sant life of it,
because the black slaves did all the hard work, taking in and
discharging cargo, and bringing water and wood off to us.

I might fill pages with descriptions of the curious trees and plants and
animals I saw in the West Indies. There is one, however, which I must
describe. I was asking Mr Merton one day the meaning of the name of
our schooner. He laughed, and said that grogo is the name of a big
maggot which is found in the Cockarito palm or cabbage tree. This
maggot is the grub of a large black beetle. It grows to the length of
four inches, and is as thick as a man's thumb. Though its appearance is
not very attractive, it is considered a delicious treat by people in the
West Indies, when well dressed, and they declare that it has the flavour
of all the spices of the East. These maggots are only found in such
cabbages as are in a state of decay. The Cockarito palm often reaches
fifty feet in height. In the very top is found the most delicate
cabbage enclosed in a green husk, composed of several skins. These are
peeled off, until the white cabbage appears in long thin flakes, which
taste very like the kernel of a nut. The heart is the most delicate,
and, being sweet and crisp, is often used as a salad. The outside when
boiled is considered far superior to any European cabbage. One of the
most important trees in the West Indies is the plantain tree. It grows
to the height of about twenty feet, and throws out its leaves from the
top of the stem so as to look something like an umbrella. The leaves
when fresh are of a shining sea-green colour, and have the appearance of
rich satin. When the young shoots come out, they split and hang down in
tatters. From the top grows a strong stalk about three feet long, which
bends down with the weight of its purple fruit, each of which is in
shape like a calf's heart--a considerable number form one bunch. Each
tree produces but one bunch at a time. The plantain, when ripe, forms a
delicious fruit, and when boiled or roasted, it is used instead of
potatoes. It forms a principal portion of the food of the negroes. The
cassava forms another important article of the food of the blacks. The
plant grows about four feet high; the stem is of a grey colour, and
divides near its top into several green branches, from which spring red
stalks with large leaves. There are two species, the sweet and bitter
cassava. The bitter is excessively poisonous till exposed