if the second, the question may
arise, when is the density of the wash to be taken ?

The same weight of sucrose or glucose will set wash
at the same density, but the return in the first case will
be much higher than in the second. To put it in
popular terms, suppose two vats set up at 1060, A. with
sucrose, and B. with glucose, and they both completely

L

82 TIMEHRI.

ferment. The ultimate density of A. would be 986°8
while that of B. would be 98774, and the return of A,
per 5 deg. of attenuation would be 1.19 gallons of proof
spirit (standard), and for B. 1.13, or a return of 17.45
per cent. proof spirit for A, and 16.74 per cent. for B,

This difference in the theoretical maximum is of
importance. To legislate with such divergence in the
standards, not to speak of the uncertainties, would at
least be confli€ting. One way by which to avoid this,
would be to calculate all sucrose into glucose and take
the increased density as the true original density. The
theoretical maximum would then be 1.13, and the govern-
ment requirements 66.37 per cent. of the theoretical
maximum. This figure seems a very fair one, and one
that should be very easily attained : and yet, in praétice,
during careful working, it has barely been reached.

In praétice, as before stated, it is usual to allow the
fermentation to proceed spontaneously. The addition
of sulphuric acid or ammonia sulphate does not in the
least start the fermentation. They may, or may not,
improve the wash and make it a more suitable medium for
the development of the yeast, but unless yeast in some
way gets added, the addition of any quantity of these
bodies can be of no use in starting fermentation.
During grinding operations little trouble is found in
starting fermentation through the addition, one way or
the other, of the highly fermentable washings and scums ;
but if distillation has to be conduéted by itself, after a
period of rest, the trouble in starting a good fermentation
and the low results, will no doubt be remembered by any
one who has had to deal with it. To find the reason of
this we must consider what fermentation is.

Rum. 83

Alcoholic fermentation is the change a saccharine
solution undergoes when the yeast plant developes in it.
Being a plant, yeast wants food very much the same as
other plants, and unless the foods are there it will not
develope. But every variety of plant has one special
soil best suited to it; and if it is our objeét to cultivate
any particular plant, it is to our advantage to give it the
food on which it flourishes best. Yeast requires carbo-
hydrates such as glucose, mineral matter in the form of
potassium phosphate with a little of the phosphates of
lime and magnesia, and albumenoid bodies which must
be in the soluble state. The reason why these foods
must be in the soluble state, is that the yeast only feeds,
as it were, through its skin.

In molasses, we have the carbohydrates and probably
sufficient alkaline phosphates, but the soluble albumenoids
are altogether wanting. It is owing to their absence that
fermentation is not readily started in molasses. In cane
juice, on the other hand, these albumenoids are in the best
assimilable state, and hence the rapid fermentation
that isso easily setup. We havehere a very easy means
then of establishing fermentation in molasses.

A little ‘“‘cush-cush” can be made at a moment’s
notice, which, when once ferménted, will serve to start
the vat. The yeast when once started has the power to
render soluble the insoluble albumenoids that exist in the
molasses, sothat the fermentation will then proceed of itself.

The advantage of establishing a vigorous and healthy
fermentation cannot be too strongly recommended. It
alone produces a pure alcohol. The languid insipid vat
is produétive of fusel oil, besides becoming an easy prey
to the aétion of deleterious ferments.

L2

84 TIMEHRI.

Yeast develops best in a slightly acid medium—this
acidity should not exceed 1 per cent.—and at a temper-
ature of g2 deg. F. If the temperature rises higher, its
power is weakened, while that of its enemy, the laétic
acid ferment, is increased. The laétic acid ferment
developes best in a neutral medium at a temperature of
112 deg. F., but if the acid amounts to 2 per cent. its
action is stopped. But, on the other hand, if the acid is
allowed to accumulate, mouldiness is set up.

The only means of escape then is to start such a
vigorous fermentation that the predominance of the
yeast will entirely obscure the harm done by the other
ferments or kill them to a great extent; for in fermen-
tation, as well as in everything else, it is only that
which is adapted to the environment that flourishes.

As it is in the beginning of the fermentation that the
la€tic acid ferment is likely to get a hold, the necessity
for quick starting of the alcoholic fermentation is
obvious. Towards the end both the alcohol and the acid
developed keeps it in check, but neither of these (the
alcohol and acid) restrain much the aétion of the acetic
acid ferment which begins to be very evident towards
the end of the alcoholic fermentation. The appearance
of a peculiar film on the surface of the wash indicates
the presence of a species of Saccharomyces that is busy
changing the spirit into acetic acid. It should be beaten
down under the surface where it cannot obtain the oxygen
necessary to destroy the spirit.

This is not the Acetic Acid ferment proper. It
developes throughout the whole wash and is quite a
different organism. It flourishes best at the same tem-
perature as yeast and is thus difficult to restrain,

:
:
|
|

—— oe

ee ee ee i ee ee

—

Rum. 85

but as it only appears after the alcohol is formed, much
damage by it may be avoided by distillation at once.

The butyric acid ferment feeds on the fatty matters
present. It is to the acid that this ferment produces, in
combination with the alcohol, that the flavour of rum
is partly due. The distillation of the wash should be
conduéted as regularly as possible. Any rapid increase
in the temperature forces over impurities that otherwise
should be retained by the reétifier. The temperature at
the exit of the reétifier should not exceed 180 deg, F.

The following bodies come over with the spirit.

1. Acetaldehyde.——This body boils at a temperature
69°8 deg. F. and constitutes most of the vapours that
come over at the starting of a distillation. Owing to its
solubility in alcohol and especially the peculiar property
fusel oil’ has of raising its boiling point, it, although
considerably concentrated in the “heads,” comes over
during the whole distillation. As regards its formation,
it may be produced at the expense of the alcohol, but I
am of the opinion that, in this particular case, it is formed
towards the end of a distillation, from the decomposition
of the la€tic acid, and passes into the low wines to
appear in the “heads” of the next distillation. It is
obvious then that if the ‘‘ heads” are run into the “ high-
wines” side, the rectification is in great part undone. It
possesses a pungent smell which is not altogether un-
pleasant. Its vapour is inflammable. Its presence in
rum can be indicated by many tests, but probably in old
rum it will all have become changed into acetic acid.

2. Ethylic formate and acetate.—The ethers—The
first of these bodies boils as 130 deg. F. It possesses
the delicate odour of peach-kernels. It is partly to this

86 TIMEHRI.

ether that rum owes its charaéteristic odour. Unfortu-
nately, coming over with the “‘ heads,” it has to be in a
great measure sacrificed for the produétion of a
pure spirit,

Ethylic acetate is always present in rum. It boils at
a somewhat higher temperature than the formate, but
under that of alcohol; it also comes over in the first
runnings. In a dilute state it has the pleasant smell of
fruit. It is not lost in keeping, and in a rum with free
acetic acid, the amount is increased.

Alcohol boils at 173 deg. F., and is a perfeétly colour-
less liquid at ordinary temperatures. Its other properties
are well known. Its aétion in strong doses is that of a
narcotic poison. Absolute alcohol is 75°25 deg. over
proof.

3. Ethylic butyrate, the remaining ethereal salt that is
found in rum, has a boiling point of 248 deg. F. It
possesses a pine-apple odour. It is made commercially
as a fruit essence, and constitutes the greater part of
“Rum Essence” used in manufaéturing faétitious rums.

4. The mixture of higher alcohols generally termed
“ Fusel oil’’ has a boiling point of about 266 deg. F.,
but not being a definite compound no exaét boiling point
can be fixed. It is a mixture in varying proportions of
propyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols, besides some oils of
high boiling point. The propyl alcohol boils at about
200 deg. and has a pleasant fruity smell ; butyl alcohol has
a most unpleasant odour and boils at about 227 deg. F.;
while amyl alcohol boils at a much higher temperature
and has a strong smell and burning taste. They are all
poisonous, amyl being the worst. Their intoxicating
effe€t is in the order I have taken them, amyl being

Rum. 87

fifteen times, and buty] five times, the strength of ordinary
ethyl alcohol.

5. Acetal is present in most rums to a very small
extent. In some no re-aétion was found. It, as well as
acetaldehyde, aéts, it is said, first as irritants on the
mucous membrane, and then on the nerves.

Exa& boiling points have been given for most of the
bodies enumerated above that are present in rum, but
that does not enable us by keeping one temperature to
separate one from all the rest. In a mixture of
bodies which are all in solution, the boiling points are, as
it were, blended into one another, and how much
one may be separated from another is fixed by
a definite law. Thus although acetaldehyde and
ethylic formate and acetate come over first in
greatest quantity, their presence is found in rum in
' which the “heads” were returned to the “ low wines 7?
and, on the other hand, although the temperature of the
rectifier never approached the boiling point of “ fusel oil,”
we have the misfortune to find it in the reétified spirit.
Most of the bodies enumerated give distinétive colours
when treated with strong clear sulphuric acid, and a very
good insight into the running of a still may be obtained
by this simple means.

Measure out 25 c.c. of the alcohol into a small glass
flask, and drop in 15 c.c. strong sulphuric acid. Pure
alcohol when treated in this way gives no colouration,
but the presence of aldehyde gives the solution a brown
colour, and the fusel oil a dark purple.

Tested in this way, the “heads” of a still give very
deep dark browns, which fall very quickly and give
place to a pink with a trace of blue; which continues till

88 TIMEHRI.

about the time when the “‘ low wines is cut,’”’ when there
is a sudden rise of colour, the dull purple predominating.
The white rum itself can be tested in this way, and fair
comparative results obtained.

Standard colours made from strong solutions of
chlorides of iron, copper and cobalt, will serve for yellow,
blue and red. The quantity of each taken to colour a
quantity of water, the same volume as the mixture of
alcohol and sulphuric acid, is recorded. The only diffi-
culty is in the use of the standard colours, and that I
hope will be overcome by the use of LOVIBOND’S tinto-
meter. This instrument is divided into two parts, in
one of which coloured glasses are put one after the
other, till the same colour is obtained as the sample
being tested, which is in the other. Both are viewed
through one eye-piece so that no defeéts in the optical
powers of the observer can influence the reading.
The glasses have certain values which can be transmitted
to paper direétly, and thus the exaét colour produced in
the rum can be recorded at once.

The uses of this instrument to persons employed on a
sugar estate are many. In the manufaéture of yellow
sugar it could be used for examining syrups and sugars,
and in colouring rum, it would be invaluable.

The testing of rums which are already coloured, with
sulphuric, of course cannot be done. It becomes first
necessary to distil it from the colours. This should be
done rapidly without the addition of any alkali, till all has
passed over that can, without burning, the first-third and
second-third being caught separate from the last. Halve
each ofthe thirds, and mix them, thiswill representtherum ;
and test the other portions separately. These separate

Rum. 89

portions will give further insight into the nature of the
rum. The colours produced are estimated as before.
“Colour” used for rum often introduces bitter bodies
that spoil the flavour, besides a considerable quantity
of free acid. White rum very seldom reaches 0.05
per cent. by vol. of (acetic) acid, while 0.25 per cent.
is not uncommon inacoloured rum. ‘‘ Colour’ before

being added to the white rum is composed as under.
¥: II. III.

Specific Gravity ... ses) 2 EP RUES 1°2775 . 1°2377
Alcohol des es. 9'904 10°400 10°720
Organic Matters ... «.» 62°462 60°128 47°432
* Mineral Matters... een SOSA. 6°372 4148
Water aes «ss 24°000 23100 37°700
* Soluble in water a0 axe (2°33! 4°3908 3°307

The results given in the table on the following page are
the analyses of Demerara coloured rums. The methods
used would not form very readable matter, but for those
interested I may mention that the ethereal salts have been
assayed by estimating the Barium salts of their acids ;
while the “ fusel oils’? were done by R@&SE’s method as
modified by STUTZER and REITMAIR. The volume of
Chloroform at a temperature of 80 deg. F. for pure,
30 per cent. alcohol, was found to be 22.1 c.c.

TIMEHRI.

90

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“AWN IOA Ad AOVINAONAd

‘SWAY GYXNOTOD VYVAUAWAGC AO SASATVNV

Note on Father Breton’s Carib-French Dictionary.

FROM THE “* ACTES DE LA SOCIETE PHILOLOGIQUE, 1883.”

Translated by Lady Chalmers.

HIS work comprises a French and Carib

Di&tionary, in which not only the words are
#7 given, but also many short phrases and
idioms, a little catechism, some prayers and several
pages of conversations in French and Carib.

Father BRETON resided in the Island of Dominica,
near Guadeloupe.

As the work does not contain any grammar properly
so called, I have been obliged to try to discover the
grammatical rules from the study of the text.

This study has yielded me the following results :—
That the French communicated with the Caribs at that
time by means of a Carib gators, the words of which
were Indian, but in which the grammatical rules were

singularly simplified in order to facilitate the study of
the language—precisely as the negroes speak at the
present day a French ga‘ozs, from which all grammatical
difficulties have been eliminated.

Galibi is a Carib diale&t. I find universally :—

That the plural of substantives takes the forms em,
um, num. Example—Ouekel:, man, ouekeliem ; maboya,
devil, maboyanum. The substantive is indeclinable.
The noun in the obje€tive is usually placed before the
noun or the verb which governs it. Example—The
daughter of Felix, Fe/ix ouolt, and not ouol: Felix
(Galibi). Give me a potato, napz (potato) amiarou
(give me). (Galibi).

M2

92 TIMEHRI.

The Personal Pronoun: Of this there are two forms,
the one making a separate word; the other annexed to
words, and not appearing except as a composite par-
ticle. I or me, as. As a composite: 22, x, ua. Example
—Iroupa, good, niroupati, 1 good am, or zroupatina,

good am I.

I, a0, ”, Ni. Thou, amanle, bi, b, Him, he, Z, Zi.
None, thee done lone
Noaria loaria
Nome bome lome
Nouago louago
oe, liem
la loman
Woa lia

lao
lao

I am unable to see whether the Pronoun is indeclin-
able, or appears in its various forms joined to a preposi-
tion which governs its relations with the other words of
the phrase.

The Possessive Pronoun.—Mine, thine, his, are
expressed as I, thou, him, in composition. Oxdoutou,
captain; zonboutou, my captain. Pronoun this, /2 £2.

The Verb.—It is still more impossible to gather from
the text of Father BRETON the ruies for the conjugation
of verbs than those for the declension of pronouns. I
can only give a series of terminations :—Zv7, etz, ati ;
elt, li, enli; em; enrou, enroukia; ba, bae, ca, cae
(Imperative forms) ; couaca.

It is evident that each of these terminations must
have a meaning, but in the text they are constantly used
interchangeably.

The only indication which I have found for the dis-
tin€tion of the aétive from the passive is the following :—

—— | ee ee ee

FATHER BRETON’S CARIB-FRENCH DICTIONARY. 93

To kill, root word apara; he who has killed, aparoutz ;
he who has been killed, aparououtt.

Every root word becomes a verb by the addition of a
verb termination. The negative is expressed either by
a separate word—oua, no—or by the addition to words
of a negative particle, m, ma, or fa. Example—
aparabae, kill, maparabae, do not kill. Do not
abandon me, is translated thus: 7% outa (to abandon)
pa (negative) da na (me, imperative form).

“And” is expressed by two words, aca which is
employed separately, £¢a which is put at the end of a
word. Example—/uyeu aca nonum, sun and moon;
huyeu, nonum kia, sun, moon and.

Prepositions.—It would be very important to distin-
guish these thoroughly. Probably, Father BRETON’S
diétionary explains them but imperfe€tly, and does not
give the meanings with sufficient precision :—By,
ovoman ; before, oubara; above or upon, Zao, louago ;
under or below, adou; more than, oaria; for, ztara ;
to (to such a place) ta, ka, bou, oman; there, zaim,
checm ; near to, zmalé, oman; a€tually, certainly, £,
ka, at the beginning of a word in composition, constantly
in use as a confirmative particle ; in vain, /ze; where,
allia, alliat?.

SOME WORDs.

Agouti, ilivou-alirou Baskets (various) bacalla, ouaroulli
Anger, erecou Battle, etoucou, aincoua
Arnatto, ollocamboui, chouvou- Beard, itiouma

couli, ematabi, cochehue, bichet Believe, trust, to, moinga

Arrow, bouleoua Be quiet! maniba
Asmuch, enoura Billhook, sabre, houehoue, cabou-
Avaricious, amoinbeti, akinti vane, chercha

Banana, dalatana Blood, timoinalou, ita

94

Bow, oubaba

Breast, teat, tibanatiri, tourt

Bring, to, eveva

Brook, stream, tipouliré

Buy, to, abeci.

Cabbage, taya, ouaheu

Caiabash, camoucoulou, commori,
tonton, matalou, huira

Canoe, couliala, oucounni hueri,
canoa

Captain, ouboutou

Captive, tamon

Cassava, aleiba, marou

Come, to, memboui, achilera

Come! hac, galibi caiman

Cotton,
ouamoulou

Courageous, benepeti

Cry, toulali, ayacouati

icallépoué, manhoulou

Cutlass, bouy ani

Dance, to, abinaca

Debauchee, hueve

Deliver, to, emeignoua

Devil, maboya, oumecou, couloubi

Die, to, icotama, lilarouni, lihue-
chetali

Dirt, mud, zallalz

Doétor or sorcerer, boye, agnoura-
cati

Drink, to, chinaim

TIMEHRI.

Fear, to, ¢inalz

Fire, ovattou

Fish, to, atica, atiaca

Fish, aoto

Foot, nougouti

Formerly, dinale

Funnel, manicoulaca, cataoli
Garden, (cultivated field) maina
Give, oman

Good, tvopou

Good day, abouica

Grate, to, ayara, akiara
Grandson, tvaheu

Groundnut, maniz

Hair, oueche, itibourt

Hand, zoucabo

Hatchet, Aouehoue, araoua

Herb, (medicinal herb) ztobou
Hear, to, acougnouca

Hoe, itonomi, atoullagle, chicouba
Honey, mamba

Hook, bait, keoue, ouboure

Hot, bacha

Hunger, illama, amine
Hurricane, storm, dointara, iouallou.
Hut, cabin, auto

I, me, ao, inara, noucouya
Jealous, emiinteti

Jest, to, alele

Jewel, eneca, tari

Dress, ornament, ixacouli, atacouli Leaf, aroubanna

Earth, monha

Enemy, etounoucou

Eye, enoulou, acou,

Fatigue, ichz

Father, baba, iouman, noucouchili

Father, grand, tamoucou, itamon-
lou, nargouti

Fast, to, enemat

Light, nimble, chouneti, mereti
Light, Aiati, okaali

Little, vaheu

Loose, abaouati

Maize, aouachi marichi

Make, to, aniva, achicaboui, ateca
Man, ouakelli, eyeri

Meadow, savannah, hoz

_ FATHER BRETON’S CARIB-FRENCH DICTIONARY. 95

Mistake, to, aboara

Mock, despise, chenocat

Moon, nonum, cati

Mother, ichanum

Mother, grand, inouti, naguetté

Mountain, ouebe

- Name, ieti, nivi

Night, Auetou, ariabor

Noun, oua

Oar, aboucouita

Other, amien

Papaw, ababaie aleule

Parrots (different kinds) coulehue,
alallarou, coulao, aballaoua,
herere, cecerou, onicoali

Peace, embouloui

Peril, acononi

Pitch, mani

Pot, tourae, tomalaca, ouchou

Potato, mawi, noule

Precipice, aconagle

Prick, sting, to, achara

Queyu, lap-apron, norire, nenoin-
goulou.

Quid, chike

Rain, conobo

Reside, live, tabiala

Rich, tibouinati

Road, ema

Rob, to, zalouca

Robust, dalipfegouti

Say to, avianga

Scarify to, apuitacoua

Sea, dalanna, balaoua

See, to, chemain, neupata, arica

Servant, abouyou

Shoot, stem, akecha

Sieve, manale, hebechet

Sister, iananti, nitou

Sky, oubecou

Slothful, cowardly, abaouati

Sleep, to, bavonca

Snake, hehue

Son, imacon, imoulou, itaganum,
traheu

Speak, to, avianga

Spirit, soul, zovanni

Stinking, kemere, tikele

Stone, tebou

Sun, hueyu, cachi

Tobacco, zouli

Thank, to, ayaora, (root) yao

Thou, amanle, boucoya, ibourra,
bi, b

Thy goods, aketaba

Tigers (different sorts) malacaya,
catcouchi

Tired, icomouloui, akinta

Tomb, zonamotobou

Tooth, zepa, ieri, nari

Tree, Auehue

Two, diama

Village, aote ; Galibi auto

Water, tona

Weeding-hook, chicoula, achar-
achi

Why, catouago, catitiem

Widower, moincha

Wild pig, dakira, boinke

Wind, bebeiti, nemecli

Witchcraft, sorcery, tachin, lou-
catabou, linharone.

Woman, female ovelle, in gen-
eral; wife, tabouite, ianni

Year, chirie

Yes, hanhan, iritelam, terei

Yesterday, cognale.

On the Upper Demerara River: About and Above
the Great Falls.

By the Editor.

SH] O much has been previously published by various
4} ~ writers concerning the Lower Demerara
River, that an apology would almost be
owing to colonial readers for the presentation of still
another account thereof.* This, however, is not the
case with the upper parts of the river. The Indian track
at Cumparu, leading across to the Essequibo above its
lower rapids, has long been a favourite track for travellers
by which more easily to reach the higher parts of that

river, and may therefore be regarded as well-trodden
ground; while to the Great Falls of Oruru-Mallali,
there have been frequent visits made, more particularly,
perhaps, by the various pastors conneéted with the
Mission Stations along the river. Of the distriێt above
the Great Falls, but little is commonly known, casual
visitors being altogether choked off either by the
inability to procure crafts above, or by the very great
difficulty of the long portage along which boats

* In his very amusing and interesting, though peculiarly hetero-
geneous, ‘‘ Chapters from a Guianese log-book,” a very detailed and
diffuse account of the Lower Demerara Distriét, below the Falls, is
given by the late Revd. C. D. Dance, to which work, the reader who
wishes to become familiar with the chief features and places of this
lower distri& is referred. It is to be regretted that more care was not
taken, in the department of Natural History at least, for the dissemi-
nation of more accurate information than is often to be found in the
pages of this otherwise praiseworthy work.

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 97

would have to be drawn—a difficulty due to the abun-
dance and sharpness of the rocks along the course,
and the slipperiness of the clay which is found
at the steeper parts of the portage, and which
seems to be kept in an uniform condition of mois-
ture by rain and vapour—not to speak of the necessity
of laying skids and clearing the track for pulling over,
such as would have to be done at any portage that was
but rarely thus used.

More than twenty years ago a special report on the
Demerara river was made by Mr. J. G. SAWKINS, one
of the Geological Surveyors of the colony, in which a
short description of the distriét above the Great Falls
apparently to a distance of about 35 miles, was given ; and
later on this was supplemented by an equally short report
by Mr. C. BARRINGTON BROWN, who had travelled over-
land to the Demerara from the Berbice river; but the
descriptions given were, in both cases, extremely meagre.
An account, embodying a more detailed description of
this district, to a point some distance beyond that reached
by the surveyors, may not therefore be without some
special interest.

The features presented by the lower portions of the
river, as in the tidal waters of the colony generally, are
extremely monotonous, the slightly elevated traéts
along the banks, such as those at the Sand Hills, Dora,
and Three Friends, where more or less abrupt clearings
are met with, affording quite a pleasing contrast with
the general charaéter. As one travels on, the
elevated traéts become more numerous, rising in some
places into hills, and the aspeét of the country is cor-
respondingly more pleasing, while some charming little

N

98 TIMEHRI.

spots, the sites of small settlements, delight the eye—
such as Paripe, where the slightly raised banks are
covered with short grass, lined or studded with low
spreading and richly green-coloured trees, among which
nestle groups of pi€turesquely thatched houses, of which
but glimpses can be caught at times between the
openings; while overhead tower cocoa-nut and acouyeroo
palms, with here and there dense clusters of the graceful
bamboo trees.

It is at Seba, however, 13 miles beyond Akyma where
the steamer stops, that the charming features of the
river culminate; and as seen from above, where
a sudden bend brings it into full view, the place is alto-
gether delightful. At the end of a long avenue of dark
water banked in by the high forest, rises, for more than
100 feet, the great rounded mass of rock sloping some-
what abruptly down from the middle. On the left side,
the river, which really bends away sharply, seems to
end direétly on the rock; while, on the right, it opens
out into a wide-curved bay arched round by the trees.
The bare rock crops out along the riverside, up to the door
of the neat-looking wooden house which occupies the
middle of the hill, and at the sides where several thatched
sheds give a very pi€turesque appearance to the scene.
Above and beyond the house, the hill rises, extending for
some distance, and covered with short green grass, on
which various domestic animals browse; while tall cocoa-
nut and acouyeroo palms, and immense mango and bread-
nut trees in the immediate background of the house, froma
magnificent bower to the little settlement. As a piéture
of peaceful and beautiful rusticity, the view is unsurpassed
by anything else to be found on the river.

— a

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 99

It is saddening to think of the vast change that has
come upon such a place as Seba since the days when
WATERTON trod the wilds of Guiana. Then it was a
busy centre—the official residence of the Post-holder,
and a rendezvous for the Indians: now there is but the
remembrance of its former glory.

When one considers the urgent need that exists for some
health resort within easy reach of the coast, it seems a
wilful negleét of opportunities to leave such a pecu-
liarly advantageous spot unused. Less suited for sucha
purpose than Arrisaro, (See Zimehri No. xv. [1889] p.
118), Seba yet gains an advantage in that it could easily
be reached by special steamer from town in one day,
and would be a most convenient resort for a short
holiday or change—if only for a week. From the
extent of the rock, which is gneissose granite, and the
grassy hill and slopes, a considerable amount of
exercise would be ensured—not to speak of the
hunting and shooting to be obtained in the forest
around. Splendid views of the surrounding country can
be secured from the top. Delightful trips could be
organised up the close-lying creeks, or along the
river to Tiger hill—a projection of granite and
greenstone, with large superficial accumulations of impure
ores of iron, on the West bank, some ten miles above—
where, from a height of about 380 feet, views of the low-
lying country are to be obtained; or a little further
on to Mallali, where the excitement of shooting the
rapids, though in this case of a safe kind, may
be experienced ; while bathing and fishing may be in-
dulged in to one’s heart’s desire.

For a comfortable change, however, more aecommoda-

N2

100 TIMEHRI.

tion would be essential than it is at present possible to de-
pend upon. The owner of the house might not be willing
to admit strangers; and from the exposed position,
camping in the open might not be beneficial forall. The
planting of a few more trees along the top of the
mound, would not only vastly improve its appearance, but
would secure a grateful shade from the intense heat of
the sun. From its situation, a settlement would be fully
exposed to the breeze, and its natural drainage would
necessarily be most efficient.

Our reminiscences of Seba, in spite of its delightful-
ness, were not altogether pleasant, for it was here, that
a wretched-looking sow ruined more than a dozen of the
birds’ skins that had been prepared. The specimens had
been placed in the sun to be dried, on a part of the bare
rock ; and while some of us were rambling over the hill,
and others were busy preparing breakfast, the pig came
upon the scene, and, all unnoticed fora long time, mangied
nearly the entire set, a few feathers only being left of
some and a wing or tail of others.. As they were
poisoned with arsenic, the poor brute must have suffered
considerably afterwards. ,

All along the river, through the rapids at Mallali, and
for some considerable distance above, the timber
which forms the great and almost the only trade
of the distri€t, is met with being floated down stream:
and occasionally a boat may be encountered in con-
ne€tion with the gold industry, which, however, has
not, up to the present, been of any importance on this
river, though Mr. GRAy’s placer at the head of the Appa-
paroo creek is still being worked and is said to give a
little more than enough to pay its expenses.

~ ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS, IOI

Above Mallali the land becomes, on the whole, some-
what more elevated, and the high banks afford most
pleasing sites for the various settlements, of which a
typical one may be found at Welbisirie-canally, some
16 miles above the rapids. In many places where the
land is low and swampy, the river bends and winds
in an extraordinary manner and adds considerably
to the distance to be travelled, though, if one’s
boat be small enough, the etaboos, or small forest-arched
water-paths which cut off these bends, afford frequent
opportunities of avoiding the extra pulling, and at the
same time give a very pleasurable change from the
open river.

At Mecropie, some 28 miles from Mallali, and at Derrire
about five miles further on, hilly ranges of from 250-300 ft.
abut on the river, and break the monotony of an even
forest line. Below Mecropie, and again at some little dis-
tance below the rapids at Cumparu, gravel banks are met
with, made up very largely of pebbles of celluloid iron
ore and ferruginous clay, mixed with trap and quartz
fragments. Between these points, the course of the
river, which is of a general northerly direétion, alters
suddenly, and for about twelve miles the flow is due
East, between two ranges of hilly traéts. Above
Cumparu, swampy land with numerous etaboos is
again encountered, till at about a little more than
jo miles from Akyma, elevated sandy plateaux begin
to line the river, forming the outer extension of the
rocky range of hills which stretch from the Mabooroo
mountain, and give rise to the long catara€ts commonly
known as the Great Falls of the Demerara.

Up to this point, the colleétion of natural history

102 TIMEHRI.

specimens made, especially after the accident at Seba,
was very scanty. Two of the rather uncommon brown
two-toed sloth (Cholepus didactylus), mother and
young, had been shot just within the opening of the
Manabadin creek; three specimens of the red-throated
chatterer (Pyroderus scutatus), had been procured
along the path at Mallali; three good specimens of night-
jars or goatsuckers, of an uncommon species, had been
obtained one evening at Mule-pen, opposite Derrire
Hill; while several of the beautiful red-backed hangnests
(Cassicus affinis) had been taken at various points along
the river, where they frequented the large trees in the
clearings with dozens of their long nests hanging
from the ends of the branches, Besides these, a few
of the large and handsome king-fishers (Ceryle tor-
guata and C. amazonica), and the large yellow-tailed
black bunyas (Ostinops decumanus), and other birds
which frequent the water-side, had been added to the
colleétion. The so-called bush carrion crows or bultata
(Lbycter americanus), which were constantly, to be
heard hoarsely and discordantly cawing in the high
tree-tops, and of which I particularly desired to
obtain specimens, never gave a good chance of a shot,
though they were frequently seen.

A very interesting form of the lizards, the Chalcis
(C. flavescens), had been obtained at Cumparu, together
with a ccecilian ; but, with the exception of these, scarcely
a reptile had been seen. The chalcis lizard is very
peculiar in appearance, being small and snake-like,
possessing two pairs of extremely minute limbs, in
which three digits are but barely represented by
minute divisions. The elongated tail is very easily

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 103

broken off, and the slightest rough handling seems to
cause the little animal to part with it.

Of inseét forms, the commonest noticed was the splen-
did, broad and blue-barred Morpho achilles, but the
specimens, where they were close enough to be reached,
were frequently so scratched and so much jagged on the
edges of the wings, as to be scarcely worth the trouble
of keeping. The common speckled Anartia, and about
equally common yellow Ca//idryas, were frequently to be
seen; while the lovely, black and green banded Uranza
leilus, and the black-barred white Papilio protesilaus,
occasionally flitted past us down stream.

The chief features of the vegetable life of the distrid—
those features which give the finishing touch, as it were,
to the more marked charaéteristics due to the natural
configuration of a country—were in themselves by no
means uninteresting, though to one familiar with the
river scenes of a tropical forest, they were, on the whole,
monotonous—except where the sward of a settle-
ment broke the line of forest by the waterside. Along
the swampy districts, the forest was composed of low and
densely crowded trees, among which the common water
mora, water wallaba, corkwood, etc., were abundant,
dotted here and there with various palm trees, and often
matted over with the thickly spreading coomaroo
creeper, brilliant with its pale mauve flowers. In the
higher distriéts, the gigantic mora, at times gorgeous in
its variously-coloured young foliage, towered above
all other trees by the waterside, among which trysil,
wallaba, dally, arrisouroo, hooboodie, etc., were frequently
to be distinguished, with the graceful manicole and other
palms peeping, as it were, through them. Scattered on

104 TIMEHRI.

eee

the branches overhanging the water, the red-tinted
flowers and foliage of the wild pines, and the clustered
inflorescences of various orchids, threw an air of gaiety
over the scene, and lovely groups of Batemannia,
Maxillaria, Epidendron, and more especially of cream-
flowered Brassavola and red-tinted Rodriguezia, which
often grew in dense masses, gatlanded the old branches, as
though they would restore some semblance of youthful-
ness to their host.

The petrology of the river bed, which so often in the
dry weather gives the most valuable indications of the
nature of the surrounding country, was almost entirely
indeterminable, the water being too high, a condition
which was unfortunately but intensified during the
remainder of the trip, owing to the heavy rains. All the
features of the rocks, such as the granite at Seba, and the
granite and trap rocks, with the abundant association of
ferruginous ores, such as at Tiger hill, Mallali, Mecropie
and Derrire, that were determinable, were already well
ascertained, and were indeed those that gave the most
marked charaéter to the country.

At the mission station and Indian village of Eneyu-
dah, charmingly situated on a sandy elevation of about
60 ft. on the West bank, about four miles below the
Great Falls, and where splendid views can be
obtained of the eastern bank, a camp was made, and the
great bulk of the stores etc., was deposited. One would
have imagined that at such a place, fowls, fish and
vegetables would be easily obtainable; but it was far
otherwise. No fowls were kept, even by the resident
schoolmaster. Fish was caught now and then, in aspas-
modic sort of way, occasionally a haimara, but generally

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 105

some wretched little objeéts that would tempt not even
a healthy appetite, but which, when boiled up with a
largely preponderating quantity of the inevitable peppers,
gave, just as the best fish also would only give, a highly
nutritious but exasperatingly hot mixture, that the
trained throat alone could regularly brave without flinch-
ing. As to vegetables there were none to be had, not
even a yam, a sweet cassava, a potato nor a plantain—
not even a sight of one anywhere !

The Great Falls of the Demerara river are very
beautiful, but as they have often been described, there is
no necessity for more than a passing notice of them
here. As seen from below, the view closely resembles
the Marchughi Falls in the Puruni river, a painting of
which is to be seen among the views of the colony in
the local Museum, but the surrounding lands of the
Demerara are higher. A central rocky but tree-covered
island separates two much inclined cataraéts of foaming
water, while on the western side there are other large
channels, around smaller islands, the courses of which are
hardly to be seen except by walking along the bank or
from close up to the basin. The banks on each side rise
sharply into forest covered hills, which form a
pituresque framing for the foaming cataraéts and rocky
islands. At the upper part, and for some 200 yards, the
water rushes along in one rocky channel, leaping down
by a series of small falls, and it is owing to the great
force of the water in some of these upper channels, where
the bed is narrowed between huge rocks, that it is im-
possible to haul up boats by water.

The barrier rock consists entirely of greenstone, the
junction with the granitic rock through which it has been

oO

106 TIMEHRI.

EE ——_———— —— ——— —

forced, being very clearly shown in parts below the
falls, and more particularly in a broad mass by the basin
on the eastern bank. Here the dike rock is extremely
fine-grained, closely resembling petro-silex, and it is
seen branching out in veins along the lines of fraéture
of the granite, whose felspar crystals are of a delicate
pink colour.

Fortunately for us, several woodskins, belonging to
Indians who were then staying at the Mission, were to
be obtained at the upper end of the portage; and we
were thus saved the trouble of hauling our boats through
the forest—a proceeding that would have entailed quite
a day’s extra work, owing to the very bad condition of
the track, and the amount of making up and clearing that
would have been unavoidable.

Above the portage, the banks of the river are formed
by high hilly traéts, covered with tall forest trees, among
which magnificent specimens of mora, greenheart, crab-
wood, arrisouroo, siruaballi, etc., are to be found; and
it is not until the wide mouth of the Hooroowa creek, on
the East bank, is reached that the change to low and
swampy land becomes pronounced. The Hooroowa is said
to lead into the Coorabaroo creek, which runs into the
main stream at some little distance below Mecropie hill,
some 20 miles down, and thus affords a means of avoid-
ing the Great Falls in journeying to the upper reaches of
the river. Soon after passing the Hooroowa creek, a
large lake-like opening is met with, commonly known by
the name Aponbaroo, which is said to be the haunt of the
muscovy ducks in the dry weather, and where, indeed, high
as the water was, three or four of these birds were unex-
pectedly startled from among the trees at the entrance.

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS, 107

All along this distri€&t of the river and for some con-
siderable distance upwards, the banks are low and
-clayey, and the whole country becomes swampy, the forest
growth being generally of the kind charatteristic of
such regions. Even where the banks are slightly
raised, the land within sinks into low-lying distriéts,
which in times of pronounced dry weather may possibly
be uncovered by water, but which now were inter-
se€ted by the etaboos which are so common in such
distri€ts, especially where the course of the river is
winding and irregular. Here game was quite unobtain-
able; and the Indian huntsmen that were brought up
from the Mission for hunting parposes, constantly returned
empty-handed.

It was at a camping place in this swampy distriێt, some
16 to 28 miles above the Great Falls, that, for the first time
in my travelling expeditions, I experienced the sensation
of being surrounded by almost a constant glow of light
from various forms of fire-flies. Waking late on a pitch-
dark night, I was utterly astounded for the moment by
the almost continuous flashing of the lights, the sizes of
which were out of all proportion to the bodies of the
small fire-flles commonly found on the coast. At three
separate times during the night, I made attempts to pro-
cure specimens, under the impression that at last,
I had alighted upon examples of the magnificent
Hemipterous lantern-fly, Pulgora lanternaria, which
MADAME MERIAN, in her unique description of the
inse&ts of Surinam, so carefully figured and des-
cribed; but in each case I was compelled to recognise,
instead, specimens of the Coleopterous forms, such as
Pyrophorus, Aspidisoma, and Photinus, though, owing

02

108 TIMEHRI.

to the swamp, over which they hovered in myriads, not a
single specimen was procurable.

Earlier in the trip, at Mule-pen, where a camp was
made one night, luminous forms of larvz, one quite small

and the other elongated, in all respeéts similar to the .

flattened larve of many of the Lampyridz, were procured
in the grass late in the evening ; and as at the same time,
adult specimens of two species of the Aspzdisoma fire-
flies were taken at the same place, it seems conclusive
that these were but the related stages of larve and
imago, especially as no other form of firefly was noticed
in the neighbourhood. The larve were luminous at the
terminal segments of the abdomen, and were peculiarly
flattened, and furnished with an extremely expanded
and shield-like thorax, quite covering the head. The
two species obtained were the small Aspzdisoma ignttum,
with its lateral, oval, yellow areas, one on each elytron,
and the large and dark-coloured Aspidisoma dilatatum.
A third species, A spzdisoma maculatum, which is common
on the coast, was not noticed in the distrift. The genus
is rendered very peculiar by the expanded and shield-like
thorax and elytra, which proje& considerably on both
sides; and it may thus be readily distinguished from
the other Lampyridz. The luminous form of the
spring-beetles, such as Pyrophorus, in which the larve
are luminous along all the segments of the body, and
the adult on each side of the thorax and at the basal
anterior part of the abdomen, cannot, of course, be
confounded with the members of this family.

At the time of Mr. BARRINGTON BROWN’S visit in
1872, an Indian village, Orura-cobra, was situated at
about three bends above the Great Falls, but it has long

eee ee ee ee ee a

eS ee a ee

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 109

been forsaken, there being no vestige of it now remaining;
and until the Booboo creek, which is situated some 20-25
miles further up, is reached, no settlements are met
with. At about some to or 12 miles from the falls, a
small clearing, Wakakobi, is found on the East bank,
where there are two or three benabs, with some plan-
tain, papaw, pepper and pumpkin growing, and with
paths leading to a cassava-field aback; but this has
lately been deserted, and is doomed soon to be over-
grown by the forest, just as is now to be perceived at
another less recently deserted settlement, Karawa,
about. some 8 or 10 miles further on, on the West bank,
whete the bush has already taken over a great part of
the clearing.

It was at this latter place that a very memorable
encounter with chigoes (Pulex penetrans) took place.
All unsuspicious of such creatures, we had entered the
old deserted houses and examined the various old imple-
ments that had been left about, and it was not until some
little time after, when one of the men had entered and
almost immediately had felt chigoes and fleas on his bare
feet, that the cry of ‘‘ chigoes” was raised, and a stam-
pede ensued. Owing to the long time that the little
pests had had to penetrate into our canvas shoes, woollen
socks and flannel trousers, an enormous number had
accumulated, and for the greater part of the day gave
occupation for their riddance. So painstaking was
the search, that but one or two escaped notice, and
remained to be picked out at a later day. The most
unpleasant aspeێt of the case, however, was the uncer-
tainty as to the part of one’s body that the little pests
might penetrate, since as they were many of them at

110 TIMEHRI.

large in the boat, their opportunities were by no means
limited to one’s feet.

In this neighbourhood too, a magnificent green Boa
was obtained. It was noticed by one of the boatmen,
who by nature seemed to possess a wonderful faculty
for perceiving snakes among the bushes as the boat
passed by, and in places where it often required close
search ere any other person could dete& them. Inthis case,
it was particularly difficult to perceive the snake which
was but a green body lying across the green bushes
overhanging the river side. The markings of the species
are most handsome and striking: the body being of a
deep and vivid green with a series of transverse, narrow,
sometimes diamond-shaped, yellowish-white areas, ar-
ranged like a mosaic along the back, and outlined by
a darker green fringe; while the large ventral scales
are of a pale cream-white colour, and the lower
part of the sides of the body are of a bright yellow,
spotted with green. The edges of the upper and
lower lips are yellow, and lined by a series of deep
pits, giving a peculiarly open appearance to the sides
of the head; and the eyes are greyish-brown, with
a slit-like transverse pupil. The snake is known to
the Indians by the name of ‘‘ Wyopomoi.”

About the same time, another specimen of the same
species, had been obtained, as I afterwards learnt, at the
Morawhanna passage in the North-West Distriét, and
was brought to the local Museum by Mr. J. F. A. RAw-
LINSON, who accompanied His Excellency the Governor
to the Distriét. This specimen has been since then, and
is still, exhibited alive in the Museum. It is curious that
the markings on this snake are almost identical

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. Ilr

with those found upon another rare Boa to be obtained in
the colony, in which the ground colour, however, is of a
brilliant red. A specimen of this latter had been shot, in
the early part of the year, while coiled in a tree along the
Mahaicony, but it had sunk in the creek ere it could be
grasped; and Mr. T. C. DUGGIN of New Amsterdam
had previously presented a specimen to the Museum
from the Upper Berbice river.

WATERTON had noted long ago that snakes were plenti-
ful along the Demerara river, and though he refers only
to the distri€t between the coast and Seba, yet it seems
equally, if not more, applicable now to the distrié&t above ;
for while we encountered but one, and that a small and
harmless one, below Cumparu, we frequently came across
them, and often poisonous ones, along the higher reaches
of the river.

At Eneyudah, one morning, just at daybreak, a large
bushmaster (Lachests mutus) was dete€ted lying across
the path down the hill to the waterside, but before it
could be killed, it had crept into a thick and close
bushy cover, in which it proved hopeless to find it. On
another occcasion while we were engaged in looking for
a bird which had been shot by the water-side, at
the foot of this bushy cover, a medium-sized labarria
(Trigonocephalus atrox) was encountered and killed,
and its skin utilised for the colleétion. Just above
Wakakobi, two red, but harmless, colubrine snakes,
about six or seven feet in length, were discovered and
shot—one while coiled upon a branch, and the other
apparently struggling with some ground bird which was
making a fight for its life; while a little further on,
a common black-tail (Spzlotes variabilis) was shot

112 TIMEHRI,

among the bushes overhanging the water, but was lost
in the river. At a camping-place ‘just below Karawa, a
young labarria had scuttled away almost from under our
feet, as we wandered in the forest in the early morning ;
while yet another labarria, on another occasion, had
been disturbed among the débris under a spreading semito
vine that covered the bushes by the houses at the same
settlement. Some time later on, yet another specimen
was secured—this time a large and rare colubrine,
8 or g ft. in length, and known to the Indians by the
name “haimarara.”

In the neighbourhood of the deserted settlement of
Karawa and upwards, the land becomes higher, with
steep clay banks, and at about three miles further on, at
Pongabi, on the East bank, where some years ago there
was another Indian settlement, large masses of granitic
rocks (syenite) rise above the river. Just above this,
the Booboo creek opens on the West bank. Along this
creek there is a large Indian village, situated on a hill,
and reached by a winding road, about a mile in length,
from the creek mouth, but of whose proximity, hidden
away as it is in the forest, the casual traveller along the
river would be absolutely unaware. The three settle-
ments, Ichiderie, Sarabaroo and Atakapara, which are to
be found higher up, are also similarly situated, and there
is nothing at the various creek openings to indicate their
existence.

Booboo appears to be a thriving settlement, plea-
santly situated, and with fertile land in its vicinity.
Extensive cassava fields, and splendid clumps of banana
and plantain trees which almost surround the village, give
an air of plenty that is but seldom an apparenti eature of

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 113

an Indian settlement. Numerous hilly ranges traverse the
distri€t, being, on the one side, the southern extension of
the Mabooroo range, and on the other, the northern spurs
of the Wahmara mountain. Animal life seemed to be
plentiful in the distriét, and on each occasion of our visits
to the village, we were able to procure pieces of abouyah
or of deer, which were being babracoted.

Not far above Booboo, the site of the old settlement of
Muniparoo, is passed on the East bank. This place
appears to be identical with the Anaimapeur of Mr.
BARRINGTON BROWN, and the Kunimapoo of Mr.
SAWKINS. It was somewhat perplexing to find that the
names of places obtained from the Indian huntsmen,
and taken after numerous repetitions, often differed very
greatly from those given by each of the surveyors, and
sometimes to such an extent as to make it almost im-
possible to collate them ; and this difficulty was intensified
by the faét that many of the distin€tive, physical features
of the river, which were apparent during the peculiarly dry
season when Mr. SAWKINS visited the distriét, were now
entirely obscured by the swollen state of the river, owing
to the heavy rains which fell almost regularly during the
greater part of the days, and more especially throughout
the remainder of the expedition.

Along this upper distriét, the indications of animal
life were markedly more numerous and interesting
than below the Great Falls. Often by the waterside
the trampled bushes told of the maipurie or tapir
(Tapirus). At frequent intervals, the continuous roaring
of the howling monkeys (Mycetes), or the curious
whistle-like cry of the quata or spider monkey (Afe/es),
told of their near presence; while not infrequently the

P

114 TIMEHRI.

little squirrels, of the common South American species
(Sciurus zstuans), slid lightning-like down the branches
of the trees by the waterside, as though in a great hurry
to place themselves out of sight and out of range. In
the forest, as already mentioned, species of deer (Carz-
acus and Coassus) and peccary (Dicotyles) were obtain-
able, though our lazy and wellnigh worthless Indian
huntsmen, who had been recommended to us by the
schoolmaster at the mission station at Eneyudah, came
invariably empty-handed from the chase. The common
little grey river bats (Rhynchonycteris naso), which are
always to be seen during the day suspended like fungous
growths from the under sides of the stumps and thick
branches overhanging the water, flitted on our near ap-
proach from shelter to shelter; while at night, other
species, and among them the blood-sucking bat or
so-called Vampire (Desmodus or Phyllostoma), which
now and then shewed himself by an operation on
somebody’s toe to be the true “colony doétor,” as he
is commonly termed, wheeled backwards and forwards
about the camp.

The birds were, on the whole, considerably more
abundant, though, of many of them, the cry alone
gave indication of their presence. The rare yellow and
red-headed vulture (Cathartes urubitinga) circled high
overhead, or rose, at times, from his feast on some putres-
cent matter by the waterside. Various species of hawks,
(Elanotdes, Hypotriorchts, Acctpiter, etc) at times
crossed the river, or perched on the high dead branches
along the banks. The great green-winged, blue and red
macaw (Ara chloroptera), sometimes, and various species
of parrots, constantly, crossed shrieking hoarsely over-

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 115

head, and generally high out of range. In the forest around,
the puppy-like yelping of the toucans, and the loud
drumming of the wood-peckers, rang out at all hours of
the day—at times so loud indeed were the peckings of the
red-necked woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollts) that
it was difficult to imagine their conneétion. The swallow-
winged barbet (Chelidoptera), whose constant perches
are the tips of the high dead branches by the waterside,
the red-bill (AZonasa), the lovely yellow and red-breasted
species of trogons, and the equally lovely jacamars, with
species of tree-creepers, cuckoos, bush shrikes and tyrant
shrikes, hang-nests, tanagers, king-fishers and humming-
birds—at rare intervals, the brilliant Karabimiti or King
humming-bird (Topaza pella)—were by no means un-
common in the branches overhanging the water.

On all sides, the greenheart-birds (Lathria cinerea)
incessantly rang outtheir piercing ‘‘pi-pi-yo.” High over-
head, hidden away in the branches, the bultatas shrieked:
and the bare-headed chatterers or quow-birds (Gymnoce-
phalus calvus) bellowed, with a sound as though
from a herd of oxen grazing in the forest. The notes
of this last bird are astonishingly loud, but when
heard from a distance, through the forest, they are
remarkably like the more musical sounding of the campa-
nero (Chasmorhynchus niveus), and might often be
mistaken for it.

The reptiles met with have already been referred to ;
and the inseéts, in all respeéts, were identical with those
species found lower down.

For several miles above Booboo, the current of the
river is extremely strong, and the banks become
elevated and rocky as the Wahmara mountain range is

P2

116 TIMEHRI.

oo nr lll et

approached. The forest growth on these higher lands
takes on noble proportions, gigantic mora trees, with
greenheart, dally, trysil, crabwood, arrisouroo, wallaba
etc., being seen in all dire¢tions.

At the Wiribaroo creek, where, on the West bank, a
cascade is found—the water rushing and roaring down
a steep incline—the river flows for some distance due
West, with a very heavy current, over an inclined bed,
where evidently in the dry weather a set of rapids must
exist. Until the range of hills is passed, the same heavy
current is encountered, accelerated here and there at
wide intervals, where the various creeks join the river, as
at Embibaroo, on the East bank, where another cascade is
met with, and at the Sackabaroo and Oobaroo creeks, also
on the East bank, some miles further on. The gravel banks
and rocks, which, at these points, are said to produce rapids
in the dry weather, were now quite covered, but the im-
pure ironstone which forms the great, if not the entire bulk
of the Wahmara range, was seen on all sides.

At a short distance above the Sackabaroo creek, the
road which is said to lead out by the Akaiwanne creek
on the Essequebo river, is met with. There appears to
have been several paths formerly used to cross over to
the Berbice. Mr. SAWKINS mentions one from the
Oobaroo creek, which, at the time of his visit, had been
abandoned for another lower down, by which the distance
was less ; while Mr. BROWN, four years later, crossed over
from the Berbice by the Itaburro creek—a name that was
not recognised by the Indians with me. From the context
in the report, the Itaburro creek would seem to be identical
with the large Oobaroo creek, though there is now no
village of Paintecobra to confirm the identification.

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 117

It was just below the Sackabaroo creek that the
large “ Haimarara” snake was procured. Coiled as
it was among a thick bushy tuft, where the tail alone
was visible and was mistaken for the front of the body,
the snake seemed quite small, and it was only after it
had been struck by a charge of No. 6 shot, and it had
fallen into the water, that its real size was perceived.
Being but slightly damaged by the fine shot, it swam
vigorously ; and for some little time there was a con-
siderable degree of excitement—on my part, lest the
snake should escape; and on the men’s, lest it should
attempt to enter the woodskins, as they warily, and
quite inefficiently, paddled under the overhanging
branches to intercept its course. The Indians at once
recognised it as “ Haimarara’—‘ bad, bad snake’’ they
declared ; but a good view shewed me that, at any rate
as regards poison, it was a perfectly harmless species,
and I was thus able to grasp it and secure it, against the
most earnest remonstrances from the men. A chance
gash which I received from its teeth, while uncoiling it
from a branch under water, around which it had coiled on
being seized, proved to the men that it was really harm-
less, though they were at first inclined to believe that I
had taken something to prevent snakes from harming
me. Though destitute of poison, the reptile was capable
of infliéting a very severe bite, and its hindmost maxillary
teeth, especially, were very large and curved. Its Indian
name is evidently taken from the resemblance of its
markings to those of the fish (Haimara), but the dark cross
bands are more distinét and paired, and the ground colour
is yellowish-brown, not silvery.

Above the Oobaroo, the banks are quite swampy, and

118 TIMEBRI.

covered with a low forest growth; and the river winds
considerably, with etaboos in all dire€tions. About a
mile or two above, a large lake-like expanse is passed on
the East bank, leading by numerous etaboos into the
river ; and across this, through a narrow channel, the
landing of the Ichiderie settlement is reached. The
settlement is quite a small one, not of Accawois, but of
Macoosis, with the distin€tive round, conical-roofed
houses, which here were shut in at the sides by large
pieces of bark. It is situated on a high hill, of which a
very fine view is obtained further up the river.

This whole upper distriێt, for a very considerable
number of miles, seems to be nearly continuous swamp,
covered with a low, almost bushy, growth—“ Serabébé,” it
was termed by the Indians with me—most monotonous in
its character, but giving a very distin€tive facies in contrast
with high forest which so completely obstruéts the view.
Here and there, a flowering water mora, water wamara, or
corkwood tree, broke the horizon of green almost uniform
except where small hilly tracksrose. These were generally
the sites of old deserted settlements. Such are Awiebarie
and Wokabouyaqua below the Sarabaroo creek, and
Omiaqua and Mosocorie below the Atakapara.

Over the greater part of the course, the river runs with
a strong current, narrowing at intervals to from about
15-25 yards, and then again widening out to more than
twice that extent, and not infrequently with large lake-
like openings atthe sides, the greater part of which are
said to be uncovered in the dry season. Two such
expanses, of very large size, are met with above the
Sarabaroo creek, and are known as Enwogo-popa and
Monima-popa. :

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 119

The river seems to be extremely shallow in these
reaches ; and opposite the Sarabaroo creek, from what
the Indians relate, it becomes reduced in the dry season
to mere traéts among sand and gravel banks, over which
boats would have to be drawn. Owing to the high
water in the distriét, the courses of the various creeks
and etaboos were most difficult to follow, and at the
Sarabaroo creek, some 8-10 miles above Ichiderie, and at
the Atakapara creek, at about the same distance further
on, it often appeared to me as though there were no
pathway at all along the creek.

The settlement on the Sarabaroo creek is situated ona
hilly traét, about a mile from the river-side, and is made
up of about 8 or g houses where some 16 people reside.
The houses are surrounded by a very flourishing
growth of plantains, cassava, sweet potato, yams, etc.,
but the settlement seems to be decreasing in size,
to judge by the number of empty and negleéted
houses about it,

The settlement on the Atakapara creek is scarcely
half a mile from the river, and is now the last in this
distri€t, though formerly there were several others con-
siderably further up. There seems to have been a general
tendency on the part of the Indians towards migration
to the lower distri€ts, and several sets of families seem
just now to have concentrated themselves at Atakapara,
where they are grouped in three separate places, about a
quarter of a mile apart, and together making up
a large community. Each of these divisions of the settle-
ment consists of several houses, some of which are of
immense proportions both in height and area, though
inhabited by but two or three people, One of these

120 TIMEHRI.

large houses, whose owner happened to be absent at
the time, was assigned to us for our use.

