, 1898-10-01

months it is vr;y steady, about go. Even
in the hottest days OF summer there Is
generally Il coil, refreshing breeze. Yet 1t
is never monotonouS. Cloudy days inter-
mingle with bright sunny ones, the wind IS
sometimes strong and the sea rough, yet,
SOMEHOW, it is. never unpleasant. And those
who think the lower lands not invigoratlng
enough, can always climb to the slopes or
I Orotara where, ut a height Of over 200 feet,
they will always fluid it cool and bracing.
Living is cheap and good, though here, III
I certain places, az elsewhere, whore British
/. tourists aud health seekers have formed
colonies, prices have advanced very much
of late years. The chief drawbacks are hies
2 aud leas, these insects, apparently h"dlng
+ the climate TO suit them us we'll as humanity
does, and the flies are OCCASIONALLY very pre-
vaIent during the summer months.
Az is to be expected under such climatic
{ conditions, the Oanarian peasantry are 9
strong healthy race. Excepting in those
: from he Eastern islands. L0nzarOte and
7 Fu~ertereutura, who seem to have IL t'uch OF
J African blood, they are scarcely darker than
. the PeninSuiar Spaniards, and, rs in the
. Peninsula, you sometimes come across blue
eyes and fair hair. They are, as y rule, very
steady, fairly honest and work i~ntelligently
( and we'll, when we'll managed. Drunkenness
20 Wy AK oANAAOhSA OA S0O NNAAA
fiesta - few of them may be found some
what hilarious; and serious crime is very
uncommon. Their great fault is want OF
cleanliness. Numbers Of them 60 to Cuba for
q few years, Snve u little money, and return
. to live on very small farms. Wages OF men
range from 1'25 to 1873 pesetas per day.
La Teneriffe, all work is done OIL day wages,
aud the working hours are from sunrise to
sunset, with an hour for breakfast and the
same for their midday meal; rather long
hours during the long summer days. At
present, there is a great scarcity of Iabour,
rs all the young men have been called out
for service either in the Army or Militia.
There is hardly d family without some men,
Der of it on service, and whore there are
young men there are nearly sure to be ono
or two Of them in Cuba or the Philippines.
3. Tho Canarians nro much appreciated Us
soldiers, rs they stand the climate of those
two colonies better than the Peninsulars,
aud, although very peacefully inclined, on
the whole, are very brave.
However, with all their advantages let
I no one run AWAY with the idea that it would
/. be an easy matter to find remunerative &C.
C%upatiOn in the islands. 4 knowledge OF
$ Spanish is absolutely necessary away from
the British settlements. The land. with the
exception of the Government forests i'll
Teneriffe, is all in the hands Of proprietors,
and nearly every yard Of it is cultivated.
Rents are rising every year with the extern
sion of the banana ard tomatoe cultivation;
water is expensive; only short leases arc
to be had, and these are got with difficulty.
The farms are usually very small, and twenty
FIVE acres are reckoned quite a large size.
A great number Of them is worked with what
are called "mediancros' on the half system,
the proprietor or lease-holder supplying the
land and water and half the manure, the
other half being found by the mediancro
and all the labour; the produce is equally
divided.
There are SO many interesting points to
note when writing of the cultivation of
these Interesting islands. that it is very
difficult to keep within reasonable limits.
Z After all, it is not so much 10 their sugar.
producing possibilities, great as these un-
undoubtedly are, that the islanders look for
a return Of that material prosperity which :
was their lot in the palmy days Of
the cochineal production. 1t Is more on
their favourable situation for growing
all kinds of tropical and sub.tropical fruits.
and their close proximity to the British
markets that they place their dependence.
AS u health resort, also, the islands are
almost without rivals. Within easy reacll
OF Great Britain, and at very moderate fares.