into which, if we are not too proud, one or more intelligent Hindoos might be admitted :—but on no account whatever would I propose, much less would I prescribe, an alteration in their practice. Let this be their own spontaneous adoption. I wish to God the rule were followed in all things.

"I do believe, that the superiority of understanding evinced by some of our inventions in husbandry, as in your instance of the thrashing machine, with the great assistance which this art has received from the sciences, and the same superiority so eminently displayed in all the other arts of life, might induce the more intelligent of these people, to draw the same favorable conclusions with respect to our moral and religious doctrines, and with the more probable effect, if left to their own reflections."

Honorary boards therefore, ought to be established at each settlement in the East Indies, and each colony in the West, to carry this plan of mutual aid into effect. They would not occasion any expense, and would, by a correspondence with a central office in London, conduct the whole operation, under the sanction of government, to the general benefit of all our colonial possessions.

On the whole, the advantages which might be derived by an attention to these objects, are certainly incalculable. They would add to the value of the stock of the Company;-they would promote the improvement of the British Islands;-they would augment the prosperity of our West Indian possessions ;-and they would increase the happiness, and contribute to secure the permanent dominion of our territorial possessions in the East; and all these advantages might be obtained at an expense comparatively insignificant. JOHN SINCLAIR.

Ham Common, Richmond, Surrey,

December 2, 1814.

No. VII.

To the Planters, Merchants, and others interested in the Improvement and Prosperity of our West Indian Islands, and the Colonies of Demarara, Essequibo, &c.

GENTLEMEN,

The return of peace will, I hope, enable this country to prosecute the improvement of its valuable colonies in the West Indies, and the continent of South America, with greater energy than has hitherto been the case. I have always been of opinion, that the estates of which you are the proprietors, form a valuable part of the

territorial possessions of Great Britain, the cultivation of which ought to be encouraged, and rendered as productive as possible to the owners. With that view, as soon as the Board of Agriculture was constituted, inquiries were set on foot to ascertain, what East Indian productions could be raised with advantage in the West Indies. In consequence of the correspondence carried on regarding those subjects, the celebrated teak tree has been transplanted to your Islands, and a variety of articles were sent from the Island of Sumatra to the Botanic garden at St. Vincents, the result of which may prove highly advantageous to the colonies: but, from recent inquiries, I find that there are various other articles which may be transported from the East to the West Indies, of perhaps still greater importance, and which therefore I beg to recommend to your particular attention.

Colonel Walker, of Bowland, near Selkirk, in Scotland, I found, was peculiarly conversant in the agriculture of the East. requested him, therefore, to transmit to me, the observations he had collected; and I observed in them, an account of two articles, badgeree, and chena, the introduction of which into the West Indies would be of peculiar importance. The following is the substance of the description he gives of them.

Badgeree, he states, is the great article of food with the more numerous inhabitants of Guzerat. It grows in the greatest perfection, in a soil of rich clay, mixed with sand, called Gararoo ground in the East Indies. It is sown in Shrawun seed, which corresponds to July and August, of our reckoning, and which in the Guzerat is the season of the periodical rains. It would probably be proper to choose, in like manner, some time of the spring or summer, in the West Indies, when the greatest quantity of rain is expected. The ground requires to be well prepared, and unless rich, must be manured. It may be either sown alone, or mixed with other plants, which ripen later than the badgeree; but at first, it would be the most prudent course to cultivate it alone. When ripe, its straw becomes yellow, and its ears lose all their milk or juice. It is made into bread, like barley-cakes or bannocks, and is greatly preferred by the natives to them.'

Among the plants sown with badgeree, is the Erundee, (the palma Christi,) from which castor oil is expressed, which is not only used medicinally by the natives, but in the Guzerat, where they have

Sir Henry C. Montgomery informs me, that the straw of badgeree is very nutritive, and is the chief forage used in the north-west of India, for all surts of cattle, being reckoned equal, if not superior to the best hay. Such a plant ought to be tried even in England, were it for the sake of the straw alone.

no cocoa nuts, serves them as oil for their lamps. It is also used by the dyers in the mixture of their dye stuffs.* Its uses in the East Indies, are very extensive, and its cultivation profitable.

Chena, or gram, may be grown after a crop of badgeree, provided, after the badgeree has been reaped, a copious fall of rain should happen, previous to its being sown. When ripe, the pod, containing the grain, becomes dry, and the grain assumes either a red or yellow color. The plant, when reaped, is not cut, but is pulled up from the root, and left on the ground for three or four days till dry, when the grain is separated by bullocks from the straw. The straw answers for fuel, the pods for cattle (but not reckoned very good food); the grain, however, is reckoned equally nourishing as a food both for man and animals. It is used in various preparations of sweetmeats; and roasted, it serves as a tiffira, or luncheon, to the abstemious Hindoos. There is every reason to expect that it will be cultivated with success in the West Indies. In the East, it is generally sown in April or May, as the ground has either then experienced partial showers, or is soon expected to be moistened by rains. It serves the purpose of a green crop, or a preparation for badgeree. The chena sown in April, is reaped in July or August: the badgeree is then sown, which is ripe in September or October, consequently both crops are reaped in the same year, which renders the total value of the annual produce very great.