In the part of the settlement furthest from the river,
where the greater number of houses was situated, it was
somewhat of an experience for me to find myself an objeét
of special curiosity—if not of dread—to the younger
members of the community, who before we had emerged
from the forest, had been engaged in some game, their
voices being heard from a distance in a loud, but by no
neans unpleasant, chant, mingled with clapping of hands
and the sound of whistles, etc. My advent was the
signal for an immediate stampede, and during the whole
of my stay, they were hidden away behind the bushes,
evidently peeping, for as I changed places, they
dodged about accordingly. Of the older people, some
remained to receive us; but the others, and chiefly the
women, both young and old, walked quietly and quickly
away to the back of the houses.

It was noticeable, however, that on the next day they
were much less shy. The younger people, though again
in hiding, yet laughed and talked aloud to each other so
as to be heard, while a few remained in sight, but always
at a distance. Possibly this was the result of my having
given a few biscuits and a bright four-penny piece to a
sick boy whom I had found the day before in one of the
houses, and showing him the details of my bush-knife
with all its various parts of saw, file, punch, corkscrew,
measure etc., and also the mechanism of the breech-
loader and the cartridges, and the use to which an empty
cartridge could be put in producing a very loud and
clear whistle. No doubt in a day or two, to judge from
their increase of friendliness, we should all have been

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 121

on very good terms in spite of the bearded face which
seemed to be the chief obje¢tionable feature.

A very considerable number of tame birds were to be
seen about the different parts of the settlement, but they
were chiefly parrots, though a few blue sackies (Tanagra
episcopus) and two or three species of woodpeckers were
noticed. Here also was the most grotesque-looking bird
that it has ever been my lot to see. This was a green-
winged, blue and red macaw (A. chloroptera), whose
feet, whether from injury, paralysis or rheumatism, were
perfeétly useless to it, and the bird lay with one side on
the ground, moving forwards by hooking its beak in the
earth and pulling therewith, and helped on by its wings
which it used as crutches. Now and then, from the more
powerful stroke of one wing, it rolled from one side
to the other, this being accompanied by a series of hoarse
caws, as though it were chuckling at its awkwardness.
Its futile attempts to keep pace with, and to accompany
a blue and yellow macaw (A. ararauna) that waddled,
and climbed about the place, were really astonishing.

The spirit of hospitality with which we were received
when we entered the first house, where some of the
women had betaken themselves, was certainly note-
worthy. One woman busied herself in reaching and
placing on the ground before us large pieces of cassava
bread in a basket and the pepper pot; while another
procured casirie which she held out to each one in turn, if
it were not passed round. This had been the case also
at the lower settlement of the Accawois at Sarabaroo and
of the Macoosis at Ichiderie; but lower down, more
within the reach of civilisation, nothing had been brought
out unless one of the party had asked for it. At all the

0

=~

122 TIMEHBRI.

settlements, I had found the casirie to be very pleasant in
flavour, especially when the coarser parts had been
allowed to subside—and indeed its bluish-pink colour
prepossesses one in its favour—but as to the paiwarrie !
the less said the better, at any rate about the drink made
on this particular occasion !

In one of the houses in the immediate vicinity of the
one assigned to us, great preparations had been, and
were being made, as | found on the evening of arrival,
for a paiwarrie-drink on the next day. Three large
corial-like troughs and several stone-jars and stoppered
cassava vessels, were filled with the liquid, and the women
in the house were constantly pouring out, mixing, pouring
back, and adding fresh liquor from the pots on the fire.
Only a small quantity of the cassava had been chewed,
and this it seems is generally the case, the boiling being
evidently found to be a much more expeditious way of
preparing the drink, though produétive of an inferior
article.

Early next day, the drinking had begun, but there was
no special ceremony about it. The men lay in hammocks,
or sat about singly, or in groups, and the women, with
few exceptions, without intermission, carried the drink to
one after another, in large calabashes which were drained
before being returned. The women at intervals, after
having made a round, themselves drained the bowl.
Certain men, who possibly were known to be great
drinkers, and were therefore more favoured on that
account, were much more frequently tended than the
others, and these were the very ones who at frequent
intervals gave vent to the most noisy eruétations—the
sounds of which appear to bea constant accompaniment

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 123

of the early stages of the drinking, Later on this seems
to give place to aétual vomiting in proportion to the
quantity taken, and repeated with successive potations,
as we found to our cost during the succeeding
night, when one of the Indian huntsmen who seemed
at least to equal the greatest drinkers of the settle-
ment, constantly, in spite of repeated protests, came
in the near neighbourhood of our bouse to disgorge,
thus relieving, and at the same time fitting, himself for
further draughts.

Now and then a few clapped their hands, at the same
time stamping and bursting out intoa sort of chant; but
there was only a running chaff with frequent laughter
during the greater part of the time. This seemed
to be at its loudest when, on entering the house,
I either refused the drink or but touched it with my lips
after having once partaken of it, while the women still
held it to my lips as though to compel the draught.
Their proceedings were evidently most irregular, owing
to our presence, and the distraétions which we introduced,
evidenced by their breaking up at intervals to watch the
catching of butterflies with the net, the shooting of wood-
peckers in the trees around with the breechloader, the
placing out of the prepared specimens in the sun to dry
when the rain held over, and more especially the skin-
ning of birds by the taxidermist—seeing us off when we
set out in the morning to shoot beyond their cassava
field, and later on when some of us started for the higher
part of the river.

The cassava field was of enormous extent, and plan-
tain, banana, yams and sweet-potato, were scattered
about it. Large macaws and the quow-birds were

Q2

124 TIMEHRI.

heard in the forest around, but only one of the latter
was obtained. At the settlement itself there was little
to be had except the commonest of Indian utensils and
fittings. A fowl and some babracoted haimara were
bought, and this but incited an offer of eggs, which,
to my extreme disgust, turned out to be in an advanced
stage of incubation.

It was amusing to study the numbers that gathered
along one side of the house at various times during
the day, and especially during breakfast and dinner, when
they sat and watched the process of eating. Evidently,
the spoons, knives, forks, plates, etc., were new to many
of them. With the exception of two of the men, they
asked for nothing, however; and when something had
been given to a few of the party who then departed, the
others only waited as though for their ownturn. One
of the men who had been at a wood-cutting grant, and
who spoke a little English, made himself a perfe€&t nuisance,
and when but scant courtesy was shown him, made
attempt to retaliate by asking for rent of his house. As
the day before, on our arrival, we had been given the
house because the owner was absent, I was able to deal
with him satisfa€torily, and on informing him that the
woman who had assigned us the house would receive
a gift, he fortunately rid us of his presence for the
rest ofthe time. The. other man, with but a few words of
English at his disposal, wanted a little of everything that
he saw; and but for a casual drink of quinine, for some
of which he begged on seeing me take it, he might have
been even a greater nuisance. As he saw me toss
mine off at once, he did the same, on my representing
it, to the dose that I gave him in a little water, and luckily

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. ~—125
ah 8 ho Le
this proved sufficient, for he never came back to ask for
anything more.

During the evening, while the paiwarrie was being
finished, there was a more or less continuous, monotonous
chanting, which we in vain attempted to stop by singing
boating songs at the top of our voices: but before mid-
night, it was all over, and only the occasional departure
of our huntsman from the house, groaning as he went
out, under the aétion of the paiwarrie, disturbed the
quiet of the night.

It was not surprising to me that this man had become so
upset, for during the day he had literally swilled himself
with the drink; and quite early when we started for the
upper distriێt above Atakapara, he had been left behind,
being considered unfit to be carried in the woodskin.

The distri€t around the settlement is but slightly
raised above the general level, and when the river and
the creek are swollen to their highest extent, a great
part of it must be under water. Along the river, the
same condition prevails, and the swamp is covered with
the same low growth that characterises it lower down.
The sites of old settlements, such as Korokong, Tapa-
quia, etc., are met with in the neighbourhood of various
openings and creeks, but they are now quite overgrown,
the landings only being more or less distinguishable.
On the East bank, some miles above, the growth becomes
quite bushy and sparse, and grassy land begins to line the
waterside, and this savannah-like chara€ter is found until
the Morokparoo creek is reached, at about some six
miles from the settlement, and on the East bank.

At the mouth of the creek, the river opens out
into a large lake-like expanse, quite shallow, and evi-

126 TIMEHRI.

dently quite uncovered in the dry weather. This expanse
continues along the opening of the creek for some dis-
tance, and would lead one, from its width, to conclude
that it was the course of the main stream, which here
had changed from its general north-western dire€tion
to due West; but it suddenly narrows further on, and
continues by a very winding course in a small channel.
The opening of the river into this pond, on the South
side can scarcely be distinguished, for it is but a few yards
in width; and is almost hidden by the higher growth on
the south-western border. The channel is entirely tor-
tuous for some little distance, and remains quite narrow,
except where it curves round after a long reach, and
then opens out to a width of about from 20-25 yards, and
now and then with an occasional largerexpanse. Higher
land can be distinguished in the far South, but appa-
rently at a considerable distance from the waterside.
Numerous tacoobas, or fallen trees, lay across the course,
from which, however, we experienced but little incon-
venience since the swollen state of the river gave the
chance of an easy passage.

It would have been extremely interesting, and
withal desirable, to have followed out the further
course of the river, but considerations of time and
provisions forced our return to the village of Eneyu-
dah, whence I intended to make an expedition
to the Mabooroo mountain, which attains its highest
elevation about midway between the Demerara and
the Essequibo.

Earlier in the trip, an attempt had been made to
reach this point, in spite of the warning of the Indians
that the creeks were full (“the creek swell,” said they)

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 127

and therefore impassable ; and it had been with difficulty
that we had persuaded four of them to accompany us as
guides and huntsmen. Report said that the three large
species of macaws, the rare species of chatterers, the
cocks-of-the-rocks, and other uncommon birds, mam-
mals, etc., were to be obtained on the mountain, and
therefore a special attempt was made to ascertain
the truth of the report, and the advisability of making
a camp there, for a week or two, to procure specimens
of the various forms.

As the Indians had reported, however, so we found, that
it was out of the question. The small creeks that usually
were crossed by a short tacooba over a narrow channel,
had, by the recent rains, become great rivers, spreading
over the whole valleys between the hills, and were of
various depths, Four of these were passed in which
the water at different parts varied from up to one’s
thighs to up to one’s mouth. The fifth, which wasa part
of the lower Mabooroo creek, was more serious. Here
a valley of about a quarter of a mile in width, and with
steep banks, was taken over with water, in which one
got out of one’s depth quite at the edge ; and as the path
ran along this valley for a great distance, the amount of
swimming necessitated would have been out of the question
considering the various packages, etc., that were being
carried, and which it was essential should be kept
untouched by water. Four other such creeks were said
to be ahead, and from arrangements made we would
have to return the same day and repass the whole set ;
while to cap it all, the Indians, who alone knew the
track, declared that they could not go on. We had been
compelled therefore to abandon the attempt.

128 TIMEHRI.

A peculiarly interesting feature of the flooded valleys
had been the various small forms of air-breathing
animals, which usually inhabited the ground or secured
themselves under the vegetable débris on the surface,
and which, by the rising of the water, had been com-
pelled to take refuge on the trunks of the large trees or
in the foliage of the small undergrowth of the forest.
Among them were curious forms of small lizards and
snakes, grotesque and strangely coloured little frogs,
antique-looking and repulsive myriapods—such as
Spirobolus, Polydesmus and Scolopendra—and a very
miscellaneous assortment of inseéts and arachnids, the
more noteworthy of the latter group being splendid
specimens of the large bush scorpions and spiders, some
of the latter being especially large and richly coloured,
together with the very uncommon so-called scorpion-
spider or “ting-ting” (Phrynus reniformts), which,
though it has a remarkably bad name among the forest
people as causing certain death by its bite, could hardly
cause more than severe pain and discomfort, except in
cases where the subjects are diseased, and are thus
either frightened to death or are killed by blood-poisoning
induced by the bite.

Of many of these forms, specimens were obtained,
and, in not a few cases, with a considerable degree of
care, since, with the idea of keeping my clothes dry, I
had in each instance waded through the creeks 7” purts
naturalibus, a hat and a pair of shoes and socks
making up my attire. When a futile attempt had been
made to catch a scorpion or centipede, and it had fallen
into the water in which we were standing, often more
than waist-deep, the few next moments were by no

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 129

means the most pleasant I have ever experienced, even
though I stood well against the current.

On the occasion of the former attempt, the rain had
been falling heavily for some days, culminating in a
downpour of unusual severity the night immediately
preceding. Now, on the return from the higher part of
the river, though rain had fallen nearly every day, it had
been much less heavy, and the creeks were pronounced
by the Indians to be ‘“‘not too full.” An early start was
therefore made, three of the Indians of the former jour-
ney again accompanying us, and four of the men carrying
provisions and hammocks, that we might spend the night
on the mountain.

We had scarcely entered the forest outside the village
ere the rain came down, and it continued throughout
nearly the whole day, varying at times from a heavy
downpour to a gentle shower. The track was by no
means clear, and the two younger Indians were not
infrequently puzzled as to its exa€t course, some little _
walking in various dire€tions being occasionally neces-
sary todecideit. The valleysand creeks that previously
had been so swollen, were now almost quite clear, and
large tacoobas gave a right of way, dry, over the chan-
nels. The varied Fauna that had chara€terised the trunks
of the trees and the low bushes, on the former occasion,
was now hidden away in its many haunts; and but afew
beetles, cockroaches and myriapods rewarded the trouble
of turning over, or breaking up, the old and rotten wood
on the forest floor. Various branches of the Mabooroo
creek were passed, and then the main creek itself,
where an immense tacooba crossed the wide and deep
channel, at the bottom of which a sinall body of water

R

130 TIMEHRI.

ran with strong current towards the lower lands by the
Demerara river.

The ascent was extremely gradual, the track skirting
round the sides of the hilly ranges, and but seldom going
up and down direétly. Great forests of mora and green-
heart were passed through, where the low undergrowth
consisted chiefly of the young plants of the same species,
and here and there trysil, purple-heart, crabwood, etc.,
were seen by no means sparsely. The last two creeks
met with, at a short distance apart, are in reality moun-
tain streams rushing down a steep incline over a rocky
floor, murmuring as they run, and the mountain itself
rises sharply from the very bank of the second of these
streams; but the ascent is nowhere arduous, though
very steep towards the very brow of the elevation.

The distance of the Mabooroo mountain from the
Demerara, as mapped, gives about seven miles; but the
winding Indian track and the elevated parts of the
course, nearly doubled the distance; and it was
not until after about five hours had elapsed that we
reached the highest point, the luggage having been
deposited by the stream at the base.

From the top the view is extremely fine so far as one can
get it, but it is only through the openings of the trees
which grow to the very edge of the perpendicular face
of the hill, and projeét over it, that one can obtain
partial glimpses of the distri€t which lies between the
Demerara and the Essequibo. The day, too, from the
amount of rain, was very misty, and the scene was
much obscured thereby.

Away, as far as the eye could reach, stretched the
immense undulating plain of forest, with wide ridges

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 131

and valleys close at hand, and hills and mountains
rising on all sides in the distance, the rich and
varied colouring of the tree tops close below, contrasting
strikingly with the blue tints which lay over them afar,
where, scattered over the scene, and lifting and shifting
at short intervals, patches of misty clouds hovered like
fading smoke-columns, or lay bathing the valleys. Gleam-
ing like a mass of silver in the sea of green, the waters
of the Essequibo could be distinguished, apparently not
far from the mouth of the Potaro, where a bend into an
open valley in the line of sight revealed it, though
hidden at short intervals by the shifting mist. On the
North, the clear outline of Arrisaro ran, with its
gradual eastern rise and its steep and sudden descent
on the West, distinét against the mist in the valley
beyond; while Oomiah, Yaya, Canarook, and other
mountains could be distinguished at varying distances,
though at times obscured by the mist which thickened as
the day wore on.

Beautiful as was the scene, it was yet a disappointment
tome. Justifiably or not, I had been led, by report, to
picture, on the top, a bare and arid rocky area close to
the edge, with a sudden and perpendicular escarpment
of the greenstone rock, of which the mountain is com-
posed, where from its height of more than 800 feet, the
whole country below would be spread out like a vast
panorama before one’s uninterrupted gaze; whereas,
in reality, it was wooded to the edge, and one could
view the scene but in sections ata time. By climbing
out on to one of the larger trees that projeéted nearly
horizontally over the precipice, I was able to secure a
fairly complete view of the whole extent, and at the same

R2

132 TIMEHRI.

time to note the forest-covered talus at the foot of the
precipice, but one’s attention was more or less drawn
to the peculiarity of the position, and to the possibility
of the tree being uprooted from its rocky floor—which
was, however, pretty well beyond the range of proba-
bility. A sudden swaying of the branches which I held,
under a chance side pressure of my weight, as I glanced
down, gave me a momentary tremor which I believe will
be one of the most lasting impressions of my life, and
caused the heart to beat for some little time in a way I
had never previously experienced.

The rain which had accompanied us thither, again
descended, even as we left the top of the mountain; and
we slept at the base, with the mountain stream babbling
in our ears, and the rain drops beating upon the trees.
Throughout the night and the next day, the weather
continued thus unfavourable, and indicated that the
hope of making a collection of specimens was but a
forlorn one.

Besides the hair and bones of a sloth—the remains of
the feast of some wild animal—and a spider monkey,
high up in the trees, swinging himself along out of range,
nothing else noteworthy was seen; and but the loud whir
of a maam (Z7znamus) in flight, or a chance cooing ofa
wood dove afar, nothing else was heard but the pattering
of the rain drops overhead. The great macaws, the
cocks-of-the rock, the rare chatterers and other forms that
frequent the mountain, were hopeless objeéts, and the
Indian huntsmen put it all down to the rain: and doubtless
they were right. The same cause had hindered our work,
and hampered our movements continually, and had made
the creeks so swollen, that poisoning with haiari, which

ABOUT AND ABOVE THE GREAT FALLS. 133

I had bought for the purpose, was out of the question;
and now there was nothing to be done but to return
homeward, shaking, not the dust, but the water off our
feet, on the distri that had treated us so badly.

In a future paper, I hope to be able to summarise the
chief results of the expedition, with some other results
previously obtained.

Occasional Notes.

By the Editor.

The discovery of Seed and Seedlings of the Sugar-
cane in Barbados.—The case of the aétual proof and
the general recognition of the faét that the sugar-cane
produces fertile seed—a result brought about by the work
of Mr, J. B. HARRISON, M.A,., of Christ’s College, Cam-
bridge (late Island Professor of Chemistry in Barbados
and now Government Chemist of British Guiana) and Mr.
BOVELL of the Dodd’s Reformatory, Barbados—well
illustrates the uncertainties that often attend the scientific
worker in the public recognition of his work, as well as
the disadvantages under which such workers labour in the
smaller colonies, away from the great European centres of
learning, and the great Societies, at whose meetings
they might personally recard the results of their work.

More than two years ago by their experiments, Messrs
HARRISON and BOVELL were led to the opinion, pre-
viously stated by other observers, that the sugar-cane
not only produces seed, but /fertz/e seed; and it is
now eighteen months ago that the results of their
experiments, which had been carried out on a scale,
and in a manner, that placed the fa€t beyond doubt, were
made known. Since then, confirmatory of their work,
the seeds have been sown by other individuals and have
germinated, and the seedlings have even been planted out
and raised. Spikelets of fertile seeds, and germinating
seedsand seedlings preserved in glycerine, were distributed
by the investigators to various institutions and indi-
viduals—and canes grown from some seedlings for-

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 135

warded to the Botanic Gardens of the colony, are now
so far advanced, that an analysis has been made of one
of them and the results published.

Among other individuals, and by special request,
Mr. D. Morris of Kew Gardens was supplied with
spikelets containing fertile seeds, and germinating
seeds preserved in glycerine. These, or corresponding
examples raised by him from the seeds supplied, were
figured and exhibited by him at the March meeting of
the Linnean Society—and the next that is seen of the
matter is the ascription of the discovery of the cane
seed to Mr. MORRIS by some of the most influential
of the Home journals and papers, as the result of the
Linnean meeting. Meantime no attempt seems to have
been made by him to contradiét the false ascription in
the journals referred to; and science workers in the
West Indies who are familiar with the faéts of the case,
are wondering when justice will be done to the work of
the colonial investigators.

A long chapter might be written on the history of the
subject, for several individuals, at various times, and in
various parts of the world, appear to have noted the
production of seed by the sugar-cane. The earliest of
these observers seems certainly to have been Mr. J. W.
PARRIS, as related by the Barbados Agricultural
Reporter, and the Liberal, 1859.

The Sugar Cane (June 2nd, 1890) is responsible for
the statement that Mr. ALFRED FRYER, “ having heard
in Antigua a tradition that the cane had formerly been
grown from seed, brought seed to England (about 1872)
and handed it to the authorities at Kew, who successfully
endeavoured to raise plants from it.” Possibly this

136 TIMEHRI.

should bave heen “unsuccessfully ;” but, in either case,
there seems to be some mistake in the matter, for it
would scarcely have been so positively and barely stated
in the Kew S#udletin for December, 1888 (No. 24) that
“certainly in the rich Herbarian at Kew there are no
seed-bearing specimens,” if at the time there were
a€tual seeds there—for, presumably, specimens of them
would have been preserved.

Contemporaneously and independently, the late Dr.
SOLTWEDEL appears to have attained the same results
in Java, that Messrs. HARRISON and BOVELL did in
Barbados; and excellent figures are attached to the
report in which these investigations have been published
by Dr, F. BENECKE. The special credit is, however,
due to Messrs. HARRISON and BOVELL that it was
through their work that the matter is now regarded as
definitely settled, and general recognition given to the
fa&t that the sugar-cane produces fertile seed.

With the history of the matter, as touched upon
above, before one’s mind, it becomes almost comical to
read in the last issue of the West Jndian and Com-
mercial Advertiser (June 1890)—a magazine in which
one ought at least to expe€t some credit for good work
done in the West Indies—“ There is no doupt as to the
value of the experiments successfully conduéted by Mr.
Morris at the Royal Gardens, Kew, in the obtaining
seeds from the Sugar-cane. Praétical men agree that it
is impossible to over-estimate the value of the discovery
made by Mr. Morris.”

22 gs 2S

Luminous Larva.—On page 108, a description has

already been given of some luminous larvz, obtained

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 137
Seals ES «So 20h an? ee
along the higher part of the Demerara river, and
referable to species of Lampyridz. Through the kind-
ness of Mr. W. F. BRIDGES, who forwarded me a
specimen from the Berbice river, I have been enabled
to examine another luminous larva, referable to the
Elateridz or spring beetles, and commonly known as the
Labarria Seh or Labarria worm among the Indians, who
are said to consider it as being as venomous as the
labarria snake, though the little grub is really a perfe@tly
harmless obje€t. The same, or a closely allied species
has already been briefly referred to in the pages of this
Journal (Timehri, 1888, ~. 379) by Mr. H. I. PERKINS,
who found it in association with the large “ three lights”
fire-fly (Pyrophorus) in the Puruni distri. The
luminosity of this form, when it is observed in a dark
place, is singularly striking and beautiful. The light is
emitted along the whole length of the body—the head,
the front part of the anterior segment, and the last
segment of the body, being altogether luminous, while
each intermediate segment gleams from a small area on
each side of the back, two regularly arranged rows of
golden brilliants being thus observable. The light is
continuous, and very bright, but it is intensified when
the little creature is irritated. At intervals, one or more
of the dorsal lights will be observed to be very dull
or nearly extinguished, but apparently they are never
quite put out,
Ae Re
Presentation to Charles Edmonstone.—I am indebted
to Mr. Ropway for the faéts of the following note,
which will be of interest in relation to the article on
WATERTON and his Demerara friend. When EDMON-
Ss

138 TIMEHRI.

STONE left Guiana in 1817, breaking his conne€tion
with the colony, of which he was then Keizer and
Financial Representative, the inhabitants, in appreciation
of his value and his services, subscribed to present him
with a piece of plate; and the following inscription was

written by WATERTON for it :—
A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE
from the Inhabitants of Demerary
TO
CHARLES EDMONSTONE, ESQ.,
whose integrity, and many excellent qualities,
during a residence of thirty-seven years in the Colony,
gained their sincere esteem:
his prudence and humanity, entitled him
to the command of repeated expeditions, against the
revolted negroes of Guiana;
and his coarage, always ensured success.

Cocao and its Insect Pests—In a former number
of Zimehri (Vol. I, New. Series, p. 352) im an
occasional note on this subjeét, | was enabled, through
the kindness of Mr. WILLIAM SMITH and the late
Mr. BOSCH-REITZ, who submitted specimens to me
for examination, to describe two Longicorn beetles,
Stirastoma depressa and Tezxniotes farinosus, which
were produétive of serious harm to the cocao trees in
Surinam, and less seriously so to those in Essequibo.
Recently through the kindness of Mr. ELI VAN PRAAG
of Paramaribo, I have had the opportunity of examining
some minute Scolytid beetles, which have only been
known to attack the cocao plants within the last year,
but which had already been the cause of death to the
plants over a very considerable area of plantations in

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 139

Surinam. The beetles were submitted to Mr. C. OQ.
WATERHOUSE, the Coleopterist of the British Museum
of Natural History, who has kindly informed me that
the “majority of them are the now well known
Xyleborus perforans—WOLLASTON, described by him
as Zomicus perforans from Madeira=Bostrichus tes-
taceus of WALKER from Ceylon=Xyleborus affinis of
Eichhoff from Cuba, N. America, Brazil, etc., etc.”

This little beetle is a serious pest in a variety of ways,
two extreme cases being the damage of beer casks in
India, and the destru€tion of sugar-cane in St. Vincent,
West Indies. It has not, up to the present, been recognised
in Guiana as being destru€tive to the cocao, but in the
dead and hard wood of various trees, in the swamped
land above the Great Falls of the Demerara river, I
have found them in considerable quantities.

The first stages of their method of attacking the cocao
are not yet ascertained—the cases not having been really
studied ; and this is essential before any really effeétive
steps can be taken for protection. When the trees begin
to fail, their young shoots and the branches are found to be
simply riddled through and through with perforations,
and stocked throughout with the adult beetles and their
grubs in various stages.

ce ere eae

A Fungus-covered Moth—A most interesting case
of fungoid growth was lately brought under my notice by
the Revd. HENRY TAYLOR of the Upper Berbice River.
This consisted of a large Sphinx moth, Dzlophonota
ello, which was covered throughout by the mycelium of
a fungus, the hyphe having taken over the entire
substance, and grown out from the outer covering layer

$2

140 TIMEHRI.

into numerous prickle-like ere€t processes along the
course of the body, giving it a most peculiar appearance.
The objeé&t thus appears to be a pale yellowish-brown
fibred inse&t, provided with numerous processes. The
Saprolegniex usually attack dead flies, etc., but in this
case, from the position on a tree where the moth was
taken, it would seem to have been attacked before
death—possibly during injury or disease. The specimen —
was forwarded from the Wieroonie distri€t, where the
cassava fields of the Indians were, a year or two ago,
utterly destroyed by the caterpillars of the above-named
moth, several of which were sent to me by Mr. TAYLOR
for identification.

———E

An internal Parastte-—A case that seems worthy of
mention, of the occurrence of the Small Thread Worm
(Oxyurts vermicularis), was quite recently submitted to
me through Mr. VAN PRAAG of Surinam. The little
parasites were from the reétum of an infant about three
months old, and they were found to exist there in aston-
ishing quantities. It was a peculiar feature of their
occurrence that they were all males—at least the chance
ones taken for examination and submitted to me were all
males: but, it may well be that to the untrained eye, the
differences between the sexes, so clearly marked though
they be, were not recognised when they were being
picked out from the mass.

a
Whip-worm.—An extremely large Gordiaceous worm

occurs in the upper waters of our rivers, where it is
found lying in the sand or mud, coiled up in an almost

~

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 141

inextricable manner. The creature which is about a
foot or more in length, and about a line in diameter,
presents a striking likeness to a piece of brown leather
shoe-string. It tapers off gradually towards one end
where the mouth is situated, furnished with a minute
fringe ; but the hinder extremity is blunt, and there is no
opening for an anus. It appears to be composed solely
of an outer firm cuticular layer which is faintly trans-
versely striped, and of a softer central substance, in
which no details of stru€ture have been made out. At
intervals it will be observed to very slowly wave the
anterior part, twisting and twining about the coils or
knots of its body ; and when disturbed, it will often perform
these movements in a comparatively vigorous manner.

The creature is generally looked upon as some curious
kind of snake, and it was once brought to me by an
ignorant man as being identical with the species of asp
that was the cause of CLEOPATRA’S death. It is almost
needless to say that the worm is perfeétly harmless. Its
allies are parasitic in various forms of inseéts, such as
dragon-flies, grasshoppers, bees and butterflies. These
forms, however, are of very small size, and are commonly
known as hair-worms, being but pigmies when compared
with this giant.

Any notes as to the wider occurrence of this form, or
as to its habits and the details of its life history, will be
gladly received from those who may have opportunities of

observing them.
——

Leaf-winged Locust.—Of all the many varied and
really wonderful contrivances to be met with in Nature
tending towards the proteétion of various harmless

O ae

142 TIMEHRI.

creatures which are preyed upon by other forms, perhaps
none are as wonderful as, certainly none are more
remarkable than, the condition of the anterior pair of
wings in certain of the Locustidz, such as Pterochroza
and other closely allied forms. In many genera of
the family, the front wings are elongated and narrow

' like the wings of the grasshoppers, and are not only

coloured green like the ordinary leaf of a plant, but are
furnished with a large subcentral vein like the midrib
of a leaf, with small veins springing therefrom. In
Pterochroza and the other special forms referred to, of
which a few different examples have lately been added
to the Museum colle€tion, the leaf resemblance is carried
to a most perfect degree. In shape they are ovate; and
generally, as in the common elm leaf, the one side is
somewhat wider than the other, according to the depth
of the curve of the central vein, which is thickened like
a midrib. From this, side veins pass off in all dire€tions,
branching and reticulating, exa€tly as in the case of the ©
leaf of an ordinary dicotyledonous plant. The colour-
ing of the wings is even more remarkable, the tint
varying according to the species. In one, the shade
varies from reddish-brown or reddish-yellow to a dull
purple, and closely resembles the shades to be found on
the young leaves of many of the forest trees, and more
especially on the mora (Mora excelsa). In another,
the tint is of a deep green, which is said to fade away
gradually on continued exposure to light after the death
of the inseét. In a third, it is of a very pale yellowish-
brown, much like the colouring on an old and fading leaf
about to fall from the plant; while, in a fourth, it isa
dull, dead brown, like that of a sere and fallen leaf.

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 143

at RRS OR = eee IE eer es eer ea

As though to give a more complete naturalness, to

the already seemingly quite natural leaves, variably

sized spots of brown or yellowish-white are sparsely

scattered about the surface, just as are to be found so
commonly upon leaves.

Observations upon the growth, life history and habits
of these forms, are much needed ; but the specimens seem
to be extremely rare—though it is much more likely that,
inhabiting the foliage of trees and bushes, they are
seldom, and then only accidentally, discovered. It is
suggestive that the forms in the Museum were only
obtained when they had strayed into houses, in or
by the forest, on the Mazaruni river.

ee

New animals in the Museum.—Within the past three
months, a large assortment of new specimens has been
added to the exhibition cases of the Museum, which
taken with those added last year, go far towards com-
pleting the typical colle€tion of exhibited specimens of
the Mammals of Guiana. Of these the great proportion
has been due to the warm interest and generous gifts
of Mr. JOHN JUNOR of Plantation Providence, who,
since he learnt the needs of the Museum, has been
constantly aiding in completing a typical series of the
Guiana animals. To his public spirit we are indebted
for the gift of the tapir, species of deer, the puma,
ant-bear, grisons, racoon, jaguarondi, ocelot, fox, otter,
kibihee, and many others. The fine ocelot and the
magnificent specimen of the jaguar, from the Drill,
Mahaicony, exhibited in the case containing the cats of
the colony, were obtained through the kindness and
public spirit of Mr. B. J. GODFREY and Mr. R. C.

144 TIMEHRI. |

CuRTIS, who presented them to the Museum, and
gave an umique chance of a proper preservation
of the skins.
Sel

The Hoatzin.—This most curious of all living birds, the —
Opisthocomus cristatus, commonly known in the colony
as anna, stinking pheasant and Canje pheasant, has
recently been the subjeét of considerable investigation,
based on specimens of adult birds, nestlings and incubated
eggs, colle€ted in Berbice and forwarded to London
preserved in strong spirit—the cost being defrayed
by a small grant from the funds of the Royal Society
through Dr. SCLATER, the Secretary of the Zoological
Society of London. Some preliminary notes, with special
reference to the funétional claws on the pollex and
index of the young, and to the pterylography of the
birds, have recently been published in the /dzs, by Mr:
BEDDARD, Proseétor of the Zoological Society; an
elaborate memoir has been prepared by Professor
PARKER, who has termed his subject, the “ Reptilian
Bird; while notes on the habits of the birds have
been contributed by me for the next issue of the
Jbrs. A detailed notice of the chief morphological and
other features connected with the birds, will be published
in a later issue of this journal.

ABLEN PKA

The Fin-foot.—This is the common name given to a
small coot-like bird, Helzornes fudica, usually known in
British Guiana as little ducklar, frog-footed duck
and narrow-bill duck. It is very common in certain
parts, as I discovered in the upper waters of the Abary
creek (Zimehri, 1888, No. xiv, p. 373), where they were

\

OCCASIONAL NOTES.

to be seen skimming along the surface, or diving for
long distances, and coursing ahead of the boat. They
are said to be common also in the water-path of many
of the estates, They are of a dark slaty-brown colour
above, and grey below, with streaks of white along the
head and neck. The bill is sharp, long and narrow.
The toes are webbed, but instead of being united to
each other, they are free from near the base, the
expanded skin being indented opposite each joint of
the digits.

As the anatomy and affinities of the bird require
investigation, I should be extremely glad to receive, from
those who have opportunities of procuring them, adult
birds, nestlings and eggs, in spirit, together with notes on
the nesting and habits of the birds.

ieee

On Snake-potson Stories—So many tales are told of
the recovery of persons bitten by snakes, where such
simple and perfe€tly useless remedies as sugar and
onions, salt, parafine oil, etc,, have been made use of,
that one naturally receives such a story with caution
where the additional statement is introduced that the
snake was a poisonous species. Cases are to hand, few
though they certainly are, proving beyond a doubt the
virulence of the poison of the three chief poison snakes
of the colony; and after making due allowance for the
well-known faét that many animals, and notably the
human subject, are often bitten inefficiently owing to a
variety of ascertainable causes, there yet must remain
the very large proportion of cases of snake-bite,
referable to innocuous species.

es

) 146 TIMEHRI.

<———————————— nn LO ———————

It has been an ordinary experience, to have common ~
and uncommon, but quite harmless, species forwarded
to me to the Museum, under the name of some deadly
snake, usually labarria or bushmaster, whose colouring
they generally more or less resembled ; and bites from
them would naturally be tacked on to the poison-snake ;
and a cure, from a poison that had never entered the
system, would equally naturally be set down to some
casual remedy that some one had proposed or believed
in. Tending in the same direétion has been the
experience gained while travelling about the colony,
and in conversing on the subjeét with colonists and natives
of various degrees of qualifications for knowledge
on the point.

Apart, however, from the ready and unreasoning
reference of nearly all snakes, and especially the large
or more vicious-lovking species, to poisonous kinds,
there do exist in the colony certain species of boas and
colubrine snakes which so closely in form and colouring
resemble the viperine snakes,—chara€ters no doubt due
to adaptive and protective modifications—that even one
really conversant with the different species, might easily
mistake the harmless for the deadly, unless a close exami-
nation be made. This is markedly so in the case
of some snakes resembling the labarria (Trigonoce-
phalus atrox) ; and the statement becomes luminous
when it is borne in mind that it is this very
species whose bite, undoubtedly fatal in some cases,
is often said to be of little moment in other cases, as
judged by the results on persons said to have been bitten
by it. At the time of writing, there is on view in the
Museum a living specimen of a land boa that is and has

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 147

- been thus deceptive to many. ‘The external chara¢ters,
less the sub-nasal pits, the supra-ocular plates, and the
terminal spine, are closely similar to the labarria, and
even the dentition is calculated to mislead one, since the
anterior maxillaries are considerably enlarged and re-
curved. In faét, unless one were so familiar with the
morphological distinétions of the Boas and the Crotaline

Vipers as to be able to stand the test of a v7va voce of an
anatomist, by whom he would be required not only to
relate, but to point out on specimens, zz szfu, the exaét
distin€tions, there would be every likelihood of these

» two species being confounded.

eee

Sociable Caterpillars—Quite recently, through the
kindness of Mr. WABy of the Botanic Gardens, who
forwarded me a specimen, I had the opportunity of
examining a compound cocoon with a set of sociable
caterpillars, referable to the Noétua or Owlet
moth, Azxomis grandipunctata, of whose occurrence
in the colony there seems to be no previously pub-
lished record. The extremely interesting and diverse
methods and contrivances by which different species
of inseéts secure themselves during the transition from
the grub to the chrysalis and imago, are illustrated
by a very large series of examples among the more
commonly occurring species; but the case here referred
to may be considered, perhaps, the most striking and
peculiar. Several dozen caterpillars, of about 14 inch
in length and } inch in thickness, covered with a short
reddish-brown fluffy hair, make for themselves a delicate-
looking, but strong, silky case of variable shape, attached
to small branches or twigs at its broader basal end, and

T2

148 TIMEHRI.

coming to a narrow neck at its free end, which is open
for the ingress and egress of the grubs. This nest
which serves eventually for the sites of the cocoons of
the various members of the colony, is apparently used
as a refuge or shelter during their earlier life, for long
before they have ceased feeding, they will be found to
have congregated within at certain times. Later on, the
inner walls of the case will be found to be occupied with
their packed cocoons, and when the little moths emerge,
they break through the outer wall, which thus becomes
pitted with the remains of the chrysalides. The moths
are of a glossy, pale yellowish-brown colour, obscurely
marked with large blotches.

A nest that was received some time ago from a
correspondent on the East Coast, was swollen and
pear-shaped, or saccate, from the extension caused by
the packed cocoons, and was hardly recognisable when
compared with the rather flattened nest, occupied by
the caterpillars, which was sent from the Gardens.

eS

Four-tatled Lizard.—The form of reptile here referred
to belongs to the widely distributed species, Tupzmambis
nigropunctatus, which, with the much larger and rarer
species 7. ¢eguixin, is commonly known in the colony as
Salempenta. The specimen was presented to the Museum
by Mr. JENMAN, nearly three years ago, in a normal one-
tailed condition, and it has since been exhibited in the
large snake-case with iguanas, alligators, land boas, water
boas, and colubrine snakes of various descriptions,
which have been obtained at, and have lived for,
different periods. A land boa or camoodie (Boa con-

OCCASIONAL NOTES.

stridor) and a water boa or camoodie (Eunectes
murinus) have been its constant associates, and it has
walked backwards and forwards among and upon these,
and the other objeéts in the case, with perfect impunity
during its long confinement. A little more than a year
ago, it was noticed that its tail was much bruised at
various points—it was supposed to have been thus
damaged by constantly striking against the wiring of
the cage, though it might have been caused by bites
from the alligator, or from rats which were placed in the
cage for the snakes, and with which the lizard used fre-
quently to fight—and soon theresprouted out from different
points, three supplemental tails, which grew rapidly, so
that now one is not much shorter than the original
tail. Between these new growths, three other minute
stumps are to be seen, and probably the reptile is destined
to have its extra tails, twice told.

The two species of Salempenta can readily be dis-
tinguished from each other. The smaller, which reaches
a length of about 24-3 ft., Z. utgropunctatus, has
hexagonal dorsal scales, though many of them appear to
be quadrangular on the living animal, unless very
closely examined; in 7. ¢eguzxin, the scales are oval,
In the former species, the colour is a spotted black and
gold, the golden tint being extremely rich and bright ;
in the latter species, the lighter tint approaches an
olive shade.

ae ae ere

The Wood-slave-—One so constantly meets with the
report of the dangerous nature of this little lizard, that it
seems worth while to declare, with some insistence, its
perfect harmlessness. The expanded and _sucker-

TIMEHRI,

like fingers and toes cause the little animal to adhere
to any foreign obje&, which it may touch; but these
digits are quite destitute of poison. Even the bite of the
creature would be produétive of nothing more than a
very slight amount of pain, since the teeth are compara-
tively small and short. Up to the present time, but one
species of lizard, the Heloderma of Mexico, has been
found possessing a poison apparatus and must therefore
be regarded with dread. The commonest of the wood-
slaves of the colony, is the Zhecadactylus rapicaudus, its
specific name being derived from the fa&t that when its
tail is broken away, the reproduced part becomes quite
swollen and turnip-shaped. One specimen that came
under my notice along the Demerara river, where they
seem to be extremely common among the trees, the
stones, and the thatch of the houses, was nearly 7 inches
in length, with a tail more than twice the thickness of
the body. Another was a constant resident in the thatch
of one of the houses at Eneyudah, where its curious cry
““sacka, sacka” was regularly heard; but I was never
able to secure it.

ee

New Birds in British Guiana.—Recently I was able
to submit for examination at the British Museum, two
species of birds which are new to the Guiana fauna :—

1. Ardetia exilis
2. Malacoptila fusca.

The former is a small heron, about half the size of
the common shypook or chough (Ardea cyanura) ; while
the latter is a speckled brown barbet, which has been
obtained only from the Demerara river.

OCCASIONAL NOTES.

It isnoteworthy that of the Pzpreo/a whitelyz, which was
recently founded as anew species by SALVIN and GODMAN
for a very beautifully coloured bird colle€ted by Mr.
HENRY WHITELY in Guiana, there were two mounted
specimens in the British Guiana Museum, which must
have been placed there more than 16 years before the
species was described.

Lente Wie

Gold in British Guiana.—In a former number of
Timehri (No. xi, June, 1887, p. 136) an Occasional
Note was given on the slow but gradual increase of the
Gold Industry, and it is but fitting that a record should
here be made of its later development. With but scant
encouragement, and suffering under great disadvantages,
the industry may have said to have progressed by leaps
and bounds, as indicated by the returns to hand for the
different years. In 1885, according to official returns,
939 0z., were exported; in 1886, 6,518 oz.; in 1887,
11,906 oz. ; in 1888, 14,670 0z.; in 1889, 29,327 oz, ; and
in the first six months of the present year about 27,000 oz.,
valued at nearly $500,000, have been already obtained,
an amount not far short of the total output for 1880,
which in itself had been more than double that
obtained in the previous year.

The industry has become a very considerable source of
income to the Government, for the royalty (at go cents
per 0z)., within the six months, has amounted to nearly
$25,000; while but the merest nominal expenditure
on their part has been entailed.

New mining regulations had been framed some three
years ago, but experience has shown them to be altogether
inadequate and unsatisfaCtory ; and whilethe Government,

TIMEHRI.

by their desire to appointa Gold Commissioner, who would
be able to report on the various gold distriێts, and to
advise them in the framing of suitable regulations for
its development, have lately shown themselves more
alive to their responsibilities, they have, at the same
time, shewn themselves to be but little in sympathy
with the mining community, since the officer unani-
mously recommended by that community, and one
who, up to the present, may be said to have borne the
heat and burden of the industry, has been so far practi- ©
cally vetoed for the Commissionership.

A very noteworthy feature in the growth of the industry
has been the perception of the fa&, that gold is to be found
in paying quantities over large areas of the colony. First
in the Puruni and Cuyuni river distri€ts, then in the
river distriéts of the North-West, and now more recently
in the Potaro distri€t, the metal has been obtained in
large quantities; and it may almost be regarded as
certain that the upper distri€ts of the Mazaruni, Esse-
quibo, Berbice and Corentyne will be similarly pro-
duétive—in faét there are already indications along
the Mazaruni distriét that it. is so, but the distance
and the difficulty of navigation and transport are
altogether prohibitive of mining.

And herein, perhaps, lies the greatest obstacle to the
development of the gold industry. The constant suc-
cession of rapids, catara€ts and falls along the river
courses, and the serious danger of these obstruétions in
the height of the wet season, render the natural water-
way a serious drawback; and the genius of the engineer
may be said to be the great hope of the future. Following
his tracks through the recesses of the forests, come the

OCCASIONAL NOTES.

pictures of an advanced and prosperous mining industry ;

of the inland settlements and villages, and possibly even
cities, with their farms and clearings, where a wider agri-
cultural development may be attained ; and of a trade in
timber and other forest produéts from regions at present
untapped; while the easy access to higher lands will
furnish health resorts from the coast; and the gradual
clearing of the land, by lessening the almost continuous
extent of forest, will tend to an equalisation of climatic
conditions that must have a marked influence in de-
creasing both the great periodic and constant swamps of
the interior.

Already, however, the note of labour-alarm has been
sounded, for the rapid development of the gold industry
within the last two years, has been the means of drawing
away from the sugar estates an appreciable quantity
from the staff of labourers; and with the continued
advance of the industry, it is but to be expeted that the
labour supply of the estates, will be still further
lessened. The question is thus a most important one,
fraught with grave issues to the material prosperity of
the colony, how best to maintain the staple sugar
industry in full and vigorous swing, and, at the same
time, to provide for and encourage the fullest develop-
ment of the mineral wealth within our reach.

Report of the Meetings of the Society.

Meeting held on gth Fanuary.—R. P. Drysdale,
President, in the chair.

There were 21 members present.

Ele&tions.—Members: R.G. Duncan, R. A. Swan.

L. Forbes, Revds. J. L. Green and D. J. Reynolds.

Associates: R. Driver, Rv V. Macaulay,
A. -H. Loth, R. S»\Czesar, T. A. C. Maskellj aie
McDavid, H. J. E. Anderson, W. H. Pollard, J. F.
Rose and L. E. E. Anderson.

The President in opening the meeting said that as this
was the first time he had occupied the chair since his
eleétion, he would make one or two remarks. He
earnestly desired that the present year would prove
satisfa€tory, and even more prosperous to the Society
than any previous one, and especially that there would be
a good attendance at the Meetings. As a Water Street
man, he hoped that class of persons would make a better
appearance at the meetings than they had done in past
years. They would always be ready to consider any
suggestions that might be made by any of the members,
and give them all due consideration. When any member
felt that anything was lacking, or could suggest any im-
provement to the Society, he hoped he would not hesitate
to move in the matter and bring it up for consideration.

The Treasurer laid over the Financial Statement and
Balance Sheet of the Society, &c., for 1889, showing a
net balance in favour of the Society of $1,038 07
(annexed). Mr. Conyers said that the amount in hand
would all be required during the present year for repairs
and painting.

al Agriculturalignd Commercial Society of British Guiana.—Receipts and Mzpenditure for the

Yoar 1889,
RECEIPTS. EXPENDITURE.
~ To Society’s Funds iis vas $ 2,890 35 By Salaries... -s e $2,480 @
» Subscriptions— » Periodicals and Magazines ... 596 87
Ordinary Members ... «@ 1,851 00 Less Newspapers &c., sold... 51 26
Country Members ... ak 438 00 545 61
Associates ... “ s+ 825 00 1» New Books added to Library ... 841 87
Lady Subscribers... on 45 00 » Advertising, Stationery & Sub-
fe [aa scription to local Newspapers 350 49
ae Peige 31159 00 ” Binding ove whe nme 144 38
- » Arrear Subscriptions er 82 50 » Repairs to Buildings ... To 350 06
a » “Rents ex ot s+ 2,482 00 » Balance of cost of New Extension 1,278 56 1,628 62
Pe » Catalogues... Tr ee 40 32 ; ” Se
ica) » Interest $91 63 and Profits » Cost of New Furniture & Shelving 229 50
= $76 83 from Hand-in-Hand », Cost of Timehri, Two Parts to
n' Insurance Company fe 168 46 goth June ’89 ite iss 333 14
ai » Scrip from Hand-in-Hand In- ae Less Sales eit ise 42 38 290 76
fa ig ah an ae ayia tes » Insurance with Hand-in-Hand
3s) 6,009 12 Insurance Company—Build-
jo) » Received from the following ings and Contents $50,000 at *
wn towards New Fittings for iF percent ..., cee 75 00
fx Museum... te, ora 1» Law_ Charges in conneétion
1) Mrs. Williams ... «ss 240 00 with Ridgway... va 48 00
a Jno. McConnell iv 240 00 » Cost of Printing Tariff by Com-
% Stewart Gardner ite 100 00 mercial Committee as 93 14
Lo) Sandbach, Parker & Co.... 100 00 » Postages, Petty and Reading
& Colonial Company via 120 00 Room Expenses ... eee 198 59
% Proprietors Pln. Taymouth » Loss on Sale of $1,654 41, Hand- -
Manor ave ois 50 40 in-Hand Scrip... atte 165 44
Edwd. Geo. Barr mia 480 00 Har REE LE
; 7,861 40
Hogg, © ie Sesetell 240 00 » Paid towards New Cases for
; HughS sOMiGias, : 48 00 Museum .., iy re 778 9°
ener ot fi pnt 1,618 4o | » At Credit of Account for Museum
G : : Purposes... es is 839 50

re of Exchange Room $10. ; 9479. 80

TIMEHRI,

The Secretary read a letter from the Committee of
Correspondence, informing the Society that Mr. G. H,
Hawtayne and Mr. W. S. Turner had been respeétively
ele€ted as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of that Com-
mittee for 1890, and also, that the question of the
next Local Country Exhibition was under consideration.

The Secretary informed the meeting that the following
ele€tions had been made by the respe€tive Committees :—

Agricultural Committee: Chairman, Hon. B. H. Jones;
Vice-Chairman, A. Braud ; Secretary, G. Garnett.

Commercial Committee: Chairman, J. J. Dare;
Vice-Chairman, J. S. Hill; Secretary, G. Garnett.

In the matter of Mr. N. D. Davis’s motion for taking
steps to ascertain the pra¢ticability of inducing the immi-
gration of agricultural labourers from the ‘“ Southern
States,” the mover said he would like to postpone it for
two reasons. The first was, that the new Land Laws had
not yet been passed by the Legislature, and the second,
that he had communicated with Major Walthall on the
subject, who had written to the Governor of Georgia for
information. _

Major Walthall said he had no objeétion to the
postponement, but he would like, with consent of the
Meeting, to say a few words in reference to the remarks
of Mr. Davis at the last meeting. Although his name
appeared in the list of Members present, he had not
arrived in time to hear the remarks in question. He
presumed that he was the only member of the Society
who owed allegiance to a foreign Government, and
when people read that he, as American Consul, said
nothing, when a reflection was cast on the American
people, they would no doubt be surprised. He had no

RS

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS.

objeétion to the proposed Resolution, but he considered —

the remarks of Mr. Davis as exceedingly objeGtionable. ‘ us

That gentleman had stated that in the Georgia Legis-
lature, the question of the emigration or extermination
of the negro had been put to the vote and lost by a tie.
He had read the account to which Mr. Davis referred
and took no notice of it. He would simply put it to
them whether such a question as the extermination of
the negro could possibly be introduced into a deliberative
body like the Legislature? There was no question of
extermination, except the statement that if they did not
emigrate there would be an eventual extermination.
Major Walthall then read some extra¢éts from American
papers, to show that a great deal of the negro difficulty
is caused by reckless talk and stump speeches. He
hoped that Mr. Davis would not take offence if he
should have unwittingly said anything amiss.

Mr. Davis assured the speaker that he took the
remarks in the utmost good part. 7

The Rev. A. J. Leslie brought forward his motion, of
which due notice had been given, to allow Wesleyan
Ministers to pay their subscriptions quarterly. Mr.
Leslie said that the Wesleyan Ministers were liable to
be removed at any time on a short notice, especially
in March, when according to the rules of the Society,
they would be bound to pay for the whole year,
while they only received the benefits of the conne@ion
for three months.

Mr. Irwinseconded the motion, which was duly carried, it
being left to the Dire€torsto make the necessary Bye-Laws,

In answer to a question of the Secretary, Mr. Davis
said that he had no names to propose for the suggested

TIMEHRI.

appointment of Local Secretaries in accordance with
‘Bye-Law, Chap. 3, No. 9, but that the matter was
within the province of the Dire€tors. :

The Secretary read a letter from Prof. Harrison cover-
ing a new Tariff of Fees to be charged by the Government
Chemist for analyses. The matter was referred to the
Agricultural and Commercial Committees.

The Secretary read a letter from Major Walthall,
enclosing a communication from the Hon. J. M. Rusk,
Secretary of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, as to
corn drying, from which the following is taken :—

The kiln-drying of corn is not here practised to any great extent. It
is occasionally done with a cargo destined for a long voyage, and
sometimes the corn and cob are dried together for milling purposes.
In such cases it is simply a kind of baking process, and I know of
no special construétion of kilns for the purpose.

For commercial uses, the hot-air process is now getting much favor,
as it is said to be more rapid, as well as more effectual ; and various
devices are on the market for this purpose, under patents. The one
made for what is styled “ The Ryder Process” seems to enjoy the
most of popular favor; the hot-air in this, being carried up on inclined
evaporators, and the process of dehydration quickly and effectually
accomplished. Dryers under Dr. Ryder’s patent are manufactured by
the American Manufacturing Company, at Waynesboro, Franklin
County, Pennsylvania, from which other particulars can be obtained.

The thanks of the Society were accorded to Major
Walthall for his trouble in procuring the information.

The Loutstana Planter and the Sugar Bowl having
been forwarded for exchange with Zizmehrz, it was
left to the Committee of Correspondence to decide
the matter.

The Rev. W. B. Ritchie on behalf of the Kirk Session
presented two Dutch Bibles which had belonged to the
old Reformed Church, stating that they were very
interesting relics of the past, being lettered Kerk van

é

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS.

Demerary ao. 1788. A cordial vote of thanks wa
given to the Kirk Session, as well as to the Rev. Ritchie
for the donation.

The meeting then terminated.

oS

Special Meeting held on 25th Fanuary.—R. P.
Drysdale, President, in the Chair.

There were 20 members present.

The President stated that he had received a letter
from the Government, inviting the Society to co-operate
with Mr. Nevile Lubbock, who was now in the colony,
in supporting the Imperial Institute. Mr. Lubbock
being connected with that institution, it had been
arranged by the Directors to call this Special Meeting
to hear some remarks from that gentleman on the scope
and aims of tbe Institute.

