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account of the increase and decrease of each kind, and must mark even the date on the eggs, fo that he may see the oldest set first. He muft every morning enter in his book the number of each kind that are with egg, least the stock-house woman deceives him; and though you will think all this a very menial part of duty, which I certainly think it is the greatest and most honourable men in Jamaica were obliged to do it.

Turkies are the most difficult kind to raife; at first they require great care and attention, 'till they get strong and grow to perchers; a small grain of bird-pepper, that grows in the country, given to each as foon as out of the fhell, is ferviceable; alfo, to turn them out early in the morning in fome fhort green grafs pafture, and to keep them under fome fhade in the heat of the day. Guinea or India corn ground is the best food; and as they are fubject to the yaws, a diftemper very diftructive amongst them, they should be rubbed every morning, when they have this infection, with roaft limes and brine.

It is also neceffary to examine the sheep, goats, and swine every morning,-least they have fores in their feet, and be devoured by vermine. An ointment made of half a pint of the spirits of turpentine, a pint of lamp oil, a dozen of eggs, and as much temper lime as will, when beat up, make a confiftance as thick as pafte, is excellent for killing vermine, keeping off flies, and healing of fores, for small stock, cattle and horfes.

G 4

About

About eight o'clock the book-keeper goes to breakfast, and afterwards gives out neceffaries for dinner, and haftens to the field 'till twelve, at which time he returns-he dines about one o'clock, he fits at the foot of the table oppofite the overfeer. When the bell is rung to order the flaves out to work, the cowfkin hero drinks the King, as a fignal for the book-keeper to depart; he returns about five or fix o'clock to fee the stock fed, and is kept conftantly bufy about one thing or another till paft eight; he then gets his fupper, and goes to reft his wearied limbs on a couch of plaintain trafb, with Oznabrig or facking sheets, fhielded with a pavilion of the fame kind.

A book-keeper is obliged to fuperintend every domeftic transaction: when a fheep or a hog is killed, he muft ftand by and direct a negroe how to falt it; and as it is very difficult to preferve meat three or four days, the best method I ever could learn, was to have a tub, (half a puncheon) with a falfe bottom full of holes, or a basket, fupported by a few bricks, with a few gallons of water beneath; the meat should be falted well with dry falt about two or three hours after it is killed, and laid on the falfe bottom, or basket, and preffed well with fome weight; the next day it should be rubbed well again with falt, and packed as before; the cold water beneath, though it should not touch the beef, affifts to extract the juice.NOTE, that if fresh beef, or meat of any kind, is not falted in time, that is, the day it is killed, it

will

will not keep after; and if meat, though ever fo well falted, lies in its brine, it will not keep.

A book-keeper must go round the corn field and cane pieces, to fee if any are broken or ftole; he must be here and there and every where; indeed the different parts of his duty are as various and progreffive as the days in the year.

He commonly gives his firft year's falary for a horfe; for though in the Windward Islands gentlemen ride mules, it would be confidered a difgrace in Jamaica for the pooreft man to ride one; his fecond year's falary goes to the doctors, and the third to the merchant and taylors; in fhort, if he can keep tolerable clear of debt for four, five, or fix years, and humbly flatter, fawn, cringe, lye, and diffemble, during the time, and tamely bear the overfeer's infults and reproaches without murmuring, he will be recommended as an active, clever, fine young man; and, though quite the reverfe, will get preferred.

After he arrives to the dignified station of a cowskin hero, if he behaves ftrictly honeft he never will arrive to any great degree of confequence. Though he will be allowed no indulgence but that of pampering a few horfes, and restricted to a certain number, he may keep a favourite wench, to keep a stock-houfe in her name, and to carry on fome pedling traffic in fheep, pultry, &c.

As merchants in general are batchelors, they dine at ordinaries; their clerks are obliged to find themselves in board, washing, and fometimes lodging;

lodging; and though one gets a falary of 150 1. or 2001. fterling per annum, he cannot fave fixpence, if he lives and appears in the manner clerks generally do; nay, it will be good œconomy if he keeps himself clear of debt; clerks drefs more fashionable and gay than overfeers or book-keepers, and shift once or twice daily. Board and lodging in a creditable house will coft about 801. fterling: and as conftant washing, and the deftructive method black women take of beating and rubbing the clothes with ftones and ftumps of grafs to fave the expence of soap, wears them amazing faft, it will require yearly, if he has not brought a good stock of fhirts, neckcloths, breeches, waistcoats, coats and ftockings from home, about 30l.: add to this 201. for two cloth coats, two hats, twelve pair of fhoes, hair-ribband and hair-dreffing, and 12). for washing,-all which are requifite and cannot well be difpenfed without, and though a moderate computation, amount to 1421. A large fum indeed, for the bare neceffaries of life, without including an odd dollar, which of course will be fpent in taverns at times: for though a clerk bever fo frugal, he cannot well avoid going into public places like others. Notwithstanding all this, clerks like to drefs genteelly on Sundays; for every one, I believe, is buoyed up with the notion that one time or another he will be a merchant; well knowing that almost every Weft-India merchant was nothing better originally than

a clerk,

a clerk, therefore they wear fine waiftcoats and florentine breeches, filk ftockings, fet buckles &c. &c. keep or hire horfes and kitterines, and drive about like their employers, or go bufkined like fox hunters, and keep favourite girls, &c. &c. all which would require another 1421.

Now, as it appears from what I have said, that clerks fave nothing, but rather involve themfelves in debt, you may ask, "how is it poffible that they can ever become merchants, or great men?" It may indeed furprise you, as it often did me, to fee brats of fhop boys, and even some who have been indentured from charity schools, and fuch dunghill trafh, fpring up like mushrooms, to be intrufted with confiderable properties, and in the space of four or five years to be capital merchants; there are a variety of ways and means by which clerks afcend. If a poor young man serves a merchant three or four years so as to gain his favour, he may get letters of credit, and be put into business for himself; or if he be clever at business he may be taken into partnership, and in time his friend and benefactor may go to Europe for the benefit of his health, whereby he is intrufted with the conducting of all the bufinefs, and has a glorious opportunity of becoming a great man on the spoils of his patron; or if a young man is fober, keen, and active, he may push himself into credit, get bargains at vendue, keep a favourite wench, and make her retail them at cent. per cent. profit; or such a

perfon

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