, 1898-09-28

shore i, is aS if one had the Scottish high.
lands transported to and placed amongst
tropical vegetation.
The colouring # the mountains AMI glens
in the early morning, from sunrise until the
sun has begun to acquire mis- strength, and
again i'll the evening at sunset, is the loveIlest
l have ever seen. On occasionally sees
something like it in the II ghlanls, but it Is
only very rarely there ti"t you have the
sanie clearness IF atmosphere. Like the
Highlands also. he III untai - are sometimes
wloathed in mist, but this never lasts ye'y
LONG.
The plain is about a mile to a mile and a
half in width, aud the nearest range of
mountains RISES O between two and three
thousand feet high. The lower slopes are
cultivated in terraces as high up as %culiivN.
ton can be carried. and here and there 10
10 be seen a Moorish. looking mouse. particn.
lurly among the bananas which cover the
lower levels. Higher up. the banana gives
place to the products Of more temperate
regions, and like g white vein running
along the face of the mountains may be
traced the courses Of the aqueducts, broken
occasionally where distributing tanks are
built, which also form a prominent feature
III the landscape. In some places the cult
walton is carried right up to the submits,
with villages perched in apparently inacces-
sible spots. In others, the upper slopes are
crowned with steep ami frOwning CLIFFS,
and, awny beyond, The Great Peak is to be
seen rising majestically, l2,OO0 feet i'll
height. On the left, but u long distance of,
are the slopes OF Orotara with its white
houses rising gradually Ger thousands of
feet in the direction of the peak.
Every possible foot of soil 10 cultivated,
and q walk over any part of the undulsting
plain is a curious experience to q stranger.
You nave a field Of luxurious sugar.cane,
then hnd yourself walking between rows of
carefully trained tomatoes; then you come
on a field of barley or wheat; then possibly
on a patch f maize with beans or Spanish
peas between the rows; next you will find s
field of fine healthy looking potatoes or onions;
and. a little back from the sea, bananas in
thousands; occasionally q small patch of
grapes or alfalfa grass; and then cane again.
Here and there, particularly close to the sea,
and when yoa begin to climb the mountain
slopes, there are patches whore it Is too
rocky for even a ToneriHe islander TO grow
anything, and on this you will find thistIes
and brambles growing in profusion, mixed
up with The CnriouS-looking prickIy pear
on which the coohine&l insect was formerly
cultivated. The land is nearly all terraced
with supporting walls Of loose stones to al
low of il being irrigated. and at the foot OF
the walls there are abundance Ot figs and
peaches growing in plots aud occasionally also
very fair mulberrieS. The figs Are Of very
fine size and favour even when growing
wild, but the peaches do not oOme to any
thing where the irrigation water gets at the
roots; they do very we'll, however. when
cultivated in gardens. There are also good
oranges and pears grown, but the latter along
with apples, are of much better favour when
6 own up in the mountains.
As l said. sugar.cane has been grown here
for many years, but was formerly only work
ed mp IA ''trapiches' or small eattIe'mills.
About twenty years ago one of the many re-
tired Cuban planters here, sent and brought
over from that island, u large secondhand
mill, with which he began to crush canes
grown on the farms. 1t is still standing III
u ruined building on one OF the farms, and is
70" K 80" or thereahout, with u great beam
engine. It Was made by G. Fletcher. Lon.
don, and must be very old. There is q smaIl
open wall attached to it, and the people say
that it took twenty.four hours to boil the
juice from two hours crushing. The mill
struggled on for a few years with difficulty,
and was finally left on the hands of the pro-
prietors of tho land. to whom it had been
~mortgaged. About 1889 III English firm,
slA