Mr. Lubbock then gave an explanation of its objeéts,
in the course of which he stated, that they wished to
organise a departmentof Commercial Intelligence, and he
wanted the Society to be the medium of communication
between this colony and the Institute. They wanted
information from all parts of the Empire as to com-
mercial produéts and other matters. In the second
place it was intended to form and maintain a sample
colleétion of the commercial, economical and industrial
produéts of the colony. He ventured to think that great
advantage might accrue to the colony from such exhibits.
With the scientific skill at the disposal of the Institute,

_he had no doubt that many produéts would be discovered
“and utilised for the benefit of the colony. Mr. Hawtayne
had reminded him that after the Colonial and Indian

TIMEHRI.

Exhibition, the Institute had been presented with a good
many of the exhibits from the colony. These would
form a nucleus, and he hoped the Society would appoint
a Committee to procure what other articles they
considered necessary or desirable. He felt perfeétly
confident that any expense incurred would be repaid
by the Government, who would have no hesitation in
voting such a sum as would be required. He hoped
that the Society would do all they could, so that this
colony might not be behind the others, but make such
an exhibition of her products as might lead to increased
prosperity. In conclusion, he asked if any member
wished further information, as he was prepared to
answer their questions. ig

No questions having been asked, the President said he
presumed they were satisfied with the information. He
thought they would not wish for one moment to be
behind hand with regard to other colonies. The
Institute, he believed, would be of benefit to the colony,
and be better than the Exhibitions, on account of its
permanent character. He hoped therefore that they
would all do their best to forward the objeét of the
Institute.

Mr. Turner and Major Walthall having spoken in
favour of the matter, Mr. Julius Conrad moved and Mr,
Kelly seconded :—

“That this meeting approves of the proposition made by Mr,
Lubbock, with reference to the co-operation of the Society in furthering
the object of the Imperial Institute, and request the Direétors to
appoint a Special Committee for this purpose.”

This motion having been carried unanimously, the

President proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Lubbock ~
which was heartily accorded.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS.

Mr. Lubbock thanked the meeting for the very kindly __

way in which they had received him, and listened to, and ? ei

accepted his proposition. He further mentioned that the
Institute would form a kind of club house in which persons
arriving from the colonies would find all they required in
the shape of information, and means of communication,
and in that way he hoped many colonists would be
brought together to their mutual advantage.

Mr. Davis asked, as a member of the Colonial
Institute, whether the Imperial Institute had any
intention of trying to amalgamate the two bodies, as
he should obje& to that. Mr. Lubbock stated that there
was no such project at present, but both bodies would
work in harmony and be of mutual assistance to
each other.

The meeting then terminated.

———_—_-——-

Special Meeting held on rith February.—R. P.

Drysdale, President, in the chair.
There were 23 members present.

The President not being present at the beginning of
the Meeting, Mr. F. A. R. Winter was called to the chair.

The Chairman said he regretted the absence of Mr.
Drysdale who, he knew, would have performed the duty
of introducing Captain Baker more satisfaétorily than
he could. He had, however, much pleasure in intro-
ducing that gentleman, who represented the Boston
Fruit Company, and he believed the obje& of his
coming here was to examine the capabilities of this
‘country for developing a Fruit Industry. The introduc-
tion and expansion of that industry in Jamaica was
mainly due to Captain Baker and the Company, and if

x

TIMEHRI.

e results accrued here from his present visit, all should f
have reason to be thankful.

Captain Baker said that it was generally supposed
that he had started the fruit trade in Jamaica, but such
was not the case. It had commenced about 1868, and
he went there in 1870, when he found the business
worth looking after. The progress of Jamaica had really
been due to the different Governors, who put every
inducement to both growers and shippers. The railway
had been extended, and every facility given by the
Custom House to the steamers engaged in the trade.
The Company. shipped about one-third of the total
export. The great objeétion to this colony was the
necessarily longer voyage. It would not be safe to
calculate on any good result unless they could be
carried in seven days. Another thing to be noted was
that the kind of bananas grown here would not travel
well; not being so even and uniform on the bunches
they would be likely to be broken at the base, and when
that takes place the fruit ripens and rots very quickly.
He had made a trip up the Demerara River, and con-
sidered the land there to be very suitable, but did not
think much of the East Coast. In Jamaica, bananas
and cocoanuts were often planted together ; he did not
think much of the latter in this colony, but thought there
were better prospects for chocolate (cacao), The water
facilities here were very good, and carriage would
therefore be better and cheaper than in Jamaica. As
the right kind does not grow here, they would have to
be imported: they can be supplied from Jamaica at £5
per r1ooo. He did not think any firm would start the
business without a subsidy. The first year would be a

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS.

blank. The steamers in the Jamaica trade could not
the work, special vessels must be built. The Company
were not ship-builders but he did not think there would
be any trouble in getting the steamers.

In reply to questions from the members, Captain
Baker informed the meeting that the average price per
bunch of nine hands in Jamaica was 37 cents to 45 cents ;
for three months in the year there was a competition and
prices were higher; 240 to 300 suckers were planted to
an acre; labour was calculated at one man to 3 acres,
while manure might be required or not according to the
soil.

Mr. Winter then proposed the following resolution
which was seconded by Mr. Jacob Conrad :—

‘« That this Meeting being of opinion that the opening up of the
Fruit Trade with the United States would be of immense value to this
country, and having heard from Captain Baker that the Boston Fruit
Company, which he represents, would be prepared to place a swift line of
steamers upon the route ; this meeting earnestly recommends that the
Legislature of this colony should favourably consider the importance of
coming to an arrangement with the Boston Fruit Company in order to

ensure quick and certain communication between the port of this
colony and Boston, or other ports of the United States.”

The resolution having been supported by Messrs.
Gibson and Cunningham, it was carried unani-
mously, and copies ordered to be forwarded to the
Governor and Court of Policy as well as the Banana
Commission.

The President (who had arrived while Captain Baker
was speaking) apologised for his absence at the opening
of the meeting, he having been unexpeétedly detained,
and spoke in favour of the resolution.

After some remarks of Mr. Johnson as to the dilatory
way in which the Government had carried on the

X2

t enquiry into this matter, a vote of thanks was cordially

TIMEHRI,

- given to Captain Baker, and the meeting terminated.
—_@—_—_

Meeting held on 20th February.—R. P. Drysdale,
President, in the chair.

There were 14 members present.

Ele€tions.—Members : J. B. Harrison, G. W. Perch,

E. Bremond and A. F. Ferreira.

Associates; G. Ross, E. P. Fraser, I. A.
Wilson, R. S. F. Lambert, D. Anderson, Gerard
Hawtayne, C. M. Dance, W. F. Nunn, E. Munro,
H. A. M. Burrowes, and Geo. Cendrecourt.

The President informed the meeting that the Di-
re€tors had proposed Mr. Nevile Lubbock as an Hon-
orary Member of the Society, his ele€tion being left
over until the next meeting in accordance with the rule.

The Secretary stated that the Direétors had appointed
the following gentlemen to form a Committee to co-
operate and correspond with the Imperial Institute, and
to be called the Imperial Institute Committee, which
appointments received the approval of the meeting.

His Excellency the Governor, the Right Hon. Viscount Gorman-
ston, Chairman; President, R. A. and C. Society, R. P. Drysdale;
Vice-President, Hon B. H. Jones; Chairman of Agricultural Com-
mittee, Hon. B. H. Jones; Vice-Chairman, A. Braud ; Chairman, Com-
mittee of Correspondence, G. H. Hawtayne C.M.G.; Vice-Chairman,
W.S. Turner; Chairman, Commercial Committee, J. ]. Dare; Vice-
Chairman, J. S. Hill; Chairman, Planters’ Association, Hon. A. Barr ;
No Vice-Chairman; President, Chamber of Commerce, Hon. A. Barr;
Vice-Presidents, A. Weber and W. H. Sherlock ; Government Chem-
ist, J. B. Harrison; Government Botanist, G. S. Jenman; Curator of
Museum, J. J. Quelch; Thomas Daly, Secretary; with power to add
to their number.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETING

The Secretary read the Report of the Librari
1889.

In the matter of the Supplementary Catalogue re-
ferred to in the Report, it was decided that such a
Supplement should be prepared and printed at the
lowest possible price.

Mr. Davis called attention to the fa&t that the vote of
$576 oo for new books had been exceeded during the
past year, and stated the necessity for keeping within
the estimate during the present year, so as to be able to
provide funds for the necessary repairs to the Society’s
buildings.

Mr. Davis moved the adoption of the Treasurer’s
statement which had been laid over at the last meeting,
which being seconded by Mr. Winter was carried
unanimously.

In the matter of Mr. Davis’ motion, of which notice
had been given at the meeting in December, 1889, for
“inducing the immigration of agricultural labourers
from the Southern States,” the mover asked to be
allowed to modify it. This being granted, Mr. Davis
made the new motion as follows :—

“That a Committee of Members of this Society be appointed, in
order to take steps to make known to the outside world the advantages

which British Guiana offers to agricultural labourers, as a country
where Crown lands can be acquired on easy terms.”

Mr. Davis said that if a number of gentlemen would
take up the matter earnestly, they might get a few
hundred labourers from different parts of the world to
come here and settle. It would be to the advantage of
everyone in the colony to have an increase of population,
which meant increase of trade and development of
every industry. The Society would justify its exis-

TIMEHRI, ©

for the improvement of agriculture.

Mr. Jacob Conrad in seconding the motion said that
he believed this to be the first time that a motion had
been brought before the Society which came near to
carrying out its declared obje@t. There was no doubt
that such colonisation would enhance the wealth of the
country, and he would say, undertake it by all means.
He firmly believed that the time had now arrived when
people might be induced to come and settle here.

Major Walthall said that he had no objection toa
Committee inviting Africans from the Southern States,
nor did he objeét to the original motion, but only to
certain remarks made with its introdution. ;

Mr. Bayley said he quite agreed with the motion, and
if the matter could be put into a praéticable shape, im-
mense good would result. If such people could be
brought here they would be consumers of everything,
which the present class of immigrants were not. Before
bringing these people it would be necessary to make some
provision for them, and it would devolve on the Society
to formulate a scheme and put it before the Government.

Mr. Winter supported the motion. He considered
that if a proper scheme of colonisation could be formu-
lated by the proposed Committee, no Government could
withhold their support from it.

The motion having been duly carried, the following
gentlemen were appointed on the Committee, with
power to add to their number :—

President, R. P. Drysdale ; Vice-President, Hon. B. H. Jones; Sec-
retary, Thomas Daly; Treasurer, F. A, Conyers; B. S, Bayley

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETING

S. M. Bellairs, F. W. Collier, Jacob Conrad, J. S. Da Costa,
Davis, A. R. Gilzean, Jos. Monkhouse, Revd. D. J. Reynolds,
Wakefield, Major W. T. Walthall, F. A. R. Winter, G. W. Rockli
Mr. Jacob Conrad referred to the premium of $50 00
offered by the Society last year for a corn kiln, and
stated that he had found out where a proper dryer could
be obtained, and that he would bring forward the docu-
ments at the next meeting.
_ The thanks of the Society were accorded to Mr.
J. R. Love for a copy of the book entitled, ‘‘ Free Town
Libraries,” by E. Edwards.
' The meeting then terminated.

ee

Meeting held on 20th March.—R. P. Drysdale, Presi-
dent, in the chair.

There were 18 members present.

Eleétions.—Honorary Member: Nevile Lubbock.

Ordinary Member: L. B. K. Collins.
Associates: C. B. Evans, C. G. H. Davis,
Allan Myers and A. Chardon.

The Secretary read a letter from the Secretary of the
Agricultural Committee, in reference to the scale of
fees of the Government Chemist, which had been
referred to that Committee. They were of opinion that
“this is entirely a matter of arrangement between
whoever may wish to have analyses so made, and the
Analyst.”

The President mentioned that Mr. E. G. Barr had
declined to accept the office of Resident Direétor in
London, and proposed that Mr. Nevile Lubbock be
ele&ted. While in the colony recently Mr. Lubbock
had taken very great interest in the Society as well as

TIMEHRI.

olony generally, and he thought they could not do’
ter than appoint him.

Mr. Hawtayne seconded the proposition, which was —
supported by Mr. Davis and carried unanimously.

The Secretary read a communication from J. P. Mc
Laren touching the growing of rice and offering his ser-
vices therefor. The matter was referred to the Agricul-
tural Committee.

The Assistant Secretary laid on the table some
samples of dried bananas, whole and sliced, to which
he invited the attention of the members as a probably
new industry. He had been experimenting with dif-
ferent varieties in various ways during the last two
months, and considered the result as satisfa€tory so far.
The larger varieties took too long; the kind shown was
that known as the “fig.” They lose 75 per cent. of
moisture in drying, and take four or five days, at a
temperature of 120 deg. to150 deg. F. The samples had
been dried on wooden laths placed on a bed of hot sand
There was no doubt that sales could be made, for it was
very difficult to get anything of the sort that could be
sent from the colony without bottles or other trouble-
some packages.

Messrs. Hawtayne, Vyle and Dave spoke in favour
of the experiment and were of opinion that it was the
germ of a new industry.

Mr. Vyle gave notice of motion, that the sum of
Fifty Dollars be granted from the funds of this Society
to Mr. Rodway, for further experiments in producing
marketable samples of dried bananas.

Mr. da Costa suggested that an apparatus for fruit.
drying should be imported.

A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Rodway for his
trouble in making the experiment, and bringing
matter before the Society.

Mr. Davis exhibited samples of tobacco grown in the
colony by Mr. Farrants, of Pln. Eliza & Mary. Not
having been cured properly it was not marketable, but
otherwise the leaf was of fair size, and capable of being
made into some article of commerce.

Some discussion took place, in the course of which it
was stated that cigars had been made from tobacco
grown in the colony, and that they were very good.

The thanks of the Society were accorded to Capt.
Smith of the R. M. S. P. Co’s service, for a copy of
C. E. Taylor’s *‘ Leaflets from the Danish West Indies.”

The meeting then terminated.

——— oe

Meeting held on 17th April.—R. P. Drysdale, Presi-
dent, in the chair.

There were 13 members present.

Ele€tions.—Members: C. G. Parnell and D. E,

Sharples.
Associate: E. L. Donelly.

The Secretary read a letter from the Agricultural
Committee recommending the Society to request the
“Government to assist Mr. Jenman in every way in his
efforts in the propagation of canes from seed.”

Mr. Jones, as Chairman of the Committee, said that
the matter was one of greatimportance, It was generally
known that since last year Mr. Jenman had succeeded in
growing canes from Barbados seed as well as from
flowers gathered in the colony. Those who knew the
Gardens knew also that the portion devoted to cane-
Y

°

TIMEHRI.

growing was extremely unsuitable, the drainage being
bad and the land too low, He felt certain that if the
overnment were approached they would grant a piece
of land in some more suitable locality, or ask the pro-

prietors of estates to give portions of land for experi-
mental purposes. He would do his best to assist Mr.
Jenman and he felt sure that his brother planters would
come forward if the Government would provide the
necessary funds. The experiment was yet in its
infancy, and it would be for those condu€ting it to decide
on and seleét the best varieties of the seedlings. He
thought the Society should take up the matter, and he

would propose a motion as follows :—

** That this Society recommends to the Government the advisability
of giving Mr. Jenman, the Government Botanist, greater facilities for
growing canes from seed than he possesses at present in the Botanic
Gardens, and would also recommend the Government giving Mr
Jenman a more suitable piece of land and sufficient funds to enable bim
to carry on the experiment to completion.”

Mr. Jacob Conrad seconded the motion, which was
also supported by the President and Mr. Winter, and
duly carried.

The Secretary read a report of the Agricultural Com-
mittee on the communication of Mr. J. P. McLaren
as to rice cultivation stating “that as rice is
already grown in the colony, the matter is beyond
experiment, and that Mr. McLaren may obtain land on
application to the Government.” ‘The report was taken
for notification.

Mr. Quelch stated that there was no report from the
Committee of Correspondence, as there had been no
meeting since his return from the interior.

Mr. Vyle brought forward his motion, of which due

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETIN

notice had been given, that $50 be granted to
Rodway for further experiments in drying Bana
Although it had appeared since thé previous meetin
that the idea was not confined to this colony, yet it was —
certain that at present there were none in the market.
There was an idea that a similar article could be pro-
duced by means of American drying machines, but he (Mr.
Vyle) was of opinion that the plan of drying on a layer
of sand, tended more to the retention of the aroma and
delicacy of flavour which had been so much appreciated
the other day. That plan he thought should be followed
out and further experiments encouraged.

Mr. Winter seconded the motion, which was supported by
Mr. Conrad and the President, and carried unanimously.

In reply to a question from Mr. Rodway, Mr. Conrad
offered to take charge of the samples when they were
ready, and forward them to the most likely markets.

A letter from the Government Secretary was read,
asking for information as to the probability of there being
a market in this colony for potatoes grown in Grenada
from English seed.

Mr. Conrad said that there would be no difficulty in
disposing of a fair quantity, if the quality should be good
and the price reasonable.

The meeting concurred with Mr. Conrad, and the
Secretary was requested to reply accordingly.

The Secretary read a communication from the
Government Secretary, covering a number of Queries
sent by the Government of Barbados, as to the rates of
wages paid in this colony to labourers and others. The
matter was referred to the Agricultural and Colonisation
Committ*es.

Y2

TIMEHRI.

Institute, which was ordered to be framed and hung up
in the Reading Room.

Mr. Quelch reported the arrival of a fine lot of addi-
tions to the Museum, which would add much to the
interest of that institution.

The meeting then terminated.

oni

Meeting held on 15th May.—R. P. Drysdale, Presi-
dent, in the chair.

There were 13 members present.

Eleétions.—Members: W. H. Hinds and Howell

Rickford,
Associates: E. F. Bourne, H. D. Jones
and J. D. Smith.

The Treasurer laid over the list of Members and
Associates in arrear, whose names had been struck off
the roll in conformity with Bye-Law 1, Chapter 7. This
list, Mr. Conyers said, would be posted in the Reading
Room, and each defaulter informed of the faét that his
name had been expunged, and that he would be re-
admitted on payment of the arrears.

The Secretary read a communication from the Coloni-
sation Committee, covering copy of a resolution of that
Committee, and also a draft of a Leaflet which was
recommended to be printed and circulated in such-places
as may be considered desirable. The resolution was as
follows :—

‘‘ This Committee recommends to the Society, that, in order to

facilitate the introdution into this colony of suitable persons prepared
to make it their permanent home, the Government be approached with

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETIN

a view to the making of free grants of Crown land, on suitabl
tions, to such intending immigrants on their arrival in the Colon

TO THE WORKING CLASSES OF THE WEST INDIES.

The finest field at the present time, for men with
health and strength who want work and wi// work, is
the Colony of British Guiana.

Estates’ labourers are in demand, and will find ready
employment, immediately on landing, and throughout
the year at fair wages (say per day) lodgings being
provided on the estates.

Able bodied men who are prepared to rough it, will
find remunerative employment at the Gold Diggings
which are now being worked in the Colony with an ever
increasing output, as many as 14,815 ozs. valued at
$265,500 having been exported as the gatherings of the
past four months. The rate of wages paid for this kind

of labour varies from to per day.
Labourers are also wanted for the Woodcutting and
Ballata bleeding industries who can earn from to
per day,

In addition to the above, colonists are wanted, with or
without families, who will settle down in the colony,
making it their home, and who may obtain holdings of
land on the following advantageous terms:

(a.) Free grants of Crown Land subjeé& to certain
conditions, approved of by the Governor and Legislature
may be obtained on application to the Governor who is
empowered under the Crown Lands Ordinance, 1887, to
grant the same in the name, and on behalf, of Her
Majesty.

(6.) Crown Lands under the new Crown Land Regu-
lations 1890, after being seleéted, applied for, and sur-

TIMEHRI.

reyed, may be purchased at public auétion (upset price
one dollar per acre). Should the party who has seleéted,
applied for, and had surveyed such land, be outbidden by
al other party he, (this first party) will be recouped the
money expended, fees, survey, &c., attending his appli-
cation.

(c.) Crown lands may also be rented in traéts of not
less than 25 acres for the period of 21 years,
at the rate of three stivers per acre (that is five
acres for one shilling) per annum, on the condition
that the party renting shall cultivate or otherwise
beneficially occupy within a period of two years
from possession being given, one-fourth of the traét of
land rented to him and shall maintain the same in good
order to the satisfaétion of the Government.

On the proposition of Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr,
Davis, it was resolved that the resolution and draft of
Leaflet, be laid over for consideration at the next meeting,

The Secretary read a letter from the Committee of
Correspondence in regard to the proposed Local Exhibi-
tion, stating that though repeated attempts had been
made to ascertain the chances of success of such an
Exhibition in Berbice, it had been impossible, up to the
present, to get any definite idea on that point.

The Secretary read a communication from the Govern-
ment in answer to his letter covering the resolution of
the Society in regard to experiments in growing cane
seedlings, which stated that the subjeét would receive the
Governor’s attention.

The Assistant Secretary laid over further samples of
two varieties of dried bananas, as well as a specimen

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEE

prepared with sugar. He had received an acc
the first lot sent to England, which was very muc
and arrived in first-rate condition. The specimens
on the table were moister and retained more of t
flavour of the fresh fruit than the first samples. H
hoped to be able to prepare them in such a way that they
would keep long enough for shipment and still be moist
and full-flavoured. A number of sample boxes had been
sent to England by the previous Mail, and other samples
had been distributed to several persons in the colony,
who had all expressed satisfa€tion with their flavour and
appearance.
The thanks of the Society were presented for the
following donations :—
For the Library—
From Mr. J. B. Harrison...‘‘ Three Cruises of the

Blake.’

» Editors — ...British Guiana Medical
Annual

For the Museum—

From Mr. G. Garnett ..-940 00 for a wall case.

», Government... ..A colle€tion of Postage
Stamps.

» Mr. im Thurn ...A number of Zoological
Specimens.

The Meeting then terminated.

ee se
Meeting held on 12th Fune.—R. P. Drysdale, Presi-
dent, in the chair.
There were 14 members present.
Ele€tions.—Meméer: Dr. Fredk. Neal.
Associates: P. L. Fough, J. W, Davis,
Wm. Speed, A. Field, and Wm. Bucklay.

‘
TIMEHRI,

Secretary read a letter from the Agricultural
mittee, forwarding answers to the questions on
Emigration which had been referred to that Committee
_ by the General Meeting in April.

Mr. G. Garnett, the Secretary of the Agricultural
Committee, stated that the answers had been compiled
from seven or eight different sources, and the rates of |
wages were average rather than extreme.

On the motion of Mr. Daly, seconded by Mr. Davis,
a vote of thanks was accorded to the Agricultural Com-
mittee for their trouble in drawing up the answers.

Mr. Duncan spoke in favour of the accuracy of the
rates of wages as given by the Agricultural Committee,
which he thought very moderate, He was glad that the
question of immigration had been opened up, as he
thought the time had now come when great progress
might be made, The Gold Industry was yet in its
infancy, and he believed it would yet rival King Sugar.
Then there was the Banana Industry, for which we had
plenty of land, and only wanted labour, without which
he was very much afraid it would come to nothing. It
would be wise policy on the part of the Government to
introduce more immigrants. There was a gentleman
here, Mr. Rodriguez, who had been concerned in send-
ing 12,000 emigrants from the Azores to the Sandwich
Islands. The planters there did not want any more, and
there were now 5,000 or 6,000 persons ready to emi-
grate, who might be induced to come here. Another
gentleman had said that a thousand immigrants could be
obtained from St. Vincent, who had been put out of
employ by the abandonment of several sugar estates.
These would no doubt make good and useful colonists.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETIN

Then there was Barbados, where he understood t
were good labourers ready to come at the present rate
wages here. If the Government would take the neces-
sary steps to carry out this immigration, it would be no
burden to the colony, but, on the contrary, contribute to
the welfare of the community. When the labourers

_29uIe9, preparations would have to be made for receiving

them, and he believed that many of the estates’ proprie-
tors would be willing to take them under engagements
for a year. By that time they would have become
acclimatised, know the country, and be in a fair way to
become useful colonists. He considered that the
Society should take up the matter and urge on the
Government the necessity of carrying it out, because if
ever there was a time in the history of the colony when
immigrants were wanted that time was now.

Mr. Garnett endorsed what had been said by Mr.
Duncan and stated that the Chamber of Commerce
would hold a meeting to consider the same question,
on Monday, and he thought the Society might also
have a Special Meeting on the same day to urge
on the Government, the necessity of introducing
more labour.

Mr. Jacob Conrad mentioned having seen Mr.
Rodriguez, who had told him that plenty of immigrants
could be obtained if they were guaranteed wages of 50
cents a day and houses apart from blacks and coolies.
Mr. Rodriguez was quite willing, if invited, to come
before the Society and give any further information.

On the motion of Mr. Hawtayne, seconded by Mr.
Garnett, it was resolved that an Extraordinary General
Meeting be held on Monday the 23rd instant, at noon, to

Z

TIMEHRI.

ider the question of Immigration, and that Mr. Rod-
uez be invited to attend.

The matter of the proposed leaflet, laid over from
the previous meeting, was then brought forward, and on
the motion of Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Hawtayne it
was decided, that the blanks be filled up from the
answers to the Emigration questions, that the gold
export returns be given to the end of June, and that a
thousand copies be then struck off for circulation in the
Islands.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. D. E. Headley,
Secretary of the Bedford Band of Hope Industrial Show
informing the Society that that Society intended to hold
a Show on the 5th of August ensuing, and asking “‘ aid
in the shape of a small donation for presentation of
prizes.”

It was agreed that the matter be referred to the
DireGtors, the Secretary being directed to write to Mr.
Headley for further information as to the Show. |

The resolution of the Colonisation Committee, as to the
Society approaching the Government to procure free
grants of land to intending Immigrants, was post-
poned to the next Meeting.

The Secretary called the attention of the meeting to a
copy of Grant Allen’s “ This Mortal Coil,” which had
been disfigured by a borrower scribbling on the title
page and in the body of the work. He hoped that by
pointing out the matter publicly such foolish praétices
would be put a stop to.

Mr. Hawtayne said that a person who could deface a
book in such a manner was unfit to be a member of the
Society.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETI

Mr. Rodway laid over specimens of a great imp
ment in dried bananas, a sample from Trinidad, and
a box from Messrs Finney and Lambert, who were pr
paring to carry out banana drying as a commercial
speculation.

The thanks of the Society were presented to Mr.
Davis for the following works :—

12 Vols. Surinam Almanacs.

1 Copy Petition from Demerary 1803—(in Dutch) for
and against free trade with England.

Mr. Quelch, Curator of the Museum, intimated that he
had lately received a living specimen of L£pzcrates
cenchris one of the most beautiful of snakes. It wasa
species of boa and showed the most Borgcous prismatic
colours in sunlight.

The meeting then terminated.
aS ae

REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE.
QueEstion,—What are the current rates of wages in your Colony for

persons of the following classes :—

Artisans— ANSWER
Carpenters Sie teas bh taxe Ge to g6c per day
Masons ... owe Pry, seek }OO to $1 04 do
Smiths ... ae eae =p babe (352: to _ $1 13 do
Wheelwrights ... cue seal OF. to 80 do
Shipwrights... wee meet ad, to 80 do
Tailors ... see sr rh eal beat —

Shoemakers =aP we eo _—

Others— Foremen
Fitters... sive ais ae ae. (te 18c 43c per hour
Iron Turners’... a ES to 26 43 do
Brass and Iron Moulders sees 32 to 21 75 do

Porters and Carters—

In country aso) eae re to 48c per day
In town .. ous ove sve, 10 to 64 do

TIMEHRI.

senpe eave VEY vad +8 70 to $11 70 per month
oss abs wand 72 to 9 08 do
rdinary Labourers—

Men adi RN cdg Cran 2 to 4gc per day

Women ... near Mee Vane eee to 23 do
Agricultural Labourers—
Men:
Cutting Canes ... «= ee 44 to 84c per day
fp) daten: 1a. 0 ..tat Sp to $800 per acre
Planting Canes, Cane-hole
Digging ~~ «. vee sao | 4Q to 66 per day
do do do ...$7 40 to $10 00 per acre
Trenching and Draining ... 32 to 52 per day
Forking... ase ase ete 32 to 48 do
Wo. tess =. eis «092 25 to $275 per acre
Hoe-ploughing ... oa aaa
Weeding nahn patanen pe gvvpe eases to 42 per day
Go) ts ase ate oy Mt 50 to $2 IS per acre
Moulding eer ane sere ae to 32 per day
do eee os. 181 50 to $275 per acre
Road Making ... = seas to 48 per day
Other Labour «1 es swe 24 to 48 do
Women:

Cane Cutting, Planting, Cane-
hole Digging, Trenching, sees ee TALe Se but they
Draining and Hoe-ploughing seldom, if ever, do this sort of work

Weeding coe eee oa). 260 to 32c per day
do 0a = vee «$1 50 to $275 per acre
Moulding oes wee oe = 24 to 36 per day
desis ae at SI 50 to $275 per acre
Road Making ... 7 win, to 24 per day
Other Labour ... das <a 20 to 24 do
Children eve eee e.» 10 to 16 do

Q.—With reference to Agricultural Labourers, how many hours
a day are they expected to work to earn the maximum rate
of wages ?

A.—From 8 to 93 hours a day, but much depends on the skill of
the individual.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEE

Q.—When the work is paid by task what may be the pro
ings of able-bodied labourers, men and women working 9 ho

Cane Cutting Men... 53C¢ to 88c

do Planting def ks Sas? ie 81

do Hole Digging do .. — =
Trenching &draining do ... 46 to 78

Forking a0.) 434 aD to 71
Hoe Ploughing ... aps a — =
Weeding Men & Women... 30 to 54 do
Moulding do dO as igi to 54 do
Road Making do dons ag to 40 do
Other Labour ... aon oo —

It will be noticed that these rates are higher than under question 1,
being based on a full day of 9 hours, the other rates being for an ordi-
nary day.

Q.—What are the statutory or usual sizes of the tasks of each kind
mentioned, &c.?

A.—Varies so that this is virtually unanswerable,

Q.—Please state generally whether there is a demand in your Colony
for Emigrant artisans, labourers and others of the classes described
under head 1?

A.—There is no demand at present for artisans. There is plenty of
work for all other classes of labourers, but especially for steady field
labourers, Good domestic servants can always find employment.
Demand for unskilled labour is decidedly on the increase.

Q.—Can persons of the labouring classes, with or without a little
capital, acquire small holdings of arable land, cleared or uncleared, and
on what terms ?

A.—On nearly all Sugar Estates and elsewhere, labourers can get land
on lease for terms of 2 and 3 years, the first 10 months being given free
of rent. Rent as a rule is $1 an acre per month. Land can be ob-
tained from the Government at $1 per acre freehold, subje& to Crown
Lands Regulations; this latter sort of land is of course uncleared, the
former is as a rule cleared and is also, if on an estate, properly drained}
Village lots can also be obtained but the taxation is somewhat heavy.

Q.—What is the probable cost of living of persons of the labouring
class in your Colony per head per day, including house rent, board and
clothing, the diet being pickled and salted fish, meal, rice, sweet
potatoes, &c,

TIMEHRI.

od labourers can generally get house rent free on estates, failing
tal in villages costs about from 4c. to 8c. per day, food
24c.

lothing would depend a good deal on labourer, but say from $1 20to
per month would be ample for ordinary wear, 4c. to 63 per day or
altogether 26c. to 383c. would amply cover all ordinary expenses: The —
calculation for food in above is very ample and in case of married
people, the house rent ser head would be much less. Besides this good
labourers living on estate get the benefit of estate’s hospital, free.

Q.—Please give any further information at your disposal on the
subje& of Creole Emigration, generally, to your Colony, and the chances
of success that probably await industrious labourers there?

A.—There is a very large field for the industrious labourer and he
can invariably find work to do of some class or other; the chief fault
with all black labourers is that they are apt to make a speciality of
work, for instance a man who is a cane cutter will do nothing else and
consequently when there are no canes to be cut, he remains idle. A
man who will turn his hand to any work can almost invariably find
plenty of work to do, the only exception being when there is very dry
weather. This demand for labour is likely to increase, as the growth in
the Timber and Gold Industries is attracting a large number of creoles,
the wages being very high, on an average 64c. a day and all provisions
found, with the chance of earning more by extra task work. Apart
from actual wages, a steady labourer can easily obtain land for growing
provisions, and as the land gives very good returns living is made very
cheap to those who are moderately industrious. Fish is to be had for
the catching either in the fresh water canals or in the sea, and food
being so easily obtainable there is a tendency amongst the black
labourers generally, to get into idle habits unless theit ambition is
roused for some special purpose, For a hard-working industrious man
accustomed to a tropical climate, this coleny is equal to any in the

world,

——_@—_—

Extraordinary Meeting held on 23rd Fune.—R. P.
Drysdale, President, in the chair.

There were 25 members present, and Mr. Rodriguez
by invitation.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEE

The Secretary read the advertisement calling
sent meeting.

The chairman stated that it was unfortunate tha
meeting was not a larger one, as the matter was ve
important. Up till lately there had been no scarcity o
labour in the colony, but during the last twelve months,
_ what with the wet weather and the gold fields, there
seemed to be a great necessity for additional labourers.
Everybody was grateful for the prosperity of the gold
industry, but it would never do for the sugar estates to
suffer on that account, and therefore some steps must be
taken to get a supply of labourers from outside. There
were also other industries to be supported, such as the
banana and fruit cultivation, which would be a great bene-
fit to the colony if properly carried out. They had met
to consider what steps should be taken, and he would
call on Mr. Rodriguez to give his views on the prospeét
of obtaining labour from Madeira and the Azores.

Mr. Rodriguez said that good labourers could be pro-
cured easily if they were guaranteed reasonable wages,
under engagements for one or two years. Under such
arrangements a great number had already gone to Bra-
zil, and other emigrants were now going to Africa.
The conditions under which he believed they could be
procured were as follows :—

Wages Single Men -». 918 00 per month
do Married Men, without children .... 19 00 do
do do do with dpi“) ce igor o8 do
do Women above 15 years ... 15 00 do
do Boys from 12 to 14° do. .... 12.00 do

Dwelling houses, well ventilated, rent free. Medical attendance
and hospital, free. Free education for the children, A piece of land to
grow vegetables, free,

TIMEHRI.

s labour to last eight hours, and the contraét to be for one
years with the right of renewal if the parties agree.

ider these conditions Mr. Rodriguez thought that
migrants could be procured, but he was not quite
certain, on account of the present African dispute.

The chairman said that the terms appeared to him
rather high, and he did not think they were in a posi-
tion to contraét for many people at those rates.

Mr. Bellairs said that such engagements would be
simply impossible on sugar estates on account of the
system of task work. He then brought forward the
following resolution :— .

‘¢ That in view of the prospeétive scarcity of Agricultural labour in
the near future, consequent on the great development of the Gold and
other Industries, this Meeting respeétfully urges upon His Excellency
the Governor, the necessity of steps being taken to introduce labourers
who are willing to come under contract from the West Indian Islands,
Madeira, the Azores, Cape de Verdes, &c.”

Mr. Geo. Garnett, in seconding the resolution, said
he thought the best scheme that had been brought for-
ward was that of the Planters’ Association, who had
sent round circulars asking the planters whether they
were prepared to take Barbadian or Portuguese labour-
ers. He thought that better than simply saying,
‘‘we want labourers and you can arrange the matter
for us.”

Julius Conrad said that Mr. Bellairs’ motion
apparently contemplated only estates labour, his idea
was that the Government should borrow three or four
millions sterling, and get a sufficient supply of labour
once for all, at the expense of the colony. This would
be no burden on the community, as every new arrival
would increase the revenue.

REPORT OF SocietTy’s MEE

Mr. Weber and Mr. Gibson spoke in
resolution and of the difficulty in procuring labo

The chairman having put the resolution to th
it was carried unanimously.

On the motion of the President, seconded by Mr.
Sherlock, it was resolved that a Committee composed of
Messrs. Culpeper, Bellairs, Garnett and Gibson, be em-
powered to draw up a petition to His Excellency the
Governor, embodying the resolution of the present
meeting.

In reply to a question of Mr. Weber, Mr. Rodriguez
stated that the cost of introducing immigrants from
Madeira would be from $25 to $30 per head.

Votes of thanks were accorded to the chairman and
Mr. Rodriguez, and the meeting then terminated.

List of the Lecture Series.

a
HE MICROSCOPE, ITS OPTICAL PRINCIPLES, CONSTRUCTION AND
APPLICATION.” :

Delivered on Tuesday, February 25th, by H. T. Gladwin,
Sub-Immigration Agent.

principles of the microscope, tracing the
wa © effet on the rays of light, of the various
simple lenses and the combination of these to produce

the compound microscope; the various applications

which have been made of the microscope were then
referred to, and an exhibition given of a number of
slides illustrating various parts and specimens of Inseéts,
by means of a magic lantern with the oxy-hydrogen
light.

20.—*' LONDON.”

Delivered on Tuesday, March 25th, by E.C. Luard, Manager,
Plantation Peters Hail.

The le&turer began by giving statistics relative chiefly
to the size and importance of London; and of the 49
photographic views, which were shown by means of
the oxy-hydrogen light, information was given as to the
history of each, with the prominent features associated
therewith.

ERRATUM.
On page 89, !ine 22, for Rese, read Rése.

Se —AHE leGturer began by explaining the optical

‘

The Post Office in British Guiana before 1860.

By Fames Rodway, F.L.S.

mP to the time of the English conquest of the
| three Colonies which now form British Guiana,
SrA SCthere was no Post Office. Of course people
Saroti letters, and sent them in the best way they could,
but there was nothing like certainty or regularity either
in the departure or arrival of the mails.

When the head-quarters of the colony of Essequebo
were at Kyk-over-al, the West India Company sent out
one or two vessels annually, to carry supplies and bring
back the produce of the colony. By each vessel a
package of letters was sent to the Commandeur. From
the ‘‘Articled Letter’ of the Company we are able to
glean the regulations for this correspondence. The
Company was very jealous that its affairs should be kept
secret, and to this end provided by Articles 54 to 56
against information being given to those not concerned.
No servant of the Company was allowed to write any-
thing relating to the trade, commerce,.war, or conduct
of any other servant, to any but the Direétors or the
Chambers, on pain of losing three months wages. To
the end that this should not be infringed it was forbidden
to carry private letters, but they were to be delivered to
the highest authority in the place, and enclosed with the
correspondence of the Company. These letters were
all opened, and read and certified before delivery, or
might be detained if the Dire€tors found anything which
they thought should not be known. Under these cir-

188 TIMEHRI.

cumstances there could be no private letters, and the
servants of the Company as well as the few planters in
Essequebo had to be very careful in writing to their
friends.

This primitive system lasted from the earliest times, up
to the latter part ofthelastcentury. A package of letters
was sent to the Commandeur, who opened it himself,
took out his own correspondence, and handed the
remainder to the Secretary, who delivered the letters to
their owners when they were called for, It does not
appear that any postage was charged at first, but the
Secretary exa¢ted a fee of one guilder each when the
correspondence became of importance; This amount
did not err on the side of being too little, as the Secretary
had such a small salary that he could only manage to
live by means of the heavy fees he exaéted.

There was no regular communication with Berbice or
Surinam, but it was often necessary to send letters to the
latter colony to be forwarded to the Netherlands, on
account of the long intervals between the regular vessels.
Even Essequebo and Demerara were quite isolated from
each other, the planters having to send to Fort Island
for their letters when a vessel arrived. The Government
proclamations were sent round in canoes under the charge
of colony slaves, the managers or proprietors signing their
names to show that the publication had been exhibited.
In Berbice, proclamations were read at certain places,
the inhabitants being called together by beat of drum.

After the arrival of so many English settlers from
Barbados and other islands, about 1740, communication
with the West Indies became frequent, and letters were
sent by private vessels. These did not go to the Secre-

THE PosT OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 189

tary’s office, but were delivered by the ship-captains or
their consignees. No interference took place in this
matter, and for a long time the Government mail from
the Netherlands was quite distin& from the ship letters.
Letters for Demerara were often sent from England to
Barbados, and called for there by petty traders from
this colony.

The British would probably have established a Post
Office in 1782, if the French had not captured the
colony before things became settled. The only item
referring to letters during the British occupation, isa publi-
cation, that it was forbidden to send letters to Berbice,
unless they had been first read by Captain DAy, who
then represented the supreme authority, the Governor
and Court of Policy being however still retained.
Immediately after the French conquest, on the toth of
February, 1782, it was published that “a ship will sail
for France in 8 or to days, by which anyone can send
letters to Holland or other countries,” and that a letter-
bag would be provided at Mr, SCHUYLENBURGH’S house.
In January following, ADRIAN LONCQ was appointed the
first Postmaster of Demerara. He was bound to deliver
the letters by four whzte servants, within four days after
their arrival. The first messenger went along the West
Coast, the second to the East Coast and Courabana, the
third up the West Bank as far as Harmensteyn, and
the last up the East Bank to Zand of Canaan. They
were to get receipts for each letter, and the Postmaster
was entitled to charge a fee of five stivers. Persons who
lived in Mahaica Creek and beyond, as well as those in
the Upper Demerara, got their letters in the best way
they could. A trusty person was sent by the Postmaster

AA 2

190 TIMEHRI.

to Essequebo, who delivered the letters for a fee of two
schellings (26 cents). Correspondence for Europe was to
be delivered to the Postmaster, who charged half a schel-
ling for each letter, and the sender might demand areceipt.
It was also agreed by the Court at the same time, that a
mail should be despatched to Berbice every two months.

After the restoration of the Colonies to the Dutch in
1784, the Post Office was abolished, and the old system
of receiving letters at the Secretary’s Office restored.
During the following years, up to 1796, the inhabitants
suffered greatly from the want of regular communication
with the mother country. In 1791 it was resolved by
the Court of Policy that a subsidy be paid to provide a
Mail Service to Berbice and Surinam. During the war
with France between 1793-5, the mails were received
and sent by way of Barbados, and a vessel was chartered
by the colony as a Packet boat, but when the Batavian
Republic was established, all communication with the
British Colonies was cut off. On one occasion an
American vessel was engaged to carry the Mails to and
from St. Eustatius, as it was unsafe to send them under
other than neutral flags.

In 1793 the first attempt was made to establish a
local postal delivery by an Attorney-at-Law named
J. C. DE La Coste. This gentleman established the
first Printing Office, and published the pioneer news-
paper of Demerara on the rst of November 1793:
Every subscriber to this paper was entitled to the privi-
lege of having his letters carried free of charge, while
other persons had to pay ten stivers for each letter.
The messengers left Stabroek every Sunday morning
and Wednesday afternoon, returning two days after-

THE POST OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. IgI

wards. This arrangement lasted for two years, but does
not appear to have given any profit to Mr. DE LA COSTE,
in faét, a purely local Post Office in private hands could
hardly be expected to pay in such a small colony.

With the British conquest of 1796, the want of proper
postal communication was at once felt by the new
possessors. On the 11th of June of that year, Lieutenant-
Colonel HisLop called the attention of the Court of
Policy to the absolute necessity of establishing regularcon-
veyance of letters to the army, for which he wanted Packet
boats to ply weekly between Demerara and Barbados.

The Governor said that the establishment of a Packet
Boat and a Post Office would he a general benefit to the
inhabitants. He would therefore like to hear the opinions
of the different members as to such an establishment.

After deliberation it was resolved :—

*©In consideration of the extensive use and benefit to be derived
from such an establishment, for the community at large, that a Post
Office shall be established in Stabroek, at the expense of the Colony,

and under the management of a proper person, who shall receive an
annual salary of 1200 guilders.”

To raise this sum each letter was to be charged five
stivers on delivery, but no charge was to be made for
those to be forwarded abroad. The Postmaster was to
render an account every six months, and if the postage
should not have amounted to the salary, any deficiency
would be supplied from the colony chest.

It was further agreed that a Packet boat should be
hired, as it would be too expensive to buy such a vessel.
Until the Postmaster should be appointed, the arrange-
ment with the Secretary’s Office was to be continued, but
instead of his charging a guilder per letter as before, he
must only exact five stivers. All masters of British vessels

192 TIMEHRI.

were ordered, immediately on their arrival, to hang up their
Letter Bags at the Secretary’s office, and, after it was
established, at the Post Office; also to call for them
before going away ; no vessel being allowed to clear or
enter without a certificate that this had been done.

The Post Office was thus fairly started as a Govern-
ment institution, but the first Postmaster was a failure.
On the 26th of May, 1797, the Governor reported to
the Court, that Mr. THOMSON had absented himself
without leave, and his whereabouts was unknown. He
(the Governor) had found the Post Office in confusion
and disorder, and put it under the control of the Secre-
tary’s office for the present. It was resolved to dismiss
the delinquent postmaster and appoint another, Mr.
JAMES MuRRAY being chosen.

This gentleman did not hold the office long, being
superseded by a nominee of the Postmaster-General,
Mr. JAS. OGLE, who exhibited the following letter to
the Governor in July, 1798 :-—

General Post Office, London,
April 4th, 1798.

Sir,—In the Mail for Barbados, that is now making up in this Office
there will be a bag included, containing the letters for the Colonies of
Demerary, Berbice and Essequebo, which the Postmaster of Barbados
will deliver to you. My Lords the Postmasters General, at the instance
of the merchants here, trading to the Colonies in question, have con-
sented to give you a nominal appointment of Postmaster, you will of
course dispose properly of the letters, and I beg to add that the Post-
master of Barbados is authorised to demand from you the payment of

the postage as often as he shall find it convenient.
S. FREELING,

Secretary.

P.S.—Any such letters as you may not be able to deliver, from not
finding the persons to whom they may be directed, or who may have

THE PosT OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 193

left the place, &c., the Postmaster of Barbados will return you the
postage for, as dead letters.
To James OGLE Esq., of Demerary,
or the person appointed by him to receive the
Demerary Bag, Barbados.

As a natural result of this communication, the Colonial
Postmaster was discharged from his duties, and the
Post Office was carried on under the immediate control
of the London authorities. The letter from the Governor

to Mr. MuRRAY, was as follows :-—
Government House, Stabroek,
July 3rd, 1798.

‘Sir,—Mr. Ogle, who has arrived in the colony, has shown me a letter
signed by the Secretary of the General Post Office in London, compre-
hending a nominal appointment conferred on him as Postmaster in
Demerary, Berbice and Essequebo. In consequence, by his acting in
that capacity within this Government, your function of a Postmaster
under the Colonial appointment here will cease. At the first meeting
of the Court of Policy, I shall make to them the communications
necessary by the above circumstance, and lay before the said Court the
amount you have delivered me of postages received during the time of
your acting. In the meanwhile, with respeé to such letters as have not
yet been taken up, and are still in your possession, I request you will
cause a list of them to be inserted in the Essequebo and Demerary
Gazette, noticing the persons to whom they are addressed, to send for
them within a month after the date of the advertisement, as at the
expiration of that time they will no longer be held by you, but sub-
mitted to the Government of the Colony to take such measures respett-
ing them as may be deemed proper.

I return you thanks for the trouble you have taken, on my proposal,
in discharging hitherto the foregoing funétion, and am, with great
regard,

Yours, &c.
AnTony BEAUJON.

When the colony was restored to the Batavian Re-
public in 1802, Mr. C. T. RAPIN was appointed Post-
master, and in January 1803, arrangements were made

194 TIMEHRI.

for regular and quick Mail Packets to and from Barbados.
However, these arrangements were almost immediately
frustrated by the war again breaking out, the Mail boat
being detained, and the colonists put to great inconve-
nience from want of regular communication until
Uétober following, when the colony was again captured
by the British.

On the 17th of Oétober 1803, the Court of Policy
considered the necessity for making new arrangements
with Barbados. The existing state of things was un-
bearable. The mails had come sometimes when oppor-
tunity occurred, but there had been no certainty of their
coming at all, while, when they did arrive, it was only
after long delays. Mr. RAPIN proposed that the schooner
Fanny, belonging to Mr. BYNOE be engaged, she being
known as a fast sailer and well suited for the purpose.
Her owner was willing to depart from Demerary on or
before the 2oth, and in three days after his arrival in
Barbados, be ready to return with the mails. BYNOE
would take the risk of the sea, provided the Government
took that of capture by the enemy, and the cost would -
be three joes or 66 guilders per day.

On deliberation, the Court came to the conclusion that
it was not desirable to settle the matter until they heard
from England, as probably something might be done
by the Postmaster General. Meanwhile the Colonial -
Postmaster was ordered to make arrangements with
Barbados, so that by the first opportunity after the
arrival of the Mails there, they might be forwarded by
British vessels. It was agreed that a premium of five
joes should be paid to the vessel bringing the Mails, to
raise which, the Postmaster was empowered to charge

“Tue Post OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 195

ten stivers for each letter ; if this should not be sufficient
the Court would make other arrangements.

On the 31st of January, 1804, Mr. RAPIN represented
to the Court the material loss sustained by the Post
Office, from the practice of letters being distributed by
captains of vessels, and also the serious risks of the
Mails being captured by the enemy. A Publication was
therefore issued, ordering all persons coming from
abroad to deliver their letters to the Post Office, on pain
of a fine of 25 guilders for each letter otherwise
delivered. Nothing could be done, however, to protect
the Mail boats, so they were obliged to trust to their
fast sailing in escaping the enemy.

On the 29th of May following, the Governor informed
the court that His Majesty had appointed Mr. THEO-
PHILUS WILLIAMS Receiver of Essequebo, and Post-
master of Essequebo, Demerary and Berbice, and that
Mr. WILLIAMS had arrived some days ago. Mr. RAPIN
was thus superseded, and the Colonial Post Office again
gave way to the Deputy Postmaster General.

Mr. THEOPHILUS WILLIAMS having several other
offices, appointed his brother as his deputy, a sort of
thing not uncommon at that time, when a patentee of an
office had in many cases never even visited the colony.
The following account of an outrage on this Deputy
Postmaster’s Deputy will be interesting: the Gazette of

November 22nd, 1806, says :—

“ Between one and two o'clock on Tuesday last, a young man
alighted from his horse at the Post Office, and went in and enquired if
there were any letters for him. On being answered in the negative he
used much abusive language. which occasioned Mr. WILLIAMS to desire
him to depart, and to enforce his desire by pushing him on the
shoulder, when the young man drew a pistol from his pocket and shot

BB

196 TIMEHRI.

Mr. Witttams a little above the hip. He then deliberately mounted
his horse and rode off. Mr. Witiams did not fall immediately, but
ordered his boy to endeavour to seize the assassin, which was attempted,
but without effe&t. The best surgical assistance was immediately pro-
cured. Drs. Lroyp, Duncan and WaApDLE attended, but all attempts
to extraét the ball proved fruitless. He bled profusely, cid not appear
to suffer much pain, was perfe€tly calm and collected, and made his
will.”

From the meagre report it does not appear what was
done to the would-be assassin. He was captured by Dr.
ROBINSON while trying to escape up the East Coast.
A week afterwards Mr. WILLIAMS was out of danger
and ultimately recoveréd.

There were other complaints of detention of letters,
from which it appears that some persons thought the
Postmaster either very careless, or else that he wilfully
withheld them from the addressees. In the Gazette of
March 2nd, 1813, Mr. WILLIAMS published the following
peremptory demand from Mr. J. C. SCHULTZ :—

Sir,—As I am positively assured that Captain Witton brought
a letter from London to my adress, and which he accordingly deposited
in the Post Office, I have therefore to request you will deliver it to the
bearer ; otherwise I shall be under the necessity of addressing myself to
His Excellency for the recovery of the same,—having repeatedly

requested that my letters should not be delivered to any person without
a written order from me.”

To this charge and others the Postmaster publicly
stated, that he had reason to believe that letters had been
brought by passengers or retained by captains, contrary
to law, and in this way never reached their owners.

In 1810, a special Mail Packet Service was established
to sail monthly from Falmouth, direét to Surinam, where
the vessel lay for four days, thence to Berbice, remain-
ing three days, and finally coming to Demerara, where,
after a stay of three days, she proceeded home by way

THE Post OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 197

Barbados and Martinique. This arrangement remained
in force until the latter part of 1813, when the Mails
were again despatched twice a month by way of Barbados.
The regular West Indian Mails were then made up in
London on the first and third Wednesday in every
month. The colony paid the expense of the ‘‘ Demerary
Packet” from Barbados, which cost in 1815, £20,098.10
(£1,675).

For the first fifteen years of this century the Mails
were very irregular. The risks and dangers from the
enemy were supplemented by delays caused by the con-
voy system, while it sometimes happened that the Mail
Packet was captured. The American war was very
disastrous ; in August, 1813, the Berbice Mail, in O&tober
the Morgiana Packet and three other vessels, and the
English O&ober Mail to Barbados, were all captured by
American privateers. On the 11th of February, 1815,
the Chesterfield Packet arrived, and reported having
had a fight with an American privateer off Madeira
which lasted three hours and ahalf. ‘‘ The enemy was
superior in weight of metal, but not in bravery and skill.”
After both vessels were much cut up and damaged, the
American made off, to the great satisfaction of the
plucky little Mail Packet. In July, 1806, H.M. Ship
Nimrod fell in with the Wzr/‘am bound for Berbice, and
chased her for five hours without knowing what she was.
The William threw her letters overboard, and both
vessels got aground before they found out their mistake.

Under such circumstances the Post Office in these
Colonies was of very little importance. The regular
Packet was often behind time, so that it was a
common complaint that the news brought by the Mail

BB2

198 TIMEHRI.

had been anticipated by other vessels. The desire for
European and American news was well met by the
“ Royal Gazette” and ‘“‘ Guiana Chronicle”, which almost
ignored local items, while their seleétions were very
good. The rivalry of the two local newspapers kept
them on the look-out for vessels, and every now and
again a complaint comes up, that the “Chronicle”
had succeeded in getting hold of a newspaper that should
have gone to the “ Gazette.”

On the 8th of March 1822, the editor of the Royal

Gazette wrote :—

“‘ Confound the regulators of the Post Office, say we, who do not
make our packets come by steam; then we should go on at a nice jog-
trot, from fortnight to fortnight, knowing exactly what quantity of
pap we could afford to give our nursling at a time, being well assured
of a fresh supply at the moment required; but now in this lubberly
way of one packet staying a week beyond, and another coming two
weeks before its time, we are bothered for three weeks together to find
wherewithal to make a respectable appearance. And what kind of
appearance do we make? One talks nonsense of scarlet fever and
small pox and t’other responds about doétors and hempencures. Alas!
alas! for the poor folks who belong not to any book club; for if they
depend for intelle€tual food upon the newspapers, thay must starve.”

The anxiety for news is well portrayed in some verses
by “ JERRY SNEAK,” “ scribbled in consequence of the
hubbub the signal for a ship made this morning,” July
11th 1838, of which the following extraéts will show the
style :—

** A sail—a sail—a promised prize to hope—
Her nation—flag —what says the telescope ?
Is it the * Underwood” from London, fraught
With doleful tidings, that too soon are brought?
Or shall the *‘ Hopkinson” the bearer be
Of what we're anxious for, yet dread to see?

