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Show 84 JAMA1CA· . he !ant, varying from three to tell coffee-the he~ght of t p . es to bear · and the land fifty years It ceas ' feet. After . abou.t that I.S m. cap..t bl e of I)roducing any more becomes nwmte' f, I . evailincr notion may be ques- B t tl e truth o t us pr • o . coffee. 11 1 . . fi ld perations after the plant begms . d The pnnCipal e o ' k £ h tlonc . ·n" and picking-no severe wor or t e to bear, are prum o 1 . , in a mill formed for the TJ mes the "pu pmg- • laborer. len co deprived of the surrounding b hich the stones are . purpose- Y w d mill they are peeled of thw d t . skin In a secon ' pulp an ou ei · .t b wimlOwincr as wheat from I . d separated from I y o> inner s em, an . . . ·til in the sun, on large, open, . rr The coffee IS then spie, . . . . , b-ch. tu. lied Barbecues. Aft ei. benwo well dncd, 11 1s su clay floors, ca ll d house-piclcincr, which is nothing · dt processcae o .,. Jecte o a ' . b h· d of the broken and Hl!enor I tl separatwn Y ,m ' more t1an le . 1.1 Finally comes the pack-d f tl ose of ., better qua I Y· see s, rom 1 . . • b d barrels which are conveyed, on ing of the coffee lll ags an . h t~ the place of shipment. I . down the mountam pat s, mu es, mber of women d'Jl 'J gen tly at work in the house, We .saw a nu t the mills. Thus the whole scene was one p!Clnng, and men u The proprietor informed us, that of order and mdustry · f tem r unsettlement, since the change o sys ' although "'tempo ary . . f d there was now a I d occasioned n dimmutwn o pro uce, . ·k . dleac ided reaction ; and t.h at . f I . ople contmued to WOJ ' as I . ltS pe - . mi<Tht d . mcreased crop next year, o they were then omg, an . k' d host d After an early dmner, our Ill reasonably be e};pecte · · higher mountain conducted us, on horseback, to: estatedot~l:ng and when we eminence, called B\oxburgh. s we ro e .' ' ains and had attained the height, the views of ·pthe Rhtlls,l ~:~d I(in<Ts- distant sea, w1. th t h e paI I' S.d d es ' town of .o rt oya d d de0l ls ton harbor on one side-and of deep ravmes and woof e ual ' . the other were o unus backed by the Blue Moun tams, on ~ d h t Colum-sublimity and beauty. We could not be surpn~etl~: ;:enery of bus, in his day, was so much delighted wtt Jamaica. from Scot- At Blolbur<rh we found an agreeable young man . {]i land, who was0 then sole manager of a very extens1ve co ee JAMAICA. 85 estate, belonging to Park & Hall of Liverpool. He told us that he had ninety laborers at work, who were doing as well as those on the neighboring properties ; and that he was looking forward to an increased produce for the future. It appeared however, that he had been engaged in some conflicts with them, on the subject of rent and wages, which did not evince an enlightened management. Here it may be well to notice the fact, that the great majority of estates in Jamaica, belong to absentee proprietors, who reside in England. In Jamaica, they are placed under the care of some attorney, or reprcsentati ve of the owner ; one attorney often undertaking the care of numerous estates. Under the attorney, is the overseer, on each particular property, on whom the management almost exclusively devolves. This state of things is extremely unfavorable to the welfare of Jamaica. If the proprietors cannot give their personal attention to their estates, it would certainly be a better plan to lease them to eligible tenants on the spot- a practice which has, of late years, been adopted in many instances. It is only surprising that estates never visited by the proprietor, and seldom by the attorney, but left to the care of inexperienced young men, often of immoral character, should prosper at all. Nor would they prosper, even as they now do, but for two causes ; first, the exuberant bounty of natme, and secondly, the orderly, inolfensive, conduct, and patient industry, of the negro race. Many of the coffee-estates in this neighborhood are on very high ground, one or more at least four thousand feet above the level of the sea. Our intelligent conductor pointed out several of them to us, and, with little exception, gave a good account of their condition under freedom. At Halberstadt we were lodged as well as boarded ; and, the next morning, after reading the Scriptures with the black people, we took our leave; and pursued our course, by a mountain path, many miles in length, to Lucky Valley, a dell of great beauty, where there are both colfee and sugar estates. The path was, in parts, one of extreme narrowness, with a bank on one side, 1111d a 8 |