Henry Alfred Alford Nicholls diary
Page 67
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Transcription
Minicent. 3 June, 1891. healthy, full of the cold Atlantic breeze an comfortably blowing. From here we get a glimpse of the island of St Lucia about 25 miles across the channel. Altogether there are 12 acres of Induance property here. To the north of the frontory is Oria Bay and shipping is easy here except in very boartime weather. The road runs on for three miles further to Fancy on the upper port side, and terminates there. The only way to get thence to the leeward side, except riding Rockall along the windward coast, is to take a canoe to Moore Ronds villers well down the leeward side of the island, where there is a tract of land reserved for the use of the Black Caribs. The black Caribs live at Moore Ronde, as they did not offer the English in the Canes; was they received better treatment than their yellow half brothers. Most of whom of the Caribs here are removed to the little rocky island of Multivie where many died of fever and starvation, and those remaining are after a while deported to the island of Beaton in the gulf of Honduras, when some of their descendants now live. With Mr Beach, the manager of Oria Estate, we visited the cannots works. The underground stews, arheines of the plant are down there, in a well with both as far run by Minicent. 3 June, 1891 into press. The pulp and fibrous matter is then carefully into to pieces of decreasing sized meshes, which remove all the film, husk and allow the starch grains to pass. After going through the piece, the starch water is canned, or run into settling tanks when it is allowed to remain until a sharp hard the starch is deposited on the bottoms, and clear straw remains, when sufficient deposition of starch has taken place the straw husk supernatant water is drawn off by means of holes in the settling tanks which are opened by pulling out the plugs. The cannoes is then dug out with clean spades, past on lumps. These lumps are first on trays, with wire bottoms, and put in tiers in the drying house. The house is closed at the sides by price putting so as to allow free circulation of air. In all the operations the greatest carelessness is observed, for therein the value of the produce will be greatly deteriorated. When dry the cannoot is packed in clean flour barrels lined with blue denim wrapping paper and the mark of the Estate and the number of the barrel is sealed on the package. The Oria cannoots has an excellent name in the great markets of the world, and every effort appears to be used to keep up the reputation of the make. We bid good bye to Mr Beach, the manager, and