* * *

THE POST OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 199

But all agree a ship is coming in

And two hours more will silence all the din

Then we shall see (as showmen say at fairs),

** What we shall see.” So useless all the airs

Of quidnunc prophecy—* Who’s out,” “* Who's in ;”
Whether they’re finished, or yet to begin.”

Except by the regular Packet, there was no commu-
nication with Berbice. A correspondent in the “ Royal
Gazette” of February 24th, 1818, suggested that some
of the Colony negroes should be employed as messengers,
to carry Mail bags to Mahaica, and (by arrangement)
exchange with other messengers from Berbice. Nothing,
however, came of this recommendation.

The enormous fees of the British Post Office wasa
crying evil in the early part of this century, but the
charges here were entirely unreasonable. A single
letter, i.c., one sheet, cost a shilling for ocean postage,
while the Deputy Postmaster charged a guilder (1/8)
for receiving and delivering it when called for. The
smallest enclosure made a double letter, and in doubtful
cases the Postmaster held the letter up in a strong light
to see if it contained any tiny bit of paper.

The excessive charges were represented in the Court
of Policy in 1810, but nothing could be done, as the
Post Office was beyond the control of the Government.
On November 2nd, 1815, the inhabitants of Demerary
petitioned the Court of Policy against the exorbitant
charges of the Post Office. They had to pay 66 per
cent on the English postage and a guilder for ship
letters. A meeting of Planters had been held at the
Union Coffee House on the 26th O€tober previous, and
a tariff proposed on the basis of 10 stivers to the office
for each letter. This had been submitted to the Post-

200 TIMEHRI.

master, but without result. It was decided that the
Court could not interfere, as the rates of postage were
settled by A& of Parliament.

In 1818 a complaint was sent to the Postmaster
General by Mr. J. H. H. HoLMeEs of Demerara, from
which it appears that franked letters had been charged
the full postage, and also that the then Deputy forced
the inhabitants of Georgetown to pay extra for quick
delivery, those who did not pay being subject to great
delay and vexation.

Deputy Postmaster B. HARPER, in O&tober 1824, had
a little difficulty with Governor D’URBAN, which ended
in his resignation. It appears that the Mail arrived a
little after sunset, when the Postmaster despatched the
Governor’s private bag, leaving the others until morning.
As the Governor expected other letters, he wrote to the
Post Master for an explanation, who referred to the
rules that if the Mail arrived after sunset the letters
were to be delivered the following morning. He said,
in his letter to the Government Secretary, “ it would
have taken me at least two hours by candle light, before
I could have assorted the letters in the different bags, to
have enabled me to ascertain if there were any for His
Excellency, either private or public—not being very
well I retired to bed about my usual hour, 8 o’clock. I
take this opportunity of requesting you will do me the
favour to state to His Excellency, my wish to be
relieved from this unpleasant and unprofitable office, by
appointing some person to take it over, until the pleasure
of His Lordship the Postmaster-General may be pleased
to appoint my successor.”

Mr. WM. FRASER, who was then appointed, did not

Tue Post OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA, 201

get on very well, on account of his charging ship letters
as double or triple, when, according to the opinions of
the inhabitants and the custom of former Postmasters,
there should have been one uniform rate of a bitt for
each. The following complaint was sent by him to
Governor D’URBAN on the 8th of February 1825 :—

May it please your Excellency.—lI feel at all times the greatest possible
reluctance in intruding myself on your Excellency’s time, or being in
any respect troublesome in laying before Your Excellency a complaint
or grievance under which I may labour, so be it that such grievance
could be endured with any degree of toleration—but when as in the
present instance the cause and rise of my complaint is grounded on
wanton and seemingly premeditated aggression, urgent and present
necessity must plead my excuse, and procure for me Your Excellency’s
forgiveness,

The Mail Boat, the Anne and Eliza, Captain BENNETT, from Bar-
bados, bringing the 2nd December Mails, arrived yesterday afternoon
in the harbour, and duly delivered at this office, a little before the hour
of 4 o'clock p.m., the mail bags. The letters and papers were assorted
and ready for delivery at about fifteen minutes before the ensuing hour
of five o’clock ;—from this period till about the hour of seven, or until
it became dark, my assistant and myself continued to deliver letters
and papers—in the course of which time we distributed and sold more
than one half of the quantity received. The glut of people having by
that period completely and wholly subsided and, as I supposed entirely
ceased, my assistant departed and I closed the Office for the night. I
had no sooner retired to my apartment to prepare myself for refreshing
the wants of nature, and prepare the Berbice Mail for Captain BENNETT'S
return, than my hall was completely filled with a crowd of young clerks,
who in the most disorderly and contumacious manner demanded their
Employers’ letters. From encountering so much petulance and un-
merited disrespect from young men anything but respectable, I abso-
lutely and in the most peremptory manner refused appropriating any
portion of my private time to the use of a public who so ungenerously and
shamefully conducted themselves in so unhandsome a manner towards
me. During this altercation Captain BENNETT returned, very fortu-
nately for me, for the Berbice Mail Bag. He was so shocked and
astonished at the insolence and abuse showered upon me that he in the

202 . TIMEHRI.

most handsome and spirited manner, although an entire stranger to me,
condemned as “ unjust and highly indecorous, their condué&t -a conduct
at once so unbecoming and improper, that although he had been for
for the space of fifteen years (he said,) in the Packet employ, he had
never seen nor heard anything to equal it—for sheer insolence, down-
right imposition, and daring infringement on the respectability which
ought by right to belong to the situation of Postmaster” and ‘‘ which
he had always seen everywhere else excepting in Demerara, duly
respected and upheld with deference and due decorum.”

The whole of this disorderly proceeding appeared to me, please your
Excellency, to have arisen from a premeditated plot or conspiracy set
afoot among a number of young men, who seem determined to annoy
me by every means and method in their power. Out of the many
offenders in the present instance I have in a more especial and particu-
lar manner to point out to Your Excellency—a young man of the name
of AnTHOony Fox, Clerk in the store of Messrs. NurRSE, TROUGHTON and
Nurs, and another youngster of the name of Law, in the store of
Messrs. Murray BROTHERS & Co.

This, then, please Your Excellency is the whole matter, And in the
full hope and confidence of being shielded by Your Excellency’s conde-
scending protection, both as a private individual and as a person
holding an office of great responsibility and trust—having never before
been in or out of my own house, So openly and audaciously insulted, I
beg in the most humble manner to leave my cause in Your Excel-
lency’s hands as the Protector and Guardian of the Public Safety, as
well as of the peace and security of individuals.

I have the Honour with the highest consideration and respeét, to be
most faithfully and devotedly Your Excellency’s very obliged servant

WILLIAM FRASER.

The salary of the Postmaster at this time was £100
per annum, with fees amounting to about £85 extra. I
have been unable to discover when E. H. DALTON became
Deputy Postmaster, but it was some time before 1830,
from which time he and his successor E. T. E. DALTON
were conneéted with both Imperial and Local Post
Offices up to 1875. With the organisation of the Police
System in 1839 an imperfect Postal arrangement for the

THE PosT OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 203

country distri€ts was initiated, and carried on for a long
time. It seems to have been more for the purpose of
distributing the mails from abroad than for local letters.
In the report of the Inspe€tor-General of Police to June
goth 1841, he stated that the casualties in running the
Overland Mail to Berbice had been numerous. It was
in contemplation to establish Mail communication with
the Arabian Coast through Leguan and Wakenaam to
Spring Garden, and thence to Pln. Richmond, as soon
as the Leguan Steamer now daily expe&ted, commenced
to ply. On the 27th of O&ober following, the Court of
Policy sanétioned a regular Mail twice a week to Airy
Hall by the Steamer Royal Victoria, thence to be carried
by a Mail gig to the Police Station at Capoey, thence to
Henrietta, and finally to Windsor Castle.

In January 1842 arrived the first Mail Steamer. This
event was said by a correspondent to the Royal Gazette
to be the opening of a new era, “ the advantages of
which we cannot yet form any idea.” The Clyde was
described as a beautiful specimen of naval archite€ture.
Her engine room was enough to give some ideas of
what the art of man could do. She was fitted up with
great elegance and comfort and could accommodate
upwards of a hundred passengers. Captain WOODRUFF
entertained a large party of ladies and gentlemen, in-
cluding the Gevernor, who were all highly delighted
with the appearance of the vessel, and the attention they
received. The fare (£51) was considered too high; if it
had been put at a charge below that of sailing vessels,
the Gazette thought they would have secured all the
passengers, and increased the number of travellers. The
postage was a shilling the half-ounce for British and

ce

204 TIMEHRI.

foreign letters, four pence a single letter for British
Colonies, and two pence for newspapers. The Steamers
were very irregular at first and it was many years before
there was any certainty of the Mail arriving when due.
The want of facilities for transmission of printed matter
(other than newspapers) was very much felt. When the
Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society was formed
in 1844 a hundred copies of the Prospe€tus were sent in
a parcel to a corrrespondent in London, for the purpose
of being posted there. On opening the parcel at South-
ampton, the Custom HouSe authorities, finding each
Prospeétus wrapped and addressed, put the lot in the
Post Office, with the result that each addressee had to
pay two shillings postage. The Society petitioned Lord
STANLEY to have the postage reduced on such packages,
but nothing was done for a long time afterwards.
During the struggle between the Combined Court and
the Governor in 1849, the local Mail service came to
grief. The Court having stopped the supplies, the
police were almost disbanded and the Mails ceased to
run. In the following year however arose the nucleus
of our present Post Office System, and with it the intro-
duétion of Postage Stamps. The “ Notice” was dated
June 15th 1850, and was published in the “ Gazette” of
the same day. After the first of July, Mails would be
made up every afternoon (Sundays excepted) for Plai-
sance, Beterverwagting and Buxton, to return the fol-
lowing morning and be delivered at 10 a.m. in Water
Street and Main Street. This delivery was apparently
an innovation, and, with an exception to be presently
noted, did not get beyond the two principal streets
for many years. Every Tuesday and Friday, a mail

THE Post OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. =. 205

went to Berbice, and on the same days others went
to Essequebo, calling at various points on the route:
The postage was 4 cents for the East and West Coasts,
8 cents for Mahaicony, Leguan and Wakenaam, and 12
cents for Berbice and Essequebo ; newspapers being
free. Prepayment was necessary in all cases, to facili-
tate which Postage Stamps of the respective values of
4, 8 and 12 cents were being printed, and would be
ready for sale on or before the 24th June at the Post
Offices in Georgetown, New Amsterdam and at the
different receiving offices.

It is noticeable in this conne€tion that Stamp Col-
leétors claim to have a two cent stamp of the same issue,
which is so rare as to fetch enormous sums, whenever by
chance a specimen appears. This stamp appears to have
been issued in accordance with a notice dated February
22nd 1851. By order of the Governor, and upon the request
of several of the merchants of Georgetown, it was pro-
posed to establish a delivery of letters, twice daily through
the principal streets of the city, as far as the Roman
Catholic Chapel on the Brick Dam. To pay for this
convenience an extra stamp of the value of two cents
was to be used, without which the letter would not be
delivered, but remain in the Post Office until called for,
This delivery was to commence on the rst of March fol-
lowing, but as it was discontinued soon afterwards, it is
probable that the extra stamp prevented that support
necessary to pay for the additional Postman.

While thanking the Governor and Mr. DALTON for
- establishing a regular Mail along the Coasts, the colo-
nists were not very well pleased with the system of
charging by distance. A correspondent in the * Royal

CC2

206 TIMEHRI.

Gazette” stated this obje€tion as the reason why the
Inland Post was not more used. At first sight it appeared
very fair and just, but when it was considered that any-
one could send letters by boat for almost nothing, it
could not be expeéted they would pay twelve cents ; it
should be four cents throughout the colony.

The matter came up in the Combined Court on April
2nd, 1851, when the Estimate was under consideration,
The cost of the Inland Mail was $600, with $200 for the
Postmasters of Demerara and Berbice, and $1,600 for
contingent expenses. Mr. O’DONOGHUE moved a
resolution, which was adopted, that the Court of
Policy be requested, in any Ordinance for regulating
the Inland Post to fix a single rate of four cents
for letters and one cent for newspapers, through-
out the colony. In accordance -with this resolution
a notice was published on the 25th of December
following that on and after the ist of January 1852,
the postage would be reduced to 4 cents per half
ounce and that a charge of 1 cent would be imposed on
each newspaper.

It will be interesting to colle€tors to read the following
account of the early issues of stamps from a letter of
Mr. E. T. E. DALTON, dated December 16th 1861 :-—

‘*‘ Prepayment by stamps was first introduced into the colony on the
re-establishment of the Inland Mail in 1850. These stamps were of the
respective value of 4, 8 and 12 cents, and were printed in the colony on
yellow, blue and red paper. As they could be easily imitated at any
printing office, I was obliged to initial them. They were of the com«
monest description, and were only in use a few months, until a better
sort could be got out from England. The next were of the value of 1
and 4 cents, as a postage of 1 cent had been imposed on all local news-

papers, forwarded per post, and the postage on letters had been reduced
to one uniform rate of 4 cents per half ounce; 1 cent red, 4 cents blue.

THE Post OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 207

I may here observe that the postage on papers was soon taken off, and
not re-imposed until the local Post Office Ordinance was passed in
1860. These stamps were for local letters only; those for places
beyond the limits of the colony were prepaid in money. In May 1858
the Postmaster-General conceded to all the West Indian Colonies, except
Barbados and Trinidad, the privilege of pre-payment of letters by
_ English Stamps, and sent out for that purpose four different kinds,
1d., 4d., 6d, and 1s. These continued in use until the colony took
over the Post Office in May 1860, when stamps of equal value, but of
different currency, were executcd for the service of the Colonial Post
Office. The stamps then executed are those now employed, and with
the 1 cent and 4 cent previously used make six kinds. The colours
are 1 cent brown, 2 cents orange, 4 cents blue, 8 cents lake, 12 cents
lilac and 24 cents green. Letters for Great Britain must be prepaid, as well
those for the Islands. For places beyond Great Britain, not requiring
pre-payment, there is no difference in the postage, whether they are
prepaid or not. On local letters however, posted unpaid, double is
charged.” J,

The Inland Mail was a very great boon to the
colony, but strange to say the members of the Combined
Court did not see this. The spirit of opposition to the
Government was so strong that everything emanating
from that source was attacked inveterately. On the
15th of May 1856, when the cost was estimated at
$8,706, Mr. PETER ROSE said that the mails should be
carried on horseback, so as to save the expense of
carriages and harness. Mr. SMITH had moved an
amendment to the vote that the Inland Mail should
be done away with altogether, except fortnightly to Ber-
bice for the English Mails. He said that the roads
were very bad, and it was not wise to incur heavy
expense for them unless there was sufficient trade to
require the communication. The Police Stations were
placed in most inconvenient positions, to suit the Mail,
but not where they were most wanted, which was in the

208 TIMEHRI.

principal villages. The Governor said that if they merely
reduced the expenses of the Police for the Overland Mail
to Berbice, ‘‘ they would find the saving all moonshine.”
The amendment was lost, and the Mail carriages con-
tinued running, although they sometimes broke down
through the badness of the road. On one occasion the
Berbice Mail was overturned into a trench and one of
the horses drowned, while minor casualties were quite
common.

The Royal Mail Company suffered many severe losses
in its early years. In the latter part of 1851, the
S.S. Demerara was wrecked on her trial trip, and then
came the loss of the Amazon, which was such a horrible
catastrophe that it sent a thrill through the civilized
world. The story of this ill-fated vessel has often been
told, but there are a few points which have been ignored
by ordinary writers, that were particularly interesting to
the friends and fellow-citizens of the lost, and which are
worth relating.

On the 27th of Jannary 1852, the usual “ Review for
Home Readers” was published in the “ Gazette,” in
anticipation of the Mail, and on the 2gth, the Editor
called attention to the faét that the packet was overdue.
He went on to say that the constant detention of the
Mails was a serious annoyance, from which he hoped they
would soon be exempted, as it was reported that the
Mail after the one then de, would be carried to St.
Thomas by one of the new, large, swift steamers, the
Amazon, which had already proved satisfa€tory on her
trial trip.

No great anxiety was felt as yet, because irregulari-
ties had been common, but when the Derwent arrived

THE PosT OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 209

on the 3rd of February without the English Mails, people
began to wonder what had become of the missing steamer.

The ‘* Gazette” supposed it was the Dee, “ one of the
worst boats of the Company,” and hoped that if any
accident had happened, neither lives nor mails had been
lost, but that she had been able to put back. Papers
received from the Islands told them that the missing
vessel was supposed to be the Amazon, and showed that
considerable anxiety was felt with regard to her fate. This
failure of a new steamer so soon after the disaster to the
Demerara was particularly distressing.

Meanwhile the Amazon had left Southampton on the
and of January, with a crew of 110 men, and 50 passen-
gers among the latter being Mr. M’LENNAN, (a Stipen-
diary Magistrate) with his wife and infant, Mr. ROBERT
NEILSON, Mr. ROBERT HICK, and Miss SMITH, all
bound for Demerara.

Some little anxiety was felt by the passengers when
on two or three occasions, the engines had to be stopped
to prevent the bearings becoming over-heated, but no
danger was anticipated. However, a little after mid-
night on the morning of the 4th, when steaming through
the Bay of Biscay, with half a gale of wind in her teeth,
the passengers were woke with acry of ‘‘ Fire! Fire!”

The scene of confusion was indescribable ; the pas-
sengers ran on deck in their night-dresses to find the
flames lighting up the surrounding darkness, and roaring
horribly as the wind rushed to feed them like the blast of
a furnace. Mrs. M’LENNAN caught up her child and
ran across to her husband’s berth. The door was locked,
and it was not until she had knocked loudly and called
out at the top of her voice that he woke up. They

210 TIMEHRI.

rushed on deck in their night-dresses and Mr. M’LENNAN
exclaimed, “Oh God, the ship is on fire!” He then
urged her to go down and get some clothes for herself
and the child, and went down himself, but she was too
frightened to move. An officer said to her, “ give me
your child and I will save him.” He took the boy,
handed him to a seaman who was sitting in the pinnace,
and lifted her up into the same boat, against her pro-
testations that she wanted to fetch her husband. The
officer then sat beside her and ordered the men to cut
the lashings. The boat dropped at one end, but owing
to a hitch in the block the other end held fast. As the
boat was hanging almost vertical, most of the people fell
into the sea, but Mrs. M’LENNAN caught hold of a fixed
seat by one arm and her baby by the other, and hung
there until almost exhausted, calling for help. At last
some men coming to look after the boat found her, and
having righted it, got in with her, and succeeded in
getting clear of the burning vessel. They were tossed
about for 17 hours, Mrs. M’LENNAN being drenched
to her waist in water by the sea continually breaking
over the boat. Without food, clothes or shelter, the
poor wife (or widow) held on to her babe through that
night and the nextday. Ashawl which she had snatched
up to cover the child, was the only article they had to
make a sail to keep the boat before the wind. They
were at last picked up by a Dutch vessel, the Gertruzda,
and taken to Brest, Mrs. M’LENNAN being almost in-
sensible, but still clinging to her babe. Her husband
having been lost she went back to Edinburgh, and aban-
doned her intention of coming to Demerara.

Miss SMITH, who was coming to Demerara as a

THE PosT OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA, 211

governess, awoke at the first alarm of fire and ran on
deck in her night-dress, with a blanket thrown over her
shoulders. She saw the cutter floating at the side of the
steamer and jumped into her, (a distance of fifteen feet)
just as the boat was pushing off. The lady lay in the
bottom, covered with the \lanket, but gave up her
covering when told that it\would make a sail. The
sailors however contributed what coats they could spare
to cover her, and she sat in the stern-sheets translating
their orders to the steersman, who happened to be
a Belgian. They pulled through the night and all
Sunday, until quite exhausted, when at last they were
picked up by the Gertruzda, which had just before
rescued the pinnace. .

Altogether, five boats were picked up, containing
fifty-nine survivors; the burnt and drowned therefore
numbered 102. Mr. NEILSON got off with others in the
life-boat, which was picked up by the Marsden, but Mr.
M’LENNAN and Mr. HICK were never heard of afterwards.

The news was brought to Demerara on the 12th of
February, ‘ throwing a great gloombover the community.”
All the shipping in the river hoisted their flags at half-
mast, as did also the authorities of the Reading Room.
The ‘‘ Gazette” said that “ the manner in which that new
steamer had been lost was shocking, dreadful,—perfe&ly
frightful. Of the hundred and fifty-six persons on board
not a third were saved. Some were burnt to death,
others suffocated in their berths, and others drowned.
The fearful scene on board surpassed all description.”
Hopes were still entertained that Messrs. M’LENNAN and
HICK might yet be picked up, but they were doomed
to be disappointed.

DD

212 TIMEHRI.

In 1850, on account of new English Mail arrange-
ments, and the difficulty in answering a letter by the
same steamer, several gentlemen on the East Coast
made arrangements for signalling her. A blue and red
flag was carried on the Railway engines, and a similar
signal hoisted at the stations, whenever the Mail arrived
in the night or early morning, so as to give the people
along the line notice to go for their letters. Sometimes
the Mails were made up before the steamer was signalled,
at other times only a very short time was allowed. The
colony had to thank ANTHONY TROLLOPE for a little
concession iu this matter, he having recommended Mr.
DALTON not to close the letter box until the Mail was
signalled.

ANTHONY TROLLOPE arrived in the colony by the
steamer Derwent on the 25th of February 1859 and left
on March 11th following. This short residence of a
fortnight gave him material for his amusing account of
the colony in “The West Indies and Spanish Main.”
His visit here meant a revolution in the economy of the
Post Office, he being deputed to make arrangements for
the abolition of the Deputy Postmaster General. The
following is a copy of his letter to the Governor :-—

Georgetown, Demerara 26th February, 1859.

Sir,—Your Excellency is aware that the Postmaster-General is
anxious to induce the Colony of British Guiana to undertake the control
of the two Post Offices, which are now established under His Lordship
at Demerara and Berbice. The matter has, I believe, been twice sub-
mitted to the local Legislature, and the proposal has, on each occasion,
been rejeéted by a majority,

The Post Offices at, by far, the greater number of English Colonies
have now been taken up by the Local Governments. This has lately

been done at Barbados and Trinidad. There are many reasons why
they should be better managed under the control of aresident Governor

THE POST OFFICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 213

than by surveillance exercised at so great a distance as London;
and this would certainly be done with greater economy by the Local
Government.

Your Excellency is aware of the terms, with reference to the division
of the rates of postage, upon which it has been proposed to hand over
the Post Office to the colony.

It appears that such a transfer is peculiarly desirable at Guiana,
where there is a Local Post Office already under local control, together
with local rates of postage, and a local system of post conveyance.

Under these circumstances, the Postmaster-General would be glad
that Your Excellency should make any suggestion that may occur to
you with the view of carrying out this obje&t. It may perhaps appear
to you probable that the measure might be a third time submitted to
the Legislature with some chance of success, or failing that, that other
steps might be taken by the home Government which would have the
effect desired.

I have the honour, &c.,
AntTHONY TROLLOPE, Surveyor, General Post Office.

As a result of ANTHONY TROLLOPE’S visit “ An Ordi-
nance to establish a Colonial Post Office” was passed on
the 3rd of January 1860 and came into operation on the
2nd of May following. Since that time there have been
many improvements, and altogether it may be said that
our Mail service, both inland and foreign, has attained to
a wonderful degree of perfe€tion as compared with what
it was thirty years ago. There is, however plenty of
room for improvement, especially with regard to postal

deliveries in the country distriéts.

DD2

Fireflies.

By Lady Blake, famaica,

IGHT is always in itself beautiful and attra€tive.

It would be difficult or impossible to imagine

a light that would be ugly or repulsive. Even
a <a dip flickering in the window of a hovel, sends a
thrill of pleasure and comfort through the breast of the
traveller toiling across some lonely bog or through a
gloomy forest, and it is difficult to realize that the glow
of the will-o’-the-wisp ought to be shunned and not
followed. But if inaminate light is beautiful and wonder-
ful, how surpassingly lovely and astonishing are those
living creatures whose bodies are temples not alone of
life, but of a€tual light. The glow-worm, common and
lowly. inseét as it is, never fails to attra& the attention
of a passer by, though few probably, pause to refleé&
over the marvel of the little hedge-row Hero untiringly
showing a light to guide the tiny winged Leander to her
bower. The life history of the glow-worm is well-known,
and from the poetical point of view, except to a gardener,
it is somewhat disappointing to know that both the
larva and perfeét inseét are predatory and feed upon
snails. The male inseét, though generally supposed to
be non-luminous, emits a certain amount of light, though
in a far less degree than the wingless female. Even the
eggs of the beetle are said to be luminous. The English
poets from SHAKESPEARE downwards are fond of asso-
ciating glow-worms with fairies and spirits. In the
“ Merry Wives of Windsor” when FALSTAFF is tor-

FIREFLIES. 215

mented by Mistress QUICKLY, ANNE PAGE, Sir HUGH
EVANS and others disguised as fairies, Sir HUGH says :-—
‘6 Pray you lock hand-in-hand :

Yourselves in order set;

And twenty glow-worms shall our lanterns be,

To guide our measure round about the tree.”
In the “ Midsummer Night’s Dream” TITANIA when
ordering the elves to wait on the Weaver desires them :—

‘© The honey-bags steal from the humble bees,
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs
And light them at the fiery glow-worm’s eyes,
To have my love to bed and to arise.”
And in HAMLET’s interview with his father’s ghost, when
the spirit is about to depart, it exclaims
** Fare thee well at once,
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,

And ’gins to pale his uneffectual fire :

Adieu, adieu |”
In DRAYTON’s Nymphidia, the encounter of TELAMON
with a glow-worm when the Fairy King is seeking his
missing Queen is thus described :

** He next upon a glow-worm light,

(You must suppose it now was night)

Which, for her hinder part was bright

He took to be a devil:

And furiously doth her assail,

For carrying fire in her tail ;

He thrashed her rough coat with his flail ;

The mad King feared no evil,

* Oh! quoth the glow-worm, ‘ hold thy hand—

Thou puissant King of fairy-land,

Thy mighty strokes who may withstand ?

Hold, or of life despair I

Together then herself doth roll,

And tumbling down into a hole,

She seemed as black as any cole,

Which vext away the fairy.”

216 TIMEHRI.

It is unnecessary further to multiply quotations on the
subject.

The glow-worm is not the only luminous creature
found in the British Isles. Some species of centipedes
are said to emit a phosphorescent light, and on one
occasion in the West of Ireland, we observed some
brilliant creatures when driving home on a dark night,
lying in the middle of the road. On investigation they
turned out apparently to be common earth worms,
though I believe it is a movt point whether the worms
are ever in themselves luminous, or if the appearance is
caused by the centipede, which preys on earth worms,
having crawled over and left some portion of its phospho-
rescence on them. If we leave England to go further south,
how exquisite it is to see the myriads of winged gems flash-
ing their minute lanterns in the meadows of the Tyrol, or
the lowlands of Lombardy. No wonder the Italian
peasant considers fire-flies to be spirits arisen from their
graves, though it is strange that the dread with which all
spiritual appearances have become invested amongst
civilized people, makes the ignorant contadino shun the
lonely apparition with terror. In the Tyrol, fire-flies
are known amongst the country people as “ Johannes
Kafer,” that is “ John’s Beetles,” as after St. John’s Day
in Midsummer they are no more seen till the following
year.

But going still further, if we are fortunate enough to
find ourselves in the tropics, how unspeakably beautiful.
is a moonless night in the West Indies, when mountain,
forest, and plain are throbbing with lights of various
sizes and intensities, from the minute fire-fly of about 2 of
an inch in length, to the splendid “ cucuyo” or fire-

FIREFLIES, 217

beetle over an inch long with two large eye-like lights in
the thorax and the abdomen glowing lIlke a living
emerald. It is singular that the life history of creatures
so numerous and so common should be almost unknown,
the theories on the subjeét being very confliéting. It is
an interesting field for exploration that awaits some
future biologist. Scientists are prone to set inordinate
value on names and genera, so the fireflies have been
placed amongst the Lampyridz, while the fire-beetles are
pronounced to belong to the A/ateridz family, but where
the “ cucuyo” as the Spaniards name him, (Pyrophorus
nocttilucus) emerges from the egg, or how he passes his
larval youth and acquires the power of shining in the
world, is still a matter of conjeéture. Rotten wood is
by some supposed to be the cradle of all this brilliancy,
while others hold that the imago, anticipating the votaries
of ‘‘ Sweetness and Light” draws his nourishment from
the sugar-cane, and roams the earth in the humble guise
of a wire-worm. Every one has read how the Creole
ladies sometimes put diamonds to shame by wearing
fireflies in their hair and on their dresses at balls in
Cuba and the other islands, but one of the most pic-
turesque uses to which fireflies were ever put, was on the
evening the band of French settlers first landed at
Montreal. Their first care was to raise an altar “ona
pleasant spot near at hand.” Some of the high-born
ladies who were with them, decorated the sylvan altar
with such flowers as the place afforded, and then all the
company, soldiers, artisans, sailors and labourers, de-
voutly knelt on the sod while the Priest celebrated Mass,
and by and by when evening closed in and fireflies began
to twinkle around, the pious French emigrants captured

218 TIMEHRI.

the glittering visitors, tied them into shining festoons
and hung them before the altar where the Blessed Sacra-
ment still remained. Then tents were pitched, watch
fires lighted and sentries posted, and the first French
colonists lay down and slept peacefully on Canadian soil.

The Spanish discoverers on returning home did not fail
to enlarge on the wonders of the fireflies in the newly
found lands. PETER MARTYR’S account of what he learnt
on the subject from the voyagers is so curious that I
quote it at length :—“ In Hispaniola and the rest of the
Ocean Islands, there are plashy and marish places, very fit
for the feeding of herds of cattle. Gnats of divers
kinds, engendered of that moist heat, grievously affliét
the colonies seated on the brink thereof, and that not
only in the night, as in other countries: therefore the
inhabitants build low houses, and make little doors
therein, scarce able to receive the master, and without
holes, that the gnats may have no entrance. And for
that cause also they forbear to light torches or candles,
for that the gnats by natural instinét follow the light,
yet nevertheless they often find a way in. Nature hath
given that pestilent mischief, and hath also given a
remedy, as she hath given us cats to destroy the filthy
progeny of mice, so hath she given them pretty and
commodious hunters, which they call cucuy. These be
harmless winged worms, somewhat less than backs (bats)
or reere mice, I should rather call them a kind of beetles,
because they have other wings after the same order,
under their hard-winged sheath, when they leave flying.
To this living creature (as we see flies shine by night
and certain sluggish worms lying in thick hedges) provi-
dent nature hath given 4 very clear looking glasses ; 2

FIREFLIES. 219

lying hid in the plank under the sheath, which he then
sheweth when after the manner of the beetle, un-
sheathing his thin wings, he taketh his flight into the
air, whereupon every Cucurus bringeth 4 lights or candles
with him. But how they are a remedy for so greata
mischief, as is the stinging of these gnats, which in some
places, are little less than bees, it is a pleasant thing to
hear. He, who either understandeth he hath those
troublesome guests (the gnats) at home, or feareth lest
they may get in, diligently hunteth after the cucuy.
which he deceiveth by this means and industry, which
necessity (effe€ting wonders) hath sought out. Whoso
wanteth cucuy, goeth out of the house in the first
twilight of the night, carrying a burning fire-brand in
his hand, and ascendeth the next hillock, that the cucuy
may see it, and swingeth the fire-brand about calling the
cucuius aloud, and beateth the air with often calling and
crying out Cucuie, Cucuie. Many simple people
suppose that the cucuy delighted with that noise, come
flying and flocking together to the bellowing sound of
him that calleth them, for they come with a speedy and
headlong course; but I rather think the cucuy make
haste to the brightness of the fire-brand, because swarms
of gnats, fly unto every light, which the cucuy eat in the
very air, as thc martlets and swallows do. Behold the
desired number of cucuy, at what time the hunter
casteth the fire-brand out of his hand. Some cucuius
sometimes followeth the fire-brand, and lighteth on the
ground, then is he easily taken, as travellers may take a
beetle (if they have need thereof) walking with his
wings shut. Others deny that the cucuy are wont to be
taken after this manner, but say, that the hunters espe-
EE

220 TIMEHRI.

cially have boughs full of leaves ready prepared, or
broad linen cloths, wherewith they smite the cucuius ~
flying about on high, and strike him to the ground,
where he lyeth as it were astonished, and suffereth
himself to be taken, or as they say, followeth the fall of
the fly, they take the prey, by casting the same bushy
bough, or linen cloth upon him, howsoever it be, the
hunter having the hunting cucuius, returneth home, and
shutting the door of the house, letteth the prey go.

The cucuius loosed, swiftly flyeth about the whole 4q

house seeking gnats, under their hanging beds, and
about the faces of them that sleep, which the gnats use
to assail, they seem to execute the office of watchmen,
that such as are shut in, may quietly rest.”

Unfortunately the Spaniards seem to have been
mistaken in regard to the supposed voracity of the
cucuy in regard to mosquitoes, but it is singular that to
this day the negroes in Jamaica believe that the
“ peenies” as the inseéts are commonly called there,
may be taken in a way very similar to that described by
the Abbot of Sevilla Nueva. If you hold a peenie be-
tween your fingers on a dark night and stand in the
open air, shaking it about and calling aloud “ Peenie,
peenie weary, come to be fed” the other peenies, say
the negro peasants, will come hastily flying up to
their fellow and can easily be taken.

To return to MARTYR: “‘ Another pleasant and profi-
table commodity proceedeth from the cucuy. As many
eyes as every cucuius openeth, the host enjoyeth the
light of so many candles; so that the inhabitants spin,
sew, weave and dance by the light of the flying cucuius.
The inabitants think that the cucuius, is delighted with

FIREFLIES. 221

the harmony and melody of their singing, and that he
also exerciseth his motion in the air according to the
a€tion of their dancing. But he, by reason of the divers
circuits of the gnats, of necessity swiftly flieth about
divers ways to seek his food and our men also read and
write by that light, which always continueth until he
have gotten enough whereby he may be well fed. The
gnats being cleansed, or driven out of doors, the cucuius
beginning to famish, the light beginneth to fail, therefore
when they see his light to wax dim, opening the little
door, they endeavour to set him at liberty, that he may
seek his food. In sport and merriment, or to the intent .
to terrify such as are afraid of every shadow, they say
that many wanton, wild fellows sometimes rubbed their
faces by night with the flesh ot a cucuius being killed,
with purpose to meet their neighbours with a flaming
countenance, knowing whither they want to go, as with
us sometimes wanton young men, putting a gaping toothed
vizard upon their face, endeavour to terrify children, or
women who are easily frightened, for the face being
anointed with the lump or fleshy part of the cucuius,
shineth like a flame of fire, yet in short space that fiery
virtue waxeth feebler, and is extinguished, seeing it is a
certain bright humour received in a thin substance.”

The inseét certainly retains a small amount of light
for some time after death. The luminous portion of the
abdomen easily separates from the remainder, it is a
tough, slightly elastic substance, the light becoming
more brilliant when the separated portion is squeezed,
“many authorities hold that the light is phosphorescent
in its nature, but the distinguished Italian Scientist,
MATENNI, has demonstrated by chemical analysis, that

EE 2

222 TIMEHRI.

it does not contain phosphorus, but is apparently an
elaborate nervous mechanism. MARTYR has much to tell
aboutthe beetle. He continues :—“ There is also another
wonderful commodity proceeding from thecucuius. The
islanders appointed by our men go with two cucuy tied
to the great toes of their feet (for the traveller goeth
better by dire€tion of the lights of the cucuy than if he
brought so many candles with him as the cucuius open
eyes) he also carrieth another cucuius in his hand to seek
the Utie by night. Utiz are a certain kind of cony, a
little exceeding a mouse in bigness and bulk of body,
which four footed beast they only knew before our
coming thither, and did eat the same. To go also a
fishing by the lights of the cucuy, unto which art they are
chiefly addi€ted, and exercised therein from the cradle,
that it is all one with either sex of them to swim, and to
go upon the dryland. * * * * * * * While
I was writing this discourse of the pretty cucuius, a little
before noon, accompanied with CAMILLUS GILLIVUS
(whom I make my continual companion, both because
he is Your Excellency’s servant, (MARTYR is addressing
Viscount FRANCISCO SFORzIA, Duke of Milan) as also
for his pleasing disposition and behaviour) JACOBUS
CANIZARES the doorkeeper of CA:SAR’S chamber, came
with me unexpeted, who also from the first beginning
of these things (together with no small number of Pala-
tines, the familiar friends of the Catholic Princes
FERDINANDO and ELIZARETH, young men desirous of
novelties) went with COLONUS himself, when having
obtained the second fleet of 17 ships he undertook the
matter or discovery of the ocean; whereof I have suffi-
ciently, and at large discoursed to ASCANIUS. He

FIREFLIES. 223

declared many things in the presence of GILLIVUS while
we were at dinner. Who when he saw I had made
mention of the cucuius, saith, that in a certain island of
the Canibals, in an exceeding dark night, when they
went ashore to lay on the sands, he first saw only one
cucuius, which came forth of a wood near unto them, so
shined upon their heads, that the company might per-
fe€tly see, and know one another, and he affirmed with
an oath, that by the light thereof, letters might easily
be read. Also a citizen of Seville, a man of authority,
called P. FERNANDEZ DE LAS VARAS, one of the first
inhabitants of Hispaniola who first ere€ted an house of
stone from the foundation in Hispaniola, confesseth the
same, that by the light of a cucuius he had read very
large letters.”

Any one who visits the West Indies can easily verify
this statement for themselves, and it is easy to understand
that the native Indians who possessed neither candles nor
lamps, and who only knew of torches made either of
some light wood or of the fibrous interior of the Dildo
caétus, often availed themselves of the brilliant beetles
when busy after night-fall in their very simple domestic
avocations. Even with all the complicated comforts of
the present day, it was the common pra€tice of members
of our family when entering a room at night, to catcha
firefly in order by its light to find the match box.

GOoSSE, who during his residence in Jamaica made
valuable observations on fireflies, states that he met
with about 14 species during his eighteen months stay in
the island. A larva was once brought to him which he
believed to be that of the fire beetle, it was luminous.
He describes the whole inse& as being pellucid in the

:

224 TIMEHRI.

dark, the divisions of the segments showing distin@lly, a
pale blue light, not very vivid. When touched the
creature bit fiercely but ineffe€tually at the disturbing
hand. As it is stated that some of these inse€ts pass no
less than three years in the larval stage, it must evidently
be a matter of much difficulty to keep them successfully
under observation during so long a period, so as to be
able to arrive at a satisfa€tory conclusion as to their
history. As yet the glow-worm can boast a more im-
portant réle in literature and poetry than its more brilliant
West Indian relation, but the fireflies of tropical America
have not altogether escaped the observation of our poets,
and I will conclude this with SOUTHEY’S description in
“ Madoc” of a tropical night. |

*¢ Sorrowing we beheld
The night come on; but soon did night display
More wonders than it veiled ; innumerous tribes
From the wood-cover swarmed, and darkness made
Their beauties visible ; one while they streamed
A bright blue radiance upon flowers which closed
Their gorgeous colours from the eye of day;
Now, motionless and dark, eluded search,
Self-shrouded; and anon, starring the sky,
Rose like a shower of fire.”

Statute Law Revision.

By Dr. $. W. Carrington, C.M.G., Attorney General.

HE condition of its statute laws must always be
a matter of very great interest and importance

* “#4 to any political community. It is clearly to
the advantage of the State that its individual members
should be well acquainted with the laws by which they
are governed and whose operation affeéts to a greater or
less extent their condué& and business and their relations
with one another. We may go further and say that an
obligation rests on the State to present to its individual
members the body of public laws in a form so convenient,
so well-arranged, and so accessible that they can
readily make themselves acquainted with its provisions.
This duty was recognized so long ago as the fifth century
A.D., by the Emperor THEODOSIUS, at whose instance
the Theodosian Code—which was a colleétion of the
edi€&ts and constitutions of the rulers of the Eastern
Empire from the time of CONSTANTINE—was pre-
pared and published. This Code was followed in
the ensuing century by the more comprehensive and
elaborate colleétions of laws made and published by the
order of the Emperor JUSTINIAN. It is not necessary or
desirable to enter in this place into the history of this
collection of Roman Law; it is sufficient to say that
_if is not easy to over-estimate its influence on the juris-
prudence of modern civilized nations and especially
those of the Latin race. But, to quote the remarks of

226 TIMEHRI,

Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON, M.P., in the article ‘Code’ in
the last edition of the Excyclopedia Britannica, “ the
same causes which made these colle€&tions necessary in
the time of JUSTINIAN have led to similar undertakings
among modern peoples. The aé€tual condition of laws
until the period when they are consciously remodelled is
one of confusion, contradiétion, repetition, and disorder ;
and to these evils the progress of society adds the
burden of perpetually increasing legislation. Some at-
tempt must be made to simplify the task of learning the
laws by improving their expression and arrangement.”
It is not proposed to do more in this article than touch very
lightly on the question of the codification of the civil
law of British Guiana, and it would therefore be out of
place to describe here what has been done—and it is a
great deal—within the present century in France and
most of the other countries of Europe, in the State of
New York, and in Lower Canada or Quebec in the way
of codifying the civil and other branches of public law.
While I by no means underrate the great and pressing
importance of this question, yet it is obvious that its
adequate discussion would require a separate paper, and
my only objeét at present is to describe the existing
condition of the ordinary statute law of the Colony,
and to make some suggestions for its improvement. For
this purpose it may be found instruétive to inquire
briefly what has been done in recent years in the way of
preparing and publishing improved editions of their
statute laws by other English-speaking countries and
places, and especially, since their circumstances more
closely approximate to ours, by the British West Indian

Colonies.

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 227

Revision in the United Kingdom.

To turn first tothe Mother Country, the burden of the
rudis tndigestague moles of the Statute Book has been
for many years felt to be very heavy, and in 1868 Lord
CAIRNS, the then Lord Chancellor, determined to provide
aremedy. For this purpose he appointed certain distin-
guished lawyers to be a Statute Law Committee. The
objeét of the formation of this Committee was to make
the necessary arrangements for, and to superintend the
publication of, a Revised Edition of the Statutes. The
Committee concluded their labours in 1885, with the
result that the entire body of statute law in force up to
that year was presented to the public in 18 well-arranged
and well-printed o€tavo volumes. There was also pre-
pared and published a volume containing a Chronological
Table of the Statutes, as well as a digested Index of
the whole of the then existing statute law. But
although the publication of these works was an enor-
mous benefit to the general community and a sstill
greater one to all persons concerned in the adminis-
tration of the law, yet there was the drawback
that they were expensive, and, besides, by the time the
publication of the revised edition was completed in 1885
a large number of enaétments included in the earlier
volumes had been repealed. Accordingly, when Mr.
GEORGE HOwELL, M.P., in 1886, pressed upon the
Government the expediency of providing a cheap edition
of the statutes for the use of the public, and, in particular,
for sale to public libraries accessible to working men, it
was resolved to issue the revised edition in a cheaper
form and embodying all the alterations made in the
statutes up to the date of publication. Several volumes

FF

228 TIMEHRI.

of this new edition, well printed in a large o€tavo, have
been already published, and it is hoped that the work
will be completed in two or three years.’ Only those
who have had occasion to refer to the old and cumbrous
tomes in which Aéts of Parliament were formerly em-
bodied can appreciate the full benefit of this neat and
handy edition of the colle€ted and revised Statutes of
the Realm. It should be mentioned that the enaétments
are arranged in chronological order.
Revision in the United States.

The Congress of the United States of America have
proceeded further in the path of statute law reform than
the Imperial Parliament. In 1866 an Aét was passed
providing for “the revision and consolidation of the
Statute Laws of the United States.” Three lawyers
were appointed Commissioners for the purposes of the
A&G, their duty being declared to be “ to revise, simplify,
arrange, and consolidate all statutes of the United States,
general and permanent in their nature, which shall be in
force at the time such Commissioners may make the
final report of their doings.’”” When the Revised Statutes
were settled by the Commissioners they were submitted
to Congress ex bloc and passed, no doubt with altera-
tions and amendments, at the Session held in 1873-74.
The work was published in 1874 under the authority of
an Aét passed in that year. In 1877 an A& was passed
for the preparation by a single Commissioner of a new
edition of the Revised Statutes, and this edition was com-
pleted and published in 1878. It forms a large quarto
volume of 1,394 pages, The contents are arranged, ac-
cording to their subjeét matter, in 74 Titles, or principal

heads, and 5,601 Se€tions. The work is well andclearly — }

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 229

printed, but one may be permitted to say that the inser-
tion of a “ lead” or space between the several Se€tions
would have produced a marked improvement in the
appearance of its pages.

Revision in Canada.

Before the establishment of the Dominion of Canada
in 1867, both Upper and Lower Canada had their “ Con-
solidated Statutes,’ and so also had the Province of
Canada after the two Provinces were united into one in
1840. All these works are arranged somewhat on the
plan of the Revised Statutes of the United States. I
have no information as to the publication or otherwise of
a compilation of the statutes of the Dominion since 1867.

Revision in British West Indian Colontes.

To come nearer home, it will be found that the British
West Indian Colonies have not, generally speaking, been
unmindful of the importance of statute law revision.
This remark is true, at any rate, of all these Islands
in the neighbouring seas; with respe& to Jamaica
and the Leeward !slands I have no definite infor-
mation on this subje&t. The efforts in this dire&tion
of the Colonies here referred to may be briefly men-
tioned. In 1884 the Legislature of Tobago made pro-
vision by a special Ordinance for the preparation and
printing of a new and colleéted edition of the statute
laws of the Colony. As these laws had not been printed
in a colle&ted form since the year 1810, and as there
was consequently great confusion and uncertainty in
regard to them, it was provided that there should first
be an entirely new draft edition; that this edition
should be printed and submitted to the Legislature for
their consideration; and that, when finally settled, it

FF 2

230 TIMEHRI.

should be printed as law. The draft edition was pre-
pared by the present writer, and advantage was taken
of the favourable opportunity thus offered to arrange
the proposed enaétments in ‘ Books” according to their
subje& matter. The draft edition was a€tually com-
pleted and printed in a large o€tavo volume, but un-
fortunately the labour and money expended on it were
expended in vain, for the union of Tobago and Trinidad
in 1889, and the enaétment in the smaller of the laws of
the larger Colony, took away the razson d’étre of a
separate statute book for Tobago.

In 1883-84 a colleéted edition of the “Laws of
Trinidad” in five o€tavo volumes was published by
authority of the Government of the Colony. It was
prepared by Mr. G. L. GARCIA, the present Solicitor
General, under the supervision of Mr. (now Sir HENRY)
LUDLOW, the then Attorney General, of the Colony.
The copy of this work in the possession of the Govern-
ment Secretary’s Office is without an index, but I am
unable to say whether one was published separately.

The Island of Grenada is in possession of a revised
and colleéted edition of its laws, in one oétavo volume,
published in 1875. It is the work of three Commissioners,
one of whom was Mr. Justice W. A. M. SHERIFF, who
was then Attorney General of the Colony ; and it super-
seded an earlier edition prepared in 1852 by Mr., after-
wards Sir WILLIAM, SNAGG, who was then Attorney
General of Grenada.

In St. Vincent there have been, I believe, two col-
leted editions of the laws of the Colony published
during the last twenty or thirty years. The second of
these was brought out some two years ago under the

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 231

editorship of Mr. J. C. CHOPPIN, the able and learned
Attorney General of the Colony. It is in two octavo
volumes.

In St. Lucia a compilation of the local laws, in a
moderate sized o€tavo volume, was published in 1853.
It was succeeded in 1889 by anew colleéted edition,
prepared by the present writer under the authority of a
special Ordinance passed in 1887, which conferred upon
the compiler large powers of revision and consolidation.
This compilation takes the form of a single large o€tavo
volume, printed at the Clarendon Press, Oxford.

The Legislature of Barbados have from time to time
shown a commendable anxiety to place the local laws in
a convenient form in the hands of the people of the
Colony. A colleéted edition, in one o€tavo volume, was
issued in 1855. This was followed by a supplementary
volume in 1864. Eleven years later a new colleéted
edition, in two o€tavo volumes, was published. This
will shortly be displaced in its turn by yet another
edition, of an improved kind, which has for some time
been in course of preparation, the Commissioners being,
I believe, the two Crown Law Officers of the Colony,
Mr. H. A. BOVELL and Mr. W. H. GREAVES. It thus
appears that, in a period of somewhat less than forty
years, there will have been published, at the instance
and by the authority of the local Legislature, no less than
three revised and colleéted editions of the statute laws
of the Colony.

The Legislatures of the more distant Colonies of the
Bahamas, the Bermudas, and British Honduras have
also been not unmindful of their obligations in this
matter of statute law revision. In each of these Colonies

232 TIMEHRI.

there are revised colle&tions of the laws, of recent date
and competent editorship. The last colle€tion of the
Bahamas laws is made on the principle of a classification
of Acts under various headings according to their subje&
matter, but each Act preserves its own date and its
identity generally. The British Honduras colle€tion is
more nearly assimilated in its method and plan to the
Revised Statutes of the United States than any other of
those to which reference has been made, except perhaps
that of Canada. It contains the statute laws of the
Colony welded together in one whole, comprising 35
Parts and 119 Chapters, arranged according to their
subje€&t matter. The compilation forms a single large
o&tavo volume of 972 pages. Its preparation was, I
believe, begun by Mr. Justice SHERIFF, who was then
Chief Justice of the Colony, and was completed by Mr,
W. M. GOODMAN, who succeeded Mr. SHERIFF in the
office of Chief Justice.
Condition of the local Statute Book.

Having ascertained the circumstances of this matter of
statute law revision in those countries and places whose
example might be of interest and value for us, let us
now proceed to inquire into the condition of our own
statute book, and to ask what efforts have been made by
the Legislature and Government for its improvement in
the way of publishing revised and colle&ed editions.
The answer on both these heads is of an unsatisfa€tory
kind. It must be frankly admitted that our statute laws
are in a chaotic condition and that we are not possessed _
of a single revised and colle€ted edition of them, published
by authority. It may, indeed, be affirmed that, in the
stri€t sense of the words, the Colony has no statute book

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 233

at all. To show that this remark is not overstrained, let
us take the cases of some of the principal public offices
of the Colony. -

In the Government Secretary’s Office there is preserved
a small folio volume containing, together with other
documents of a miscellaneous kind, enaétments of the
Governor and Court of Policy of the United Colony of
Demerara and Essequebo. These enaétments extend
over the period from 181o0to 1826. They are remarkable
for variety in several respeéts. Some are in MS. and
some in print, and among these latter there is no pretence
at uniformity of type or mode of printing. Most of them
are called “A&s or “Publications,” while some are
termed “ Proclamations” and others again *‘ Ordinances.”

In 1831, with the union of the three Colonies of Deme-
rara, Essequebo, and Berbice into one Colony under the
name of British Guiana, there commenced the regular
publication in print of Ordinances enaéted by the
Governor with the advice and consent of the Court of
Police and of the enaétments relating to the impo-
sition of taxes and duties, which were then, as now,
passed by the Governor with the advice and consent of
the Court of Policy with the Financial Representatives
of the Inhabitants of the Colony in Combined Court
assembled, and which were then, as now, styled ‘* Publica-
tions.’ The Government Secretary’s Office possesses
copies of these laws from 1831 to the present time, bound
in annual volumes. But the volumes for the following
years are missing,— 1844, 1851-52=53, and 1859-60-61.
The form employed from 1831 to 1876, inclusive,
was small folio. The type and style of printing are
marked by considerable diversity, a small font and blue

234 TIMEHRI.

paper being not infrequently used. In 1877a convenient —
quarto form was adopted, and has remained in use to the
present time.

This, then, is the state of things with regard to the
possession of authorized copies of the local laws
in the principal public office of the Colony. Nor
is the case any better, but rather worse, in some
other important departments. The Attorney General’s
Chambers do not appear to have had an official
copy of the laws, as published by the Government
Printer, until within the present year, when the Governor
considerately made arrangements for purchasing a set of
them, at a very considerable cost. This set commences
in 1844 and extends virtually to the present time, but
with a hiatus, the volume for 1863 being missing. The
appearance of one of the more important Ordinances in
the earlier of these volumes, with all the repeals and
amendments of later legislation noted on it, is as of a
piece of Chinese literature.

In the Office of the Registrar there is a colle&tion of
these original laws, but with the following gaps occurring
in it,—1842-43-47-48, and 1855-56-57-58. In 1865
the praétice of enrolling in this Office a copy of every
Ordinance as ena€ted, authenticated by the Govern-
or’s signature and the Public Seal of the Colony, was
commenced and has been continued until the present
day.

The colle€tion of these laws in the Office of the In-
spe€tor General of Police commences only with the
year 1859, but is complete from that date.

It is clearly the interest and duty of these four depart-
ments, ta a degree which perhaps does not attach in the

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 235

case of other departments of the public service, to possess
complete colle&tions of the laws of the Colony as issued
by authority. If their colle&tions are so fragmen-
tary, what is likely to be the state of the case in other
public offices whose needs in this respe€t are not so
general and pressing? And still more likely to be defi-
cient in tbe possession of an authoritative copy of the
statute laws are private offices and counting houses and,
in a yet greater degree, private individuals.

But, if the Legislature has been supine in recognizing
and discharging its responsibilities in this matter, it may
be readily conceded that its omission of duty has been
to a considerable extent supplied by private enterprise,
Indeed it may be remarked that, in this matter of the
writing and bringing out of books and other publications,
there is far more of enterprise and successful effort in
this Colony than in any West Indian Colony with which
Tam acquainted, and one must heartily wish such energy
a yet further development. To this enterprise we owe
several colle€tions of the local laws. The earliest which
I have seen is embodied in a little volume called “ The
Demerara and Essequebo Vade Mecum,” which has been
kindly lent to me by Mr. J. THOMSON. This work—
which would appear to have been the precursor of The
Local Guide—was printed and published in 1825 by
A. STEVENSON, at The Guiana Chronicle Office, George-
town. Itcontains, withother interesting matter, asele€tion
of the laws which were then known to be in force in the
United Colony of Demerara and Essequebo.

The Local Guide of British Gutana—the edition of
which for 1843 lies before me—contains, in a small and
closely printed volume, what purports to be “a complete

GG

236 TIMEHRI.

compilation of the statute law of the Colony as in force,
at the beginning of the year 1843.” There is anattempt at
arrangement of the enaétments according to their subjeé&
matter, but it is not easy to discoverthe principleson which —
itis based. This Local Guide appears to have been issued
during a series of years. Beginning as a small 16mo.
volumein 1825, it ended in 1864 or 1865, as athick volume of
nearly 1000 pages, published at Zhe Royal Gazette Office.

