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Excerpt from Flora of the Island of St. Croix Most of the sugar is manufactured at the great central sugar factory, near Bassin, which is under government control. There are about 72 estates ranging in size from 150 to'2,165 acres. The origi nal number of estates was much larger, but in recent years they have been united; for example, Wheel of Fortune estate now includes the original estate together with those of Fredericks Haab, Stony Ground, Mar's Hill, Two Brothers, Hesselberg, and Smith's Field. Each estate has its own little village of stone huts, surrounding or near the estate house, where the people who are employed in the fields live with their families. Isolated dwellings are uncommon. For example: The estate of Big Princess is worked by 71 men and 62 women, most of whom live in its village with their families. This is a village of average size. There are required besides, for this same estate, 32 mules and 28 oxen. The total number of men thus employed on the island, in 1890, was or to every 100 acres; the total number of women was or to each 100 acres; the number of mules was or to each 100 acres; and the number of oxen was or for 100 acres. These figures do not include the owners, managers, overseers with their families, squatters, invalids, nor children under thirteen years of age. The amount of land leased to squatters is increasing year by year, show ing a tendency on the part of the natives to become independent. Besides the laborers employed on the estates, many work in the sugar factory and on the docks, others are engaged in fishing and hunting, while a large number live from hand to mouth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in th