Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-08
Netc York World.

Nes1 York World.
Mr.. Adolph Mailliard, the son of the
secretary of Joseph Bonaparte and a
brother-in law of Mr.. Sam Ward, has
just returned from four months trip
to the Bermuda Islands and Jamaica.
He was found yesterday afternoon in
Mr.. Sam Wards parlors, No. IS Clinton
place, and in reply to questions in regard
TO Bermuda said: ''The main island of
Bermuda contains 9,725 acres, and the
other 179 islands, many of which are
small and uninhabited which constitute
the group, comprise 243 acres, making
II 375 in all. The population is about
IA 600, of which nearly 8 600 are colored.
The thing that struck me most fOrcibly
in Bermuda was the entire absence of
paupers. Nobody appears to be idle,
and laborers of any kind cannot be had
for less than a dollar day. Being essen
TALLY a country of gardens, there is a
dearth of skilled laborcrs and mechanics,
and when the British war vessel Terror
was put in at the new dOck-yards there,
they had to import sixty mechanics from
England to put her in repair"
This is an important point" inter
rupted Mr.. Ward. "You will remem-
Der that General Banks once said that
the LoucOn river IN Alaska was the only
river or harbor in the United States of
which we commanded the mouth. He
claimed that Portland and Boston were
commanded by Halifax; New York. the
Delaware. the Chesapeake, Charleston
aud Savannah by the Bermudas and
New Orleans by Havana. st. Georges
dock yards would not be such an in
valuable basis of naval demonstration as
General Banks supposed, with no force
OF skilled men there to repair vessels
Besides, the Bermudas are Just in the
centre of the Southern Atlantic cyclone
district, on the border of the Gulf
stream, and fleets securing about that
region would hardly long escape with
out serious damage TO some of the
vessels"
Probably not more than half the
ground in Bermuda is cultivable," con-
tinued Mr.. Maitland. "Ihe islands are
rocky and the soil shallow, except in
pockets, as they are called. The only
water supply is the rain, and water for
irrigation has to be kept in large tanks
or cavities in the rock. The titles to all
the land are held by the Bermuda Com
pany and representatives of veIy old
estates, so it is impossible to acquire
clear titles TO property now. Men who
want to buy have to whip the devil
round the stump by getting a lease
for ninety nine years or by secuT-
ing mortgage on property to its full
value. In this way Rufus Hatch secured
ten acres for $4,000 during his recent
visit. The prosperity of Bermuda is
largely due to the way IN which its
agricultural interests are held. There
are large plantations, but hundreds of
small lots or farms are held by lease or
worked on shares. These little gardens
are only developed and made abundantly
fruitful by the constant industry of the
people. The leading crops are potatoes,
tomatoes and onions, but the soil and
climate are we'll adapted to the growing
of all the vegetables to be found in
The American market gardens
The tomatoes, potatoes aud onions
| are planted in January and February
and are ready for the market in April
and May. The high prices which can
be obtained in New York and other
markets for these early products makes
them very profitable. Bermuda is
vertable fairy land. The thermometer
never falls below SO degrees or rises
above so degrees The many birds
which now inhabit the island IN great
numb ers have all been brought there
from the mainland or West Indies by
hurricanes. The only tree that appears
to be indigenous is the red cedar, and
the trunk of one Of these trees has re
Gently been found in an excavation fifty
feet below the surface, showing that that
p TT of the island has settled"
THE condition of affairs IN Jamaica,
continued Mr.. Mailliard, 81 found very
different from that in Bermuda. The
island is oval in form, 165 miles long
and 40 miles broad. 1t contains 4 000
600 acres, and has population of nearly
600, 000, of which - 600 are white. AGO.
900 black and 100,0 600 mixed. The
population of the reservation for the in
| dependent Maroon tribes, in the noun
tain Businesses of the centre of the
island, is not known. The negroes are
shiftless and lazy. Help can be had for
few shillings a week, but cannot be
| depended on. Men will leave work
just when they are most needed, if
they have money and provisions enough
to keep them for a few days. Besides,
they make almost every other day
| holiday. The planters have suffered so
much from this that recently they have
imported large numbers of coolies from
Bombay. The planters are all in debt,
paying from to Is per cent. to the
usurers in the large towns, to whom
they hypothecate their crops, and eventu-
ally get but small part of their value.
For these reasons the plantations today
are not worth third of what they were
thirty years ago and many of them are
being sold for taxes. All the tropical
fruits thrive with wonderful luxuriance.
The coffee Arablca is cultivated on the
hills, and it has been found that the cot
fee Liberia grows well on the lowlands
near the coast. 1t has been found less
liable to blight and other diseases than
the other variety, has larger bean and
brings higher prices in the London mar
ket Besides, it does not have to be
picked the moment it is ripe as the
Arabica does, but will hang on the pretty
bushes and dry and you can pick the
crop when you choose. 1t is a hardy
plant and ought to be introduced in the
Southern States. Many varieties of the
Cinchona tree, which Markham first
propagated in the Himalayas, are also
grown with great success.