In 1864 a colleétion of the local statutes was published
in one folio volume of 890 pages, by L. M‘DERMOTT,
at The Colonist Office, Georgetown. The compilation |
was made by Mr. H. A. FIRTH: The scheme of the
work is set forth in the following extra& from the pub-
lisher’s preface :—‘‘ The plan adopted in arranging the
matter of this work will be found in itself most con-
venient for general reference. The several subjeéts on
which legislation has taken place are arranged and dealt
with in alphabetical order, the name of the subjeé& being
printed at the top of each page, so that even without
consulting an index any subje€t may at once be found,
as in a dictionary, by turning the pages over until the
initial letter of the title, and the title itself, of the subje&
required are reached. The Ordinances which have been
passed in reference to each subjeét are collected under
that subjeét, and given in chronological order, that is to
say, exa€tly as the legislation took place, while the Or-
dinances or se€tions of Ordinances repealed or lapsed
are duly noted, leaving the text an exact exposition of
the law as it now stands. Thus every subjeét will be
found complete in itself, and will exhibit the changes of
legislation which have taken place in reference to it
from time to time up to the present.”

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 237

In 1870 a second volume or “ Supplement” was issued
by Mr. FIRTH, comprising the laws enaCted after the
publication of the original volume and up to that date.
The publishers of this supplemental volume were J.
HADDON & Co., of London, and The Royal Gazette
Office in Georgetown. The size and arrangement of the
volume are the same as those of the original work, but
while the latter is printed somewhat too closely and in a
rather worn type, the former is printed in a large and
clear type and with exceedingly wide spaces between
the se€tions. Each volume has a full and apparently
well-arranged index; that at the end of the second
volume has also the advantage of being an index to the
entire work. It may be noted that the titles of Ordin-
ances are omitted in both volumes, and the preambles
of Ordinances are generally absent in the first volume.

As it is only within the last few days that a copy of
“ FIRTH’S Laws” has, by a fortunate chance, been ac-
quired for the Attorney General’s Chambers, I am not
able to speak of the merits of the compilation from long
use, but I believe those merits are generally recognized
to be considerable. The work is now, I believe, scarcee

In 1870-82 there was published by L. M‘DERMOTT,
at Zhe Colonist Office, Georgetown, a “New and
Revised Edition of the Laws of British Guiana.” The
work comprises six octavo volumes of text, but if the
spaces between the se€tions had not been made so wide,
three or four moderate sized volumes would probably
have sufficed. There is also a small volume containing
the Index. The enaftments are placed in chronological
order. The type and paper are only moderate in quality.
The name of the editor is not stated, but it cannot be

GG2

ee

238 TIMEHRI.

said that the standard of editorial excellence is high.
Thus, the Appendix to the fifth volume contains three
documents, one of them being a Placard of the States of
Holland extending over 15 pages, which had already
been printed in the Appendix to the first volume, and
the same Appendix contains no less than four Ordin-
ances which had been omitted from their proper places.
In the Address to the subscribers previous compilations
of the laws are criticized for their want of accuracy, and
it is declared that the work aims at a high standard of
merit in this respe&. It can hardly be said that the
attainment is equal to the promise. It will be found on
examination that some enaétments which are in force
have been omitted, and indeed there is, in the Address
already referred to, a frank declaration—which can
hardly fail to arouse the astonishment of a constitutional
lawyer—that an Ordinance passed by the Governor and
Court of Policy was “purposely left out on the ground
that it was plainly unconstitutional.”

But, with all its shortcomings, it may be readily ad-
mitted that the Government and people of this Colony —
are under a considerable debt of gratitude to the editor
and publisher of M‘DERMOTT’S edition of the laws. It
is a handy and useful compilation, and, in the absence
of an authorized edition, it is the colle&tion which is
generally referred to in the Courts of Justice, in public
and private offices, and by private individuals,

It is not necessary to make here more than a brief
reference to some serviceable colle€tions of the statute
laws relating to special subjeéts, such as, (1) A Handy
Book of Village Law, by J. BRUMELL, late Sheriff of
Demerara, published in 1873 at Zhe Royal Gazette

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 239

Office, Georgetown; (2) The Magisterial Law of
British Guiana, by ALFRED JOHN POUND, M.A., Bar-
rister-at-Law and ex-Stipendiary Justice of the Peace for
British Guiana, published in 1877 by Zhe Royal Gazette
Establishment, Georgetown, and by J. HADDON & Co.,
of London; (3) A Supplement to Mr. POouND’s
work, published in 1888 by STEVENS and SONS, of
London; (4) The Law of Summary Convi&tions by
A. M. ABBOTT, Stipendiary Magistrate’s Clerk, published
in 1884 by MACRONE & Co., of Glasgow; and (5) A
Hand-Book of the Labour Law of the Colony, by
CHARLES B. GROSE, Stipendiary Justice’s Clerk, pub-
lished in 1890 at The Argosy Office, Georgetown.
Necessity for Revision.

There will perhaps be general agreement with the
proposition that the time has now come when a new and
revised edition of the statute laws of this Colony should
be prepared and put forth under the authority of the
Legislature. Some years have elapsed since the publi-
cation of the private editions to which reference has been
made, and during those years a considerable number of
Ordinances have been added to the Statute Book. We
have reached the stage spoken of above when the
a€tual condition of our laws is one of “‘ confusion, con-
tradiétion, repetition, and disorder.” A very large
number of Ordinances contained in the editions of
FIRTH and M‘DERMOTT, and of course a still larger
number contained in the original volumes of the
laws, have been repealed. The alteration and amend-
ment of Ordinances by subsequent enaétments have also
been carried out to a considerable extent. The law re-
lating to any given subjeét of importance will probably

240 TIMEHRI.

be found spread over a series of years and a large
number of separate enaétments. It is in consequence
not always easy to ascertain what is the existing law on
any given point and to harmonize and apply it when it is
ascertained,

Suggestions for Revision.

We may then fairly arrive at the conclusion that,
to quote again the words of Mr. ROBERTSON,
‘some attempt must be made to simplify the task
of learning the laws by improving their expression and
arrangement.” It may be pointed out that a private editor
has no power to effe€&t such an improvement. He is not
armed with the requisite authority to reduce and simplify
the involved and cumbrous phraseology of the older
enactments, nor is he empowered to combine into one
well-arranged Ordinance the half-dozen or more Ordin-
ances relating to any particular subject of legislation.
These powers the Legislature alone can supply. Andif,
as I trust, the question of statute law revision is brought
before the Legislature at an early date, it will be for them
to determine whether such revision shall be undertaken,
and, if so, the lines upon which it shall proceed. It
seems to me that two courses are open to them. They
may either dire€&t that an entirely new draft edition be
prepared, in the form of a logically-arranged and com-
plete code of statute law, such edition to be printed and
submitted for their consideration in the same way as a
new Bill on any subjeét on which it is proposed to legis-
late, or they may dire€t that a new and revised edition
of the statute laws be prepared and published as law
without their further intervention. In either case a
special Ordinance will be required for the appointment

STATUTE LAW REVISION. 241

of a compiler, for defining his powers, for regulating the
course of procedure generally, and for giving legal sanc-
tion to the new edition when ready for issue. To take
the former of the two courses will be to incur a con-
siderable expenditure of time and money, and to make a
serious call upon the energy and patience of the members
of the Legislature. But, on the other hand, the result
would more than compensate for these sacrifices, and
would redound very greatly to the credit of the Legisla-
ture. We should then indeed have a Statute Book of
which we might well be proud, and instead of occupying
the rearmost or almost the rearmost position among
British possessions in this regard—it is only two or
three months since I had a letter from the Librarian
of the Colonial Office drawing my attention to this
fa&t—we should go fer sa/tum into the front or almost
the front place. I fail to see why the Legislature of
British Guiana should not achieve what has been done
by the Legislatures of the United States and Canada and
has been in part accomplished by the extinét Legislature
of Tobago.

But if our legislators should shrink from entering upon
what must in candour be described as a formidable under-
taking, it is sincerely to be hoped that they will san@tion
the lesser work of the preparation and publication of a new
and revised edition of the statute laws of the Colony.
For this purpose the compiler should be furnished, by
the special Ordinance making provision for the inception
and carrying out of the work, with large but care.
fully defined powers of simplifying the language of
enactments and of consolidating all Ordinances zm pari
materia. By way of showing the terms in which such

i TIMEHRI.

powers may be compared, there are printed in an appen-
dix to this paper two se€tions from the Statute Laws
(Revised Edition) Ordinance, 1887, of St. Lucia—the
Ordinance under which the new and revised edition of
the laws of that Colony, which has been already mentioned,
was completed. The former of the two seétions, it will
be seen, gives the compiler, or the Commissioner as he
was called in that Ordinance, extensive powers of dealing
with the form and method of the laws, while the latter
restrains him from making, of his own motion, any altera~
tion or amendment in their matter or substance. At the
same time this se€tion indicated a way in which such
alterations or amendments might be effeéted. It is, of
course, obvious that the powers specified in the two
se€tions are independent of one another, and that the
power of formal revision and consolidation might,
if it was thought desirable, be conferred without
reference to any power of substantial alteration or
amendment.

A new edition, of either of the kinds above-men-
tioned, need not, I think, occupy more than three or four
volumes, of no undue bulk. To these might conve-
niently be added a separate volume containing existing
rules, regulations and bye-laws—a form of legislation
on matters of detail which is much affef&ted in this
Colony.

It may be said by those whose temperament inclines
them stare super vias antiguas that if all this is done
and we are placed in possession of a new and revised
edition of our statute laws, we shall no sooner have it than
we shall begin to deface it by the introdution of altera-
tions and amendments. But the answer to this must be

STATUTE LAw REVISION. 243

that, if such an argument were to prevail, there would be
an end to statute law revision everywhere and at all times,
for there can necessarily be no assurance of finality in
legislation, and a measure which, at the time of its intro-
du&tion, seems wise and well-considered may in a short
time be found to be futile and unworkable. It may
further be urged, and in my opinion it is the simple
truth, that,the present chaotic condition of our Statute
Book constitutes a serious inconvenience to the com-
munity at large, and that its re-issue in an improved form
will conduce to the social and political advancement of
the people of the Colony.

If a new and revised edition is Sabed and published,
I would recommend that measures be taken for bringing
a knowledge of it home to the general population, by
free distribution in some cases and by sale at a cheap
priceinall. In particular, I would advise that a free copy
be supplied to every Police Station and every Village
Office in the Colony, and that any person be allowed to
have access to it at any reasonable time.

I have left myself no space to speak of the codifica-
tion of the civil law of the Colony, but, as I have already
observed, this is is too large a question to be adequately
dealt with in an article devoted to another branch of the
general subjeét of law revision. I will only say then
that it is much to the credit of the legal profession
and of the general public that they should have
shown so much anxiety to have such a work undertaken
and carried out. And while I entirely concur in this
feeling, I am yet of opinion that the reformation of our
ordinary statute law is at the present time a work of
still greater utility and importance.

HH

244 TIMEHRI.

APPENDIX.

&. In the preparation of the said new and revised edition the Com-

missioner shall have the following powers, that is to say,—

(1.) To omit—

(a) All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances which have been
expressly or specifically repealed, or which have expired or
become spent or have had their effe@;

(é.) All repealing ena&tments contained in Ordinances, and also
all tables or lists of repealed enaftments, whether contained
in Schedules or otherwise;

(c) All preambles to Ordinances or seétions of Ordinances
where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioner,
be conveniently made;

(@.) All ena&tments prescribing the date when an Ordinance or
part of an Ordinance is to come into operation, where
such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be
conveniently made; and

(e) All amending Ordinances or parts of Ordinances where the
amendments effe€ted by such Ordinances or parts of Ordin-
ances have been embodied by the Commissioner in the -
Ordinances to which they relate ;

(2.) To consolidate into one Ordinance any two or more Ordin-
ances iz pari materid, making the alterations thereby rendered
necessary in the consolidated Ordinance, and affixing such date
thereto as may seem most convenient ;

(3.) To alter the order of se&tions in any Ordinance; and in all
cases where it is necessary to do so, to re-number the seétions of
any Ordinance ;

(4.) To alter the form or construétion of any seétion of an Ordinance
either by combining it in whole or in part with another section or
other seétions, or by dividing it into two or more sub-seétions ;

(5.) To transter any enactment contained in an Ordinance from such
Ordinance to any other Ordinance to which it more properly be-
longs;

(6.) To divide any Ordinance, whether consolidated or not, into parts
or other divisions ;

(7.) To add a short title to any Ordinance which may require it, and
if necessary, to alter the short title of any Ordinance;

(8.) To shorten and simplify the phraseology of any enaé&tment ; and

(9.) To do all other things relating to form and method which may
be necessary for the perfecting of the said new and revised editicn.

6. (1.) The powergconferred upon the Commissioner in the last

preceding section shall not be taken to imply any power in him to make

STATUTE LAW REVISION. _ 245

any alteration or amendment in the matter or substance of any
Ordinance or part of an Ordinance.

(2.) Subje& to the provisions of sub-se&tion (4.) of this se&tion, in
every case where any such alteration or amendment is, in the opinion
of the Commissioner, desirable, the following procedure shall be ob-
served, that is to say,—

(a.) The Commissioner shall draw up a memorandum setting
forth in a concise form the proposed alterations and amend-
ments, and shall submit the same to the Governor ;

(6) After the Governor has considered the said memorandum
and has made such additions thereto and alterations therein
as be may think fit, he shall cause a copy thereof to be fur-
nished to every member of the Legislative Council ;

(c.) At a convenient time thereafter the said memorandum shall
be laid before the Legislative Council in Committee, who
shall have a full opportunity of considering and discussing
the same, and the said Council shall deal with the same by
way of addition, omission, or alteration, as it shall think fit;

(d.) After the said memorandum has been dealt with by the
Legislative Council, it shall be transmitted to the Governor-
in-Chief, who shall have power to order that it be referred
back, as often as may be necessary, to the Legislative Council
with such dire€tions with respect thereto as may appear to
him expedient ;

(ce) The provisions of the last preceding paragraph shall,
mutatis mutandis, apply to Her Majesty’s Principal Secre-
tary of State for the Colonies ; and

() When the said memorandum has been finally settled, the
alterations and amendments of law thereby direéted to be
made shall be duly embodied by the Commissioner in the
Ordinances to which they respectively relate.

(3.) Any memorandum of proposed alterations and amendments may
have reference to one Ordinance or to more Ordinances than one.

(4.) In any case where an Ordinance, whether consolidated or not, re-
quires such considerable alterations and amendments as to involve its
entire recasting, the Commissioner shall prepare a fresh draft Ordin-
ance, which shall be submitted to the Legislative Council and dealt
with in the ordinary way.

The Necessity of Pure Air for Health.

By E. D. Rowland, M.B. (Edin.)

SA HE well known metaphor of one of our learned
@ menofthe day comparing life to a game of chess
“7 «in which each individual plays one side and
nature the other, is perhaps best of all appreciated when
applied to the laws that govern healthy living. For there
we see most perfeétly the just but unrelenting course

nature pursues: no slip, be it from ignorance, from
negle€t, or from deliberately taking the chance in the
hope that the disobedience will not be found out, is ever
overlooked. Nature plays her side of the game regard-
less of the consequences. Equally with the man on whom
the fate of a nation or family depends as with the most

insignificant animal in the world, disobedience of the law

is punished, and as a rule the punishment is swift and
immediate. But, on the other hand, we can repose
securely in the knowledge that no advantage will be
taken of us; the game is played without favour, fairly
and honestly. Thus by obedience each and all of us
may easily secure health, and so be fitted to play our
parts on this stage well, to the advantage of the whole
world ; so that it may be a little better for our having
lived in it.

It is to the attainment of health by obedience to some
of the primary laws of nature that I wish to especially —
draw attention. These primary laws of healthy living have
been formulated for the most part as the result of years
of observation and study by men working in Medical

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 247

science in its widest aspe& in all parts of the world, and
to which busy workers in other walks of life not having
noted what has been laid down from time to time, have
not attached much importance. There have been ~
many attempts to define “health” and all are open to
various obje€tions, but the definition that is perhaps the
simplest for my purpose and open to least obje€tion is
‘© That state of body which enables it to perform every
funétion which can reasonably be required of it, to
** accomplish each ordinary task and be equal to some
“ exertion of brain and muscles without painful sense of
“ fatigue.”

It is how to maintain this condition from early child-
hood to old age that we have to study. It is readily
understood that though the general principle is the same
all through life yet the details vary somewhat according
to age. For example, an infant, say two or three months
old, requires perhaps as much as twenty hours sleep each
day, while an ordinary man, even working hard, will only
require something like nine hours at the most, and manyare
able to enjoy perfeét health with only seven or eight.
My remarks will be confined to the conditions for healthy
living for a man between 25 and 35 years of age princi-
pally, though I shall have to speak of special conditions
required on either side of the limit.

The body of such a man is one large wonderful
chemical laboratory for the produétion of energy, either
mental or muscular, which can ultimately be resolved
into heat, one of the commonest forms of motion.
Given such a body free from hereditary defe&t, what are
the conditions of the environment necessary for it,
to maintain it in its most perfe€t working order (health),

248 TIMEHRI.

so that the highest value (return) may be obtained
from it? There are of course many, but the primary one
of all is proper Food.

And this for convenience may be divided into—

1. The Oxygen z.e. the air we breathe

2. The water we drink

3. The ordinary food stuff we eat.
_ There are many other ways of classifying foods, as every
one is aware, but this is the most suited to my purpose,
and in this paper I only wish to draw attention to the
first division as given above, reserving the: other two
and some other general conditions of the surroundings,
such as clothing, sleep, work, and so on, to some future
occasion. Pure air is the first necessary food for us all.
That air is absolutely required for the maintenance
of animal life is commonly known; but the further
essential that it should be pure, if healthy living is to be
obtained is far from being as widely appreciated as it
should be, We all know that deprived of air (oxygen)
human life ceases in a few minutes—even the pearl-divers
of the East, men trained to do without air for com-
paratively long periods, only stay about 44 minutes
under water; but do we all thoroughly understand what
the effeét of breathing impure air, even for a short time,
is? I think not, and few there are who truly appreciate
the effe€t of long continued breathing of a vitiated
atmosphere.

Oxygen exists in the air around us in the proportion
of one volume to every five of air. The other four
volumes being of the gas nitrogen, which from our
present point of view only plays the part of a diluent,
so that we may have the oxygen in the proper strength

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 249

to breathe. From dire& observation, it has been proved
that any diminution in the quantity of oxygen is followed
by grave symptoms, and also that the human body is
not adapted to breathe any increase in the proportion
without discomfort.

_ By exaét analysis air has been found to contain—

1. Oxygen, by volume ... he s+» 20°94
2. Nitrogen... yes ae eee 79°02
3. Carbonic acid gas_... OM

4. Water. In varying eiaantities! ‘abpendting princi-
pally on the temperature. In this colony there is always
a large quantity, the difference in the dry and wet
_bulb thermometers being slight.

5- Ammonia, in the form of carbonates, chlorides and
sulphates.

6. Ozone, an allotropic form of oxygen, and to which
the stimulating properties of the air are attributed.
The amount varies very much, being small in quantities
in towns, and large on mountains and at sea.

q. Salts of sodium, which are found every-where.

8. Pollen of grasses and flowers. Here when the cane
arrow is drying, I have noticed small pieces of the plume
in the hospital wards, brought from the cane fields to
windward of the town.

g. Dust of all sorts, as can be seen at any time in a
dark room in the beam of sun light, thrown through a
chink in the shutter.

10. And from time to time under special conditions,
various other foreign bodies are to be found, as for
instance, sand at sea, a distance of 600 miles from land,

11. Finally also, at times, organic impurities of various
kinds, both living and dead. These vary very much as

250 TIMEHRI.

(eat EES ee ee
to quantity, but bear a dire& but unestimated relation
to the density of the population.

Excepting the last mentioned, the list given includes all
the usual constituents of pure air, and as long as we only
breathe this mixture, we shall avoid a considerable number
of diseases and shall be under proper and natural condi-
tions in regard to our first food. And thisis done by most
animals; but immediately a tribe is formed and human ~
beings begin to be massed together in villages and
towns, immediately civilization requires buildings, con-
struéted, as they must be at first, without any scientific
knowledge of what is meant by pure air, or how it is to
be obtained; then organic impurities of all descriptions
are added in various proportions to the air, and not
being diluted and destroyed rapidly enough, produce
disease and death.

The standard composition of the air as given above
is principally maintained by what are known as the laws
of diffusion of gases, influenced by the temperature
and winds which produce a perfe&t mixture. The trade-
winds which affe€&t us here, are usually said to be
due to the movements of the earth on its own axis,
together with the air at the equator being hotter than at
the poles, and so constantly rising, a vacuum is formed
into which cold air rushes. To show how little variation
there is in the principal gases of the air, I need only
quote from SMITH’S work “On Air and Rain,” who gives
the oxygen in usual air as 20°96, in mountain air as
20°98 and in towns as from 20’90 to 20°87. In a
crowded street of Manchester, he found from 20°868 to
20179 per cent. of oxygen. In open spaces in London
20°95 per cent. was found, and in the crowded East End

THE NECESSITY OF PuRE AIR FOR HEALTH. 251

of London only 20°85 per cent. From this it can be at
once seen how slight the variation is, and how well the
difficulty is overcome by natural forces. The constant
movement of the air just referred to also allows the
oxygen to come in conta& with and destroy by oxidation
a large amount of the organic matter given off from the
lungs and skin of man and other animals. The amount
of carbonic acid gas present is also maintained at the
uniform level by the same laws of diffusion which allow
it to come in contaét with the vegetation of the earth,
to which it is one of the important foods. And here
I may mention the wonderful adjustment that exists
between the animal and vegetable world, which alone
allows animal life to continue on the globe. The
chemical changes in the animal and the produéts of
animal organic matters ultimately resolve themselves
into carbonic acid, water, earthy salts and nitrogenous
compounds of a more or less complicated nature. As I
shall show later on that these nitrogenous compounds
and carbonic acid gas are poisons to animal life, it is
necessary that they should be destroyed in some way,
z.e. changed, for matter cannot be destroyed. Now it
has been demonstrated that the vegetable world plays
this important part in nature’s economy. For the
chemical changes in the vegetable kingdom resolve
themselves into the formation of oxygen, given to the
air by the leaves, hydrogen, non-poisonous nitrogen
compounds, starches and sugars (carbo-hydrates) and
earthy salts. The following tabular view by DUMAS
points out the contrast and antagonism between the
processes of animal and vegetable life, and shows the
mode in which they are made mutually subservient to
il

ee ee a

252 TIMEHRI.

each other and how the existence of one is impossible
without the other, so co-related are they :—

An animal is an apparatus of | A vegetable is an apparatus of

combustion or oxidation reduction or deoxidation
Possesses the faculty of locomotion | Is fixed
Burns Carbon Reduces Carbon
» Hydrogen - Hydrogen
a Ammonium + Ammonium
Exhales Carbonic acid Fixes Carbonic acid
A Water » Water
‘5 Oxide of Ammonium » Oxide of Ammonium
se Nitrogen » Nitrogen
Consumes Oxygen Produces Oxygen
te Neutral nitrogenous ” Neutral nitrogenous
matter matter
“: Fatty matter - Fatty matter
= Amylaceous matters “ Amylaceous matters
(starches) “ Gums and sugars
» Gums and sugar Absorbs Heat
Produces Heat * Electricity
a3 Electricity Derives its elements from air and

Restores its elementstoairandearth earth
Transforms organised into mineral | Transforms mineral into organised
matter, matter.

In short the atoms of the elements are in a state of per-
petual change from animal to vegetable and back again
from vegetable to animal. It is a marvellous arrange-
ment.

The genius of England’s great poet soared high indeed
into the realms of advanced physical science, but probably ~
unknowingly, when he makes HAMLET say :—

Imperial Czsar, dead, and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.

And one has no doubt that some of the atoms that have
kept the world in awe have come to serve the useful
purpose of patching walls to expel the winter’s flaw.
So also in Scene 111 A& Iv of the same play, HAMLET

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 253

has a clear idea of the transference of the atoms of the
element.

We have seen what the air is composed of, how this
composition is maintained, and I have mentioned that
this equilibrium is disturbed when numbers of human
beings are crowded together in houses, villages and
towns. But this last requires to be dealt with in some
detail; a more exa& description of these impurities, both
as to quantity and quality, is necessary. A fuller state-
ment of the diseases produced must be made, and we
must study the methods by which in this colony the
standard purity of the air may be maintained so that
the conditions laid down in the beginning may not be
violated. It is to this problem of maintaining the air
(oxygen) undefiled that sanitarians have devoted a great
part of their time. In the Northern countries it is the
commonest as well as the most difficult problem. It
meets one on every side, involving as it does all the
larger surroundings of man, from the proper arrangement
of street, the proper building of houses, (even to the
details of the materials used), to the minutest points
of house cleaning and removal of refuse. But we, living
in the tropics, have the problem in some ways much
simplified from the fat that the temperature is com-
paratively a constant one, so that no provision is re-
quired for warming the air before breathing it, and that
the wind blows for the greater part of the year from one
quarter of the Compass. Hence all we have to do is to
put a sufficiently large inlet on the windward side of our
houses, and an outlet on the other, in order to permit the
natural method of ventilation to come into play.

From dire&t observation on man in health it has been

12

a ee

254 TIMEHRI.

shown that respiration is carried on by the lungs for the
great part, and to a lesser extent, but still one of great
importance, by the skin. In ordinary lung respiration
the oxygen is taken from the air in exchange for
the carbonic acid added to it with a trace of nitrogen,
ammonia, a large quantity of water and other bodies.
This is the exaé&t analysis.
Unrespired dry Air. Expired Air.

Oxygen eos 20°94 167033

Nitrogen we 79°02 79°02

CarbonicAcid... ‘04 3-3 t05.5

Ammonia, a trace.
Water.
Organic matter.

This interchange of gases goes on continuously, and in
24 hours amounts to the consumption of 744 grammes of
oxygen and the excretion of goo grammes of carbonic
acid which measures from twelve to sixteen cubic feet
(at ordinary pressure and temperature) of gas per diem
or ‘6 cubic feet added to the air per hour. Males from
eight years onwards to old age, give off more carbonic acid
than females, and as might be expeéted from a study of
chemistry, muscular and energetic persons use more
oxygen than the less a€tive. The amount of carbonic
acid gas excreted during sleep is diminished by about a
fourth and it is stated the quantity of oxygen consumed
is increased ; but this is open to question.

The excretion of water varies a good deal, amounting
from the lungs and skin together to as much as from 25
to 40 ounces in 24 hours. It is subje& to great varia-
tion depending on the work done and the temperature
of the surrounding medium.

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 255

From the skin, 10 grammes of carbonic acid with an
undetermined quantity of various salts and organic
matter are excreted. The same weight, 10 grammes, of
oxygen is given as the amount absorbed by the skin.
This total amount of carbonic acid (g10 grammes) re-
quires 72,000 cubic feet of fresh air for its proper dilution
and the water (25 to 40 ozs.) a varying quantity depending
on the hydrometric condition of the air, and the
temperature.

Organic matters are also given off from the lungs,
mouth and skin, comprising dead epithelium, fatty and
other matters, but the exa& quantity has never yet been
accurately determined. The organic matter from the
lungs is the most important, of which the following is
known. It is a nitrogenous and oxidisable body with an
offensive odour. It commonly floats in clouds and is
not a gas, but has a molecular formation. It is highly
poisonous, for administered to a mouse, PARKES states
that it killed in 40 minutes. It is this that makes a room,
a bedroom more especially, offensive and stuffy. If
respired air be drawn through water, the water then set
aside for a few hours, a most offensive odour is developed,
due to the organic matter absorbed by the water from
the breath. If this organic matter be burnt it gives an
odour as of burning animal matter.

Taking ‘o4 as the quantity of carbonic acid gas nor-
mally present in ordinary air, it is found that when it is
raised to ‘o6 by respiration in a room, the odour of
organic matter becomes perceptible to all entering from
the open air. This added -o2 of carbonic acid must be
taken, and is taken by sanitarians, as the limit of allow-
able impurity. In order that this limit shall not be

256 _TIMEHRI.

exceeded, it is necessary that 3000 cubic feet of fresh
air be supplied to each person inhabiting a room per
hour. The organic matter excreted has been found to be
in dire& ratio to the quantity of carbonic acid gas, so
that by watching the amount of this gas in the air we
can prevent the organic matter accumulating in our
rooms. So the simple rule has been laid down that we
should keep inhabited spaces in such a state that a 193 oz.
bottle full of its air shaken with } an ounce of clear lime
water gives no precipitate, or, put in other words, that the
carbonic acid gas is not in such quantity as to combine
with the lime to form sufficient carbonate or common
chalk to be visible. Immediately the proportion of °06
of carbonic acid is exceeded the precipitate becomes
visible. By the odour of the organic matter, only per-
ceptible to one entering from the fresh air, we always
have a rough but very reliable test for the amount of the
carbonic acid gas. If we can smell organic matter we
know we have excess of carbonic acid present ; and ifon
testing, as given above, we can see a white cloud form
in the lime water, we know we have too much organic
matter. In either case, at once, additional means of
ventilation should be provided. Further, if a room is
used continuously at night, allowance must be made for
the impurity arising from the lights used. An ordinary -

lamp for example produces a little more than half a cubic
foot of carbonic acid in an hour, and for the complete
combustion of one pound of oil, from 140 to 160 cubic feet
of air are required. We fortunately here have few faéto-
ries, so that our air is free from many impurities found in
manufa@turing towns of Europe, such as compounds of
sulphur, chlorine, nitrogen and phosphorus. We get

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 257

no fogs from the large quantities of unconsumed carbon
compounds poured forth from millions of chimneys as in
London. And we are not much troubled in our houses
with foul gases from sewers, so I do not discuss them
here. But I wish to draw attention to the air in the
lanes and some streets of the towns which can be verified
by any one on passing through them, especially on a still
night. The air is simply laden with gases resulting from
the decay of organic matters of all descriptions which
are emptied into the yards, equally from the bedrooms
and the kitchen, through the nearest opening. These
_ gases of course penetrate into the sleeping apartments
of the neighbouring houses and produce ill effeéts.
The Enteric fever of some of the poorer parts of George-
town have been attributed by Dr. FERGUSON to this.
This source of impurity should be remedied by the
adoption of a proper system of refuse removal. Another
source of impurity to the external air is to be found in
the emanations from stables and sheds, in which horses
and cows are stalled. The air is often loaded with
ammoniacal and other gases from the decomposi-
tion of the excrement. The ground in some yards is
covered with such refuse, and the gases pollute the air for
some distance around. This might easily be avoided —
at all events to some extent by the proper authorities
insisting on cows being kept without the town, and on
horses’ stables being placed in least harmful positions.

In inhabited rooms by an arrangement of proper
apparatus the air can be filtered and the deposit ex-
amined microscopically. This has been done repeatedly
with the result of showing the presence of the epithelial
scales of the skin, fibres of cloth, cotton, linen, and wool,

258 TIMEHRI.

particles of food as bread, particles of hair and even the
spores of certain diseases in special cases. For these
also the remedy is more fresh air.

PARKE says ‘‘ The importance of pure air cannot be
“ exaggerated for of all causes of death in usual aétion
“none is so potent as foul air.” Not only does it
produce disease of itself but it reduces the general condi-
tion of the body and so predisposes to all diseases.
That the death-rate and the density of population
(impure air) are related, is as firmly established as any
other fundamental principle of sanitary science. In
towns and habitations if the density of the population is
high, there is always a high death-rate, and this is not for
one disease alone but for all diseases. The dire effeéts
of the Black hole of Calcutta, and the deaths of 260 out
of 366 Austrian prisoners taken at the battle of Auster-
litz and confined in a small space, shew how fatal impure
air is in a startling manner. The supply of oxygen was
diminished, and the people were poisoned by the organic
matter given off from each other’s lungs and skin, It is
rarely that the world is startled by such shocking atroci-
ties, but, after all, the atrocity is one of degree only, and
the world, I suppose from ignorance and unbelief, for the
most part, looks calmly on while about one-fourth of its
deaths are caused by impure air. In the Black hole of
Calcutta 146 persons were confined in one small room,
with only space to stand and a small window for ad-
mission of fresh air, for one night, and of these 123 died
before morning and many of the survivors succumbed to
putrid fever. HOWARD’s work, one hundred years ago,
resolved itself into obtaining fresh air for prisoners. So
frightful was the result of its impurity that prisoners,

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 259

jailors, court officials and barristers suffered alike from
“ Jail fever’ with a mortality that was awful. Jail fever
has quite gone from prisons now ; the name has almost
gone and only a few cases of this fever are found
annually at home now. These of course occurring in
the dirty ill-ventilated parts of large towns as Dublin,
Glasgow and Manchester. There is little doubt that
this disease, Typhus fever, will, sooner or later, like the
Black Death and Plague become a thing of the past, and
one more conquest over disease, one more step in the
glorious march to relieve human suffering will have been
made by sanitarians.

If we breathe air for any period vitiated by animals to
the extent of containing more than ‘o6 of carbonic acid
gas and the proportionate amount of organic matter,
often distiné&t febrile symptoms will be produced, lasting
some hours perhaps. Thisis beyond doubt, though when
Dr. WALLBRIDGE read a paper on ventilation some few
years ago, his statement, from his experience, that coolies
sleeping in ill ventilated ranges came to hospital with
fever, was ridiculed. All of us have had the experience
of breathing foul air, at a play or concert for instance,
and we have all suffered more or less the next day from
headache, have not felt quite so well as usual, not quite
so ready to go to our work. Many of us have perhaps
not known why it was, but there is no doubt that it was
due to breathing air laden with more than ‘o6 per cent.
of carbonic acid gas and a proportionate amount of
organic matter. If a few hours will produce such dis-
comfort, what must be the result of a continued
exposure ?

Formerly some 50 years agoall authorities were agreed

KK

260 TIMEHRI.

that there was no such thing as phthisis in the colony.
My experience in the hospital Georgetown has quite
convinced me that it is now one of the prevailing
diseases, and this opinion is further confirmed by my
work in the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where I
have found no lack of phthisis.

Here are some of the figures from the Hospital Regis- _

ters of Georgetown :—

In 1886 there were 758 deaths, of these 206 or 25'8 o/o were due to phthisis
» 1887 e nB72 sy a 279 0r 2850/0 5 ”
» 1888 TOGO: 15, + 250 or 25° o/o = ”

And of the cases treated to a termination in 1886
there were 7,594 indoor patients, of these 836 suffered
from phthisis or one ninth of the total diseases, and in
1887 there were 9,879 patients with 845 cases of the
same disease. And in one year out of 418 autopsies,

consumption was found in a more or less advanced stage

in 120 cases or 28 per cent.

Dr. FERGUSON has written a very full paper on the
growth of phthisis in this colony, and going back to
1847 he found that in that year there were 8,296 ad-
missions into the Public Hospital, Georgetown, with
683 deaths and of these only 14 due to phthisis or a per
centage of 2°04. Whatadifference? Then 2'04 percent.
now 28'5.

In the same paper he pointed out the influence of city
life—that is, over-crowding, that is impure air in its pro-
duétion, and showed that of every 100 cases of phthisis,
62 were town inhabitants.

The mortality of the world from consumption may be
taken at 3 per thousand and in one of the Registrar-
General’s Reports 2 per thousand is given as the rate for
this colony, but this is much lower than it truly is, due

Tue Necessity of Pure Air For HEALTH. 263

no doubt to bad registration. From a careful analysis
of the figures I have found 7°5 per thousand to be the
approximate number of deaths in Georgetown due to this
disease. This is as high a rate as occurs in any part of
the world and is a terrible number when it is remem-
bered that it is a preventable disease, the main fa¢tor in
whose produétion is over-crowding and impure air.
Georgetown is over-crowded, as crowded as London in
some parts. In Georgetown there are from 50 to 53
persons to each acre of land so that each person has
only 96 square yards of ground space. The mortality
varies from 28 to 32 per thousand per annum, In
London in places with 32 square yards for each
person, the mortality is 27°7; with 102 square yards
the mortality falls to 24°5 and with 202 square yards
per inhabitant, the death rate only reaches 20 per
thousand.

Phthisis, as I have said, has now come to be recognised
as a preventable disease caused principally by over-
crowding ; other factors no doubt aid in their own way,
but impure air is the main one. This has been demon-
strated beyond question over and over again from the
Equator to the North Pole, so that I need only give one
illustration and it is a chara€teristic one. In a badly
ventilated prison in Vienna 378 prisoners died in
one year out of a total of 4,280 inhabitants. This
is a mortality of 85 per 1000, and of this number no
less than 51 per 1000 died of phthisis. While in
the well ventilated House of Correێtion in the same
city in the same year and under the same general
condition as regards other foods and so on, only
43 died out of 3,037 prisoners or 14 per thousand, and of

KK 2

262 TIMEHRI.

these only 7°9 per 1,000 were from phthisis. Whata
contrast ? 4

So also in animals can the effeéts of impure air be
proved. As for example in the Old French Cavalry there
was a mortality of from 180 to 197 per 1,000 horses
annually but by enlarging the stables, increasing the

ration of pure air, it was reduced to 68 pertooo. There
was a similar experience in English Cavalry Barracks:

now in the new stables the mortality is only 20 per
1,000, and of these, half are due to accidents. Such
diseases as glanders and farcy are looked upon as due
to negleét. So important is fresh pure air considered
now for horses, that it is brought, in properly construéted
stables, dire€tly under the animal’s head so as at once
to dilute the produéts of respiration. Curious, is it not,
to think that such diseases in horses are looked upon
as due to negleét, while out here deaths in man produced
by comparable diseases, inasmuch as they are preven-
table, are assigned to occult influence beyond control.
One, is told if you are to die, you will die; and during the
late epidemic of measles that has raised the death rate
very much all through the colony, little or no attempt
has been made to check the spread of the disease by
isolation. And I have known cases where the spread of
the disease through a family has been encouraged because
it is better for children to “ get it over.” I am told.
Such awful heresy is fatal to true progress. No disease
can be stamped out while this idea prevails.

In England the annual death rate from phthisis has
been reduced during the last 30 years by one-third, and
this is due entirely to an improved knowledge of what is
meant by pure air. The ventilation of houses has been

THE Necessity of Pure AiR FOR HEALTH. 263

vastly improved, bedrooms are now made airy, the old
four poster bed with its heavy curtains and tester
has quite gone. Wide streets have been and are still
being made in all the large cities, at what appears to be
a ruinous cost, as for instance, London, where houses are
sold for enormous sums of money simply to be pulled
down so as to widen the streets. Large open spaces are
being made into gardens by the governing bodies of all
towns, at a heavy expenditure often, so as to give pure
air to the inhabitants. Trees are being planted wher-
ever possible in the street, so that the carbonic acid gas
and organic matter poured into the air may be rapidly
consumed and the health of the town increased. Per-
haps one of the most hopeful signs for the further reduc-
tion of the mortality is to be found in the keen discussion
that continually goes on now-a-days as to the mortality
statistics of towns. In England there is a sharp competi-
tion to stand at the head of the Registrar-General’s
Quarterly Returns. It is commonly said that we here
are much behind the times, yet this is not altogether
correct. More especially of late years, one has from time
to time with pleasure noticed an effort to improve the
condition of the environments of the poor people. The
a€tion of the Children’s Proteétion Society and Mr.
GIBSON’S ereétion of ‘“ Model Dwelling Houses” are
both well marked attempts to give the people pure air.

In the colony it is curious how it has come about that
the mortality should owe its severity to such a disease as
phthisis, for in the day time all classes live more or less
in the open, few being in offices or houses, and these
even are so well ventilated by large windows, with per-
haps the exception of some rum and retail provision

264 TIMEHRi.

POTTS Se C8 Sas 15S Nee pals OS EE
shops, through which blow the steady trade-winds thus
preventing any impurity of the air. But when we come
to examine the sleeping apartments we are astonished
at builders putting no proper bedrooms in the houses,
and no proper ventilation in the few that are allowed.
There are few houses, even of the wealthy, that have
proper bedroom accommodation, and certainly there is not — :
one of the poorer classes with any thing like what ought
to be. Even the small cottages that the better class
workmen ere€t for themselves are sadly deficient in
ventilating openings. The vast majority of the labourers
live in ranges or cottages closely packed in yards, the
ground of which is covered and infiltrated with every
form of house refuse, and giving off gases similar to those
of sewers. The ranges are without windows, there being
only a door and some spaces closed by shutters. Thereis
no ventilating opening in the roof or under theeaves inany
one of them. At night these shutters are closed, and the
floor space often the only limit to the sleeping accommo-
dation. My work has called me to some such places
both in New Amsterdam and in Georgetown, and I have
been astonished at the number of people who fly before
the doétor from the room where they had evidently been,
and have always noticed the stuffy foul air due to organic
matter on entering the house.

The proper floor space for every sleeping person is
about 100 square feet, and the cubic capacity ought to be
about 1000 feet with means for changing the air three
times in each hour, if we are to keep within (‘06 per cent.
of carbonic acid) the limit of allowable impurity.

There is, 1 am always told, great danger in the night
air, but I have never been given any proof. I do not

THE NECESSITY OF PURE AIR FOR HEALTH. 265

mean a bare statement, I want scientific proof with
properly authenticated data. On the other hand I have
abundant proof, some of which I have already given, of
the dangers of sleeping in over-crowded, badly ventilated
rooms. I do not say sleep in the direét draught of the air
but I maintain, te sleep properly covered in flannel
garments and a blanket, with several windows open, will
do no harm, nay will positively do good, for only under
such conditions is sleep nature’s sweet restorer. But
with closed windows one perspires freely, one breathes
foul air, awakens with a dull heavy feeling, more
exhausted than on going to bed. Night air is not
dangerous if proper precautions are taken.

In this conneétion I wish particularly to draw atten-
tion to a most objeétionable way of sleeping, I regret to
say, commonly practised by the people here, due no
doubt, to the presence of the mosquito. I mean sleeping
with the arm bent over the head and face as a guard, and
then covered with a sheet or blanket. The inner side of
the covering soon becomes laden with moisture, and for
hours the person is breathing air that has only just
passed out of his lungs, containing a diminished quantity
of oxygen and loaded with carbonic acid gas and
organic matter. The person is self-poisoned, reduced in
health, rendered less able to resist disease. The lungs
are weakened, so becoming more liable to be inflamed
and the individual wakes unrefreshed day after day.

So also children and others in double beds should not
sleep face to face, for then they breathe air that has only
just passed out of each other’s lungs.

In this colony the mortality per 1,000 has varied from
32 to 25 per annum in the last few years.

266 hs TIMEHRI.

In England it is now 17'9. In London 17g. Inlarge
towns 19, and in Nottingham it is as low as 14. In
Australia the mortality varies from 17°7 in Queensland
to 12°4 in New Zealand. These figures I mention to
show how much yet has to be done to bring the health of
the colony to anything to be compared with what exists

elsewhere. We must not listen to the voice of the - a

charmer who will at once whisper “ can’t” in our ears,
The reduétion of the mortality is a matter that concerns
every one and only by facing it will the difficulty be
overcome. It can be done, and sooner or later will have
to be done; and the sooner it is done the more cheaply
will it be done. See what a difference, here the mor-
tality is 30, in England only 1g. Eleven lives to be
saved per thousand per annum to put us level with
England. Eleven lives does not seem many but multi-
plied by 282 (thousand), the present population of the
colony it means 3,000 lives saved to the colony which
taking the cost, $80, of importing a coolie, as the value
of a man (this is not the true economic value of a man
but it is the only one I can find here), means a saving of
$240,000 a year. As Sir SPENCER WELLS has only
recently said in an address on the Health of the Nation
delivered at Manchester, a low mortality is only a matter
of sanitary administration. And if we can only get
phthisis as a cause of death removed, the mortality
would come by this alone to range from 25 to 18 per
thousand. This disease would soon disappear did we all
breathe pure air. That these ideas are not Utopian I
may draw attention to what has already been done in
the colony, and for the figures I have to express my thanks
to the Surgeon-General.

THE NECESSITY OF PuRE AIR FOR HEALTH. 267

ee
Mortality of Indnt’dImmigrants _ Mortality of General Population

on Estates per 1000. per 1000.
1885... nae aaes 29°52
1886... sae 294. 25°86
1887... we BES : 32°41
1888... oe 19°7 29°27
1889... oe 12'S 28'13

Here the sith rate in a population of 20,000, scattered
in groups from one end of the inhabited part of the
colony to the other, has been in a few years reduced by
about half, by simple attention to the proper rules of
sanitary science. And on enquiring what has actually
achieved this, one finds that it is mostly by giving
the coolies pure air. The ventilation of the ranges
has been much improved, by cutting a hole here
and there, by putting in jalousies and in some
places by ereétion of new ranges from time to time with
proper openings for perflation. The hospitals have been
modified to the requirement of our better knowledge and
patients consequently stay in them fewer days. Put in
another way, it can be stated thus: in 1885, out of every
1,000 indentured coolies 25°3 died; in 1889 (only 4
years after) 12'5 only died, giving a saving in that year
of 13 lives per 1,000. This is 260 lives in the year
valued at $20,000. It is to be noted that this result has
not been obtained by the expenditure of large sums of
money, for I am told that a liberal estimate fer the
alterations in the buildings would be much Jess than the
monetary value | have given to the lives saved. And if
such a result can be achieved under medical guidance on
the estates of the colony, surely in the towns and villages
it can be done also. That this is so is further shewn,
if it is required by the past history of the West Indies.

LL

268 TIMEHRI.

Deen ee EEE

Let us go back to some 50 years ago. Then the people
were properly housed and the death rate was com-
paratively low, while in the barracks where soldiers were
living the death rate was terrible. Phthisis and chest
diseases together with fevers carried of men and officers
at the rate of a regiment 1,000 strong in five years, and
sometimes in a single year as many as 300 would die. —
In the barracks where this happened the men had only
224 square feet of floor space and 250 cubic feet. Now
this has been altered; the men are allowed 100 square
feet and 1,500 cubic feet with the result that there is
little or no death rate amongst the troops,—it being as
low as 6°6 per thousand while there is no lack of sickness
from malarial diseases. The sickness rate being as
high as 1,380 per 1,000 strength.

In short then the people lived in good houses and had
no phthisis, while the soldiers lived in bad barracks and
had a high death rate from this disease. Now the soldiers
live in properly built barracks and have no death rate,
and the people live in badly ventilated houses and have
one fourth of their deaths from a preventable disease.

Malarial poison also is said to exist in the air and
will give rise to its diseases under certain conditions.

Diarrhoea and Dysentery are also produced by impure
air where there is much over-crowding, but impure
water has more influence in these cases,

Measles, Small-pox, Typhoid, Cholera, are also from
time to time claimed as spreading through the
air but the evidence for the most part is defe€tive.
Such diseases as Mumps and Influenza spread by the air
but even here proximity is required.

There are also at home various trade diseases pro-

THe NECESSITY OF PuRE AIR FOR HEALTH. 269

duced from the impurity of the air in the faétories, but
these do not need remark here. Finally the impure air
when it does not produce disease reduces the general
vigour of the body and renders it more liable to diseases
of all kinds and to the more fatal type of each disease.

Air is subject to the laws of gases, so inequalities of
temperature cause movement, the hot air ascending and
cool air coming in from without, but here where the air in
bedrooms is about the same temperature as outside, there
can be no great change from this cause, and further this
change does not affeé& the organic matter much, so other
means for good ventilation must in the colony be used ;
and the steady blowing winds help us here, for all
that is necessary is to provide a good big zulet
in proportion to the number sleeping in the room
on the windward side and an exit on the other, and
the objeét is achieved. And no better examples of
this method of ventilation can be found in this colony
_ than in the institutions in New Amsterdam. Here in
the Asylum Dr. GRIEVE banished phthisis as a disease
of the institution which he found prevailing on taking
charge of it, and this was done by a proper adjustment
of square and cubic feet per bed with standing jalousies
and openings under the eaves to admit of 3,000 cubic
feet of air per bed per hour being supplied in all weather.
In the Hospital a similar plan is pursued with benefit, and
in the Alms House recently the upper sashes of all the
windows have been removed, and since then there have
been fewer deaths and no increase in the sickness rate.
Here no complicated system for ventilation is necessary,
as at home, where not many years ago thousands of
pounds were spent in an elaborate scheme for ventilating

LL2

270 TIMEHRI.

the House of Parliament, and which after all resulted ina
very unsatisfaftory manner. As I have stated above, an
inlet under the eaves sufficiently large on the windward
side to admit 3000 cubic feet per person per hourand an
outlet on the other, give all that is necessary in this
climate where the wind blows so steadily from the one
quarter of the heavens. This is a natural method of
ventilation and is known as perflation. When this =;
adopted generally then will every one in this colony be
living supplied with pure air, the first requirement of
human life.

Note—.The following would seem to be the lines on
which to work in order to get as cheaply and as quickly
as possible an improvement in the air.

1. Cows should be banished from the towns and not
allowed to be stalled within a definite number of yards of
the nearest house.

2. Plans for the ere€tion of houses should be sub-
mitted to the various governing bodies, as far as praéti-
cable, and this is so for all the towns, and even for some
of the large villages.

3. Windows should be insisted on in all human
habitations in such plans. The shutters should be for-
bidden. In ranges a good opening under the eaves must
be put in and a “cow mouth” would be advantageous,
The eaves can be lengthened a few inches to keep out rain.

4. In laying out anew town or ward, as for instance
Bartica or the new ward in Georgetown, a definite limit
must be put to the number of houses placed on a lot, so
that the state of things that exists in some of the older
wards of Georgetown may never arise. The houses must

Tue Necessity oF Pure AIR FOR HEALTH. 27%

be placed so that the air can have free access to each
one. Ifthe street were placed ex echelon this is readily
attained.

5. No permission to build on already over-crowded
lots should be given.

6. Power to condemn any notoriously unhealthy lot or
insanitary dwellings should be obtained. Compen-
sation can be made if necessary. This power must be
used carefully or a greater evil results.

q. The early adoption of a proper plan of refuse re-
moval. And for the tropics this would appear to be the
“ Pail System,” in spite of all that has been said against
it. The Pails to be emptied on to the land and not into
the mouth of a tidal river as is done at present in
Georgetown. In New Amsterdam all the refuse from
the Institution is disposed of in this way with advantage.

Notes on the Geological Reports of British Guiana. a

By the Editor.

=)0 much mischievous information about these
reports is ignorantly spread by persons, who, ~
not having taken the trouble to carefully read

de perhaps not having read them at all, yet venture 4
to adversely criticise their contents, that it is desirable — g

that some one should publicly refer to the matter in —
order to correét the misconception that seems to prevail _
about them.

True the reports are by no means enticingly written,
nor is the matter of a kind that lends itself to easy
reading or assimilation ; and doubtless these are sufficient
reasons for the superficial reader to lay aside the volume
with some by no means favourable comment. But this
cannot decide upon the value of the work.

Other readers there are again, who have dipped into
the pages of the reports, having formed no adequate idea
of the task attempted by the geological surveyors, and
who are thus quite unable to comprehend what was
really accomplished. And yet an outline of this task
has been well penned by one of the surveyors in his
preface to the reports, as though with an object of giving
to readers familiar with other lands, an idea of geological
work in a new and trackless region.

‘‘Tt can readily be understood that to explore such a
vast extent of thinly-inhabited country, equal in size to
England and Scotland together, covered with boundless
forests, and situated within the Tropics, was at best a
difficult and laborious undertaking.

NOTES ON THE GEOLOGICAL REPORTS. 273

‘The cultivated portion made accessible by roads is
but an atom of the whole territory, and lies along the
sea coast, so that to explore the interior we had to
ascend the rivers in boats, and make walking journeys
across country along Indian paths. To penetrate to the
utmost limits of the colony it became necessary to make
long excursions, sometimes of eight months’ duration,
upon which, owing to the dangerous rapids and catara€&ts
on the rivers, strong boats with crews of river-men had
to be employed, and most of the provisions for our
maintenance carried with us. At times, on long walking
journeys, we had to depend for sustenance on coarse
food procured at the Indian villages passed through on
the route. Thus it frequently happened that in places
where I wished to stop and examine interesting geolo-
gical areas, I was obliged to hurry forwards for the pur-
pose of obtaining provisions ; whilst in other parts, com-
paratively valueless, I was sometimes detained whilst
food was being prepared for us. Oftentimes the task of
making out the geology of the country was rendered a
hopeless one by the dense forests through which we
travelled for days together, hiding completely the contour
of the country, as well as the outcrop of the rocks.

“ During four months of the year, the rain falls
heavily, the rivers are flooded, hiding all the rocks, and
the surrounding country bordering them to some extent
submerged ; even in the high lands the mountain streams
and torrents are rendered impassable.”

As the result of a geological survey, of such a region,
and under such difficulties, carried out in the first
place, by two men for 2} years, and then by one
alone for a further 3 years, the series of reports

274 TIMEHRI.

on the different distrifts, it must be acknowledged, a
are extremely complete, under the circumstances; q
and though they can by no possibility be regarded as
more than the beginning of an attempt to arrive —
at an accurate geological history of the colony, yet they
lay the foundation for that history, and will serve as a
most useful handbook for future work.

“ To make an accuratesurvey would, however,’saysthe
preface “require an immense outlay and occupy threetimes
the number of years already spent on the present explora-
tions.” This, however, in the light of the best surveyed
country in the world, Great Britain, would seem to be
even more than sanguine; for it was but a year or two

ago that gold was declared to be in paying quantities in

Wales, and ’tis but now that the existence of a coal for-
mation in the South-Eastern counties is being brought to
proof—in spite of the army of surveyors and the number
of years that have seen their labours. Such work ina
large extent of territory, is necessarily a work of time!

It is upon the existence of gold and precious stones, in
paying quantities, in the colony, that the Reports are
made to bear the whole burden of complaint; and now

that gold is proved to exist in large quantities in certain — q

parts of the land, the contempt with which the surveyors
are mentioned is even more marked. In the first
“place the surveyors said there was no gold or
precious metal in the colony;” and in the second
place, now that gold and diamonds are known to exist in
the country, “ the surveyors ought to have found gold
and precious stones.’ Such in substance are the com-
plaints.

Now, it seems almost idle to have to say that a geolo-

mepat

NOTES ON THE GEOLOGICAL REPORTS. 275

gical survey is not a gold prospeétion; though it may
often happen that in a survey of a distri€t, it may be
possible to prove that gold or other valuables is to be
found there in paying quantities. The close and detailed
examination of a small distri€ for special minerals, is a
vastly different undertaking from the comprehensive
survey of a region for the purposes of mapping—to deter-
mine the relative arrangement of water, hill and vale, and
their component parts, of the rock systems and their
included fossils and mineral constituents.

The whole secret of the complaint seems to lie in the
want of comprehension of what a geological survey means,
and its discrimination from a gold hunting expedition.