Sir Henry C. Montgomery likewise recommends Raggai, or natchine, as a plant that merits attention. It produces but a small grain; its straw, however, is more nutritive for horses, than any other substance of that sort; and he knows by experience, that horses will do more work upon it than any other forage: as it is a soft substance also, and easily masticated, it is peculiarly calculated for animals employed in hard labor, as they are able to feed sufficiently without encroaching on the time necessary for sleep. In the Guzerat the grain is not much thought of: but this may arise from prejudice; for in the southern provinces of India, it is a very general food; and being the principal support of a great population, living nearly in the latitude of the West Indies, it should be tried in those islands. There are several varieties of this plant, some of which may be better calculated than the others, for a West Indian soil and climate.

From the information above detailed, therefore, I am naturally anxious, that the necessary steps should be taken, to procure the seeds of those articles from the East Indies. There can hardly

I

This is a most important fact, as it probably essentially contributes, from the richness of the substance, to the beauty and permanency of the Indian chintzes.

be a doubt of their answering there, and of proving a source of great benefit to the colonies where they are cultivated. The grain of these plants would furnish an excellent food for negroes, and the straw for the stock on the estate. Upon an application to government, I have no doubt, that some means would be taken, to convey the seeds of such valuable articles from the East Indies to the West, with those precautions which are necessary to secure their success, in their transportation to a distant country.

I likewise have no doubt, that "The summer wheat," as it is called, which is so much cultivated in France, Italy, Sicily, and Spain, and even in some of the counties in England, might be raised with great advantage in the West Indies. The climate is not dissimilar from many of the districts in which it is cultivated; it comes to perfection in three months; and the bread produced from it, is reckoned wholesomer and more nourishing than even that which is made from autumnal or winter sown grain. Now that peace is restored, the seed might be obtained from the southern provinces of France, without difficulty; and the experiment might be tried, on an adequate scale, in several districts, so as to ascertain completely the utility of this suggestion.

The introduction of the Mangel-Wursel into the West Indies, either for feeding the negroes or stock, I should consider to be another object of the greatest importance. It produces in this country, above fifty tons per statute acre,' but a much greater weight in the Island of St. Helena, a climate not dissimilar from your own, where it has been cultivated with the greatest suc

cess.

Whether any of the improved ploughs, and other agricultural implements, which have been brought to such perfection in this country, could be introduced into the West. Indies, with advantage, is a point respecting which I am not, at present, competent to hazard an opinion, but I hope that some of them may be found serviceable. The restoration of peace will enable us to carry on every species of improvement, both at home and in our foreign settlements, with redoubled energy; and much may be expected from the exertions of a numerous body of respectable and intelligent individuals, such as the planters and merchants of our West India colonies, when directed to any particular object.

In

There is reason to believe, that, to a certain extent, lumber might be procured from the Baltic, and rum taken in return. the shape of shrub, that sort of spirit would be in great request; and

See Remarks on the Mangel-Wursel, by Thomas Newby, anno 1813; who maintains that it is superior to any other vegetable ever tried, for feeding stock.

if the commerce were carried on entirely in British ships, it might be permitted.

I am in great hopes that the consumption of coffee will become more general in this country. The establishment of places where it is properly prepared for immediate consumption, the improved quality also of the berry itself, and of the implements in which it can be made, will necessarily extend the consumption, more especially, if any circumstance should diminish the quantity, deteriorate the quality, or increase the price of tea imported.

As it is now particularly desirable to increase the number of negroes born in the colonies, it has often occurred to me, that this might be effectually promoted by adopting the following plan. In every colony or island let rewards be given by the legislature, to the proprietor or overseer, by whom the greatest number of young negroes, in proportion to the population on the estate, are reared, in the same manner as in this country premiums are given to laborers who bring up the largest families. The emulation thus excited would be attended with the best consequences. Proprietors ought only to receive honorary rewards, as a gold medal, &c.; overseers a pecuniary recompense. Indeed, if, in addition to this plan, an account were annually given and published, of the progressive increase or decrease of the population on each estate, it would greatly promote the interests of the proprietors. Cruel task-masters would thus be exposed to the detestation they merited, whilst the characters of meritorious overseers would be known and established.'

It will give me particular pleasure, if these, or any other hints which it may be in my power to furnish, could promote the advantage of our West Indian and South American possessions, which are such valuable appendages to the British empire.

I have the honor to be, GENTLEMEN,
Your faithful and obedient Servant,
JOHN SINCLAIR.

Ham Common, Richmond, Surrey,

December 6, 1814.

POSTSCRIPT.

Since the above was written, I have received an additional communication from Colonel Walker, the substance of which I subjoin.

He begins with expressing his hopes, that the proposed mea

'It is said that the young Negroes are often destroyed by the locked jaw. It should be generally known in the colonies, that electricity is an effectual remedy.