So much for “Massa Seizar’s” letter. I am not aware who is the actual writer of it; but the reasoning he puts into “Seizar’s” mouth is sound, and by the form in which it is presented may not improbably produce more effect than a graver production.
The soil of Antigua is composed of two distinct sorts; the one, a rich black mould on a substratum of clay; the other, a stiff reddish clay, mixed with sand, upon a substratum of marl. The former of these is very productive when not suffering from those excessive droughts to which this island is particularly subject; but the latter is generally overrun with that species of herbage, known as “Devil Grass,” (Cynodon dactylon,) which it is almost impossible to exterminate. Still, Antigua is one of the most fertile of the West India islands, and produces, in proportion, a larger crop than most of her sister colonies. The land requires, it is true, a quantity of manure, which is one reason for estates keeping such large herds of cattle as they do; but with the assistance of that, and the blessing of the “o’ercharged clouds,” she seldom disappoints the hopes of her planters; while her sugar stands as high as any in the English markets, and her rum has long been known for its pre-eminent qualities.
The mountains contain beautiful varieties of fossils, and other geological curiosities. Among these may be found in the south-west chain, masses of trap, breccia, wacke, porphyry, &c.; and in the inland parallel chain, splendid specimens of coralline schist, agate, jasper, chalcedony, amydoloid, cornelian, and silicified wood are to be met with, of which I need only raise my eyes to those collected before me to say how beautiful they are. These are generally found embedded in a matrix of a deep green colour, which of itself is very pretty, and when well arranged in buildings with the native free-stone, have a very good effect.
In the northern districts are found fragments of limestone, containing fossil shells, spars, and crystals of quartz. This chain, running north and south, is supposed to pass under the sea, forming a reef, and reappearing at Monserrat: it is said that the fish found upon this reef are particularly poisonous.
“Church Hill,” as it is termed, from the fact of the church being erected upon it, has been found to be composed of schist, enveloped in marl, and is particularly rich in its fossil shells. Thanks to the new flight of steps which have been lately erected, and the modifications made around that sacred building, (which has obliged the workmen to blast the rock,) I have been enabled to collect some fine varieties. Among these are conchs, cockles, &c., in which the striæ are perfect, and some of them are beautifully crystalized.
In almost all parts of the island petrifactions are to be met with. Among the most beautiful of those I have seen, may be enumerated red cedar, with agate intermixed; roots and branches of cocoa-nut trees; plantain stalks, with beautiful lines of agate running through them; a species of palm; a root of the dagger, (aloe vulgaris;) the black mangrove, a branch of a tree, supposed to be the ceibar, or silk-cotton, with cornelian; besides many other varieties. Ochres of various colours are also to be dug in some districts; and in most parts of the island are quarries of stone; but they are not generally made an article of traffic.
In some parts of the island are salt ponds, which might be worked to advantage here as well as at St. Kitts and Turk’s Island; but the Antiguans are not of an enterprising spirit; at least, all their attention is bestowed upon the cultivation of the sugar-cane, and if that succeeds, they are perfectly satisfied. Were it otherwise, there are many productions which might prove important and beneficial articles of commerce. Tobacco grows spontaneously about the country; coffee has become naturalized, and grows wild; it is said to be inferior in quality to that which grows in the other islands; but would not culture do much for it? Cotton, ginger, palma Christi,—all are disregarded; even the pimento is left to decay in its loveliness, and its fragrant fruit serves but to feed the feathered tribe; except when, at Christmas, its odorous boughs are gathered to flavour the plum-puddings of the negroes, or decorate the churches and houses, as the holly does in England.
Although the islands of the West Indies, being all situated between the Tropics, are, as regards climate, very similar, yet Antigua is generally reckoned more salubrious than any of the others. Possibly, the reason of this may be attributed to the dryness of the soil, for we have no rivers, and very few marshes, as in many of the other islands, to exhale any degree of humidity. The towns are now also kept very clean and wholesome, particularly the capital, so that island seldom suffers from any pestilential diseases. The “Yellow Fever,” that dreaded scourge of the West Indies, has, however, frequently raged here to great extent, particularly in former years. In 1793 it was very violent in its effects—nearly the whole of the inhabitants of St. John’s fell ill with it, and many deaths occurred. It broke out in the shipping in the harbour, and was supposed to have been brought ashore in a blanket, which had been wrapt round a person who had fallen a victim to it. In 1816 it again appeared, but not to such extent; but after the hurricane, in 1835, it raged with much virulence,—snatched many a young and beloved one from the family circle—separated parent and child—severed the holy bands of matrimony, and laid its victims in the cold and silent grave.
It was supposed to be occasioned by the different effluvia which tainted the air after the gale; particularly that from the filth, which had for so many years been accumulating at the bottom of the harbour, and which, from the violence of the wind, had been completely stirred up.
The warmest months of the year are June, July, and August. The sun, when not obscured by the density of the clouds, shines with a burning lustre; and did he not