But the complaint is, moreover, unjust and false. Con-
sistently with the objects of the survey, the geologists
kept an open eye for the discovery of gold; and frequent
references in the reports substantiate this, where instead
of statements that gold did not exist, they notify its
presence or the likelihood of its occurrence, and recom-
mend further investigation.

On page 37, at the close of their report on the North
Western part of the colony, after a description of the
various schistose, granitic and gneissic rocks and their
reference to Palzozoic times, they close with the follow-
ing. ‘From their (z.e. the rocks) being metamorphosed
and pierced by quartz veins, and from their possessing
all those lithological chara€ters which are considered
auriferous, we regret that our means of supporting
labourers with the necessaries of life prevented us from
carrying our examinations to the extent we would
recommend,”

On page 41, in{the report on the Cuyuni and Supi-

276 TIMEHRI.

naam rivers, with reference to alluvial washing, we read
“ The men who accompanied me had little experience _
in gold washing, and discovered no gold, but I did, and —
satisfied myself of the existence of gold in the alluvium, —
Nevertheless the small quantity obtained would not
justify me or any other geologist to proclaim this particu-
lar spot or place as a gold field, any more than many ~
other places to be found on this river (Cuyuni).” And —
further on “I, however, advise further investigation, for a
it must be understood the Government geologists cannot 7
bestow extensive examinations, which might occupy at
least three months instead of four days, or make expen=
sive chemical analysis, required for such investigation, —
for any private enterprise without express orders from — 4
the Government.” a

On pp. 48 and 70, references are made to places which 8
were thought to be most likely gold bearing. On page —
7o in the report on a portion of the Essequebo river and -
on the Pacaraima mountains, we read, “I examined the _
quartz veins as thoroughly as I could under the circum- ‘_
stances while on the march, but could not discover any 4
traces of gold in them. Travelling quickly, as I then .,
was, so as to ensure a successful journey, every moment _
was precious, on account of the little food in this distri€t a
to be procured for my party, and without which my ~
explorations of the country as far as the Cotinga river
would have to be abandoned. Therefore from want of
time, I was unable to do more than make a cursory
examination of the quartz along the route.”

On page 107, at the close of the report on the Rewa
and Quitaro rivers, and the country between the latter eS
and the Rupununi, we read, “In all this distri€texamined

—

NOTES ON THE GEOLOGICAL Reports. —277

there does not appear to be any mineral of sufficient
value or in such quantities as to be ever turned to
account. I have repeatedly washed in likely looking
spots for gold, but was never rewarded by finding a
single grain. At the same time, if there is any mineral
discovered hereafter over this distri, it will be gold, for
there is a strong, mineralogical resemblance between the
savannahs here and the plains at Caratal in Venezuela,
where gold is now being worked.”

The above extraéts will serve to show the light in which
the Government Surveyors viewed their work, and the
manner in which they performed it. Parc passu they
carried on their striétly geological work, and kept them-
selves alive towards increasing, wherever possible, the
knowledge of the mineral wealth of the colony.
Their tracks through the great forests and plains and
along the river courses, may be compared to but
isolated gossamer upon a meadow, and it is hardly
Surprising that over such an extent of territory, they
should have missed those very localities, which have
since been proved to be so richly auriferous. The
inner distriێts about the juntion of the Essequebo and
Potaro, which have lately become so justly famous,
were absolutely untrodden by them; and, except in the
opinion of a few individuals, who, by their own speech,
can do and know everything, it is not surprising
that under the circumstances the surveyors did not des-
cribe what they could not see.

MM2 -

On Parasites.

By A. T. Ossard, M.R.C.S., England,

organisms which derive their nour
eq) wholly orin part from other living organisms.”
Man by his complex organisation affords an easy prey
for every kind and variety of parasite: from the ex-
tremely minute organisms called Ba&eria which occur
normally in many parts of the body, up to the more
highly-developed, though certainly infinitely more repul-
sive-looking Tape-worm! All the world over man is
infeéted to a greater or less degree by parasites in some
form or another. In the Tropics, however, almost every
known (and probably many as yet unknown), variety of
parasite seems to congregate for the sole purpose
of adding to the many discomforts incidental to human
beings residing in such climes.

But man may take comfort (?) in the faét that many
parasites are themselves infested with parasites ; in the
words of the poet :—
© Big fleas have little fleas \

On their legs to bite em; _
Little fleas have lesser fleas

And so ad infinitum.”
Parasites may be divided into the three following great
classes :—
1. Parasites of the Animal Kingdom—(Zoo-parasites.)
2. Parasites of the Vegetable Kingdom—(Phyto-parasites. )
3. Parasites of extremely minute organic forms called generally—
Bacteria.

PARASITES. 279

The Zoo-parasites may be sub-divided into Entozoa
and E€tozoa, the Entozoa embracing such creatures as
‘take up their residence in the soft and hard tissues
as well as in the cavity of the digestive organs of their
human and animal bearers,’ such as the intestinal worms;
the Eétoza embracing ‘ all kinds of parasites having the
habit of residing in or upon the surface of the body of man
and animals’. Of both these sub-divisions British Guiana, or
rather the inhabitants of British Guiana, furnish numerous
examples—notably, amongst the Entozoa, being the
various worms inhabiting the intestines, such as the
Ascarides, of which the common round worm (Ascarts
lumbricotdes) is an only too familiar example, the
Anchylostomum duodenale, chiefly or solely met with
in tropical climates, the whip-worm (T7richocephalus
dispar), thread-worm (Oxyurts vermicularis) and the
various forms of tape-worms (Bothriocephalus latus,
Tenia solium, &c.). Of the Entozoa which ‘take up
their residence in the soft and hard tissues of the body,’
may be mentioned the Guinea-worm (Fi/aria medinensts)
inhabiting the skin and subcutaneous tissues, the Filaria
Sanguinis hominis a minute parasite existing in the
blood and associated with certain special tropical
ailments, and the Tvrichina spiralis inhabiting the
muscles of the body and giving rise to the serious disease
called Trichinosis.

The Eé€tozoa likewise are only too well repre-
sented in British Guiana, and although generally
perhaps looked upon as more loathsome than their less
known confréres the Entozoa, are not capable of pro-
ducing the extreme ravages to the human frame as are
the latter; but at the same time they leave to the un-

280 TIMEHRI.

educated eye far more clear and reliable evidences of
their presence. Of these the most familiar examples
are the various kinds of lice (Pediculi capitis, Pedicult
vestimenti, &c.)—the itch-inse&t (Sarcoptes scabtei, or
Acarus)—and peculiar to certain tropical countries and
very well-known to British Guiana, the Chigoe or Jigger
(Pulex penetrans).

The Parasites of the Vegetable Kingdom may likewise
be sub-divided into Entophyta and Epiphyta—and
are included under the general term of Fungi, the Ento-
phyta being such as inhabit the alimentary canal and .
internal tissues of the body, and the Epiphyta those
which affeét the skin and subcutaneous tissues.

Familiar examples of the Entophyta are the thrush-
fungus (Oidium albicans) the fungus that produces the
disease called Thrush—the Sarcina ventriculd often met
with in the stomach, the yeast-plant (Zorula cerevistz)
also met with in the stomach—and the cotton-fungus
Chionyphe carteri) inhabiting the deep tissues and bones
in the feet and hands in the disease called Mycetoma or
the Fungus-foot of India.

Amongst the Epiphyta are included the various fungi
with long names (Trichophyton, Microsporon, &c.)
which are associated with the skin diseases described as
“ringworm.”

The third great class (the parasites of extremely
minute organic forms) includes those extremely interest-
ing and exceedingly minute organisms grouped under
the general term Ba€teria, about which so much is being
written nowadays, and to whose presence Pathologists
have now to look for the fundamental causes of many
diseases. “This third form of parasitism is constantly

PARASITES. 285

invading our bodies, and attacking the living protoplasm
by which the work of life is carried on in our tissues
—they are constantly present to us, constantly mixing
up their life with ours. But the same may be said of
all parasites. They are constantly present with us;
and although the subjeét may be extremely uninviting, it
is nevertheless of great interest and importance, and we
cannot wisely remain in ignorance of the nature of para-
sites on account of the direét and immediate bearing of
their origin and existence on praétical questions in
Pathology and Hygiene’’—(AITKEN.)

Extremely interesting and necessary as is their study
from a Pathological point of view, it will be beside the
objeé& of this paper to discuss in any but a very brief
manner the Pathological bearings of Parasites; but
almost, (if not quite as much) interest may be derived
from viewing the Hygienic side of the subjeét, and there
can be no doubt that it should be the aim and objeé of
all scientists so to study the life-history and habits of the
various kinds of Parasites affefting the human frame,
that they may be in a better position to indicate the
manner in which to effe¢tually eradicate the scourges
wrought by these pests.

I will endeavour therefore to give a short account of
some of the more common Parasites known to affeét in-
habitants of British Guiana with the diseases liable to
be produced by such Parasites, and the rules of health
that should be observed by such as would wish to keep
their bodies as free as possible from playing the part of
host to these unwelcome but very persistent guests.

Commencing with the sub-division Entozoa of the
great class Zoo-parasites or Animal Parasites, British

282 TIMEHRI.

Ua EEE EEEUEEEEEEEREEREEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEEEe

Guiana affords numerous typical examples. Of these it
will be sufficient for my purpose to briefly describe the
following :—Ascaris lumbricoides, Anchylostomum duo-
denale, Trichocephalus dispar, Filaria medinensts, and
Filaria sanguints hominis ; the descriptions in most cases
being taken from AITKEN’S Science and Praétice of
Medicine.

The Ascaris lumbricotdes, or round worm, is the most
common of human entozoa. It is much more common in
children and adults than in old people. And it is very
much more common in the children and adults of British
Guiana (and probably other tropical countries) than in
more temperate climates. Very few post-mortem
examinations in British Guiana fail to reveal the presence
of one or more of these extremely loathsome looking
animals. In some cases they are so numerous as abso-
lutely to obstruét the intestines. These Ascarides in-
habit chiefly the small intestines, but may pass up into
the gall-duéts, the stomach, the cesophagus, the nostrils,
mouth or frontal sinuses. They are extremely fertile,
and it has been calculated that there are sixty-four
millions of ova in every mature female Ascaris!

‘What becomes of all these ova? Being discharged by
millions, many of them, in large cities, are carried into
streams of water.’ There they may become food for
numerous inhabitants of the water. After a certain length
of time under favourable conditions each ovum contains
a living embryo; but the embryos may remain in this im-
prisoned or encysted state for many months or even
years together, and it is not until the shell of the egg is
broken through that the embryo can escape. After
escape from the shell the embryo is capable of living

PARASITES. 283

in a torpid state, floating about in the open waters, or
lying in moist places, for some length of time. And ‘it is
highly probable that the embryos are direftly trans-
ferred to the alimentary canal of man from river and
pond water.’ From experiments upon other animals
‘such as rats, it has been found that the gastric juice has
been sufficient to aét upon the shells and liberate the
contents of the ova. Thus it appears that the round-
worm, unlike many other entozoa, does not need in any
stage of its existence to pass through the body of an
intermediary animal bearer, to complete its life-history.
And this I think is one very important reason why the
round-worm is so very much more common a human
parasite than many other entozoa; and also why it is so
very much more common in countries like British Guiana,
because there are so very many more facilities and
gpportunities for drinking foul water, such as our
trench-water. And without doubt these entozoa are met
with chiefly amongst the lower classes of our population,
such as would not hesitate to imbibe freely of water
however foul.

The Anchylostomum duodenale or Dochmius duodenale
is likewise of only too frequent occurrence amongst
inhabitants of British Guiana. It is of much smaller size
than the round-worm, being only about one-third of an
inch in length, and on that account is much more liable
to be overlooked in post-mortem examinations. The
worm was first discovered by Dubini at Milan. It is
extremely common in Egypt where the disease it gives
rise to is called “Egyptian Chlorosis.” And without
doubt it is to be found in all tropical countries. And
these parasites were the sole cause of the great havoc

NN

a T

284 TIMEHRI.

produced amongst the workmen in the St. Gothard
tunnel; and a like outbreak was noticed amongst the
miners of St. Etienne. The symptoms produced by
these entozoa as shown in their unconscious hosts, are
“extreme pallor of the visible mucous membranes, with
excessive weakness, dyspncea, palpitation, and a tendency
to syncope. Dropsical effusions supervene, and death
sometimes follows from dysentery and diarrhoea; but
the loss of blood consequent upon the su€tion wounds of
the Sclerotomes is the real cause of the malady, whether
the attacks prove fatal or not.” Now it may be some-
what difficult to understand how it is that such very
minute animals are capable of sucking such a large
amount of blood from their unconscious hosts, as to pro-
duce such serious ravages. The aétual amount of blood
capable of being extraéted by one of these parasites
must indeed be extremely small; but once the wound in
the mucous membrane of the intestine has been pro-
duced numerous and various causes are continually
occurring to keep the flow of blood in motion, such as
the peristaltic a€tion of the intestinal walls and the
passage along the alimentary traét of the intestinal
fluids and any irritating particles. Then again it is only
in those individuals who may Le so unfortunately hos-
pitable as to lodge hundreds and thousands of these
unwelcome guests, that anything like the above train of
symptoms can be produced. Cases occur over and over
again in which a few of these parasites have been found
post-mortem, whose hosts have presented none, or very
few of the above distressing train of symptoms.

The length of the male parasite is about one third of
an inch, its width about one-twentieth of its length

PARASITES. 285

The female is a little longer and bigger generally. One
end of the male is drawn out into seven somewhat
stunted filamentous processes continuous with the ali-
mentary traét. And it is with these sucker-like protru-
sions that the parasite clings to the mucous membrane
of the intestine and obtains the nutriment necessary for
its existence. On examining a piece of intestine which
has been affeéted with these parasites, there will often be
observed to be several minute raised spots of congestion
indicating where the parasites have been imbibing, and
aptly comparable to so many leech-bites.

With regard to the life-history of these entozoa, I think
it is extremely probable that it is precisely identical with
that of the Ascarzs lumbricotdes, that is to say, that it is not
necessary for the anchylostome in any stage of its exis-
tence to pass through the body of an intermediary animal ;
but that if its ova are imbibed in drinking water, their
shells are capable of being dissolved by the aétion of
the gastric juice liberating the embryos which are
then able to fully develope themselves. JONATHAN
HUTCHINSON, however, suggests that it may be a de-
velopment of the Dochmius trigonocephalus of the
dog.

The Zrichocephalus dispar or whip-worm is common,
but not nearly so common as the round-worm and
anchylostome, in British Guiana. NORMAN CHEVERS
in his Diseases of India says that he recolleéts only
having met with it once in India and thought it to be
imported. I have met with it very many times here in
the post-mortem room, and usually the cases contained
several specimens of it. The anterior two-thirds of the
body is filiform, terminating in a mere point, the posterior

NN 2

286 TIMEHRI.

third being thickened and corresponding to the handle
of the whip. The length varies from an inch and a half
to two inches, according to sex. They are met with
principally in the caecum. I have never seen any in the
small intestine. In small numbers they occasion
little or no disturbance ; but cases have been quoted in
which ‘ paralysis with loss of speech” resulted from the
intestinal irritation occasioned by the presence of large
numbers.

With regard to all these forms of entozoa the one sure
road to their effe€tual prevention lies in the insistence
of absolutely pure water for drinking purposes. To
quote from CHEVERS’ Diseases of India—“‘ When we
say, ‘drink none but the very best water afforded by the
locality, let that be filtered and boiled, and again let it
be drunk only as weak tea or soup,’ we recommend the
whole prophylaxis of round worms’—and we may add of
most entozoa.

The Filarta medinensis or guinea-worm is extremely
commonly met with in India; but so far as I can ascer-
tain at present, I don’t think it is anything like as
common in British Guiana. I have myself seen only one
or two cases; but I have been told by several Medical
Officers in charge of country distriéts that it is by no
means uncommon.

ft usually measures from one to three feet in length
with a breadth of about one-tenth of aninch. Inthe adult
condition it infests the feet and legs, or other exposed
parts of the body. It is essentially a tropical parasite.
As a rule the patient is unconscious of the presence of
the worm till it is nearly mature and ready to make its
exit, Occasionally it exhibits wonderful powers of

Parse .

PARASITES. 287

migration, sometimes passing from the shoulder to the
forearm or hand, or from the thigh downwards to the
foot. Its presence may be recognised by a peculiar
cord-like feeling beneath the skin. It may give rise to
abscesses and severe inflammatory disturbances, rarely
fatal results have been recorded. They are by no means
always easy of extra€ting whole, the worm usually
breaking before extra€tion is completed. The usual
method is to wind off the worm on a piece of stick, or
the application of a steady stream of water to the affected
part. When the parasite is mature and ready to leave
its host, a small bleb forms, the fluid of which contains
numerous young Filaria which have been ejected from
their parent. This eje€tion of young guinea-worms con-
tinues for a variable period, the time for the extraGtion
of the parent worm corresponding with the cessation of
the emissions of the young.

For some time it was held that the guinea-worm found
ingress to the human body through the duéts of the
skin, as in those who go about bare-footed in swampy
places, or bathe in water abounding with microscopic
tank-worms (CARTER). But FEDSCHENKO has dis-
covered that the ‘‘ escaped embryos of the worm perforate
the skin of minute crustaceans ; here, after a period of
only twelve hours, the embryos undergo a fresh change
of skin. At the end of one month and six days they
acquire their highest larval stage of growth, and then
with their intermediate hosts, they are transferred to the
human stomach. The males eventually perish, and the
females migrate through the tissues of the body to the
skin. Hence we see that in all probability the guinea-
worm is conveyed to the human frame by means of

288 TIMEHRI.

drinking water. But these worms unlike the common
round-worm, require an intermediary host before they
can attain to adult life in the human body, that is to say,
that were the young Filaria, as they are eje€ted from their
parent, taken into the human stomach straight away
they would be unable to attain to any further degree of
development and so cause no future discomfort to their
hosts. But alas! their intermediary hosts exist in large
numbers in any zmpurve water. If, however, the young
Filaria are placed in pure water, they will die in a very
few days, simply for want of food. The importance of
insisting on a pure water supply, more especially in the
tropics, cannot be over-rated.

The next entozoon which I propose to deal with is the
Filaria sanguinis hominis. This also is very commonly
met with in British Guiana, Dr. HILLIs being the first
one to call attention to its existence here by recording a
case of hzemato-chyluria in which he had discovered the
parent worm. In any case of chyluria occurring here,
where due search is made, the Filaria will be found to exist,
and indeed it may be found in a few cases where there
are apparently no signs of disease present. Its associa-
tion with elephantiasis yet remains to be worked out.
This parasite was first discovered by Dr. TIMOTHY R.
Lewis, of the Army Medical Service, in 1869, who found
it in the urine of patients suffering from chyluria. It is
of great interest and practical importance for the inhabi-
tants of tropical and sub-tropical countries. ‘¢ Ever since
Dr. LEwIS discovered this parasite, evidence has been
accumulating to show that this hematozoon is more
or less intimately conneéted with several severe and
intractable, and, unfortunately, by no means rare diseases

PARASITES. 289

in those regions. It has been shown that disorders of
the lymphatic system, especially in the tropics, are found
frequently associated with, if not caused by, Filaria.
Nevoid and ordinary elephantiasis arabum, chyluria,
hematuria, lymph varix and abscess, hydrocele, affeétions
of the cord and testis, diarrhoea, fever, cachexia, deterio-
ration of general health, certain skin diseases, deafness,
eye disease, have been ascribed to the existence of such
filaria, although it is not contended that they are always
so caused.” Every case of chyluria which I have
come across in this colony, I have ascertained to be
associated with filaria in the blood; but with regard to
elephantiasis, | have not been so successful. I havetaken
several cases at random and failed to find filaria in the
blood.

The Filaria sanguinis hominis is an extremely minute
patasite occurring in large numbers in the blood of
human beings usually affeéted with certain peculiar
diseases, and almost always in those resident in tropical
climates; although a few cases have been recorded in
persons who have never lived in the tropics, and in certain
people who have been apparently otherwise quite
healthy.

‘Its average length is 7;" (=0'34 mm.); its breadth
ss05 (==0'007 mm.) or about equal to the diameter of a
red blood corpuscle. It is enclosed in a transparent
tubular sac, within which it can be seen to alternately
contraét and. elongate itself. This sac is extremely
delicate and translucent, and may sometimes, when the
worm has shortened itself more than usual, be seen
collapsed and folded like a ribbon, and the next moment
be instantaneously straightened again, by the extension

~~

a ee ee i

290 TIMEHRI.

of the flaria to its ordinary length. After death the
worm may occupy either the entire length of the tubular
sac, or be so contraéted as to leave the tube empty at
one or both ends . . . . . The internal organs
are not sufficiently differentiated to be recognised with
anything like certainty, although when carefully scru-
tinised from time to time during the twenty-four or
forty-eight hours that the parasites may continue to
live, something like differentiation of an alimentary canal
may be recognised.” (TIMOTHY LEwis). The im-
portance of this parasite and its conneétion with certain
diseases such as Elephantiasts and Chyluria cannot be
over-estimated. That it occurs in all cases of Elephan-
tiasis has not by any means yet been satisfa¢torily
determined; but its conne€tion with Chylurza may be
considered to be fully established.

And although it is not absolutely established that these
diseases depend solely upon the Filaria for their produc-
tion, yet the intimate relation shown by these diseases
and the almost invariable presence of these parasites
point very strongly to the relation of cause and effeét.
The idea then at once occurs that if only we can prevent
the ingress of these parasites into human beings, we
shall at once commence to eradicate these formidable
and oftentimes incurable diseases. Now the credit of
this idea and the establishment of it on a definite and
rational working hypothesis belong entirely to MANSON.
He has proved very conclusively by numerous experi-
ments made in China that the mosquito attacking a
subje@t affeéted with the Filaria sanguinis homints
imbibes along with the blood of the subjeét numbers of
these Filaria, which is only natural, seeing ia what

ee
Pe. 4

PARASITES. 291

large numbers, these parasites occur in a single drop of
blood. In the mosquito’s stomach a few of the parasites,
may undergo a developmental metamorphosis resulting
in the formation of embryonic forms. These latter when
the mosquitoes go to the water to deposit their ova, with-
out doubt also obtain access to the water. What more
probable than that they are in this condition imbibed by
man with his drinking water, and so are enabled to
undergo further development in the stomach of human
beings. Here again there is another example of para-
sitic disease, the parasite on which it depends having in
one stage of its existence to pass through an interme-
diary host—in this instance the mosquito—before it can
attain to the full developmental stage at which it
becomes injurious to man. And the moral of this highly
interesting piece of experimental investigation results in
nothing more or less than the absolute necessity of a
pure water-supply. As MANSON says—“ the impossi-
bility of permanent and thorough cure of elephantiasis
[omeperent . . . - . =. =. « JLhe prospe& on
the side of prevention is much more hopeful; for, if
people in countries where the filaria is endemic would
but cover their wells or water-jars with a netting suffi-
ciently fine to keep out the mosquitoes, or if they filtered
or boiled their drinking water, they would never get the
filaria or the disease it produces, elephantiasis.”’

That its conneétion with the mosquito is more than
likely gains weight by the peculiar fa€t, which anyone
can verify for himself that it is only towards night-
time that the filaria can be found in the blood of human
beings, commencing about 6 p.m. and gradually in-
creasing in number till midnight, after which a gradual

oo

292 TIMEHRI.

decline in numbers takes place, it being scarcely possible
to find a single specimen in blood drawn during the day-
time. And it is at night-time that the mosquito is best
enabled to perform its work of execution on human
beings. This appearance of the filaria at night-time
and their disappearance during the day, is known as
“ Filarial Periodicity.”

The above parasites form typical examples of the
Entozoa common to British Guiana and other tropical
countries. Of the next division of the Zoo-parasites,
viz., the Eétozoa, it will be necessary for me to say
but little, including as it does so many too familiar, and
withal, loathsome creatures. But there is one parasite
amongst them peculiar to British Guiana and most
tropical countries about which, although very well-
known to all residents here, it may be interesting to say
a few words. I refer to the Chzgoe (pronounced Jigger),
or to give it its full classical title, Pulex penetrans.

It is a very minute parasitic inse& usually regarded as
a true flea belonging tothe genus Pulex. ‘ The Chigoe
ordinarily lives in dry and sandy situations, where it
multiplies to a prodigious extent. It attacks, however,
the feet, chiefly underneath the nails and between the
toes; the impregnated females burying themselves be-
neath the skin.” But it is by no means limited to
the feet for its sojourn, I have seen several cases where
the hands and other parts of the body have been affeéted,
chiefly amongst coolies working on estates. Afterit has
burrowed beneath the skin its abdomen swells to the
size of a pea or larger; and, unless removed by opera-
tion, gives rise to acute local inflammation, terminating
in suppuration and sometimes in extensive ulceration,

PARASITES. 293

with even fatal results to the patient, ‘In bad cases
amputation of the toes and adjacent parts becomes
necessary. Left to themselves, the larvae escape from
their host, and probably, after the manner of bots and
other parasitic insects, penetrate the soil for the purpose
of acquiring the pupal stage of growth.” The prophy-
laxis of this parasite is self-evident, to keep the feet
well-protected with boots and never to go about bare
footed in places where they are known to exist. It is
quite possible to become infested with these parasites
by even walking about barefooted on the floor of some
of our houses.

Another familiar example of the Eé€tozoa in Bri-
tish Guiana is that very persistent and _ irritating
creature which we call the Béte-rouge ; but I can find
no mention of it under this name in many of the works
which I have consulted.

I take it to be intimately allied to the Leptus autum-
nalis or Harvest-bug. It is, as every one in British
Guiana knows, of a brick-red colour, oval in shape, and
about $ to} mm.long. The symptoms it is capable of
producing are too well-known to all of us. And though
in some few cases it is able to produce somewhat
severe types of skin-disease, in most cases it pro-
duces no more result than the excessive irritation,
increased at night-time, with numerous red papules
and wheals.

Then there is another affe€tion peculiar to the country
distri€ts of British Guiana, and so frequently met with
amongst the coolies working in the sugar-cane fields—
which undoubtedly is of a parasitic nature, though I have
never yet heard of the exaét nature of the parasite, or

002

294 TIMEHRI.

its actual identification, I refer to Ground-ltch. We
never see cases of it in Georgetown; unless such cases
as may happen to come to town from the country. It
affeéts chiefly the feet. And the appearances shown, are
very much like those seen in the han ds of patients afflifted
with Scabies or ordinary Itch, only on a much more
pronounced and extensive scale. Papules, vesicles and
pustules form, many of these presenting the appearances
of the typical durrows so familiar to Scabies. I, my-
self, judging from the naked-eye appearances produced,
am much inclined to think that the disease is produced
by an Acarus. And I think that Distri€t Medical Officers
might soon satisfactorily establish the identity of the
parasite, with a little trouble.

The second great class of Parasites—Parasites
of the Vegetable Kingdom—need not detain us long
The most interesting example of the Entophyta
occurring in tropical regions is that known as the
Cotton-fungus (Chionyphe carteri) which produces
the disease known as the Fungus-foot of India.
But up to the present time, I have not as yet heard of its
identification in British Guiana ; though it is by no means
improbable that it does occasionally exist here. I believe
it has never been described as existing elsewhere than in
India, and there it is said to affeét the natives only, no
European having been known to have been affliéted with
it. It produces considerable distortion of the feet, some-
times affeCting the hands, with thickening of the tissues,
degeneration of the bones, and numerous different sinuses
opening in the centres of raised papules, discharging
either minute fatty particles or black masses composed
of fungoid filaments, cells, and pigmentary deposit. The

“J
: PARASITES. 205

disease runs a very chronic course, and usually results in
amputation of the affe€ted members.

Of the Epiphyta, tropical countries afford usas numerous
examples as any of the more temperate climes, if not
more. They include the fungi which produce the
various forms of ‘ringworm’. Special names have been
given to certain forms of the disease occurring in ori-
ental places, such as the Burmese, Chinese, and Indian
ringworm ; but TiLBURY FOx is of opinion that the para-
site is precisely the same as that causing the ordinary
ringworm of the scalp (7inea tonsurans) and that these
forms of the disease differ from it essentially in the fa@
of its occurrence on the non-hairy parts.

Of the third great class of Parasites—Parasites of
extremely minute organic forms—Bacterza—it would be
beyond the scope of this paper to enter into. Suffice it
to say that it is to this class that Pathologists in the
Tropics as well as in all other countries, must now turn
their utmost skill and attention for the elucidation of
some of the most interesting, though direful, diseases.
To us in British Guiana they are ofall absorbing interest
when we know that on the presence of that extremely
minute organic form, the Lepra bacillus, depends the
terrible disease of Leprosy. And a yet more prevalent
and very fatal disease, Phthisis, (although not nearly so
prominently before the eyes of the public on account of
its not producing such loathsome objeéts as its congener
Leprosy), as every one knows now-a-days, depends for its
existence on the Bacillus tuberculosis.

Baéteriology and Pasteurism are now the most absorbing
topics of Medical Science; but it would require many
pages to do the subjeéts anything like justice.

296 TIMEHRI.

In the above imperfeét attempt at describing certain
Parasites, I have sele€ted those which are most common
to British Guiana and the Tropics. In most instances
our experiences here with regard to parasitic disease
correspond almost entirely with those so well-established
by observers in India. But there are one or two very
notable exceptions, whether absolutely true or not, I am
not yet prepared to say. Any writer on the Parasitic
Diseases of India remarks on the extreme frequency of
the occurrence of Tape-worm (Tzz1a solium and Tznia
mediocanellata) amongst all classes who partake of
animal food. Now our experience in British Guiana is
quite the contrary. I have only seen specimens of two
or three tape-worms since my conne¢tion with the colony
and those had been found Zost-mortem in the bodies
of foreigners. Nor again do we find the various forms
of Parasitic Cysts, such as the larval form of Tenia
echinococcus or the Trichina sfiralis, as existing in
British Guiana except on very rare occasions. I have
never yet heard of a case of Trichinosis as occurring in
this colony; but, at the same time, I think it extremely
likely that it does occur occasionally, and to a greater
degree in ail probability than any of us suspeét; the
symptoms of the disease being enveloped in some
obscurity, it is very likely to be overlooked. That the
Guinea-worm is not nearly so common along our coast
line of British Guiana as in India, is most probably due to
differences in the nature of the soil. EWwarT states that
the prevalence of Guinea-worm is most commonly asso-
ciated with the existence of trap rocks.

It is evident that the prophylaxis of Parasitic Disease
may be summed up by the words—séric? cleanliness.

PARASITES. 297

Most people associate the diseases of the skin which are
caused by Parasites with dirt, and very rightly so; but
we must go further and conneét the majority of the
diseases caused by internal Parasites as usually produced
by negleét in the proper attention to stri€t cleanliness
with regard to our drinking-water as well as all articles
of food.

The population of British Guiana generally does not
as yet attach sufficient importance to the absolute neces-
sity of a pure water supply. The alarming prevalence
of the Ascaris lumbricoides alone shows this. Its preva-
lence without doubt is due to the large amount of filthy
water which is drunk; and its greater prevalence
amongst those classes who are in the habit more or less
of drinking such water is very evident. But it is not
only water which a€tually looks and smells filthy that is
from a hygienic point of view impure. Much of our vat-
water is unfit for drinking purposes until it has been
well boiled or filtered. The tank-worms which are
so often seen in it, are anything but evidences
of its purity. Sufficient attention is not paid to the
regular and systematic cleaning out of our vats. So
long as we are careless about our water-supply, so long
shall we have disease in our midst; and if the above few
pages may serve in a small degree to dire€t some atten-

tion to the matter, they will not have been written in
vain.

at ee ee & ae = ee ae

Contracts with Cane Cutters.

By A, R. Gilzean.

—>>'er

BHIS estate (Anna Regina) has for many years
# ©depended on black men from the neighbouring
~ ©«svillages for its supply of cane cutters. For-
eae it was the custom for the manager to order certain
fields to be cut and for the overseer in charge of the cane
cutters to make a bargain with them for the cutting of
each field. The price depended on the quantity of canes
in the different fields, the demand for cane cutters in the
distri€t and the necessities of the estate at the time.

The labourers often wasted days in wandering from one
estate to another in search of higher wages before
setting to work for the week. They never worked on
Mondays and could not be depended on to begin work
until Wednesday or Thursday. The labourers naturally
took full advantage of our necessity when they saw the
supply of cut canes running short, and organised strikes
were of weekly occurrence. The consequence of this
was that a large stock of cut canes had to be left on
hand at the end of a week to keep the mill supplied for
the first part of the next week. When the men began
work they insisted on having enough work to last them
for several days allotted to them at once. The canes
which they cut first were at the bottom of the heaps
placed near the trenches for removal by the punts, and
were frequently the last to be loaded up for grinding.
As the canes deteriorate rapidly every hour they are
left after cutting before the juice is converted into sugar,

CONTRACTS WITH CANE CUTTERS. 299

the system was a ruinous one for the estate, and it was
demoralising and unprofitable for the labourers. When
the price of sugar fell from about 5 cents a lb. in 1883
to 24 cents in 1884, the produétion could only be
carried on at a loss under any circumstances. It was
decided to try to reduce the loss by improving the
system of cane cutting. Some time before a grinding
was contemplated, the cane cutters were called together
and the matter was put before them. They were asked
to enter into contracts with the estate to cut canes
for the grinding of three months. The stipulations of
the contract were that a bounty of $5 be paid to each
man on signing it, that the estate should provide him
with cane cutting when possible or weeding at current
rates if not, that each day a day’s work be taken and com-
pleted, that work should be started on Monday in each
week and continued for five days, that the price of cane
cutting should be 24 cents for a cord of unburnt canes
8 ft. by 4 ft. by 4 ft., or 20 cents if the canes were
burnt. Hospital accommodation in case of sickness
was to be provided for the labourer during the time of
the contraét.

At first the people would not listen to the pro-
posal, and it is doubtful if they would ever have done
so if it had not been for the advice given them by Mr.
J. E. HEWICK who was at that time Sheriff of Essequebo.
He took a great interest in the lower classes and he
pointed out to the labourers the advantages these con-
traéts offered to them. Additional inducements were
held out to them in the shape of prizes from $50 down
to 2 shillings for those who earned the most money
during the term of the contraéts, Eventually 47 men

PP

300 TIMEHRI.

were got to sign and they fulfilled the terms of
their contraéts most satisfaGtorily. They earned more
money than they had ever done before, and the
Fa&tory was kept supplied with as many fresh canes as
were required. Many men who did not receive bounty
nor signed contraét, worked on the same terms as the
contra&ted labourers. Little difficulty was experienced
in getting 50 men to sign contracts at 20 cents a cord
for unburnt and 18 cents for burnt canes in 1885. In
1886, 61 men signed contraéts, and in 1887 150 at 16
and 14 cents a cord.

In 1888 it was decided to divide the menintotwoclasses.
63 who had earned over ten shillings a week on the average
during the previous crop were given $8 bounty, and
those who had earned less but had worked well
were given $4. New men were given $4. Con-
traéts were entered into with 173 men out of
double that number who applied. This gang was
found to be rather too large and the next year (1889)
only 100 men were accepted. A new system of bounties
was adopted that season, $5 was paid to each man on
signing the contraét and he was promised $3 more at the
end of the term if he fulfilled all its conditions faithfully.
For this 1890 grinding, a bounty of $10 has been paid te
101 picked men and $8 to 38 others.

On the whole it is found that the system of making the
amount of bounty to be paid to two classes dependent on
the working of individual men during the previous crop,
is the most satisfa€tory one. The bounties are generally
offered a couple of months before the grinding
starts. This is a great inducement to the labourers to
sign the contracts as they are glad to get the money in

CONTRACTS WITH CANE CUTTERS. 301

the slack season. In 1887 seven men absconded but
with that exception all the men who have signed con-
tra€ts have either fulfilled them, returned the money or
been excused. Only 3 cases before the magistrate have
arisen out of these 720 contraéts. The prices for cane
cutting which continued to be 16 and 14 cents have ad-
vanced this year to 18 and 20 cents a cord of burnt and
unburnt canes respeétively. Prizes from $50 downwards
were paid to the men who earned the most money at
cane cutting in the years 1884, ’85 and ’89 and $100
downwards in the years 1886, ’87 and ’88.

BENJAMIN MCPHERSON who belongs to Ann’s Grove,
East Coast, Demerara, has won the first prize for the
last 4 seasons. His earnings for the 43 weeks of crop
season during those years has been $216 or $5 02
a week on the average. He works as a foreman at
the Gold-Diggings when no cane cutting is going on
at Anna Regina. His brother has won the second
prize once, and his cousin three times.

The cost of cane cutting under this system of con-
traéts including bounties, prizes and hospital benefits ex-
tended to the men, is about $4 per ton of Ist sugar at
the present prices of 18 and 20 cents acord. Consider-
ing that no house accommodation has to be provided and
that the estate is under no obligation to find work for the
labourers during the g months a year during which no
sugar is made, the price is not unreasonable for an
ample supply of freshly cut canes. In dry weather each
man can, on the average, cut enough canes in a week to
make a little over a ton of sugar.

SS SS
eS

PP 2

Notes on Scale and other Parasitical Insects.*

By R. Ward.

2 HROUGH the nature of my occupation, scale
inse€ts and their ravages come, unfortunately, -
we under my daily observation, and it may be
of use and interest to those who possess a garden, if I
jot down here a few rough notes on the subject. For
the past two or three years some trouble has been taken
at the Botanic Gardens, by enlisting the interest of
scientific men at home, to get these minute predatory
creatures identified. In this matter the Gardens are
under obligation to several gentlemen who have made
scale inse€ts a special study, with the result—it can
hardly, from the cultivator’s point of view, be regarded
as a matter of congratulation—of the discovery of several
new species.

A fine set of microscopic slides on which specimens
have kindly been mounted by S. J. MCINTIRE, Esq., (to
whom we are principally indebted in this matter), has
enabled me to identify, and give the scientific names of,
the several species of which I shall have tospeak. They
are not the whole, for several are still being worked out
by the scientific experts. My remarks will be chiefly
confined to what are technically called Scale Iusects ;
but in addition thereto, I shall add a few observations on

* Figures of the greater number of Scale Inseéts referred to in this
paper, will be found in the last volume of Zimehvi (Timehri, VOl. iii,
New Series, 1889. p+ 313).—Eb.

SCALE AND OTHER PARASITICAL INSECTS. 303

others already familiar to all who are acquainted with
garden plants.

The injurious effeéts on plant life of these minute
parasitical or otherwise predatory inseéts are very great
indeed, and their modes of attack exceedingly various.
There is scarcely a plant that one can certainly say is
free from the ravages of one or other of the pests.
Their power of reprodu€tion too is enormous, and rapid
beyond conception, and hence in many cases arises the
great difficulty of effe€tively destroying them. Indi-
vidually they are absolutely insignificant, and con-
temptible so far as their power of injury is concerned,
but in the myriad hosts in which they often make their
assaults the very strongest plants rapidly succumb to
them. I will now describe the genera and species in the
order in which I have taken my notes thereon.

Cerataphis lataniz.—This though it resembles a scale
inseét is not one, and may easily be recognised by its
somewhat oval shape, dark centre and white waxen
fringe around the margin. So far as I have observed, it
attacks palms only, particularly the only aquatic palm in
the Gardens, Nipa fruticans. Young germinating
plants of this species suffer very much, and could hardly
be raised at all (at the Botanic Gardens,) were not these
creatures frequently, by hand, washed off. In all cases
as regards scale inseéts, it is better to take timely a€tion
in their suppression, otherwise a general washing with
powerful destruétive liquids will be required, which in
the most careful hands often prove fatal to the life of the
most delicate plants, as well as that of the inseéts.
Careless washing is not of much use. Every precaution
should be taken to get into their hiding and breeding

304 _ ‘Timeuri.

places, so as to touch the secret spots whither the —
larve resort. :

Orthezia insignis—This, like the foregoing, is an
Aphis. The part by which it adheres, or the body of thein-
set, is dark in colour with quite an elongated white waxen
appendage which develops with the inseé&t. In the
very early stage of development, little or no appearance
of this appendage is visible ; only the dark body with
slight traces of a waxen fringe here and there. This
pest, however, affe€ts many plants, especially those that
are herbaceous or soft of texture. When found on more
woody plants it seems to live principally on the young
growth—the outer parts of the shoots. Wherever found
it is in colonies, each individual apparently trying to out-
do his neighbour in getting at the most delicate parts.
But although common it is not nearly so destru€tive or
troublesome as many ofits allies. In the young stage it ©
is very abundant; afterit becomes fully developed, it is
easier preyed upon by its natural enemies, which play an
important part in limiting its ravages. In this respeét
no inseéts are more assiduous than the grubs of the
different species of Coccinella, Syrphus, the various
Hemerobtidz, of which the different species of Chrysopha
act a chief part. If they had not these natural enemies
to subdue them, the efforts of man would be unavailing,
so great is their power of reproduétion and the voracity
with which they feed.

Ischnaspis filiformis—A somewhat elongated small
white looking scale, commonly seen on mango leaves
and fruit, in patches or groups. In its attacks it
seldom fails to extraé all the life from the parts of the
plant on which it has colonised. It does not prey upon

SCALE AND OTHER PARASITICAL INSECTS. 308

all trees or leaves alike, but seems more generally
present on such as are suffering from other causes, The
better kinds of grafted mangoes, which are hardly ever
so vigorous as the common kinds, seem to suffer most
from this scale. As soon as it is seen, notime should be
lost in removing it. Where the fruit is attacked, decay
soon sets in, but where the invasion is on a limited scale
this may be prevented by carefully brushing the colonies
off.

Chionaspis citri.—This coccid, not unlike the pre-
ceding one in size and colour, is the pest of the
Orange family here—limes, citrons, oranges and bhal,
being alike attacked by it. Sometimes the branches
and stems of the trees become absolutely white by the
great numbers of the inseéts present, to whose attack
after a time the trees are certain to succumb if they be not
washed off.

Ceroplastes vinsont. A white waxen looking scale,
more or less orbicular in shape, with a somewhat irregu-
lar outline of slight proje€tions. This inseé&t more espe-
cially attacks ferns, though many genera appear to enjoy
entire immunity from it. So far as has been observed
here, it does not affeét more than six species, which too
are limited to the genera Adiantum and Polypodium.
Since it was examined, another coccid, identified as of the
same genus, has been found on the native “ Long John
Tree” (Triplaris surinamensis)—This is probably quite
a distinét species, of which I forbear to say more till the
specimens forwarded for investigation have been defi-
nitely determined.

Vinsonia stellifera.—A very beautiful scale, looking
like a minute starfish, by which form it may be very

306 TIMEHRI.

easily recognised. In its earlier stage, it is of a rich
silvery colour, but in an adult stage is much larger
and assumes a darker hue. It preys on a great variety
of plants, from orchids and aroids and other shade
loving plants, to trees and shrubs which grow in the
open. The symmetrical manner in which the scales
arrange themselves on the backs of the leaves is remark-
able. Its texture is brittle, and the best and perhaps
most effe€tive way of removing it is to use a small
piece of wood in scraping and rubbing it off. This
operation should be performed carefully to avoid injury
to the leaves by the pressure of the piece of wood. In

the adult stage these inse€ts are, soto speak, socemented —

to the leaves that washing or syringing in the ordinary
way is of little use as an attempt to get rid of them.
Aspidiotus personatus.—Of this genus several species
have been forwarded for identification, three or four of
which have proved new. That here named cannot be
regarded as so destru€tive as some of the foregoing
kinds of scale. Although commonly met with, itis seldom
found in great numbers. Its minuteness and tenacity of
adherence to its host render it a very troublesome pest
to deal with. The shape is conical and the size about
that of a pin’s head, the texture is hard and the colour
almost black. Some of the new species of this genus
are considerably larger than this. The several species
affeét numerous hosts, from palms and other trees to
small herbaceous plants. Where present on a limited
scale, washing or scraping of the leaves may be resorted
to as the most effe€tive way of getting rid of them.
Lecanium mangiferum.—tThis is the chief of our
mango pests, and of all the genera mentioned none is so

23a

SCALE AND OTHER PARASITICAL INSECTS. 307

rr

troublesome orsoabundantly represented in the Gardens as
this. And as regards the several species, the same remarks
aretrue. That mentioned is found toattack several plants,
but none to so great an extent as the mango, from which it
has derived its name. In form it is flat, and rather acumi-
nate, being broader at one end than the other, and of a
brownish colour. It affeéts the under sides of leaves, never
apparentlythe branches. It doesnotadherevery tenaciously
and is best removed by hand washing with soap and water.
Lecanium testudo.—A second species, irregular in out-
line and dark or black in colour. Compared to the last,
the members comprising the colonies are few in number.
It is found to attack several plants. Instead of con-
fining its ravages to the parenchyma of the leaves, it
preys on their ribs, stalks, and also on the branches. The
plants on which it is found are the Akee (Blighiasapida),
the Oronoque tree and other species of Zrythrina, Com-
bretum laxum &c. Perhaps L. ¢estudo may be looked
upon as the least troublesome of this genus.
Planchonia fimbriata.—Twigs and leaves of the Akee
affeéted by scale were sent to Mr. MCINTIRE on which was
found this species, accompanied by Z.¢estudo. This, how-
ever, is by farthe more destruCtive of thet wo, andindeed may
be regarded as more destruétive than any yet mentioned.
Its mode of attack is similar to that of Z. testudo, but it gives
the stem or part of the stem, a warted or cankered appear-
ance, and if left unchecked greatly arrests the growth of the
plant. Its principal host hereis the Akee, butithasbeen found
as well on the Central American Rubber (Castzlloa elas.
ztca), and also on one or two native trees. Allthese plants,
when it is present, exhibit the same warted and cankeredap-
pearance. To remove it a small hard brush is required,

Qe

308 TIMEHRI.

Mytilaspis buxi.—This species may be looked upon —
as exceeding in fecundity any yet mentioned, and on this —
ground is one of the most destructive. It preys on several —
garden plants,—namely Monstera deliciosa, Anthurium
magnificum and others of the same genus, and numerous —
palms—all of which plants possess a thick leathery tex-_
ture of leaf, which quality appears to be what is required
to invite the attacks of the insets. A thin coating of ©
vaseline applied with a brush, is a good and sure way of a
checking their multiplication and ravages. 3

Carteria lacca.—This is a large, peculiar, and, in this
country, very rare scale. Only once has it been dis- ©
covered in Guiana, and that was at the Gardens on young”
plants of Coca (Erythroxylon coca). Mr. DOUGLAS, ~
to whom the specimens were forwarded by Mr. MCINTIRE, ~

recognised it as the same species as that which produces —
the gum lac of India. These specimens were the first, 4
andylast, though a very careful search has been made ~
since they were discovered. F:

I have mentioned only scales that are common. A plant "
may have many parasites, and a parasite many host-plants. —
This I have shown in regard to several, but others which 4
are rare or confined in limited numbers to single plants —
I have not described, .

I may now go on to other minute predatory inseéts which 5
do not belong to the scale family. Perhaps foremost of i
these is Red Spider (Acarus telarius). This pest is well ©
known to gardeners at home to be one of the most destruc- {
tive enemies to be dealt within plant houses. It has been ©
dete€&ted on several plants under cultivation here,
both in and out-doors. Grape vines especially suffer —
much from it. This inse€t is a minute red creature, —

SCALE AND OTHER PARASITICAL INSECTS. 309

moving about very rapidly, but so small as hardly
to be dete&ted by the casual observer. Leaves attacked
by it assume a light pale or sickly colour. Once it gains
a footing, the utmost vigilance and care are required to
get rid of it. Several methods are resorted to for keep-
ing it down, such as frequent syringing with pure water,
or a solution of flour of sulphur and water forcibly
applied to the under sides of the leaves, where it is chiefly
found. The latter mixture, when the water hasevaporated,
leaves a fine coating of sulphur on the affefted surface
in which the creature cannot live. A syringing with
soap water, repeated for several days, is also an effe€tive
remedy. In this case the plants shouldsubsequently receive
a syringing with clear water. These remedies should not
be applied during the day while the sun is bright.

Thrip.— Thrips vulgatissima, is a minute elongated
black inse&t, the ravages of which are somewhat of a
chara€ter with those of the preceding. Like Red Spider,
it can move rapidly about, and is very destru€tive in its
attacks. It loves a dry rather than a wet atmosphere.
This may account for the general complaint that plants
used in drawing rooms soon become unsightly, particu-
larly crotons. One half of the unhealthy house plants
met with are affected by this inse€&.

Mealy Bug.—Of this there are several species affe€ting
various plants, of which may be mentioned, as the most im_
portant, the Sugar Cane, under the clasping bases of the
leaves of which they secrete themselves in great numbers.
Many other plants, too numerous to mention here, receive
considerable damage from these pests. They are not, how-
ever, so difficult to destroy as the scale inse@ts. Byastrong
syringing most of them will be dislodged, when a great

QQ2

310 TIMEHRI.

many of them perish ; by thismeansthey areeasilychecked. —
Green-fly.—This, like the preceding one, in faét like —
all this class of inseéts,—namely Plant-lice, Green-fly, —

Aphides &c.—prefers to feed on the soft tender parts _

of plants, rather than on the harder or more woody
parts. Hence itis invariably found to live on herbaceous
plants and the young growth of the more woody plants,

The fumes of tobacco smoke, as well as water highly
impregnated with this powerful narcotic, is a most
effe€tual remedy for this inse€&t. The latter should be
well mixed, and syringed on the foliage. Soap water
might be employed inthe same way. If proper attention
were paid to syringing plants, the ravages of this inse&,
as well as of others, would be very trifling ; but, unfortu-
nately, no branch of culture is less attended to than this.

Caterpillars.—Great damage is often done by caterpil-
lars to our most valued plants; maiden-hairfernssuffer par-
ticularly from their rapacious attacks, but I mention them

here particularly on account of the trouble they have lately

given in raising seedling canes. The minute caterpillar of
some minute moth, almost at soon as the cane-seeds have
germinated, preys upon the seedlings, and itis only with
the keenest sight, by careful watching, and continual pick-
ing and destroying of the depredators, that one is able to
save the better sorts.

Crickets and Locusts are also destru€tive to many kinds
ofplantsandflowers. Theflowersof Orchidsand Zucharis
lily are often destroyed by themas soonasthey appear. They

are also troublesome to the larger and most forward of

the cane seedlings.
After this predatory crowd I may mention Axés which
are said to eat, and help to keep down, Aphides and other

SCALE AND OTHER PARASITICAL INSECTS. 31%
Se Ae a
parasitical inse€ts. At any rate wherever one is found
to any extent, the other is sure to be present toan equal
degree. It is well-known that, for value received, they
aé&t as nurses to some kinds of scales. Many means are
recommended for their destru€tion, among which I may
mention the drastic resource of pouring hot water over
their nests. A bit of cord besmeared with tar and tied
round the tree aéts as a check to their ascent. Another
remedy is to spread common tar oil on their paths; and
camphor dissolved in alcohol and diluted with water,
sprinkled in their haunts, is also efficacious:

Last but not least, although they cannot stri€tly be in-
cluded under our heading, may be mentioned Frugivorous
Bats, which destroy much of our mango and other good
fruits. One remedy to apply is to hang among the fruit
the prickly petioles of some of the pzmpler palms—the
long thorns of which, penetrating the wings of the bats,
are an effe€tual prote€étion to the fruit.

In conclusion let me say that in the remedies I have sug-
gested I have been thinkingchiefly of what, in trade phrase-=
ology is called “‘ Nursery Stock,” that is plants of small
or comparatively small sizeand house plants, with whichin
my daily work I am mostly cencerned, and to which the
remedy of hand washing, rubbing or brushing, is easily ap-
plied. For larger plants, growing in the open ground, reme-
dies more wholesale and quickly applied arerequired. In
these we are carrying out experiments at the Botanic Gar-
dens, the nature and results of which, withthe Editor’s kind
permission I will give in a future number, describing also
the less common predatory inse€tsnot mentioned here, and
those which have not yet been scientifically determined.

On the Upper Berbice River.

By the Editor.

N reporting upon my late journey along the
Berbice, I have no intention of wearying out
the patience of my readers by dwelling on

the features of the lower reaches of the river, which, asin

the case of the Demerara, are well-known. Of this dis-
tri€t there have been several more or less detailed
accounts already published, the most comprehensive of
which, perhaps, is ‘‘ The River Berbice and its Tributa-

ries’ by Mr. ALEXANDER WINTER, contributed as a

paper to Zzmehrz, December 1883. The most recent

account of the river is that given in 1885, by Mr.

GLAISHER, my predecessor at the Museum, “ A journey

on the Berbice River and Wieroonie Creek ;” but owing

to the desertion of the boatmen, the expedition had to be
abandoned at the first rapids. Concerning the distri€&
of the Upper Berbice, above the first rapids, we have
no information but that contained in the report by

SCHOMBURGK in 1837, and in a short and rather meagre

account by C. BARRINGTON BROWN in 1873.

Leaving the town of New Amsterdam, which is situated
immediately within the mouth of the river, the contraét
steamer traverses about 120 miles to Coomacka,
passing over the greater portion in which the influence
of the tides is felt. Both banks, above New Amsterdam,
were formerly lined by flourishing estates, from which
coffee and sugar were the chief produce ; but now the
greater portion has been abandoned, especially on the

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 313

West bank; and the traveller who cares to moralise over
the fluctuations of human affairs will find here, perhaps of
all places in the colony, the fittest food for his refle&tions.

Along the broad and estuarine lower part of the river,
the banks are low and swampy, and are lined by a
variable shrubby growth, among which the chara€teristic
mucco-mucco of the swamps (Montrichardia arbores-
cens), the courida (Avicennta nitida), and the curious
“ bundoorie pimpler” (Drepanocarpus lunatus) are con-
spicuous; but further up, some distance above the limit
of the working estates, the river narrows considerably
and suddenly, and the banks become raised a few feet
and are lined by the common alluvial forest growth.

It is in this lower tidal portion of the river, that one of
the most interesting problems of the Natural History of
the World, and certainly the most peculiar feature of
life in Guiana, is to be met with. This is the curious
reptilian bird, the hoatzin (Opzsthocomus cristatus),
locally called anna, hanna, and stinking or Canje
pheasant. Here, and in corresponding parts of the
Canje creek, which opens into the river below the town,
and of the Abary creek, which communicates with the
Berbice by an etaboo, these curious birds may be seen
at all times of the year—jumping about and feeding on the
fruit and foliage of the mucco-mucco, courida and bun-
doorie pimpler, in the morning and evening; and resting
in groups among the denser foliage, sitting on the pos-
terior margin of their carina sternt, during the heat of
the day. Here, on the spreading bundoorie pimpler, the
various stages of their life history may be studied—from
the eggs, lying two or three together on the loosely
placed twigs of their conspicuously built nest, through the

314 TIMEHRI.

young chicks, climbing about among the branches by
means of bill, feet and clawed wings, to the adult birds,
which in appearance are not unlike the common type of
pheasant, or, in terms of a colonial bird, a golden-tinted
brown maroodie.

