- IT not imports beneath what sign thy hoes
- The deep trough sink, and ridge alternate raise:
- If this from washes guard thy gemmy tops; [260]
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And that arrest the moisture these require.
- YET, should the site of thine estate permit,
- Let the trade-wind1 thy ridges ventilate;
- So shall a greener, loftier Cane arise,
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And richest nectar in thy coppers foam. [265]
- AS art transforms the savage face of things,
- And order captivates the harmonious mind;
- Let not thy Blacks irregularly hoe:
- But, aided by the line, consult the site
- Of thy demesnes;2 and beautify the whole. [270]
- So when a monarch rushes to the war,
- To drive invasion from his frighted realm;
- Some delegated chief the frontier views,
- And to each squadron, and brigade, assigns
- Their order’d station: Soon the tented field [275]
VER. 260. gemmy tops;] The summit of the Cane being smaller-jointed as well as softer, and consequently having more gems, from whence the young sprouts shoot, is properer for planting than any other part of it. From one to four junks,3 each about a foot long, are put in every hole. Where too many junks are planted in one hole, the Canes may be numerous, but can neither become vigorous, nor yield such a quantity of rich liquor as they otherwise would. In case the young shoots do not appear above ground in four or five weeks, the deficiencies must be supplied with new tops.
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The prevailing wind patterns that eighteenth-century navigators used to sail their ships around the world. In the North Atlantic, the trade winds blow westerly from the coast of Africa just above the equator to the Caribbean and northeasterly from Florida up the coast of North America and toward Europe. ↩︎
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Domains. ↩︎
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A gathering of stems or stalks. ↩︎