£ it-A A t ation Alktnaar, the property o f the above lady y where
the negro flaves are treated like children try- the miftrefsi
to whom they all look op as to their common parent
Here were no groans to he heard, no fetters to be met
with} nor any marks of feverity to be leen—but all was
harmony and Gofttent. - The fuperb houfe and other
offices of this charming eftate, where pleasure and hofpi-
tality ever reign, I have already reprefented in plate
N° X .; while the fields and gardens, ;nay, even the negro
houfes, bore all the marks of perfect peace, and plenty. I
v The cacao-trees are fupplied from ; nurfeiies for the
purpofe, like orchards in England, and planted very regularly
at ten or twelve feet diftance from each othef}
where they grow to the height of our Englifh cherry^
trees. But thefe_plantations muff be well iheltered, both
from the hard winds and fcorching fun, when young;
the roots not entering deep into the ground to fuccour
them, nor can they at that time hear extraordinaryheat;
on which account, the groves are filled up with cafiava»
fhrubs or plantain-trees for their fhelter, and which at
the fame time a-nfwer the purpofe of killing the weeds,
which grow fo luxuriantly in all the tropical climates ;—
by thefe attentions the trees will bear fruit before they
are three years old, when they afford two crops annually,
but they are in the higheft perfection at the age of
twelve or "fourteen.- The leaf of the cacao-tree is above
eight inches long, and nearly three broad, thick-pointed,
ribbed like the laurel-time, and of a bright green-colour.
The
The fruit is about the-fame fize, and when, young refem- CHAP,
bids a cucumber; but when ripe it becomes yellow like ■ _ _ ',
9 large lemon, With ribsclike the melon, and tubercles
which epclofe the feed or nuts, near thirty in number :
they lie longitudinally m the fruit* and when fit for ufe
^tre- o f t'llïfiz^j©f ,xï|iJyes^ add purple^eploured, The trees
are fuppofed- to bear at -each prop.from thirty to three
hundred .pads,' eaph containing,about thirty nuts, weigh?
tag éne pounds from which a calculation may be made
hbw much will be the produce of each harveft. . After a
few days• the mutsare extra&ed from the pods, and dried -
in the. fhade?;' during .Which time tfeeyp undergo a very
ftrong perfpiration, when they are put ihio barrels aud fit
for- tranfportation, to bexpn verted into that well-known
and agreeable beverage called Chocolate,
tj it is faid the cacao-trees are natives ,of Guiana, and
grow wild in large quantities near the river Amazon ■ he
that as it may, Governor Chatillon'& fon -planted the firft
tree in Surinam in 1684, and the firft Crop Was exported
to -Holland in 1733I A great- advantage in cultivating
cacao-trees is, that fewer fiaves are required than in any
other branch of the planting bufinefs. How considerable
aré. the profits will appear by the accounts o f the
year 1774, when 506,610 lbs. were exported to Amfter- V
dam alone, which produced aoa,^i4-/. Dutcb money,
being equal to £. 18,419 fterling. ^ The prices have byen
fluctuating from 4 d. to ‘gdi perlb. the average being"
g about