As to the distribution of the birds along the river, they
certainly are confined to this lower portion—not a single
specimen being met with along the higher reaches.

Upwards to Coomacka, the features presented by the
country are somewhat more interesting owing to the
higher and more wooded banks, dotted at intervals with
the residences of settlers of various qualities, or made
conspicuous by the opening savannahs, as at Bartica, or
by some historic centre, such as at Fort Nassau, the site
of the old Dutch capital of the County.

A very marked feature of the river is the inconspicu-
ous nature of the settlers’ residences. With but few
exceptions, these are hidden away by, or built among, the
vegetation lining the river, there being but few of those
large and open clearings by the river side, which give so
marked a charaéter to the scenery of the Demerara, and
present so inviting an aspeét to these retreats of semi-
civilised life. On this account the river is rendered
correspondingly more monotonous in chara€ter; and it
seems to me by no means a fanciful idea, that the marked
unhealthiness of the region is in part attributable to this
lack of sanitary precaution.

To one unaccustomed to such scenes, the windings of
the river constantly reveal pi€tures of great beauty—
long stretches of smooth lake-like water, shut in and
banked by raised forest-clad ridges, crowned by the deli-
cate foliage of the manicole palms (Euéerpe edulis) or

ON THE UppER BERBICE RIVER. 315

the grander growth of the cokerite (Maximiliana regia),
with their most intensely vivid refle€tions in the dark
water. But to one familiar with such scenes, so closely
similar or comparable in the different rivers of the
colony, they are marked by a monotony which hardly a
rare luxuriance of flowering plants by the riverside can
relieve. Not unfrequently one meets with dense flower-
ing clusters of the golden allamanda or some other
scandent plants ; at close intervals are seen the peculiar
plume like flowers of the wild cocao (Pachira aqua-
tica), with their large ovoid pods; while the flaming
inflorescences of the supple jack or coupa (Norantea
guianensis), or the chandelier-like clusters of Marcgraa-
via, occasionally rivet one’s attention. -

In the neighbourhood of Coomacka, the main upper
tributaries of the Berbice are met with ; these are the
Wieroonie below, and the Wickie and Etoonie above,
the first and last of which drain a large extent of the
alluvial sandy savannah country on the West bank,
while the Wickie has its watershed between the Canje
and the Berbice in a forest-clad plateau. With these
exceptions the creeks met with are small and unimpor-
tant, and but for the Kibiribirie creek some twenty-
five miles above Coomacka, to which the Dutch used to
resort for the benefit of its cold waters, and the Youa~
courie creek some fifty miles further, along which is
situated the path commonly used to reach the Demerara
river, they are scarcely worthy of mention.

The greater part of the first day’s journey (Monday,
September 15th) was spent along the Wickie creek in a
vain attempt to procure Indian hands. The chief settle-
ment is the Arrawak Mission station of Calcuni, where

RR

316 TIMEHRI.

———S 3

about a dozen houses are grouped together on a bare ©
sandy area; but here we encountered only old men, women
and children—the young men being absent. Toconsole
us, it was said that higher up the river it was easy to —
get men who knew the upper reaches, but this we
found later on to be but a delusion.

At Tipooroo, a little below the Kibiribirie creek, at
the residence of a settler named MANDHAR, we obtained
a large supply of delightfully sweet oranges, several
trees of which surrounded the house, and evidently were
in a most flourishing condition. Here it was somewhat
of a surprise to find that native grown rice formed an
important article of diet ; and several large sheaves of the
grain were brought from the field while we waited for
breakfast.

Upwards, above this point, past the small settlement of —
the French resident, Polité—past Wackra-mucro, a small
settlement of Indians on a low hill on the East bank, and
beyond Ahwiemah, another Indian settlement some miles
higher on the opposite side, the banks of the river are but —
very slightly raised, and extensive swamps intervene be-
tween the more elevated positions. On the higher land,
tra€ts are constantly met with to old grants for timber
or balata, and the abandoned benabs often gave welcome
shelter.

Ahwiemah consists of about a dozen houses, some of
very large size, splendidly situated on a hill at a bend of
the river, and commanding very fine views on each side.
The settlement is studded with a luxuriant growth of
plantain, banana, lime, papaw and pepper trees; but
the want of a sufficiently wide and open clearing detra&ts —
from itsadvantages. The Indians were nearly all absent, ;

On THE Upper BEerBICE RIVER. 417

and of the few that remained several were thoroughly
prostrated with fever. Indeed at all the settlements met
with, the same tale of sickness was heard.

Above Ahwiemah, and upwards until the sandy ridges
in the neighbourhood of Youacourie creek are met with,
the distrié&t is almost a continuous swamp, in which the
prickly awarra palms (Astrocaryum) luxuriate and in
some places completely line the riverside. The river
winds about in all dire€tions, and at the bends opens
out into wide expanses, narrowing again where dense
masses of grass and mucco-mucco grow out into the
channel. Here and there, these projecting masses be-
come separated and form small islands. To judge from
the height of the water and the nature of the couniry, a
considerable portion of this distri must be swampy
even during the extreme dry season.

Where the sand ridges abut on the river, the White
hill, the highest point, rises extremely steeply to a height
of about 100 ft., offering, owing to the loose sand, a by no
means easy climb to the top, from which, however, the
view over the top of the forest is very fine and quite worth
the trouble of the climb. The East bank being quite low,
an extensive spread of forest-covered country, from North
to South, away as far as the eye can reach, can be ob-
served, and far in the distance, a few low hills break
the even line of the horizon. Just at the foot ofthe hill,
the river bends away towards the East, forming a lake-
like expanse. The base of the hill is riddled with the
nest-holes of various species of kingfisher, chiefly Cery/e
torguata, which seem to congregate here in large num-
bers during the breeding season. On the top, the hill
is covered with low bush, behind which it slopes away

RR 2

418 TIMEHRI.

5a) SSE OR LOUIE ASE SR
into an extensive grass-covered savannah, limited in the
distance by a forest-clad ridge.

Above this point, the river passes through another
swampy distri€& and takes on a special charaéter owing
to numerous lake-like openings and wide etaboos, of which
some are as wide as the river, though they become choked
up and impassable further in. The main channel is thus
difficult to distinguish except by the strength ofthecurrent.
A few miles below Mappa lake, another ridge with a very
steep escarpment on the river, composed chiefly of dark
red and white sand, and known as the Red Hill, is passed,
but this might easily be missed if one of the wide etaboos
just referred to be followed.

On Mappa lake, some fifteen miles above the Youa-
courie creek, is situated the chief Ackawoi settlement on
the river, but it is seldom, it appears, that the great
bulk of the residents are to be found at the settlement.
The lake is a wide expanse at the mouth of a creek on
the East bank, and communicates with the river by a wide
channel, from which, however, none of the benabs can be
seen. The chief men of the settlement were further up
the river, with the head man SIMON, known as Captain
SIMON, engaged in hauling out timber for transportation
by one of the wood-cutters’ punts which was soon to
start down, and it was only after a long palaver with
SIMON that I was able to procure two hands for a week.

Just above the opening to Mappa lake, the river bends
away suddenly to the left, flowing in from the East,
though an open channel continues on in a straight line
and seems to be the direét continuation of the main
stream. As below, the greater extent of the land by
the riverside was continuous swamp, crowded with the

ON THE Upper BERBICE RIVER. 319

awarra palms, though high land covered with immense
forest trees lay at the back, andin many places abutted on
the banks. The channel at intervals opened out into wide
lake-like areas, chiefly at the bends or “ points,” andagain
narrowed in places to from 10-20 yards. A few miles
above Mappa the high land predominated, and the trap
rocks (greenstone) began to outcrop along the banks,
though the height of the water effe€tually obscured the
extent of the formation. Along these portions, the fallen
trees in the water became very numerous, though not
sufficiently so as to block the channel.

On the morning of Saturday, the 20th, we passed
some Indian houses on the East bank where the Indian
wood-cutters were engaged with SIMON, and soon after
came in sight of Mr. KINGSTON’S residence at the grant
at Cooroodoonie—the last inhabited place on the river.
A day’s journey above this brought us to Idure Wadde
creek, which opens on the East bank, and on which, not
far from the mouth, a lovely cascade is found, where the
water tumbles in a long cataraét over the trap rocks for a
total difference of height of about 20 ft. The roaring
of the water can be easily heard from the river
some little distance down, and the cascade is most
easily reached by striking through the forest where
the sound is loudest. Soon after passing Idure Wadde,
on the 23rd, the first rapids of Marlissa—pronounced
Marlisha by the Indians—were met with, and after
paddling and pulling through eight of these, formed
by dykes of granite and quartz-porphyry, where in the
majority of cases the channel was extremely shallow,
much obstruéted with stones, and the last one ex-
tremely narrow and leading from a circular lake, we

~

330 TIMEHRI.

rounded a sharp curve from the East into a large lake-
like expanse, at the head of which the catara& of
Itabru thundered over the rocks.

Up to this point, the colle&tions made were, with one
or two exceptions, of no special interest, the forms of life
under observation being similar to those commonly met
with. At Coomacka in the early morning, the oft-repeated
cry of the beautiful Hootoo (Momota brasiliensis) had
been heard close by, in the belt of forest on the high
land adjoining the savannah, but no attempt had been
made to get specimens, under the idea that the birds
would be met with more advantageously further up;
but, as it happened, we had no further chance of
procuring them later on. Mingled with these cries of
the hootoo, there had been the loud clanging whistle of
the maam (7inamus subcristatus) and the curious cry of
the hanaqua (Ortalida motmot), with the cooing of the
wood doves and pigeons, which were plentiful in the ©
bush around. Higher on the river, the distin€tive notes
of the bell-bird (Chasmorhynchus niveus) sounded
from the surrounding forest, while common species of
bill-birds, macaws, parrots, barbets, cuckoos, shrikes»
hawks and vultures, etc., were met with at various —
times, but generally quite out of range. The kingfishers
were by far the commonest birds, and of these a good
colleétion was made.

Of mammals, we had been able to procure nothing
At one or two points, a howling-monkey (dJycetes)
and a common ring-tail (Cedus) had been deteéted far
out of range on some tree tops, while a few otters
(Pteronura sandbachii) occasionally rose at a distance. —
Of reptiles, snakes and alligators were conspicuous by

yi

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 321

their absence, and but a few lizards had been observed
—notably, the common iguana (/guana tuberculata).

Inse&ts were considerably more numerous than other
forms. The bright blue Morpho menelaus, and the blue-
barred Morpho achilles were often seen flitting across
the river or among the trees by the banks, together
with the beautiful Uvanza letlus and the Papilio pro-
tesilaus and P. thoas, while the yellow butterflies
(Callidryas and other forms) and the beautiful Heli-
conids were fairly common. Of Myriapods, a friendly
centipede (Scolopendra) had been caught while making
his way under my shirt for shelter, and a few beetles
had also been obtained at the various camping grounds.

Though doubtless many interesting specimens were
obtainable in these lower parts, no systematic attempts
were made to procure them, the objeét of the trip being
chiefly to explore and colle& above the falls higher up.
The health of the party too had suffered somewhat while
passing through the lower swamps, and three of us had
already been prostrated with severe malarial fever,
though only of short duration.

At Itabru there was a marked change in the chara@ter
of the surrounding country. The banks became high, and
rose upwards gradually into low hills, more especially
on the left bank where for several miles a sandstone
formation extends, evidently contemporaneous with that
on the Potaro at the Kaieteur falls. It attains its
highest point at Parish Peak, about 1,000 feet above the
sea-level, some few miles above the cataraé&.

The Itabru cataraét, a representation of which is given
in SCHOMBURGK’S “ Views in the Interior of Guiana,”
is formed by a wide dyke of quartz-porphyry which crosses

322 TIMEHRI.

the river at a point where it makes an S-like double curve,

the flow in the lake belowkeing from N to S—exa€tly oppo-
site the general trend of the river. The cataraé& is about
50 yards in length, 15 yards in width, and with a fall of
about 15 feet, the centre of the channel, at the foot,

being blocked by a large rock rising high above the

water, especially when the river is low, and it is this”
rock which renders the passage so difficult. The

northern sides of the bay are lined by huge masses of

broken rock, which continue along the western side; but
on thé eastern end there is an open bay of fine quartz

sand, from which a rather steep portage path leads

through the forest to the upper part of the cataraét. It
will be found considerably easier and quicker, however,

to portage goods across the rocks on the western side,

and to take the boat by water, pulling it over the rocks on

the same side wherever the rush of water in the trough-
like parts is seen to be excessively great. Here one of

the chief difficulties to contend with is the fearful force
with which the water discharges itself through the
narrow channel, which is but a gorge between the hills,

and in which the spaces between the rocks become huge

troughs, from which a boat with difficulty recovers

itself: this indeed is a condition that obtains in all the

larger cataraéts on the river.

The most perfeét view of Itabru is that obtained
from the rocks at the south-western end of the basin,
where across the smooth expanse of the lake, dotted
on the right with a few tree-clad islands, the channel
of foaming rushing water appears broken by the
huge boulder at the base and continued on the lake
as a gradually diminishing series of waves; while

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 323

the sides of the narrow gorge slope upwards into forest-
clad hills—on the left, fronted by an irregular pile of huge
black and red rocks, and on the right, by the open sandy
bay—the opening of the gorge revealing an amphitheatre
of hills behind, against the bright tint of which a tree-
clad island at the head of the cataraét appears distin&ly
outlined. Seen in the early morning, when the further
hills are bathed with light, ere the island and the foaming
water are touched with the sheen, the beauty of the
view is at its best.

It was close to this point of view, at the entrance to
the lake, that we pitched our camp, in the most advan-
tageous position to be found. Here just within the
forest shelter, but quite exposed in the front to the
breezes blowing across the lake, there was a large, old,
but tolerably water-proof benab, at some little distance
up the steeply sloping sandy bank; and here we were
able not only to sling hammocks safely, but also to
store the provisions, etc. while colleéting over the
"distri, the rocks close by affording most conve-
nient means for drying skins.

The day after reaching Itabru, we ascended the river
in a corial with two of the hands as far as Winter's
cataraét, to get an idea of the difficulty to be met with in
going to the Christmas cataraéts, both BARRINGTON
BROWN and SCHOMBURGK having referred to the numer-
ous obstruétions in the course. We found the channel
crossed by numerous rapids and cataraéts, following
each other in quick succession, but none of any very
serious proportions; and there was plenty of water, the
sandbanks being not even visible. As regards life
along the waterside, it was in this upper distriét, which,

ss

324 TIMEHRI.

from year’s end to year’s end, is scarcely ever disturbed
by man (the Indians never penetrating so far), as it had
been lower down—almost barren. Buta single maroodie
(Penelope cristata) was seen ; though in a deep bay we
had perceived the characteristically strong musky smell
of a caiman or some other large alligator.

The next day (25th) the bateau started for Coomacka
in order to bring up the stores which had been left
behind; and Capt. ARNOT and Surgeon FALLON, who
had accompanied me so far, were unfortunately obliged
to return to town owing to expiration of leave. Mean-
time I was left at the camp with the taxidermist and one
of the hands, one of four black men whom I had
taken with me from Mahaicony, and whose worth, as
they had previously travelled with me up the Mahaicony
creek and along the Upper Demerara river, was well
known to, and appreciated by, me. By means of the
small corial which alone I had been able to secure at
Coomacka, we were able to get about for colleéting,
and the various lines cut by the gold prospeétors who
were then examining the river, enabled us to range the
countryin many directions without risk of losing ourselves.

Of these gold-hunting expeditions, there were at the
time several different parties at work, a determined
attempt being made to explore the mineral resources of
this part of the colony. Several of these prospeéted the
entire neighbourhood of Itabru and the distriéts imme-
diately below, where the granite and trap rocks are
found, while others carried their investigations, later on,
even to beyond the Christmas cataraéts; but though
several likely-looking spots were met with, there were
but traces of gold—“ eyes” or “ colour’ as it is termed—

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 325

and in not a single case was anything sufficient met
with to justify working for the metal. Time alone will
show whether these prospeétions were altogether com-
plete and satisfa€tory. Several of the expeditions met
with more or less serious damage to their boats, owing
to careless handling in the cataraéts where the water
thunders through the narrow gorges—two being damaged
at Itabru, one at Winter’s, and another at Umbrella
cataraét ; but happily there was no loss of life in any case.

The captain of one of these boats, a strong-looking
Arrawak Indian, was a celebrated man in his way—for
had he not been dragged out of his hammock one night
by a jaguar or so-called tiger (Fe/7s onca), and yet had
escaped with his life? The adventure had taken placea
year or two previously, on the hill at the North-eastern
corner of Itabru. In a mixed crew, the Arrawak had
been the only Indian; and, as is their fashion, he had
slung his hammock some little distance away from the
others, in the forest. During the night the camp was
roused by fearful shrieks from the Indian, and his
comrades managed, by shouting and beating the ground
and bush, to rescue him from a jaguar that had seized
him. The brute evidently had been lurking around,
attraéted by the unusual event of an encampment in his
region, and, coming in contaét with the Indian’s ham-
mock, had seized him and attempted to bear him off.
The tale was related by the manager who had employed
the Indian on the occasion referred to, and was substan-
tiated by the man himself, and must therefore be regarded
as genuine—unique though it certainly is.

During the fortnight’s camping at Itabru, a large and
interesting colleétion of Natural History specimens was

SS 2

326 TIMEHRI.

made, though during the earlier part of the time I had
been placed hors-de-combat by an intensely painful boil
on the hand, and during the last five days’ stay, I was
utterly prostrated by a severe attack of fever, accompa-
nied by peculiarly violent retching.

Mammals were not abundant. Jaguars were said to
be common in the vicinity, and the tracks of the bush-
cow or maipurie (7apirus americanus), the bush or red
deer (Coassus rufus), the labba (Celogenys paca) and
the great water-hare or capybara (Hydvochzrus capy-
bara) were at times seen by the waterside ; but none of
of these animals were met with. Specimens were pro-
cured of the large quata or spider monkey (Afeles
pantscus), of the squirrel (Sciurus zstuans), and of the
aguti and adourie (Dasyprocta agutt and D. acucht).
Blood-sucking bats seemed to be common along the river,
and, at several of the camping-places, one or two of the
men suffered from their visits. Otters (Pteronura sand-
bachiz) occasionally gambolled about the lake, but were
extremely wary, though their feeding places were fre-
quently deteéted.

Birds were considerably more numerous, especially the
large game birds such as the powis (Crax alector), the
maroodie (Penelope cristata), the large maam (Tinamus
sub-cristatus), the small maam (Crypturus variegatus)
etc., several of which were obtained, and whose flesh
afforded a welcome relief from the tinned meats. Two
large ducks were shot closely resembling the muscovy,
but with a white speckled breast and abdomen. The
great green-winged, Llue and red macaw (A ra chloro-
ptera) was the common form seen, and three specimens
were shot, though from their high flight, they seldom gave

ON THE UppER BERBICE RIVER. 327
RE aera ne a
a chance. We were also fortunate in securing a splen-
did specimen of the harpy eagle (Thrasztus harpyia)
which had been shot while resting on the top of a high
mora, on the hill above the cataraét. In the forest,
species of Zrogon, Ara, Chrysotis, Conurus, Cazca,
Rhamphastos, Campephilus, Dryocopus, Chloronerpes,
Celeus, Dendrornis, etc., were fairly common, and their
cries often heard.

The reptiles were represented only by lizards. True,
one night, one of the Indians had rushed into the benab,
exclaiming “caiman, caiman!’’; but the object seen
turned out to be but a dark rock which had been but
dimly perceived. In one of the small creeks, among the
hills, one of the gold labourers had shot a medium-sized
alligator (A. palpebrosus) which was kindly brought for
me, but was so damaged as to be unfit for skinning.
The species belonged to the old genus Cazman, with
narrow elongate head, destitute of a frontal ridge,
and quite distiné&t from the common “caiman” of the
colony which is but the largest species of the genus
alligator (A. niger). The reptile was extremely
emaciated, and had evidently found a difficulty in
makinga living. It was placed in a conspicuous position
with the idea of attraéting the large wattle-faced king
vultures (Gypagus papa), but though one or two were
noticed circling high overhead none descended to the bait.

Batrachians and fish of a few forms were extremely
abundant. Myriads of minute common toads (Bufo
agua) hopped about among the stones and sand, and
various species of Hy/a woke the echoes of the forest
at night. In the lake, at the foot of Itabru, perai
(Serrasalmo niger) of large size were predominant,

328 TIMEHRI.

cs ie ee NI Fl oN SIR ESI
almost to the exclusion of other fishes, and were most
easily caught, any sort of bait proving acceptable to
their voracity. Daree (Leporinus) were also procurable ;
but though said to be plentiful, the gigantic low-low
(Piratinga reticulata), and the striped tiger-fish or
colite (Platystoma tigrinum) were never caught,
although lines were regularly set for them.

Along the margin of the lakes, on the sand or among
the rocks, hundreds of elongated dark shells (Ve/anza
atra) were to be seen, while among the trees, a rare
variegated Bulimus, rather short and broad, was to be
found. Here too, a small crab (Gecarcinus) occurred,
and one was bold enough to seize the bait on a fish line
and to cling to it until caught by the hand.

The distri€t yielded a rich variety of inse&ts, and
many were secured—among them being two finespecimens
of the large Buprestid or sun-beetle (Euchroma gigantea).
The wild guava (Psidium) among the rocks were crowded
with several greenish Hemzptera which were almost
undistinguishable from the leaves, while a tiny Curcudio
was equally common on the stems of the same plants,
and were highly mimetic owing to the similarity of their
colouring to the bark. The most curious instances of
proteétive colouring were met with among some speci-
mens of Diactor foliacea, which dwelt among the bushes
by the sandy bay, where they were found only on the
flowers of one kind of plant, on which it was hardly
possible to distinguish them, though they were easily seen
when they rose on the wing.

The woods around echoed and re-echoed with the shrill
screeching of the Cicadas, which at times became almost
deafening, but except an occasional specimen which

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 329

now and then flitted high up among the branches,
they were invisible and could not be caught. Large
cow-flies, the stab of which might be compared to the
prodding with a large needle, occasionally worried us, and
gave a variety to the misery caused by the “ cabowroo”
flies, which along some of the upper parts of this river
are extremely numerous, especially in bare rocky or
sandy places. These flies, but little smaller than the
common house-fly of the colony, abstraét a considerable
amount of blood, and, owing to the size of the punéture,
leave a large clot to mark the site of their feast. Owing
to the shortness of the stabbing organs, they cannot
penetrate ordinary clothes, but exposed parts are most
cruelly attacked, and the bare bodies of the Indians
suffer accordingly. The abundance of the cabowroo
formed one of the reasons—and a highly intelligible one
—given me by an Indian, why his fellows do not make
settlements along these beautiful and inviting distriéts,

The cushie or umbrella ants proved a perfeét nuisance
in the camp, and the rice and biscuits formed a constant
point of attack, and at times their marching columns
seemed like white lines from the large pieces of
biscuits being carried off by them. The most tantalising
pests, however, were the bush-ticks, large and small,
which were more numerous here than I had ever
experienced on any other river; while higher up at the
Christmas catara€ts they must have been in myriads,
since even on the rocks they were plentiful.

All along the distri€& to Itabru, the trees consisted of
valuable kinds, such as mora, greenheart, bullet-wood,
crab-wood, purple-heart, wallaba, etc.; while hyawa,
marciballi, baramalli, kakeralli and other common trees

330 TIMEHRI.

were everywhere visible. In the neighbourhood of
Itabru, scarcely a palm was to be seen along the water-
side, except here and there a tooroo or loo, though in
the forest the cokeritiballi was very plentiful. Orchids;
common species of Epzdendron, Brassia, Brassavola,
etc., were fairly common, while most lovely clumps of
Diacrum bicornutum grew on the high branches of many
of the dead trees.

On the goth of O&tober, feeling somewhat recovered
from the fever, I determined to start for the Christmas
cataraéts—the boat meantime having returned from
Coomacka (on the 3rd)—and by careful handling, partly
by water and partly over the rocks, we easily took the
bateau over Itabru. Just above, the river curves round
sharply, and, at the cataraét of the Little Itabru, is
discharged through a narrow channel a few yards in
width, where the rush of the water is terrible. Above
this follow deep curves and windings of the river, and
three rapids and a cataraét in quick succession, and
then the Umbrella catara&t is met with, where the river
again narrows to a small gorge, the channel being
divided by a large rock in the centre, on which a tree
with branches curving downwards has fastened itself:
much in tbe shape of an open umbrella. It was at this
catara&t that one of the gold diggers’ boats got away
from the hands, who, stationed on the small island in the
centre, instead of on the bank, were able neither to
clear the loaded boat past the rush of water above, nor
to hold her against the force of the stream. The boat
drifted, curiously enough, quite safely through the cataraé&t
below, and upset in the next rapid—everything being
lost; while the men, chiefly new hands, were so

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 331

paralyzed with terror that they passed the night, without
food or rest, on the island.

Just above, in the middle of the curve on the left
bank, the Eureka creek, one of the few to be found on
the Upper Berbice, joins the river. Here, it was at first
believed that gold would be found in sufficient quantity
to pay for working, but further investigation gave no
encouragement. Here also, I was assured by a hunts-
man belonging to one of the prospe€ting parties, that he
had met with a strange white animal—pure white, he
insisted—about the size of a small dog; and that by the
waterside at night, the mewing of a cat—an unmistaka-
ble cat—was to be heard: but during our short stay,
the strange animal was unseen, and the cat unheard.

Upwards the same high forest continued, the almost
uniform green being at times broken by the red pods and
flowers of the wallaba. A few tooroo and loo palms,

.and a few dwarf manicoles were at times seen; great
vanilla vines draped many of the trees ; flowering epiden-
drons and brassavolas clothed many of the branches ; and
overhead rose masses of Schomburgkia and Diacrum on
the high tree-tops. The yarooroo with its great but-
tresses formed a conspicuous feature. On the low-lying
parts within the forest, the broad and spreading cokeriti-
balli and the dahlibanna grew in masses. Selaginellas
grew in abundance on the moist parts of the banks, with
delicate filmy ferns ; and here and there small clumps of
the bracken flourished in the more open sunny places.

A few short bends above the Eureka creek, a great
dyke of quartz-porphyry runs across the river to form
Winter’s cataraét, the great rush of which is avoided by
a channel on the right or East bank, through which the

Tr

332 TIMEHRI.

bateau is easily pulled. After this the river widens out
with a slower current, and rocks and islands begin to
appear at intervals. Two of these large rocks, one
covered with trailing plants resembling a head of hair,
go by the names of Mr. and Mrs. WINTER, but why,
no one seems to know.

Higher up, the banks begin to assume a very peculiar
appearance, due to the abundant growth chiefly of two
creepers, which form almost continuous sheets, like
drooping curtains, along the riverside, often stretching
out in broad and thin layers from the proje&ting ends of
the branches over the river. Against this almost con-
tinuous curtain of green, the few flowering plants stood
out with marked effe€&t, more especially bunches of the
“ bottlebrush” and Petrza.

The depth of the river varies considerably between
the rapids, and numerous boulders of quartz-porphyry
block the channel. The rapids follow each other in
quick succession, but until the Savannah rapids are
reached, some few miles above the Winter’s cataraé,
they are of little difficulty. Here the bed of the river is
very inclined for about from 400—600 yards, the water
rushing over the broad and rocky slope with great force.
The river bec»mes very shallow with scarcely sufficient
depth to float the bateau, and rocks proje& in all
dire&tions, many of them loose on the slope and very
slippery, and giving a very insecure footing for the boat-
men, who have to pull and push the boat with great
difficulty between them. The mossy water-plants (Laczs,
etc)., are here very abundant on the rocks, and
seem to consist chiefly of three species, one especially
being of large size and with the stalk of the inflorescence

ON THE UppER BERBICE RIVER. 333

about the length and thickness of an immense asparagus.
No pacu (My/letes) are to be found on the Berbice ; so
that these plants flourish undisturbed except by the fall
of the water during a very dry season, when the rocks
are found to be covered with their dried remains.

The banks on both sides, all along these upper
reaches, are generally very high, and on the western sides
the slopes pass gradually upwards to the Itabru moun-
tain which lines the way to the Christmas cataraéts, and
runs inland as a ridge of hills. Some few miles above
the Savannah rapids, a sudden curve of the river brings
into view one of the high peaks, with a sharp escarp-
ment and mural preeipices facing nearly S.E., and at a
distance only of about three miles from the water
side. The view is soon lost, however, though it
appears again higher up, where a long reach of the
river in the same dire€tion faces the escarpment. Close
to this point we camped late on Saturday evening
(11th).

Just above this tra€& of the river, not far below the
foot of a long and sloping rapid with very shallow water,
we were fortunate in catching two large haimura
(Macrodon trahira), one being of very unusual size
and having a large protuberance on the top of the snout
—perhaps due to injury or age. These gave two
splendid skins, and several very delicious meals—a con-
sideration by no means to be scorned. Iguanas had
been common all along the river, so much so that even
the crew got tired of eating them. Often as many as
six or seven were in sight at one time, though several
made haste to throw themselves headlong into the river
in their fright, sometimes from a height of about thirty

TT2

334 TIMEHRI.

or forty feet, and giving rise to a sharp and charaGter-
istic splashing sound.

Here too, the bell-birds seemed to be common, though
we were unable to procure them owing to the height of
the trees among which they were ensconced. The quow
or calf-birds (Gymmnocephalus calvus) were heard far
off in the forest, their bellowings mingled with the hoarse
caws of the bultata hawks (/dycter americanus), the
yelping and quarrelling of parrots, bill-birds and macaws,
and the deep roaring of the howling monkeys (Mycetes).
The green bunyas (Ostinops viridis) were seen for the
only time on the trip, but they were high up out of range
on gigantic moras; among which also a few common
sapajous (Cebus apella) were noticed, and the wail-
ing cry of the quata heard. Lower down a fine
specimen of the beautiful fall bird (Paroarza gularis)
had been secured, and this was the only one met with.
An occasional honora or grey crane (Ardea cocot) rose
at times in front and kept well out of range, while the
bush or bronze ibis (Harpiprion cayennensis) were con-
stantly met with.

The Sunday spent at this camp was remarkable for
the downpour of rain that began late in the afternoon
and continued throughout the night and far into the next
morning, with vivid lightning and heavy thunder.
Possibly the proximity of the high peak (Parish peak) of
Itabru mountain had something to do with this downpour,
and it was noticeable that along this distri€&, thoughthe dry
season was well advanced, frequent and heavy showers
fell, thus causing the river to maintain a full body of water.

Late on Monday morning, after the rain, we started,
and soon came upon one of the gold-diggers’

may >

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 335

camps, where they were cutting a path to the Coren-
tyne under the impression that they were above the
Christmas catarafts—the tedious Savannah rapids having
being mistaken for that set. Another expedition which
had not reached so high as this point, had in the mean-
time gone down, spreading the tale of having prospe€ted
the country for gold up to the Christmas cataraéts—a
mistake due to their ignorance of the description which
had been given of this set.

The higher we ascended, the more numerous became
the rapids—the river winding very considerably, much
broken up with rocks and small tree-clad islands, and
the banks much raised and covered with a magnificent
forest growth of mora, greenheart, crab-wood, wallaba,
arrisouroo, marciballi, dalli etc. Here and there a few
tall manicoles were to be seen, but up to this point
palms had been few and far between by the river-side,
though, within the forest, tooroo and cokeritiballi were
to be met with, often in great numbers. On the slopes
of the hill, where the Monday evening’s camp was made,
at the foot of a small but loud-roaring catara&, the
plants grew in great abundance, and gave a welcome
shelter, in the form of a rude benab, from the heavy rain
which fell soon after, accompanied by frequent lightning
and thunder.

It was at this place, which presented the appearance
of being the site of an old camping ground—possibly
used by SCHOMBURGK and BARRINGTON BROWN—that
we caught the only snake met with onthe trip. The
specimen was of small size, being about 18 inches
in length, of a dull green colour, spotted along the back
with purple. It was a perfe€tly harmless species and

336 TIMEHRI.

referable to the genus Dryophylax. It was found
living on a decumbent greenish-brown trunk of a tree,
on which it could with difficulty be seen, and when
caught made vigorous attempts to bite. The teeth,
however, were so small, that they scarcely made more
than minute punctures.

With the exception of a smaller cataraé further up,
this is the last of any importance before the Christmas
set is reached. Above, the current is very rapid over a
sloping basin, at the head of which the river curves
sharply round to the East bank, thus giving rise to a
long open recess of great beauty, where the banks are
hilly and are covered with immense forest trees. A
shorter channel, cutting off this recess, and separated
from it by a tree-clad island, is to be found on the South
bank, but it is formed of a rocky bed with a series
of cascades.

Above this point, the rapids became more frequent,
and partook of the nature of the broad and shallow
Savannah rapids, the strong rush of the water causing
considerable difficulty in getting the bateau through.
The banks were elevated and covered with a high forest
growth, among which the chief hard-wood trees were to
be distinguished. Souari and hyawa trees became
common, and splendid clumps of the cokerite more
frequent, while manicoles too were seen at intervals.
The crab-eye or buck bean with its handsome black and
red beads was to be found in abundance, but chiefly small
trees, though one, with peculiarly small leaves, stretched
gauntly like a giant, upwards and outwards over the river.

Iguanas became even more common than they had
been lower down, and their splashing, as they threw

ae

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 337

themselves from the high branches into the river, were
constantly heard. Alligators were met with for the first
time among two of the higher rapids. One specimen
(Alligator palpebrosus) was secured with a charge of
slugs, and skinned, the reptile being unusually and in-
tolerably musky; while another, of a different species
(A. sclerops), though nearly drawn into the boat,
managed by some vigorous strokes of its tail, to effe&
its escape, and was lost amid the thick masses of the
common sheet-like creepers along the riverside. Otters
were commonly met with in large flocks, and two large
specimens were shot, but being in deep water it was
out of the question to get them. Perai of the common
species were still abundant and were most easily caught
—and their flesh formed a pleasant change—though the
Indians who had been with us lower down, gave their
diétum that “ Perai bring fever.”

Among the masses of creepers which curtained the
banks, a great variety of inse€ts was to be found, butasa
rule they were not easy toreach. Two or three species of
the tortoise or helmet beetle (Casszda) were secured, the
most common being of a fine green colour with a large
yellow blotch on each elytron, almost undistinguishable at
a little distance from the green surface of the leaves,
where the yellow blotches seemed like yellow decaying
spots on the leaf itself.

It was curious how, in nearly all the inse&ts found on
these creepers, their colours offered more or less certain
protection. With the exception of a small brownish grey
proboscis beetle (Rhynchophorus), found either on the
yellow fading leaves or on the yellow flowers of the
creeper, on which it was with difficulty distinguished owing

338 : TIMEHRI.

to its body beingcovered with an abundant yellow powder,
the specimens were of a greenish hue, variably marked
with spots of other colours, chiefly resembling those on
the leaves themselves. Green grasshoppers and locusts
were very abundant, together with the common Mantts,
and various spiders; while occasionally specimens of
Hemiptera were met with, one, a species of Meméracis,
being chiefly remarkable owing to its large and pointed
crested thorax, the anterior wings being of a deep
green, striped with obscure red lines, and somewhat
like the venation of the leaves of the creeper. High
overhead, and quite out of reach, were to be seen
magnificent specimens of the flattened silver spider
(Argiope argentata), and the thick-bodied nephila
(Nephila clavipes), with immense webs spread out over
the curtain-like masses of leaves.

Late on Tuesday evening we passed through consider-
ably elevated land, and a small creek joined the river
on the East bank, rushing and roaring down the slope.
Immediately beyond, a large island breaks up the
channel, the passage on the left bank curving out into a
deep bend, the whole distance being almost a continuous
rapid with a very strong rush of water; while that on
the right, shorter and more like a catara&t, leads across
dire€tly to the upper side of the island, where a long
curving and shallow rapid, like the Savannah rapids,
and with a total height at least of about 15 feet,
opens to the view. The channel was rendered very
beautiful owing to the masses of the flowering water-
weeds (Lacis, etc.,) which are here particularly abund-
ant and of large size—a point of beauty quite unappre-
ciated by the hands, who found the bed extremely

ie

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 339

slippery, and crowded with loose and sharp-edged
masses of the quartz-porphyry which is the common
surface rock of the distriét.

After passing this obstru€tion, three more rapids, one
long and very inclined, are encountered ere the foam
from the Christmas catara€ts is met with and the rush
of its waters heard. Rounding the bend of the river
from North to East, a magnificent panorama of the
rushing waters of the catara€ts bursts upon the view.

The whole scene, as one turns suddenly round the
corner, is altogether superb, and is very different from
the painting given by SCHOMBURGK in the “ Views in
the Interior of Guiana,” where the first cataraét is repre-
sented as seen from the side. In the foreground, the
foaming flowing stream is backed by a high irregular
dyke of pinnacled rock, about 8 feet above the level,
through which rush variably sized channels of foaming
water, breaking up into white masses as they tumble
over the rocks ; while beyond, in the distance, seen over
the dark dyke, appears a higher catara& looking like
terraces of rock and rushing foaming water, studded
with rocky and tree-clad islands, the centre of the cata-
raét a steep foaming torrent, sloping outwards into
alternate masses of rock and water—the contrast being
heightened by the red and dark colouring of the rocks ;
whilein the background rises the tall forest, clad with flow-
ing drapery of green creepers, hanging like curtains across
the field of view, and passing outwards to the sides, fol-
lowing the high arching of the forest on the steep banks.

The set of cataraéts really consists of four, but the
upper two are hidden from below by a bend of the river.
The first dyke is formed of ahard and close fe/stone,

UU

340 TIMEHRI.

in many parts closely resembling flint in appearance : the
second consists of greenstone ; while the third and fourth
are composed of fe/stone and guartz-porphyry. The fel-
stone is remarkable for its fineness, and its close and
parallel jointing, along the lines of which the chief
weathering takes place—the surface being often covered —
with a rusty coating.

Here and there, the rock is hollowed out into
deep and wide basins, the sides of which are some-
times smooth, though usually rough and sharp-edged
according to the lines of jointing. Along these channels
on the South side of the first dyke and in the centre,
the main mass of the river discharges itself, but
several little tra€ts are to be found along the course of
the dyke, the whole or the greater part of which must
be covered with water during the heavy wet season.
Even during our short stay of a few days, the river fell
about two feet, leaving numerous isolated rock pools,
Along the various channels and over the greater part of
the moist rocks, the water-weeds (Lacis, etc.) are very
abundant, and the dry rock is covered with a thick felt
of their remains.

Above the set of cataraéts, the river flows towards ©
the North, but it gradually curves round towards
the West, and at the foot of the second dyke, flows in
a more south-westerly direétion to the first dyke ; though |
owing to numerous nearly submerged bars, the chief rush
of water over the steep bed takes on repeatedly S-like
curves in all dire€&tions. Along the eastern face of the —
first dyke, which crosses from North to South, the river —
-ushes to the South end, forcing its way through and ©
over the barrier, rushing, splashing, and roaring in huge ©

ON THE UppER BERBICE RIVER. 341

basins hollowed out of the hard felstone ; while, below, it
winds away again to its normal course, flecked with
masses of foam.

The attra€tiveness of the scene was heightened by the
abundant growth of the wild guava (Psidium), in full
flower, on the rocks; and their delicate fragrance imparted
a delightful balminess to the air, thoroughly appreciated
by crowds of tiny yellow bees which hovered over the
flowers. Along the sides of the steep banks, masses of
coarse and rank-growing aroids were conspicuous,
mingled with ferns of different kinds, from the delicate
thread-like and filmy-leaved species to those with large
spreading divided and undivided fronds, while selagi-
nellas were scattered in all dire€tions. On the trees
along the sides, and on the islands, masses of orchids
grew, several in flower, chiefly species of Zpzdendron,
Brassavola, Batemannia, Brassia, Diacrum, Schom-
burgkia, Stanhopea and Hunileya, though the most
tempting clumps were always high out of reach on some
huge tree by the waterside.

Palms were represented by an occasional manicole,
cokerite, cokeritiballi and tooroo, but the most abundant
was a strong-growing pimpler-palm, called carya by the
Indians, much like a young tooroo in growth, but with
the stem and the back of the leaves covered with long
prickles, and the fruit like minute bunches of cocoanuts,
covered with small, close, short spines, and filled with
water. Mora, greenheart, crab-wood, wallaba, kabu-
kalli, marciballi, bullet-tree, etc., formed the great bulk of
the trees, as had been the case along the lower valley.

Several days were devoted to working up the distriét,
but it proved poor for our purposes. Powis, maam,

UU2

342 TIMEHRI.

maroodie and bill-birds, were fairly common, and a few
were procured. Parrots, macaws, bell-birds and rarer
species, were heard in the high-tree tops, but it was
extremely seldom that a shot could be got at them.
Once a wide column of the yackman ants was encoun-
tered, and considerable difficulty met with in avoiding
them. Crowds of the small ant-thrushes, bush-shrikes and
creepers, like ARhopoterpe and Chiromachzris, Den-
drornis etc., were pursuing, chirping loudly as they
followed their course, but in the darkness of the close
undergrowth it was not easy to see them. Several
hemipterous inseéts were met with, and a small Diador,
destitute of cross stripe or spots.

Bush ticks, large and small, but more especially the
latter, were extremely plentiful, and were a continual
pest ; though few things in my experience equalled an
attack from the species of Podzstes that construéts the
pear-shaped, grey nests (with their aperture below),
so frequently brought to town for sale. While crossing a
creek on a tacooba, a swarm of these wasps suddenly
rose around me and settled on face, neck and hands, and
sent me rushing recklessly through the bush, minus gun
and compasses which I had thrown aside in sudden
agony. The stings were like the sudden application of
so many red-hot irons, and the effeét lasted for hours,
though to a less degree.

We had started cutting a track to the Corentyne
from the point where the river curved away from
the East, but after two or three miles this was given
up, since we met with nothing in the way to re-
pay us for the time and labour. The track had led
along the river side for about a mile, beyond the second

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 343

cataraét, and across two creeks, the bed-rocks of which
were composed of quartz-porphyry and greenstone. A
magnificent view of the second cataraét is obtained from
this side, where the huge dyke of greenstone is seen
rising in broken terraces for about 20 feet, cut back in
the middle for some distance so as to form a steeply
sloping amphitheatre, down which the water rushes in
one continuous mass with a noise like the distant
rumbling of thunder; while at the open sides great
masses of rocks and tree-clad islands break up the rush-
ing waters into numerous foaming channels, till they are
lost against the forest on the high banks, which, with
their pendent creepers, close in the river. Higher up,
the two further cataraéts are seen; but these, though
fine, are much less grand than the second.

A day’s journey through the forest and along the West
bank was made above the set of cataraéts, where the
land gradually becomes less elevated, and swamps again
began to make their appearance, the course of the river
being quite unobstruéted ; but except a good specimen
of Zebrilus pumilus, nothing but common specimens of
Ibis, Trogon, Peristera, Columba, &c., were met with.

On our return we sought for, but could not find, the
heap of stones and tablet that marked the burial place
of Mr. REISS, who was drowned while descending these
cataracts during the visit of SCHOMBURGK.

It is a notable thing that during the whole time of my
visit to the Upper Berbice, not a single cayman
_ (Alligator niger) came under notice, while during the
visits of SCHOMBURGK and BARRINGTON BROWN, to
judge from their written accounts, these reptiles were
remarkably abundant, and were obtainable at all parts

344 TIMEHRI.

of the course—the latter traveller making the observa-
tion that ‘From the foot of Itabru upwards, the
Berbice river is, par excellence, the home of the
cayman.” This was, to say the least of it, a keen
disappointment to me, since I had felt secure, whatever
else might fail me, in being able to bring back a dozen
skins or so, of these huge reptiles. Curiously enough,
since my return to town, I have been informed by one
of the gold-prospe€tors that they too met with the
cayman, apparently some of the largest of their kind,
just above the Christmas cataraéts,

Finding this upper distri€t so unsatisfactory for col-
leGting purposes, I determined on the roth to return to
the lower parts, where the open savannahs and the larger
creeks might afford more opportunities ; but almost from
the start, I was incapacitated for work by fever, which,
as time passed, became more and more severe. On the
21st, when just in view of Parish Peak, I determined to see
what we might procure from the high hill; and we
accordingly struck out by the compass for the mural
precipices, where there is a bare escarpment of the pink
and mottled sandstone and conglomerate layers, with an
immense talus of boulders at the base composed of these
same rocks—the quartz pebbles of the conglomerate
being nearly all rounded and smooth. After a few hours’
walking we reached the base, where the mountain rose
suddenly, and so precipitously that tracks had to be
sought where the roots and stems of the small trees,
growing on the face, gave a means of planting one’s feet
and pulling oneself up. Beyond the magnificence of the
view from North to South over the expanse of green
forest to the horizon, broken in the distance by a few

ON THE UPPER BERBICE RIVER. 345

hills, we met with no reward for the arduous climb;
and with fever on me, I regretted the excursion.

Just at this point of the river, we met with a passion-
flower, quite new to me, which, if it would but grow by
the coast, would be a most desirable garden ornament.
Unfortunately no seeds were to be found on the plants.
The vine was of stout habit, with ovate-oblong
leaves, and stiff flowers, with an extremely fragrant
scent ; corolla and calyx white ; corona yellow on top and
pink inside, stiff and much divided into fibrils, but of a
deep, cup-shaped form; stamens and pistil greenish
yellow.

We ran down the river by easy stages to Itabru,
where I was obliged to camp for a few days owing to
the extreme weakness and the violent nausea and
retching which accompanied the fever. The taxidermist
too, who had been suffering slightly from the same causes
became quite prostrated ; and as the work of the expe-
dition was thus brought to a complete stand still, I
judged it wiser to return to Coomacka, where we
arrived on the 29th; and being quite unable to carry on
any work, we took steamer for New Amsterdam.

This had been my first experience of fever while
travelling in the interior, and, unfortunately, it was of
such severity as to render the close of the expedition
absolutely barren of results. During the greater part
of the trip, however, we had been fairly successful, so
that a large and miscellaneous ‘colleétion had secured
the expedition from being a failure.

The Barbados Sugar Cane Experiments.

By $. B. Harrison, M.A., F.G.S., F.C.S., Etc., Government Analytical
Chemist. .

1879 the establishment of manurial experi-
ments with the sugar cane was contemplated
by the Government of Barbados, and upon my
appointment in May of that year to the post of Island
Professor of Chemistry and Agricultural Science, before
I left England I received instruétions to make myself
acquainted with the methods employed in experimental
agricultural research, and I was enabled to do this
through the kindness of Sir JOHN LAWEs and Dr. GIL-
BERT, who invited me to visit Rothamsted and study the
the methods there used. On account of the satisfaétory
prices which were obtained for sugar in 1880 and the
two following years, and of favourable climatic condi-
tions producing large crops, the matter was dropped, or,
rather, was only spasmodically alluded to.

Sir WILLIAM ROBINSON, then Governor of the island,
however, fully recognised its importance and informed
me that as soon as the Reformatory and Industrial
School which was then proposed to be established at
Dodds was fairly started, he would take steps to enable
such experiments to be carried on there. He consulted
Mr. Morris, at that time Direétor of the Botanical
Department in Jamaica, upon the subje€t, who advised

him that it was desirable experiments should be made
with varieties of canes in order that a kind preferable
to the Bourbon cane might be found. Sir WILLIAM
referred this matter to the Agricultural Society, who

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 347

appointed a committee of which I was a member, to
consider it. The opinion of the committee was that
there appeared to be but little likelihood of a cane
superior to the Bourbon being found, but considered that
the experiments might be useful. In consequence Sir
WILLIAM asked Mr. Morris to sele& varieties of canes
which he considered to belikely tosuit thesoils and climate
of Barbados, and towards the end of 1884 a sele€tion of
canes was received from Jamaica and their experimental
cultivation commenced at Dodds. About the same time I
consulted with Mr. BOVELL the Superintendent of the
Reformatory as to the feasibility of making manurial
experiments there also, and we applied to the Executive
for permission to carry out a series of such experiments.
Permission was granted, but with the proviso that no
expenditure beyond that necessary for the cultivation of
the land in the ordinary way was to be incurred,
and until 1889 any expenses incurred for necessary
apparatus, etc, were paid by Mr. BOVELL and
myself.

In sele€ting the fields for the experiments with manures
we carefully kept in view the faé that for the a€tion of the
constituents of manures to be accentuated sufficiently
for their study, the soil must be one of low fertility,
deficient in the constituents of plant food the manurial
value of which is desired to be determined, but at the
same time having favourable mechanical properties and
good drainage. Two fields having this charaéter in a
well-marked degree were seleéted and used for the
experiments. The soil upon them is a fairly light clay
loam resting upon porous coral limestone, thus having
excellent natural drainage. The soil is thin, being from

xX

348 TIMEHRI.

eighteen inches to two feet in depth, and as the follow-
ing determinations show, deficient in nitrogen, phos-
phoric anhydride and potash :—

No. 1. No. 2.
Nitrogen ... vee = Sian "102 "154
Phosphoric anhydride ... ee "079 007
Potash ... apn = cae *106 095

For the experiments with varieties of canes we sele€ted -
more fertile fields, as shown by the following :—

Nitrogen «. oo nes "102 per cent.
Phosphoric snhydrid se wee “199 bites
Potash “5 x ase "242 “=

During the crops of 1889, 1888, 1889 and 1890,
the rainfall and climatic conditions at Dodds were
exceptionally favourable for the growth of the sugar
cane, and it is the results of the experiments during
these years of which I intend to give a brief resumé, as
from the deficiency of the soil in the more important
constituents of plant food, its excellent mechanical
condition and first-rate tillage and the very favourable
seasons, the results obtained at Dodds appear to be of
great importance with regard to the manurial require-
ments of the sugar cane, and may, to some extent,
assist us in this colony in the sele€tion of manures
for use in its cultivation. ‘The first year’s experiments
being mainly devoted to ascertaining the more promising
lines of investigation to take up, and also being greatly
affe€ted by drought, I have not, with one exception,
considered their results, but I may mention that they
were in full accordance with those since obtained. The
following shows the age of the canes when reaped ia
each year, the rainfall during the growth of the crop,

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 349

and the average weight of canes per acre obtained in
the distriGt:—

Crop of Age of Canes. Rainfall. Yield per Acre.
1887 ... 17 months .. 85'58 inches .. 30 tons 13°5 cwts,
1888 .. 17 55 se §©75°99 4s st 290 49 2 ”
1889 .. I5 4 wre 64°34 15 meet hr (gy 7 4 “ap
1890 «. 15 4 eo» 7595 mp hes) sg 9

Experiments with Nitrogen.

In this portion of the experiments the objeé& in view
was to ascertain: Ist, the requirements of the canes for
nitrogen; and 2nd, whether the canes were able to
make more complete use of nitrogen according to the
source from which it is derived. As the specific aétion
of any manurial substance can only be developed for
its study upon either soil or plant when the other neces-
sary ingredients of plant food are present in relative
excess, in each year the plots used were manured
with such proportions of superphosphate of lime and
of sulphate of potash as our experience had shown to be
in excess of the requirements of the canes upon the
Dodds’ soil. One plot was also yearly manured
with heavy dressings (20 tons per acre) of pen manure
and other plots left unmanured. Of the plots manured
with superphosphate and potash, one received nothing
in addition, the others nitrogen applied in different
forms and proportions. I propose here to consider
only the results obtained by the application of nitrogen
in quantities Of 40 and 80 lbs. per acre in the forms
of sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda and of mix-
tures of dried blood and sulphate of ammonia.
The average yearly results are given in the follow-
ing table :—

XX 2

TIMEHRI.

350

No Manure aa

Sulphate Potash
Superphosphate

}
= 40lbs. Nitrogen

= 8olbs. Nitrogen }

Nitrate of Soda... }
40 lbs. Nitrogen

Nitrate of Soda }
8olbs. Nitrogen

Dried Blood, &c. |

r

—

Sulph. Ammonia
40 lbs. Nitrogen
Dried Blood

Sulph. Ammonia
80 lbs. Nitrogen

Sulphate Potash Superphosphate.

Pen Manure AG

Weight of Canes
per acre.

Tons. Cwt.
19 10'5
25 66
32 12'4
37 7
29 61
31 rr 3
31 86
33 4°3
33 1-4

Extraction

Sucrose. |Glucose.

e

2049 ‘055 | 89.5] 4,671
2°061 ‘057 |90'5| 6,296

2'054 *054
I'g51 ‘074
2'015 064
1'979 081
1.934 ‘076
I'oi4 ‘074
1'944 062

89'7| 8,277
88°7] 9,208
88°90) 7,411

88°3] 7,935

87'6! 7,794

87'7| 8,027

88:1) 8,057

Purity.
Lbs. of Sucros
in juice
per acre.

Gain by Manuring
upon no Manure.

Ibs. of Su.
eae es} crose in
juice.
116°1 1,625
261°9 3,606
356'5 4.537
195'6 2,746
‘240°6 3,264
238'1 3,123
2738 3456
270°9 3,366

Tue BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 351

With the exception of the crop of 1887, in each year
manurings with superphosphate and potash salts have
given considerable increases in yield upon the un-
manured plots, showing the deficiency in the soil of
phosphoric anhydride and potash, and also that owing to
the favourable mechanical condition of the soil, sufficient
of the soil nitrogen underwent nitrification to supply
that necessary for the increased yield. In every case
the addition of 40 lbs. of nitrogen per acre produced
large increases in the yield, whilst the addition of another
40 lbs. still further increased it, although not to the
same extent. This is best seen in the following com-
parison of the average yields of the plots without
nitrogen, and of all the plots with 40 lbs. and with 80 lbs.
of nitrogen :—

3
Weight/.. 5 /.0 Ld Gain by
of canes] SP 1 a8!] | ne ns addition of
acre.| 22) Ga |SPiok 3 |S Nitrogen.
Bolsoalssles mae pe ACY Tan eee
tus.\cwt! 42 Se 2E/F3S| Su-(Glu.) 5 | 2 (Cwts. of[Lbs.8u-
: FS | 9.2125 /AS \croselcose.| a | 5 Canes. } crose.

