OCR Text |
Show . ~ I 16 SANTA CRUZ. . the latter, are excellent ripe plantains and bananas, especmlly. f veuetables; the fruits and, when fn.e d , are ,.u no ng the mcest od forob idden fnu.t , orang'e s are delt.c w· ns, an d the shadocks an 1 s so To these . d d f lly ripe are not es . when of the best km an u ' dil\a bell-apple, I op suo-ar-apple, sappe , . may he added t le sour-s ' o II the mango. Thts pomme de CytIl ere, s ta r-apple ' and above a f turpentine · but . " . 1 · id has the taste o ' last, when of an 111 enor {JI '. the flavor of a peach, and are the better sorts have somewhat I. s with variations, to the very luscious. This descnptton aphp Je done wonders for them. W I d' · lands Nature as other est n ta ts · h been practising for fifty Our friend, Dr. Stedman, 'to . as sent us a present of the years on the island, as a p lystcmn, . t and covered . . . und of the slze of a coco~t-nu ' bread frutt. It IS ro ' d . t hexagons like the honeycomb. with a green rind, divide m [lo a da or, two then to bake it, We were directed to keep tt or y £ ' b akfast We and lastly to cut it in slices, to be toasted or ro~:bl th.e best ~ d t't a sweet aureeable, fannaceous food, p y 10Ull ' o · d substitute for bread that has yet been discovere . . l f the The sugar crop was now commencmg on sevem o te-estates an d we vt.s t. te d the property of our fnend, Adam S. k , f North-End to witness the process of sugar m,t . venson, o • ' . 1 ·n the canes . ' When there is wind enough to tnrn t !e l1ll ' ' (m aglr.e ady conveyed to t.t on asse.s or mu1 e s ) are .f orced be-tween two almost contiguous iron cylinders, kept m constant rotatory mo t1. 0 n • The liquor thuspressed out, ts conveyed1 b·y a long wooden pipe, down the hill to the boiling house. t IS there received by a large vessel called the clanfier, and thence through a succession of boilers, subjected to different it passes . d . t . . next mto the deo-rees of heat. First it IS converte Ill o sywp • · h thioc ker fluid called sliHg. The s l.m g I.S conve yed by trou.< or s . l te. and assnmes t1 le into the graining pans, where It granu a s, to form of sugar mixed with molasses. It is then transferred t the ho<Tsheads from wht.c h the mo 1a sses gr.a. d u·'1 lly dram m d0 receive0r s place' d below ; and, finally, th e sngar ·s left dry an I . . pure, ready for exportati.O n. 'rl1 e sugat. of Santa Crnz, IS SANTA CRUZ. 17 generally of a fine grain, and light and delicate color,-much more so than that produced by moister and more luxuriant soils. Every part of this valuable plant is applied to some use. The leaves form excellent fodder for pigs and cattle; the refuse cane, after the juice has been pressed out, receives the name of tms!t, and is carefully stacked, under cover, for the purpose of fuel. It is a circumstance much to be lamented, that the distillery is an almost unvarying appendage to the boiling-house, and every two hogsheads of sugar are accompanied by at least one puncheon of rum. 'l'he new rum of the West Indies is a tempting, but most unhealth)', liquor, and has, doubtless, caused an unnumbered multitude of untimely deaths. Our friend Stevenson drinks only water, and with an honest consistency, manufactures no rum. r:l'he "scummings" of the sugar-liquor, from which (with a mixture of molasses) the rum is usually distilled, are, on his estate, pumped back into the clarifier, and converted into sugar, as excellent as any that he makes. He is confident that this change, of system is economical and profitable ; and greatly is it to be desired that his example may be followed throughout the West Indies. . The exports of sugar from Santa Cruz, in 1839, were 19,428 hogsheads, of 1300 lbs. each. In some former years, the produce has been upwards of 30,000. While, on the one hand, this island derives vast advantage from the watchJul skill and care of a respectable body of resident proprietors, there can be no doubt that the dead weight of the slaves is severely felt,that many of the estates have passed from the hands of the original owners into those of the managers,-that many others are heavily mortgaged,-and that the land for several years past, has been under a process of gradual exhaustion. The emancipation of the property of this island from its burdens, and the restoration of its soil, is reserved, as I believe, for the annals of freedom. I understand that the slaves form about four-fifths of the population, and are in number about 19,000. Time was, when 2• |