, 1890-11-22

some tricklingS from the stream OF wealth
which had been diverted from the Southern
tates. Among these parts were of course,
re West Indian Islands, and it was in one
f these islands and at this period that the
conversation to which we have referred took
place. A gentleman who owned a sugar
estate with a stock estate adjoining it was
lIarrating how he had broken up ii certain
acreage of the pasture land of the latter eS-
tate and had planted it in cotton, and that
the cotton had brought him a nicelittlrsum,
which he mentioned. "Bnt Mr.. A" said
another planter who stood by, "couId y0n
not have done just as well with guinea
corn ?" Mr.. A. stood rejecting for a few
moments and then replied "WelI, yes, per-
haps / could.' Now, thought we, here is
q man who is attracted by a novel opening,
makes use of it, and profits by il; but at
the same time admits o. reflection that he
might have made all equal profit on some.
thing that was previously ready TO his
hand. La not this what we frequently do ?
We are all too apt to say, "It | could only
do this or that !" which is unattainable,
or a~ttainable only exceptionally, ri would
succeed" while we at the same time over
look some path to prosperity that lies hight
before us. "But what has all this TO do, our
readers begin to ask with the East End?
Well, it has this to do with it, that we
think it is just in the East End that we
find a familiar product of cultivation
overlooked or neglected. Some years ago
VIC were driving along an East End road
with n gentleman from Jamaica. He said,
looking around at the landscape. I'VE
nave stock estate in Jamaica but they are
not like these. In Jamaica we call places
like these "ruinateS." Our stock estates
we call opens, :" and they are properly tenc-
ed ami divided, and are planted all over
with gu~inpa-graSS." Now the question
arises whether it is inevitable that the East
End estates shall be "ruinates' or whether
it in not possible to convert them into
'penS.' We will not say by the planting
OF guinea grass necessarily, for it may be
that some other kinds would be more suit.
able, but guinea grass In what we have to
hand, and we remember that some twelve
or fifteen years ago it was rather abundant
in tle East End. We can remember hill
sides which were at that time covered from
top to bottom with guinea grass, broken
Only by a few bushes here and there. But
things nave gone from bad to worse in the
East End, and now those same hill sides
of which we are thinking would probable
AOb SHOW a. NJ 1SIC guinea SlGSS OuICu IL
they were searched fOrit. The land has been
allowed to go in many places iuto such Il
condition that no animals except goats
could thrive on it. In wet weather ran
ming vines grow up among the bushes and
whep these are eaten off the cattle have
nothing but the bushes to fall pack on. No
wonder then that q spell Of dry Gather
brings disaster with it. We cannot be.
lieve that the present state of many Of the
East End properties il a necessity. That
1t would take some means to get things
straight. must be admitted; but with barb
ed fencing ~ cheap az it is, and with abun-
dance of penguins on the land, it ought not
to be impossible to fence the properties
and then clearing and planting could fol-
low by degrees. We are glad to know that
in some cases it has been done, and on a
couple Of properties, which have lately
changed hands some good fencing ard
clearing work has been undertaken. We
hops that such efforts will bring their re-
wardand that they will serve also as an EN-.
enlargement to others in the endeavour to
bring the East End out of the condition of
"ruinate" into which it has fos the most
part sunk.