—— = | ———_ | ——— | ——-_ |

No Nitrogen.,.. | 25 | 6°6| 587 | 3,070/1087| 11°6|2°051| .057 | 90°5|6,296
40 lbs, Nitrogen | 31 | 1°8| 60°8 | 3,902/1086) 11°5/2°007| °064| 88°6)7,831} 115°2 | 1,535
80 lbs. Nitrogen | 34 | 2°3| 61°21 /4,311/1085) 11°3/1°951| °076|87°7|8,410) 175°7 | 2,114

a

From these results we may safely conclude that, like
others of the graminez the cane requires nitrogen ; that
manuring with nitrogen up to a certain amount will
yield increased crops, but that these increases rapidly
diminish in amount where manurings of over 40
lbs. of nitrogen per acre are applied. From my
experience, both of these experiments and of others, I
am of opinion that from 4o to 50 lbs. of nitrogen per
acre (equivalent to from 200 to 250 lbs. of sulphate of
ammonia) is, in the majority of cases, an ample manuring

352 TIMEHRI.

with nitrogen, and that heavier manurings, although
probably giving greater returns of canes, will not result:
in increased profit but probably in loss, such loss being
the greater the more unfavourable the climatic condi-
tions are for continued growth during the later periods
of the crop. As regards the influence of increased
nitrogenous manurings upon the composition of the
juice, the experiments have shown that the juice yielded
by tbe higher dressings of nitrogen was almost invariably
of lower saccharine richness than that yielded by
the lower, showing that the canes had not been able
to make as complete use of the high dressing during
their growth as of the low ones. My experience is
that the limit of application of nitrogenous manures
so as not to in any way affe& the saccharine richness
of the canes, is from 50 to 60 lbs. of nitrogen per acre,
equivalent to from 250 to 300 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia-

As regards the form of nitrogen which the canes
made use of most completely, the results of the experi-
ments speak strongly. When the experiments were
commenced I hoped and expeéted that we should find,
as in the majority of experiments with the graminee,
nitrate of soda a preferable source of nitrogen to sulphate
of ammonia, but the opposite proved to be the case.
In each year’s experiments, including those of 1886,
nitrate of soda proved to be far less efficacious than
sulphate of ammonia, and this was the more marked
where the higher amounts were applied. Doubtless
much of this difference was due to the shallowness
of the soil at Dodds, and to heavy tropical rains occurring
soon after the application of the manure causing great
loss of nitrogen by drainage and surface washing, this

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 353

loss necessarily being greater with nitrate of soda, for
which the soil has no retentive power, than with sulphate
of ammonia; but we find that, in almost all other experi-
ments as yet made, sulphate of ammonia has given,
though in very varying degrees, more satisfactory results
with the sugar cane than nitrate of soda. At Dodds,
since 1885, the application of sulphate of ammonia and
nitrate of soda in quantities supplying equal proportions
of nitrogen was made the subjeét of twenty-five
stri&tly comparative experiments, in two only of which
nitrate of soda gave the better result. The follow-
ing shews the average results of these experiments :—

Weight |S.3/ 8 = Gain by use of
canes P| ~ 5) 5 en S35 Salphate of
acre. |S °/7S/ ps] os z @=>5| Ammonia.
B*/ Ss lgeles sees
£8/2° sal/=3/ su- ata = |. 22| Cwts. | Sucrose
tns.|cwt xs a2 Be ws crose cose = 3 i 2 of 1n juice.
i Mad cof sl = ba cose.) | 1° Canes | Ibs,
ar acd —- a | — eee

|
|
Nitrate of Soda| 27 | 8 |60°5| 3,425|1086 11-4 1-988) -093 |88°8| 6,808

Sulphate of -9ley> 5/472 7° ; . .
eal 29 |18°3)/61°2) 3,780/1085)11 3 1°963) °075 89° | 7,420 50°3 612

So

Mixtures of dried blood and sulphate of ammonia
did not give equally favourable results as the use of
sulphate of ammonia alone, but gave better results than
those obtained with nitrate of soda. These experiments
were made to test the truth of the assertions often
made by makers of commercial sugar cane manures
about the great advantage of the supply of nitrogen to
the cane being gradual, and that this advantage is
obtained in their manures by judicious mixtures of
nitrates, ammonia salts and nitrogenous organic matters.
The results of the experiments showed that these advan-
tages, if they do exist, are of but little value, and agree
with an opinion I[ had expressed many years ago ; that the

354 TIMEHRI.

cane at the commencement of its stage of a€tive growth
as determined by the rainfall, requires, and can make
use of, full applications of a€tive nitrogenous manures, and
that it does not require a further slow supply of nitrogen
during the later stages of its growth. It is noticeable
that the juice yielded by the canes receiving their
nitrogen partly in the form of organic matters was never
as rich as that yielded by the a€tive nitrogenous
manurings. This may of course be due to some other
causes, but to my mind it suggests that the slow supply
of nitrogen retarded the growth and ripening of the
canes to an extent that was not desirable, and this opinion
was borne out by the similar results given by the yields
obtained from the fields heavily manured with pen
manure.

It is of some interest to ascertain the proportion of
the nitrogen added in the manure which was recovered
in the produce. From experiments made, we have
ascertained that of 100 lbs. of total produce of the sugar
cane, 17 lbs. will consist of fallen or stripped leaves
(calculated in their green state), and from this and the
weights of canes and cane tops yielded, we find that the
average total produce without nitrogen amounted to
80,222 lbs., with 4o lbs. of nitrogen to 95,566 lbs. and
with 80 Ibs. to 103,455. Analyses showed that the
produce without nitrogen contained ‘og3 per cent. of
nitrogen, that with 4o lbs. ‘o8g per cent., and that with
80 lbs. ‘102 per cent. The produce, grown without
nitrogen, therefore, contained 74°7 lbs. of nitrogen, that
grown with 4o lbs., 85°1 lbs., and that with 80 lbs. 105°5
lbs. We have then on an average that where 4o lbs. of
nitrogen had been supplied as manure, 10°4 lbs. were

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 355

recovered in the produce, whilst where 80 lbs. were
used 30°8 Ibs. were recovered. If, however, we calculate
the amount recovered, not on the average increased yields
obtained by addition of nitrogenous manures, but only
upon the very concordant results obtained in the crops of
1888 and 1890, during the growth of both of which the
climatic conditions were most favourable for nitrogenous
manurings, with the manure the nitrogen of which the
cane appeared to make the most complete use of, we find
that the increase due to manuring with 40 lbs. of nitrogen
applied as sulphate of ammonia was 23,979 lbs., and
that with 80 lbs. was 43,587 Ibs. In the produce of the
first there were recovered 18:o1 lIbs., and in that of the
second 51.95 lbs., or 45 and 65 per cent. of the added
nitrogen respeCtively, as compared with the 68 per cent.
stated by Dr. WAGNER to be recoverable in the produce
of many European crops.*

Experiments with Phosphates.

These experiments were made with the objeét of ascer-
taining the importance of phosphoric anhydride as a con-
stituent of sugar cane manures, the proportions of it
most advantageous, and as to whether insoluble phosphate
of lime could, with advantage, supersede the use of
superphosphate of lime. The portions of the fields upon
which these experiments were carried out are consider-
ably more fertile than those used with the experiments
with nitrogen, producing on an average four tons of

* The relatively high proportion of nitrogen recovered where 8o Ibs.
had been applied was due not so much to the increased yield as to the
high proportion of nitrogen present in the whole of the produce.

¥Y

356 TIMEHRI.

canes more per acre. The fields used were all manured
with nitrogen and potash in proportions somewhat in
excess of the manurial requirements of the canes, whilst
some plots received nothing in addition, others, super-
phosphate of lime in proportions averaging 75,112, and
150 lbs. of ‘‘ soluble phosphates” per acre, respeétively,
and the remainder insoluble phosphates (mineral and
precipitated phosphates) in quantities equivalent in
money value to the lowest and highest dressings of
superphosphate used. The following table gives the
average result of these experiments :—

Weight|> | 2g | Gain b
of canes ge So Ke oad ; 3 addition vee
P acre.|-3 3/108 J : @ 4 3| Phosphates.
S| Fe | S2e|————| = bs gh
eo aela S Bleos Ibs.su-
aS) en xs SeleelaE Su- | Glu-| a © & |Cwts, of sn
F's | |B&|3mlcroselcose.| 5 |2 5 2] Canes. ae
No ! phos-
phates } 81 |11°9/51°4 | 4,008/1087] 11°5] 2°016) *073] 89° | 8,080
75 tbs. solu-
3| ee phos 35 | 2°6|60°9 |4,422/1087| 11°5] 2°036) *057 | 90° | 9,003 70°7 923
2 phates
a
a “ote phar?
ble phos- . ’ } +9) 1° . : .
2 phates 83 | 7°1|61'5 | 4,284/1035) 11°3] 1°989} 081 }90°1) 8,520 35°2 440
Bi 150%5s, solue
ble phos- lege +3] 9° ° 2Q° \<
sitios f 31 | 14:/60°6 |3,970|1087| 12°3] 2°022|-074 189° | 8,027 23] nil.
o8 Single
27 [eg 32 | 1 |606 4,017|1084) 11°2| 1°963] 072 |90° | 7,885 91 nil,
on
2 2 ' Double
aa | dressing 33 | 5°3| 61'S | 4,252/1083] 11°1|1°916| "076 |sss/8,148 | 334] 68

The above results show that a great increase was
produced in the yields of canes and of sugar by the use of
superphosphate of lime in moderate quantity (equivalent
to about 250 Ibs. per acre of an ordinary 30 per cent.
superphosphate) ; and that the use of larger amounts was

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 357

not followed by corresponding increases, but by
decreases in the yields. The latter results would appear
as though due to errors in the experiments if it were not
that they were almost universal during the experiments,
On two occasions only plots exceeded in yield those
given 75 lbs,, in one of which also the yield produced by
150 lbs. was higher than that by 75 lbs., but lower than
that produced by 112 lbs. These results can not be due
to the phosphoric anhydride contained in the manure, as
the sign of the amount of this substance necessary for the
plants being exceeded would have been diminished rate of
increase byincreased manurings, and notdiminished yields,
but were in my opinion due to the acidity of the superphos-
phate injuriously affe€ting the rootlets of the canes—
this, when the superphosphate is applied in large
quantities, not being sufficiently rapidly neutralised by
the ative lime (calcium carbonate in the fine soil),
present in the soil of the plots. As the aétive lime
present in the soils of these fields amounted in one case
to *22 per cent., and in the other to °72 per cent,, the
results point to the necessity of great caution in the
application of superphosphates to our Demerara soils, in
the majority of which the amount of aétive lime present
is nil.

The experiments with insoluble phosphates showed,
but poor results, their a€tion being scarcely appre-
ciable; this was probably due to the Dodds’ soils,
in common with the great majority of Barbados soils
and with many of our soils here, being very poor in
organic matters, so that the organic acids and carbonic
anhydride set free in the soil by oxidation were not
sufficient to influence the solubility of the phosphates.

YY2

358 TIMEHRI.

By analysis the produce grown without phosphates was
found to contain on an average ‘071 per cent. of phosphoric
anhydride, and that grown with phosphates °086 per
cent. The total produce (canes, cane tops, and fallen
leaves), without phosphates, therefore, contained 695
Ibs. of phosphoric anhydride as compared with 93 lbs.
found in the produce of the plots manured with 75 lbs.
of soluble phosphates. We find that where the phos-
phates have exerted the most beneficial influence
51°2 lbs. of calcium phosphate have been recovered
from a manuring supplying an average of 83 lbs. of
soluble and insoluble phosphates, or that 61°7 per cent. of
the phosphates applied have been recovered in the yield.

Experiments with Potash.

These experiments were conduéted upon a soil
not so fertile as that used for the experiments with
phosphates, but capable of yielding from 1} to 2 tons
more canes per acre than that used for the nitrogen
experiments. The experiments were only to test
the importance of potash when applied to the sugar cane
in the form of sulphate of potash, although some attempts
were made to ascertain the best time for such appli-
cation, but the results obtained were not sufficiently
numerous or so well marked as to warrant any reference
tothem. All the fields were manured with superphosphate
and nitrogen, some receiving no potash, the others
sulphate of potash in quantities supplying, on an average,
40, 60, and 80 lbs. of potash per acre respectively, The
following table shows the average results obtained :—

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 359

hile ht Se - Lbs. per ‘ 2 Gain sn nes
Canes. |SS/S2| 2] so aes Potash,
hi rer 25 Su- \Glu- 5 eae Cwts. of bs. Bu-
tns. Owens =e BS Be crose| cose, : “a Canes. Sata in
No Potash ,,,/ 29 |15°6) 6°13 grtshiak 11°4) 1-955) *084 | 87°2) 7,360
40 Ibs. Potash] 32 | 5°3)62°3 4,157 2084 11°2)1°981) 064 eh 8,239] 49.7 879
60 Ibs. Potash) 33 | 3°6) 62°1/ 4,258 1086) 11°4/ 1°990) *061 | 88'S) 8,475] 68° 1,115

80 Ibs, Potash) 34} i BADETOGG 11°4) 2°015) *062

89°9/ 8,874| 86°2 1,514

It is evident that in the soils at Dodds, deficient
in potash, largely increased yields of canes were
attained by the addition of potash salts to the manures
used, and from the continued increase by the increased
amounts of potash, it appeared that this substance exerted
a marked influence upon the yield of the sugar cane, and
possibly a slight one upon the sugar contents of the juice ;
and as these results were consistent all through
the experiments, their value is far greater than if
deduced merely from an average of experiments not in
striét accordance.

The produce obtained without potash in the manure,
on an average, had ‘161 per cent. or 148°8 lbs of potash,
whilst that grown with potash in the manure, averaging
in amount 60 lbs. per acre, contained .188 per cent. or
1913 of potash. Thus of the 60 Ibs. applied,
42°7 lbs., equal to 71°2 per cent. of the potash applied,
was recovered in the produce. The relatively high
proportions of the phosphates and potash applied in the
manures which have been recovered in the produce were
probably due to the great deficiency of these constituents
in the soil, whilst the low proportion of nitrogen recovered
where it had been applied in quantities of 4o lbs, per

360 TIMEHRL

acre may be in part due to the loss occasioned by the
well drained state of the soil.

The following conclusions may be fairly drawn from
the experiments with manures :—

1. The addition of readily available nitrogen to mineral
manures produces large increases in the weights of canes
grown and sugar obtained, but that dressings of over
250 lbs. per acre of sulphate of ammonia do not produce
corresponding increases under ordinary climatic condi-
tions, and may cause a marked decrease in the richness
and purity of the juice.

2. The most favourable form in which nitrogen can be
employed for manuring the sugar cane, appears to be
sulphate of ammonia, no advantage appearing to be
gained by the use of mixtures of organic and ammo-
niacal nitrogen in its place.

3- Under climatic and soil conditions which have
proved to be very favourable for the produétion of
increased yields of sugar cane by the use of nitrogenous
manures, nitrate of soda proved much inferior to sul-
phate of ammonia as a source of nitrogen.

4. The presence of phosphates in the manures is
essential for the maximum return of sugar cane from
manuring,.

5. Phosphates appear to be preferable in the form of
superphosphate of lime, but very great care must be
exercised in its application, as whilst dressings capable
of supplying from 75 to 80 lbs. per acre of “soluble
phosphates” produced excellent results, dressings
supplying larger quantities did not produce correspond-
ing increases, and excessive dressings may upon soils
at all deficient in a€tive lime, yield returns but slightly

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 361

greater or even less than those obtained without them.

6. On soils, such as those at Dodds, deficient in
organic matters, the use of insoluble phosphates does
not appear advisable.

q. In soils at all deficient in potash, theaddition of pot-
ash, in the form of sulphate of potash, to the manures gives
largely increased yields, and the use of potash in large
quantities does not injuriously affeé& the purity of the juice.
It is well known that during recent years the crops
of Barbados very greatly increased, and that this
increase was due mainly to increased yield of canes
in the field, and not to improvements in the manufa&ture
of sugar, to which latter the majority of Barbados
planters have certain rooted objections. Now, as for
many years practically all the manures used in Barbados
passed through my hands for analysis, having been sent
either dire&tly by the makers or by the Agricultural
Society, I am in a position to state that the increased
crops coincided with changes in the compositions
of the manures used. Ten years ago the manures
contained less nitrogen than do those used at present, a
considerable proportion of the nitrogen being in
the form of organic matters, high proportions of
“soluble phosphates’ and but little or no potash;
whilst the manures used now contain their nitrogen
almost entirely as sulphate of ammonia, “soluble phos-
phates” in much lessened proportions, and considerable
quantities of potash ; these changes being consistent with
the dedu€tions drawn from the Dodds experiments and
thus strongly confirming them. At the same time! must
mention that since 1884 large and increasing quantities
of manures, known as early cane manures and containing

362 TIMEHRI.

from 4 to 5 per cent, of nitrogen, from 16 to 20 per cent.
of “soluble phosphates,” and from 6 to 10 per cent. of
potash, are applied to the canes soon after they
spring or even to the soil shortly before the canes are
planted. The use of these manures, suggested originally
by Mr. GEORGE HUGHES in his report to the Barbados
Agricultural Society for 1880, but the composition of
which as now used, I first pointed out to the Anglo-
Continental Manure Company in 1883 and 1884, has,
in the general opinion of the planters, proved successful,
and a high value is ascribed to them.

Are these dedu&tions applicable to the soils and
climatic conditions of this colony? From what I have
seen since my arrival here, and from many soil analyses
which I have since made, I am inclined to believe that
the first and second are probably applicable; that the
third requires experimental enquiry, as upon our heavy
clay soils, reasoning from analogy with European experi-
ments, nitrate of soda, if applied with due caution,
should give fully equivalent results to sulphate of
ammonia; that the fourth is fully applicable; that
careful experiments require to be made with regard
to the fifth and sixth; and that owing to the large
quantities of potash present in many of our soils, the
application of potash salts may be without beneficial
aétion, whilst upon others and especially upon soils long
under cultivation its use may be beneficial.*

What is urgently required in this colony is an agricul-
tural experiment station, where experiments would be

* By the system adopted here of leaving the fallen and stripped
leaves and the tops of the canes upon the land, about 64 per cent, ofthe
potash taken up by the crop is at once restored to the soil.

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 363

carried on under strié scientific control, both botanical
and chemical, and upon the lines and with the methods
pointed out by modern agricultural research.

Experiments with varieties of Canes.

Experiments with certain varieties of canes received
from Jamaica and selected by Mr. MorRIS as specially
suited to Barbados, and with varieties previously culti-
vated there, were systematically made at Dodds, and by
Mr. ARMSTRONG at Little Island where the rainfall and
soil conditions differ greatly from those at Dodds
and have a greater resemblance to those occurring
here, with a limited number of varieties. The
average results of the experiments at Dodds are given
in the following table, the names used for the varieties
being those adopted by Mr. JENMAN. In the table,
under the name of Bourbon are included the results
obtained with the Bourbon and Lahaina canes, under
that of Red Ribbon cane, those with the Red Ribbon
and Striped Singapore, under that of White Transparent
those with White Transparent, Rappoe and Caledonian
Queen, under that of Purple Transparent those with the
Meera, Purple Transparent and Queensland Creole, and
under Salangore those with the Salangore and White
Mauritius, these names being merely synonyms and not
names of true varieties :—

ZZ

ea 4s . 22 | Lbs. less of
Weight|23|. & Lbs per o98 Sucrose
of |S2/S3] | | gallons of Ya. | yielded by
Names of Canes, |3 S| ad los, es am, |variety than
Canes. S| So les|23 ——| & | os by the
3A Abate 3 £805} Su- |Glu-| & | a. | Bourbon,
8./ CWE) "5 1&2 |FO lA A lerose|cose| & | 4.5 | per Acre.
Bourbon .. 36 |10°6| 63°8 | 4,842/1081| 10:7] 1°807| °067 |86 | 8,749
White Trn’ ‘sprnt 30 |19°3| 58°5 |3,743/1088] 11°6] 2°055) °063 |90 | 7,691 1,058
Red Ribbon _...| 29 | 12°38} 62°2 |3,806/1087| 11°5| 2°006) *056 | 88°6| 7,640 1,109
Purple Trn’sprnt| 31 | 1°7| 57°S |3,720,1084] 11-2] 1°996) *065 | 90°9) 7,425 1,324
Keni Keni s.| 381 | 1°9}62 53,995]1083}11 | 1°837] °089 | 85:1) 7,338 1,411
Po-a-ole ... «{ 82 |18°7| 60°8 | 4,153}1081| 10°8] 1°741) 113 | 82°8) 7,230 1,519
Mani... s+-| 28 | 1°4,| 60°3 | 3,520/1077| 10°3} 1°677| "091 | 84° | 5,903 2,846
Elephant ee] 29 | 8°4] 58°2 | 3,567|1075) 10°1| 1°504| *100 5 77°1) 5,363 3,386
Sacuri .. «+.| 21 [112] 60°9 | 2,708/1088] 11°6! 1°980) *078 | 86°6) 5,362 3,387
Salangore .-| 24 | 3 | 60°7 |3,046/1078} 10°5| 1°683] °117 | 83°2| 5,126 3,628
Bois-rouge «| 23 | 1°9} 53°7 | 2,568/1086] 11°3] 1°910) “076 | 85*2) 4,895 3,854
Keening... ees| 21 |17°5| 56°9 | 2,530}1084) 11°2] 1.923] 075 | 88°1) 4,865 3,884
Meligeli .. .-»| 23 | 7°6| 56°7 | 2,752/1081| 10°8]1°746| *123 | 83°1, 4,805 3,944
Jam. Elephant... 21 | 16'5| 55°9 | 2,537/1079] 10°6] 1°744; *096 | 85°1| 4,424 4,325
Hillii see ««.| 19 |16'8] 58°7 | 2,418/1081| 10°8] 1°819) *071 | 86°6) 4,398 4,351
Creole... «| 17 | 2°38] 54 |1,916)1082/ 10:9] 1°795) °075 | 84° | 3,439 5,310
Canne Morte ...| 16 |14°l) 51°6 | 1,788}1083)11 |1°895/ ‘082 |87°8) 3,388 5,361
Batramic .--| 18 | 9°9| 48°2 }1,849]1082| 10°9] 1906] *079 |89°2' 3,524 5,225

* Theresultsare interesting as showing thatthe Bourbon
is by far the best cane at present known for cultivation
at Dodds, that the White Transparent, the Red Ribbon,
and the Purple Transparent Canes, which have been long
cultivated in the West Indies, and which are the varie-
ties chiefly cultivated in Louisiana, follow next, and that
of the varieties sele€ted by Mr. MorRIs, the Keni-Keni,
Po-a-oleand Mani alone possess chara€teristics inany way
qualifying them for use as sugar producers, the remaining
kinds appearing to have been sele&ted with the objeét of
showing how bad a cane can be. These experiments at
Dodds have been made only with plant canes.

At Little Island the following results were
obtained with canes as plant canes and as rst and 2nd
ratoons, and are of interest as confirming the results
obtained at Dodds, the Bourbon cane being conspicu-

* The Barbados and Yamaica names, Po-a-ole=Purple Mauritius.
Mani—Norman. Boisrouge—Naga. Keening=Bouronappa. Meli-geli=
Demerara. Canne Morte=Mamuri.

THE BARBADOS SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 305

ously to the fore, and followed by the Keni-Keni,
Po-a-ole and Mani in the same order of yield as there :-—

-,,(o8] 3 2 | Lbs. less of
Weight | - & ks 5 " Lbs. per 5 = eateiad
= s P s e B® |yielded by the
ae anes. |S 2. ge Bs gé ___| &| 38 | variety than
t $3 |28 |$8/&$| su-aiu-| @ | 33 | by the Bour-
ns./ewt) 5'5 | 5.2 |BO|AS leroselcose.| & | GS bon.
= | SS ioe amas eg od nee Be
Bourbon ... »»| 58 | 9°83] 65°4 ['7,945/1010) 10.7]1°791) +059] 86°2/ 14,230
Keni Keni 49 | 19°3] 66°8 | 6,900|1083/11 |1°918] -043 38°38) 13,234 996
Po-a-ole .. 12'2|74°9 | 8,587/1069} 9-4) 1449] -121/ 80°9|12,442 1,788
Mani ee eve} OL | 8*1/69°1 | 7408/1074) 10 |1°629] *076 84°5|12,067 2,163
Sacuri 24 87 | 18°4| 61°9 | 4,873/1079/ 10°6)1°796| *062 87°4) 8,752 5,478
Balangore _...| 35 | 13°3|74°6 | 5,580|1068) 9°31°465| “078 82°9) 8,174 6,056
Jain, Elephant...| 30 | 12°5/69°7 | 4,440|1077| 10°3|1°725| -061/ 86°4| 7,659 6,571
Canne Morte ...| 17 | 19°8| 66°6 | 2,500(1073 9°911°653 *075'87°3)_ 4,132} 10,098

From these two series of experiments it is evident
that the Bourbon remains at present the best cane, a
result strongly confirmed by the experiments carried on
at the Botanic Gardens here, and we find that the
majority of the canes giving results next to the Bourbon
are those which have been long cultivated in the West
Indies, and which, under different names, have also been
obtained from other sugar producing countries. Experi-
ence, therefore, in widely different places, appears to have
already sele€ted the best canes from those known, and
little chance of increased yield appears in the experimental]
cultivation of the known varieties. We find that certain
varieties, both in Barbados and British Guiana, as a
rule, yield juices richer in sucrose than the Bourbon
does, and our hopes must be based upon obtaining from
these varieties, by means of the seeds, canes uniting the
saccharine richness of the parents with the robust habit
of the Bourbon, or from the seeds of the latter, canes of

greater saccharine strength.

ZZ 2

Occasional Notes.

By the Editor.

Gold and Diamonds in British Guiana.—In the last
number of Zimehri, some statistics were given relative
to the great increase in the gold industry of the colony.
Here it is intended to do no more than make note of the
fat that this increase has been well maintained through-
out the year 1890, the total yield being over 62,615 oz., or
considerably more than double that obtained in 1889.
It will be remembered that for the last four years, the
quantity obtained in each year has been more than
double that obtained in the previous year. It is most
probable that 18g1 will see some specially marked pro-
gressive movement in the development of the industry.
A Gold Commissioner is at last at work, whose advent,
it is to be expe€ted, will be marked by suitable regula-
tions for the better preservation of life and property:
a large syndicate is experimenting on the value of
quartz-mining : a considerable amount of capital is being
invested in the prosecution of extensive prospeétions and
workings; while the experience gained in past years
will no doubt have its effe&t in rendering the prospe€tors
more certain of, and trustworthy in, their operations.

It has been a matter of common knowledge for some
years that diamonds were to be found in the colony ; and
in the account of the rocks and minerals of British
Guiana given in 7zmehrzi, vol. iii, New Series, p. 40,
the faét has been recorded not only of their being found,
but examined and cut in London at the instance of Mr.
GEORGE GARNETT. A new phase in the history has

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 367

been reached, however, during this last year, by the
finding of more than 600 stones of good quality, ina
placer along the Mazaruni, belonging to Mr. KAUFMANN.
True the stones were all of small size, but still the
pregnant faét remains. It appears that the diamonds
occur in a thin gravelly layer between a fine white clay
above and blue clay below, but the information to hand
at present is, at the best, meagre.

eg

Rice Growing in British Guiana.—More or less
attention has been given at different times to the question
of the desirability of growing rice for consumption in the
colony, and considering the acknowledged suitability of
large tracks of our lands for this purpose, and the
millions of pounds of rice that are annually imported,
it seems clear that a valuable industry, and one that can
be prosecuted successfully by small growers and with
small capital, but waits on enterprise. In Berbice,
Demerara and Essequibo, numbers of people, chiefly
coolies, are interested in rice-growing, but to no con-
siderable extent; and up to the present time there has
been no organised attempt to test the capabilities of
such an industry.

Papers on Rice-growing by Mr. WILLIAM RUSSELL
and by Mr. GILZEAN, intended for its encouragement,
have been published in former numbers of this journal,
but hitherto without any marked influence in bringing
about such a result ; while, as a guide to the best results
to be obtained in the colony, samples, introduced
through the agency of Mr. MITCHELL from India by
Mr. RUSSELL, have been grown at Uitvlugt and have
been reported upon by Mr. MINTY, in a communication

368 TIMEHRI.
nS a ic

laid before the Society, 1887, in which detailed mention
is made of the results of a trial of 20 of the best kinds to
be grown (Zimehrz, vol. 1, New Series, p. 393). From
this report, it appears that though the varieties known
by the names ‘f Oush,” “ Cholmowel,” and “ Lallham-
ctaroghee” are the kinds preferred by most of the coolies,
they are by no means the kinds which alone are suitable
for growth in the colony, or that yielded the best results.

Some years ago, the cultivation of rice at Anna
Regina, was in an exceedingly promising condition, as
shown by the paper contributed by Mr. GILZEAN to
Timehri, 1887; but it would seem to have considerably
decreased within the last year, to judge by the following
short note on the subje& by Mr. GILZEAN :—

The cultivation of Rice at Coffee Grove and Anna Regina has
suffered from the scarcity of labour in the distri& for the past year.
The area in cultivation has not been reduced, but the lessees of beds
have in many cases allowed them to lie fallow for a few months at a
time, At one time Coolies were in negociation for 100 acres on Lima,
but they put off starting operations from time to time on different
pretexts. The fact is, they can earn such good wages on the sugar
estates, that it would not pay them to prepare the land for Rice.
There are now about 120 acres of Rice on Coffee Grove and nearly the
same on Anna Regina. Formerly nearly all the Rice land on the
latter estate was leased to men who agreed to work when called upon
in consideration of having half the rent of $24 an acre remitted: Now

37 men hold 17% acres at the full rate of $24.
_

Dried Ripe Bananas.—For several years, it seems,
attempts have been made, in many different places, to
prepare a marketable commodity by the drying of ripe
bananas, and quite recently some amount of attention
was given to it in the colony through the experiments of
Mr. Ropway. At present, however, it seems to have
passed again into oblivion; though in Trinidad there

UCCASIONAL NOTES. 369

are not wanting those who consider that an extensive
trade will ultimately be developed there in this dried
fruit. Two or three firms have taken up the matter
seriously, and have prosecuted the drying operation by
means of a pneumatic fruit drying apparatus, which
secures the fruit being dried at a constant temperature,
and thus ensures a uniformity in successive sets. The
results attained in this way have been remarkably satisfac-
tory, both in the preservation of the soft fruit and in the
retention ofits special flavour. Owing to the difficulty of
transport, the trade in the fresh fruit is almost out of
the question in many distriéts where they can be grown
to perfe€tion; but the conditions are entirely altered
with the dried fruit, and a trade once started could be
maintained uniformly throughout the year, owing
to the constant supply of bananas. From the apprecia-
tion which various samples of the dried fruit have
met with in London from different people, it can scarcely
be doubted but that a profitable trade could be carried
on in the commodity when once it were well-known;
but here the crux lies :—how to establish such a trade.
No doubt extensive and persistent advertising could
accomplish this, the more particularly if good mention
could be obtained from “high quarters.” Pioneers alone
are needed: for here again lies another promising in-
dustry, awaiting enterprise—an industry in which the
poodier classes, and those possessing but little capital
could find ample employment in the growth of the fruit
for central drying fa¢tories.
pets Se cheat

Scale Jnsec?s.—Taken in conjunétion with the notes

on these inseéts contributed to this journal by Mr. S. J.

370 TIMEHRI.

MCINTIRE in 1889, and with the paper in this issue by
Mr. R. WARD, the following short note will no doubt be
of some special interest. It is taken from a communica-
tion from Mr. MCINTIRE, who at the instance of Mr.
JENMAN and Mr. WARD, has so long interested himself
in getting the scale-inse&ts sent home from the Botanic
Gardens, identified by specialists.

Mr. MORGAN found on Dictyospermum album the
following coccids :—/schnaspis filiformis, Mytilaspis
buxt (one of the mussel-shaped species), and two new
species of Asfzdiotus, which he has described in the
Entomological Monthly Magazine, as A. articulatus and
A. dictyospermi; while on Cupania sapida he found
another new species of the same genus which he has
named Aspidiotus longispina.

Some brown convex Lecanium scales from Cyrtan-
thera, sent home in May, 1889, were at first thought to
be a new species by Mr. DOUGLAS; but after breaking
up most of them for antenna, etc., he is doubtful whether
they are distin& from L. hibernaculum.

On Anona reticulata, Mr. MORGAN found Aspidiotus
destructor: on Atnides, he found a new species of
Aspidiotus; and on Bignonia pyramidalis, a new
Lecanium. Both of these new species will be described

hereafter.
—=

Young Aboma.—During the month of June, 1890, a
fine living specimen of the aboma (Eficrates cenchria)
was brought to the Museum ina small closed box, in
which were found three eggs (one only unbroken) which
had been laid by the reptile. The eggs were long and
cylindrical—about 2 inches by 3 aninch. Though kept

OCCASIONAL NOTES. 371

isolated for some time, the snake deposited no more eggs,
and it was eventually placed in the large snake case, in
which there were at the time two anacondas (Eunectes
murinus), two land camoodies (Boa constrictor),a salem-
penta lizard (Tupinambis nigro-punctatus), and an
iguana (Jguana tuberculata). Now, six months after,
it has just brought forth 12 young ones—a noteworthy
event owing to the faێt that the aboma is a land boa
which is not ovo-viviparous but oviparous. The expla-
nation is evidently to be found in the faé& that the
exposed position in which the snake was kept, and
perhaps the wired cage, were not suited for egg-laying;
and the eggs were therefore retained for the long period
in the body of the mother, until they were in process of
hatching when they were extruded. The occurrence,
though rare, is not altogether unknown in the case of
other snakes, but this is the first mention that has been
given of such an event in the case of the aboma.

The young ones were about 11 inches in length, and
of a very pale colour compared with the adult, the
deep rich maize ground-colour being quite absent, and
represented only by a greyish purple tint, though the
blackish-purple rings and blotches were the same. They
were remarkably lively, and as soon as they had freed
themselves from the remains of the egg-membranes, they
moved about rapidly, coiling the fore part of the body,
and darting rapidly, and biting at any objeé& that was
presented to them, The teeth were extremely fine, and
but scarcely able to punéture one’s skin.

Strange as had been their advent into the world, their
exit was still stranger. Placed overnight with some
young specimens of the Boa constrictor, about three feet

3A

372 TIMEHRI.

in length, eleven of them had disappeared in the morn-
ing; and as there was no possible outlet by which they
might have escaped, it had to be concluded that they
had been consumed by their comrades, the more
especially as the suspiciously swollen body of one Boa
constrictor gave ample evidence of its voracity.

Report of the Meetings of the Society.

Meeting held on the roth Fuly.—Mr. R. P. Drysdale,
President, in the chair.

There were 15 members present.

Ele&tions.—Members: Messrs. Jas. Beatty, W. R.

Spence (country), and F. Rodriguez.

Associates: Messrs. J. H. Ferreira, C. M.
Shannon, John Wilson, J. W. Mace, H. G. H.
Barclay, and W. H. Gray.

The Secretary read a letter from the Colonisation
Committee informing the Society ‘that in face of the
faét that the Government has appointed a Commission
to enquire into the same matters for which the Committee
was originally constituted, they are of opinion that there
is no longer any necessity for its existence.”

The Secretary read a letter from the Government re-
questing him to “ convey to the Agricultural Committee
the thanks of the Governor for the care and trouble which
they have taken in filling in the question paper on
Emigration drawn up by the Government of Barbados.”

The Secretary read a communication from Mr. G.
Garnett forwarding a copy of the letter prepared by the
Committee appointed at the Special Meeting on Immi-
gration (annexed). This had been forwarded to His
Excellency the Governor, and a reply received to the
effe&t that it had been laid before His Excellency.

To His Excellency the Viscount GORMANSTON,
K.C.M.G., Governor of British Guiana, &c., &c.

Sir,—We have the honor to inform you that at a

special meeting of the Royal Agricultural and Commer-
3A 2

374 TIMEHRI.

cial Society held on the 23rd June, 1890, we, the
undersigned, were appointed a Committee to bring the
following resolution, which was passed unanimously, to
your Excellency’s notice :—

“That in view of the prospe@tive scarcity of agricul-
‘tural labour in the near future, consequent on the
‘great development of the gold and other industries,
‘this meeting respe€tfully urges upon His Excellency
‘the Governor, the necessity of steps being taken to
“introduce labourers who are willing to come under
“contra&t, from the West Indian Islands, Madeira,
“the Azores, Cape de Verdes, &c.”

In laying this Resolution before your Excellency, we |
would at the same time ask for your Excellency’s kind
consideration as to the following faéts.

1. That except in seasons of exceptional drought the
demand for labour is always in excess of the supply.

2. That a great development has, during the past two
years, taken place in the gold industry, and that this
industry, which is rapidly increasing, is attraéting a very
large and will attra€t an ever larger number of labourers,
whilst at the same time a much larger number of
labourers is required for the timber trade. The colleétion
of ballata also attraéts a large number.

3. That a new industry in the shape of banana culti-
vation may require more labour, whilst the intended
railway to Berbice and on the West Coast will call for a
number of the best and strongest labourers procurable.

4. The large bulk of our staple produce, sugar, is
reaped in the last three months of the year, when it
is anticipated the scarcity of labour will be very
seriously felt.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 375

5. We would, therefore, respeétfully submit to your
Excellency that immediate steps be taken to obviate the
anticipated difficulty by the immediate introduétion of
immigrants from Barbados, the neighbouring West Indian
Islands, Madeira, Cape de Verde Islands,or other suitable
places in addition to the usual immigration from India.

6. That as this matter is of paramount importance,
we would respeétfully suggest to your Excellency the
appointment of a Commission to ascertain what steps
it is advisable to take, and to enquire from employers of
labour the number of persons they are wishful of
employing, and at what rates of wages and terms
of contract.

7. That in the opinion of the Society, the funds of
the colony could not be pledged for a better objeét than
the increase of its labouring population, especially as
each labourer must dire€&tly or indire€tly contribute to
the Colonial Revenue.

8. That seeing the importance of this matter and the
urgent need for immediate a€tion, we trust that your
Excellency will be able to give it your early attention.

We have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servants,
(Signed) SEAFORTH M. BELLAIRS,
S. A. HARVEY CULPEPER,
D. GIBSON,
GEORGE GARNETT.

An extraé&t from a Circular of the West India Com-
mittee, dated June gth, 1890, recommending the non-
payment of return passages to immigrants from India,
was read.

376 | TIMEHRI.

The motion standing in the name of the Colonisation
Committee, for applying to the Government for free
grants of Crown Lands to immigrants, was allowed to
lie over in the absence of the Revd. D. J. Reynolds who
had proposed the resolution.

The following samples, which had been forwarded to
the Society for trial and judgment, by Mr. W. B. Van
Ree, were exhibited and referred to the Commercial
Committee.

Dried ripe Fig Bananas in Brandy.
Cocoa Jelly.

Cocoanut Water condensed to Casareep.
Bell-apples in Brandy.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. D. E. Headley
in answer to his request for further information in regard
to the Bedford Band of Hope Industrial Show.

A copy of the Prize List was laid over, but the
information not being considered sufficient, the matter
was left for the consideration of the Direétors.

The thanks of the Society were presented for the
following donations :—

Rev. F. W. Elliott—Berbice Gazette, Jan.-June, 1812,

Mr. N. Darnell Davis—Mémoire sur les Colonies de Demerary,
Essequebo et Berbice, 1782 (MS.)

The meeting then terminated.
—>

Meeting held on the 14th August.—Mr. R. P. Drysdale,
President, in the chair.
There were 12 members present.
Ele€tions,—Zember: Mr. Wm. Smith, Mahaicony.
Associates; Messrs. A. Ritch, F. Agard
and G. B. Johnston.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 377

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. D. E. Headley,
informing the Society that the Committee of the Bedford
Band of Hope had postponed the Industrial Show, sine
die, owing to difficulties in conne¢tion with the ‘‘ Band,”
and through the proposed Berbice Exhibition.

A letter from Mr. Quelch, Secretary of the Committee
of Correspondence, was read, reporting that the question
of a local Exhibition had been finally settled, and that
it would be held in January, 1891, at New Amsterdam,
under the auspices of the Society and the dire&t manage-
ment of a committee of some of the most influential of
the residents in Berbice, who had started the proje& in
a most thorough and satisfa€tory manner.

The Secretary read a communication from the Govern-
ment Secretary, covering an application from the
Department of Agriculture, New South Wales, for
agricultural publications, both scientific and statistical,
in exchange for the publications of that colony. The
matter was referred to the Agricultural and Commercial
Committees.

The Librarian laid over specimen copies of a Supple-
ment to the Library Catalogue, containing a list of
2,325 volumes added to the Library since the publication
of the classified catalogue in March, 1888. The cost
would be about $60. The meeting approved of the
work and dire€ted the Supplement to be sold at 24
cents per copy.

The meeting then terminated.

eevee Orem

Meeting held on the 11th September.—Mr. R. P.
Drysdale, President, in the chair.

There were 10 members present.

378 TIMEHRI.

Ele&tions.— Members : Messrs. Jas Smith, and Alex.
McNair.
Associates: Messrs. Thos. Fairbairn, A.
F. C. Weber, Eliazer Clarke, and F. E. Reeks.
The thanks of the meeting were accorded for the
following donations :—
Mr. R. G. Duncan—Guiana Chronicle, 1824.
Mr. A, Lamb, London.—International Guide.
Mr. J. Veecock.—Staunton’s Chess Praxis, and Tournament.
The meeting then terminated.
oy ee

Meeting held on the 9th October.—Hon. B. H. Jones,
Vice-President, in the chair.

There were 10 members present.

Ele&tions—Members: Revd. Jas. Millar, Messrs.

W. M. Rutherford, C. S. Parker, W. A. Cruger and
O. E. Swain.

Associates: Messrs. W. V. Downer, G.
Allan and W. M. Howell.

The Chairman said that since the Society had last
met, they had to deplore the loss of its President, the
late Mr. R. P. Drysdale, who had keen conne€ted with
the Society since its establishment in 1844, having been
one of the original members. At many periods in the
history of the Society he had rendered it very great
assistance, and as Dire€tor and Chairman, had been very
useful, as they all knew. He had known Mr. Drysdale
personally for many years, as kind, courteous and gentle
to all, always ready to lend a helping hand to the young,
and to give advice and assistance to all who asked it:
He thought it would be only becoming that the Society
should express its sympathy with his wife and family; he
therefore begged to move that a vote of condolence be

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 379

passed to his wife and family, expressing our great regret
at their loss and our sympathy with them in their

bereavement.
Mr. Hawtayne seconded the motion, which was

carried unanimously, the Secretary being dire&ted to
write to Mrs. Drysdale in terms of the motion.

Mr. W. R. Colbeck desired to call the attention of the
Book Committee to the faét that when Books are recom-
mended and not ordered, no reason is ever given for
their reje€tion. Hethought that this might be done, by
noting against the recommendation, whether it is
accepted or not, and if not, the reason why.

Mr. Bayley said that he had had reason to complain
of the same thing; he had made recommendations and
had never seen the books or known whether they had
been orderedornot. Mr. Turner thought it quite reason-
able that this should be done, and the Chairman said he
had no doubt that the Book Committee would carry it
out in future.

The Revd. W. B. Ritchie stated that Capt. Montague
Jones, an old member of the Society, wanted to have the
use of the Rooms during his short visit to the Colony.
The Secretary recommended that Capt. Jones have his
name put in the Visitors’ Book.

The thanks of the Society were given to the Revd.
H. V. P. Bronkhurst for a copy of his “ Descriptive and
Historical Geography” &c.

The meeting then terminated.

he EE

Meeting held on the 11th December.—Hon. B. H.
Jones, Vice-President, in the chair.

There were 19 members present.
3B

380 TIMEHRI.

Ele&tions.—MWembers: Messrs, A. das Neves e Mello,
D. D. Barnes and W. J. Fuller.
Associate: Mr. John Gomas.

The Secretary read a letter from the Government ask-
ing for information as to the organization of Colonial
Exhibitions, on behalf of the colony of Natal, which was
referred to the Committee of Correspondence.

The Chairman said that he had been called upon to
give a summary of the work of the Society during the
past year, but he could hardly do so, as such a resumé
as had been given in previous years would require a
great deal of preparation. It had been their great mis-
fortune to lose their President, Mr. R. P. Drysdale,
during the current‘year, and during the short time he
(the Chairman) had been a€ting as President, he had not
been able to find time to prepare such a statement as
might be expe€ted. He would, however, call the atten-
tion of the Society to a few matters, which he thought
worthy of consideration. Among the Committees
appointed at every annual meeting, were the Agricul-
tural and Commercial Committees. Since the estab-
lishment of the Chamber of Commerce he understood
that the latter Committee had held no meetings.
The Agricultural Committee, he found, had not met
for two years, but since he had been eleéted as
Chairman of that Committee he had tried to revive
it as much as lay in his power. The result had
been that seven or eight meetings were held during the
year, at which several important matters came up for
discussion, among them being the labour question.
The Government having applied to the Society for
information as to the wages of agricultural labourers, on

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 381

behalf of the Government of Barbados, the matter was
referred to that Committee, which gave it their most
careful attention. The report which had been drawn up
by the Committee was considered satisfa€tory by the
Government of Barbados, and he hoped the tariff of
wages would induce a good number of labourers to come
here from that island. Another matter that came before
the Committee, was the experiment of Mr. Jenman in
raising canes from seed. In Barbados, this matter had
received, and was still receiving, very great attention,
and as far as it had gone, with good results. Here,
however, there was a very great difficulty as Mr. Jenman
had no properly drained land for the purpose. He (the
speaker) had offered a piece of land on Pln. Houston for
the experiments, but up to the present he believed
nothing had been done. If the Government refused to
assist in this matter, they would be far behind their
neighbours in Barbados. The Committee had also con-
sidered the Banana question, on which as they all knew
no definite decision had been arrived at, pending another
visit from Capt. Baker. He thought it was as well for
the colony generally that the industry had not been
commenced last year, as on account of the heavy wet
seasons the canes had been seriously injured, while many
acres of plantains and bananas were entirely destroyed.
He hoped, however, that the Society would not negleét
this important matter, for what had been done in Jamaica
might as easily be accomplished here, if the necessary
energy and capital were perseveringly applied. By the
ship Shela some samples of paddy rice had been
received, which on the recommendation of the Committee
had been sent to Mr. Jenman for experiment. He was
3B 2

382 TIMEHRi.

sorry to say that Mr. Jenman had written to the Secre-
tary, stating that he had neither land nor means at his
disposal to carry out these experiments. This matter
might again be taken up by the Society, and the Govern-
ment asked to give their assistance, as it was desirable
that the cultivation of rice should be encouraged. These
were the principal matters that had been considered by
the Committee. They had not doneas much as he would
have liked by a long way, but he hoped that better work
would be accomplished in the future.

Mr. Mackay called attention to the fa& that, since
the present Harbour Master had been appointed, the
list of passengers by the mail steamer had not been
supplied. As it was a great convenience to the members
he would be glad if the Dire€tors would endeavour to
make arrangements with the Purser or otherwise, so
that the list might be again posted up as formerly.

The Chairman said he had no doubt the matter would
be looked into, and if possible, the lists procured.

The Secretary stated that he had prepared a short
account of the work done by the Society, in the present
year, in hopes that it might stimulate them to further
exertions and a better attendance at the meetings. Not-
withstanding that there were over 200 members living
in town, the average attendance at the eleven ordinary
meetings had been below thirteen. He thought it a pity
that the Society did not get more encouragement from
the merchants in Water Street who were members.
There had been three special meetings during the year,
at which the Imperial Institute, the Banana projeét, and
the importation of agricultural labourers, had been
considered. He was glad to say that the roll of members

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 383

had been increased by 59 so that the total of members,
associates, and lady subscribers was now 504; this he
thought was very satisfaétory. Five le€tures had been
delivered in the course of the year, three of them by Mr.
Luard, in one of which he was assisted by Mr. H. H.
Cunningham, one by Mr. Gladwin and one by Mr. Vyle.
He thought the thanks of the Society were due to all
these gentlemen, as well as to Mr. Hawtayne, who,
although not le€turing himself, had been instrumental in
getting them up. During the year 373 volumes of new
books had been added to the Library, making a total
of 15,300.

The Hon. Dr. Carrington called attention to the
meagre accommodation provided for the meetings, which
might tend to keep away members, and suggested that
they should be held in the Reading Room instead of
the gallery. Mr. Kirke stated that when meetings were
held in the Reading Room, they found a difficulty in
hearing what was said, and therefore they had removed
to the gallery. The Chairman called attention to the
Exchange Room, which had been used for some time
as the place of meeting, and thought that the Dire€tors
might consider the matter in the course of the month.

Mr. Kirke (in reference to the address of the Chair-
man) called attention to the fa&t that some samples of
paddy rice were received by the Society from Calcutta
in 1887, and grown by Mr. Minty, whose report could
be found in “ Timehri” for that year.

The ele€tion of Office-Bearers for 1891 was then pro-
ceeded with. On the proposition of Mr. Hawtayne
seconded by Mr. Austin, the Hon. B. Howell Jones was
ele€ted President, and on that of Mr. Mackay, seconded

384 TIMEHRI.

by Mr. Kirke, the Hon. Dr. Carrington as Vice-President.
The other Direétors and Office-bearers were allowed to
remain as in 1890, except that as Mr. A. G. Clarke had
been ele&ted an Ordinary Dire€tor his place as Exchange
Room Dire&tor was filled by Mr. J. J. Dare. The
Agricultural Committee was allowed to remain as before
except that Messrs. Nind and G. Garnett, being out of
the colony, were struck off and Mr. Jenman added.
Some discussion took place as to the necessity of retain-
ing the Commercial Committee, but on the motion of
Mr. Winter, seconded by Dr. Carrington, it was allowed
to remain, with two or three alterations. The Com-
mittee of Correspondence was then proposed to be left
as before, but an amendment was proposed by Major
Walthall and seconded by Mr. Mackay, that as a smaller
number of members would be likely to work better,
the number be reduced to ten. This being put to
the vote, was carried by seven against six, several
members remaining neutral; it being understvod that
this vote was not to hamper that Committee in any way,
or prevent their adding to their number if necessary.
The Committee was then eleéted. The Book Com-
mittee was allowed to remain, with slight alterations,
and the Resident Dire€tor in London was re-eleéted.

The thanks of the Society were accorded for the
following donations :—

From G. H. Hawtayne ... Four rubbings from Tombs,
»» Nevile Lubbock ... Reports on Manures,
»» Dr. A. Matthey ... Physical Geography of the Sea.
The meeting then terminated.

REPORT OF SOCIETY’S MEETINGS. 385

Office-Bearers for 1891.
Patroness:
TILE OC.EEEN:.
Vice-Patron.

Tue Riant Honourasts Viscount GORMANSTON, K.C.M.G,,
GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEFP, &c, &c, &c.
President:

Hon. B. H. JONES
Vice-President:
Hon. J. W, CARRINGTON, C.M.G, D.C.L.,Q.C,

Honorary Secretary;
THOS. DALY
Honorary Treasurer:
F, A. CONYERS
Ordinary Directors :
S.M. BELLAIRS
A. G. CLARKE
R. G. DUNCAN
Geo. H. HAWTAYNE, C.M.G.,, F.R-G.S.
LUKE M. HILL
JOS. MONKHOUSE
Managing Directors ;
B. S. BAYLEY
W.S. TURNER
F, A. R. WINTER
Exchange Room Directors:

J. J. DARE
A, WEBER
C. WIETING
Agricultural Committee ;
ROBT. ALLAN A. R. GILZEAN
GEO. BAGOT J. B. HARRISON, M.A., F.G.S.,
Hon. A. BARR F.C.S.
Cc. L. BASCOM G.S. JENMAN, F.L.S.
S. M. BELLAIRS Hon. B. H. JONES
A. BRAUD E. C. LUARD

R. B. BUTTS J. MONKHOUSE

386

TIMEHRI.

et

B. R. CLARKE

S. R. COCHRAN

JOS. B. FINNEY, C.E.
I. M. FLEMING, M.A.
]. GILLESPIE

G. MONRO

JAS. SMITH

WM. SMITH

W. A. WOLSELEY

Commercial Committee:

Hon. A. BARR
B. S. BAYLEY
JACOB CONRAD
J. J. DARE

]. H. pz JONGE
J. P. FARNUM
FERRIS GRANT

J. S. HILL

E. McLEOD

JAS. THOMSON
W. H. SHERLOCK
A, SUMMERSON
JAS. STUART

E. T. WHITE.

Committee of Correspondence:
Chairman: G. H. HAWTAYNE, C.M.G., F.R.G.S., C.M.Z.S.
Vice-Chairman: W. S. TURNER.
Hon Secretary: J. J. QUELCH, B. Sc, Lond., C.M.Z.S.
Treasurer: F. A. CONYERS.

S. M. BELLAIRS

Hon. J. W. CARRINGTON,
C.M.G., D.C.L., Q.C.

P, P, FAIRBAIRN
G. S. JENMAN, F.LS.

Hoy. B. H. JONES

H. KIRKE, M.A., B.C.L.
ZENEAS D. MACKAY
May. W. T. WALTHALL

Curator of the Museum: J. |. QUELCH, B. Sc, Lond., C.M.Z.S.
Book Committee:

Dr. ANDERSON

His Hon. N. ATKINSON
Hon. C. P. AUSTIN

B. S. BAYLEY

Hon. J, W. CARRINGTON,
CGO. OC

J. B. FINNEY, C.E.

Gro: H. HAWTAYNE, C.M.G.,
F.R.G.S., C.M.Z.S.

H. KIRKE, M.A., B.C.L.
C. H. G. LEGGE
Rev. CANON MOULDER

J. A. POTBURY, M.A.
EXLEY PERCIVAL, B.A:
Revo, D. J. REYNOLDS
Rev. W. B. RITCHIE, M.A.
E, J. N. THOMAS

W. S. TURNER

J. VEECOCK

S. VYLE, A. Inst. T. E.
May. W. T, WALTHALL
F. A. R. WINTER.

Librarian and Assistant Secretary: JAMES RODWAY, F.L.S.
Resident Director in London: NEVILE LUBBOCK.

(ee SS

List of Popular Science Lectures.

21,—"'THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND,”

Delivered on Tuesday, Fuly rst, by E. C. Luard, Manager,
Plantation La Bonne Intention.

HE leéture consisted of explanatory information

of a series of more than fifty views of the
- most noteworthy places of interest in the
Highlands, shewn by means of an optical lantern with

the oxy-hydrogen light,

22,—"*THE TELEPHONE: ITS INVENTION AND USE,”

Delivered on Thursday, Fuly, 31st, by S- Vyle, A. Inst. T.E.,
Government Electrician,

The le&turer began by tracing the early history of
the Telephone, special mention being made of the
various steps in its development brought about by Sir
Charles Wheatstone, Dr. Page, Edison and Hughes, etc.
An account of its introdu€tion into pra€tical service in
the United States was then given, together with its
introdu€tion into the colony. Detailed mention was
then made of the new telephones just introduced and of
the method of manipulation; and an explanation was
given of the various transformations of energy that took
place during the transmission of vocal sounds.

3C

388 TIMEHRI.

23." WINDSOR CASTLE.”

Delivered on Monday, November 3rd, by E. C. Luard and
H. H. Cunningham, B.A,

More than forty photographic lime-light views of
Windsor Castle and its neighbourhood were shown by
Mr. Luard, explanatory information of which was given
by Mr. Cunningham.

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