Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-09-24
-,IIISe THE NASSAU SOIL
r.ynsu.e Hooks into Flow


] vT'se lostino way how the rocks are
q . ut : Nassau, the capital Of New
tier, - one OF the West india
Pfgsoe'1T, i curious tc think, ne says
slaaas ranntrv where vegetation never
lha' p eyerything is pcrpetually green,
y. acopie have never seen : ns 49, y
ihs F - ! haystack have never watched
gaia - turn over and under by the
lhe e'.' nser heard the click Of o har-
pow :" ,be hum Of threshing machine;
yeslel y ,,ened TO the murmuring Of Il
nese. \, watched the flow of a river.
bf9oN ,h;ng. are unknown In Nassau.
y rain Is raised there; there - no held
no B"Igh TO make it worth while, for
hs I;.e and where the land has been
oas I'm nd broken and made productive
t'es.'. 900 rich in its capacity to raise
= saiuable things. There is very lit
= =. gra.s. Here and there are Mite
y .5es Of II. but almost always where it
81 boen sown and carefully culti-
~ All the -four used has to be
'sa,,el As most of the horses come
wv, wv, America, so their hay and feed is
IT, Tn from here too, except such green
IN a. thew pick up incidentally. Our
vi Sorn farm machines, being unneces-
~ ~ ,bere. are unknown and unheard Of.
~ rs,,e arc no rivers. and in travelling over
i,,oo.t All parts of the island OF New
o,ag,dence | do not remember to have
~ even the smallest brooklet. What
ta,ren desolate country it must be, "
- wonld say, not knowing about the
~ooderfnl limestone and coral rock that
mskes the soil. But it is anything put
ssrren ANYTHING but desolate. Take
ssd there that is nothing but solid
ssss Of rock, and if let alone for year
e,two il becomes so covered with all
.orts Of vegetation that no live man
e,alil tell whether the bottom Of it was
and or clay. or rock, or what. If land
1 not carefully cultivated all the time it
,oon disappears beneath the growth of
trseg and bushes. So there is no APP
tearance of desolation and waste places.
4 barren rock IN less than two years be-
ZONES flower garden, if let alone.
i IL common saying that the
land has to be titled with a
pckaxe, and trees and vegetables set out
with crowbars. OF course this is an ex-
aqgeration, but it is to some extent true.
There is good clay soil on some parts of the
sand Some OF the pineapple fields that
Captain Iiehtbourn showed me were
Of rich red clay, strong enough to raise
gain or anything planted in them.
But they were exceptions. Only here
and there this red clay is found, and all
be rest is rock 1t is in the first cult
ystion Of rocky spots that the pick and
crowbar are necessary. Suppose you
have two-acre lot of rock that you want
10 tdrn into kitchen garden. 1t els
most likely covered with thick growth
Of chaparral, which has to be cleared off.
h making any extensive clearing at some
distance from the city the natives build
for themselves little huts, like tents, into
which they crawl when they need shelter
from the hot sun or damp nights. When
the little trees are all cleared away you
harea lot composed apparently of one
big rock Not solid. compact, blush,
rock, like our granite or slate
OF kneiss, but flat rock that looks like
honeycomb II is full of little holes and
uneyenness and excrescenccs that make
/ look very much indeed like mammoth
Aoneycomb Some of the holes. generally
not more than two or three inches in di-
Ameter, are SO deep that you can lose
yoT walking stick in them. If your lot
les low YOU will sometimes find that as
ne tide rises water comes up into the
holes, and disappears again as the tide
TAILS. And this may happen though
sour land is number of feet above the
'ea level. If without knowing of its
capabilities, you were to be put down in
'he midst of few acres of this land,
md were TO be told that you must make
liVlhg cut of it or starve, you would be
very likely to sit down under cocoanut
nee and let nature take her course. But
Sien you came to investigate the thing
aal found what rich materials the rocks
contain, and how this water coming up
WIN the tide gives everlasting life and
ae'eriMling health TO everything that
Srows, you would change your mind.
Aell, suppose the land to be cleared and
lVo or three 1arkies found with sufficient
mercy to go to work at it. You provide
aem with big hammers and crowbars. and
.asy delse and pound, pick and pry,
A \ Off a bit here, pulverizing a lump
atle till the while luf hoe hnnn xgapn
''eF AMI the two-acre rock is turned into
mass of stuff that looks like dirty white
'ssI II you feel inclined you procure
WV tons of ''cave EARTH out of the Mas
1acavesand spread it over the land. This
I ,ery Hen, being the best kind of bird
s ~ Or you put omit some of the fer
,.Aers oil commerce which the darkies in
, .n call stow manyou, " or store ma
~ Your lot is then ready for plant
- 4; aad u will raise pretty much any
=. you choose to SOW. You can. if