PRODUCTS. 217 CHAPTER XIII.

PRODUCTS.

The two seasons prevailing in this country and so strongly defined, are the chief reason why the ground does not yield as many products as might be obtained by the assistance of art; for, if field and garden fruits were cultivated with the utmost care during the dry season, no success could be expected, as there is a total want of water wherewith to irrigate the plants, and, in the wet season, the rain beats down with such force that it would wash all small plants out of the earth ; hence agriculture is confined to articles which thrive without much attention, and proceed quickly to maturity. I have no doubt that, if wells were sunk and large reservoirs excavated to collect, during the rainy months, the quantity of water necessary for the irrigation of the soil during the ensuing dry season, many vegetables might be produced which it is now quite impossible to rear. There are no running streams, and the few small lakes, or rather ponds, met with in the country, are not su])i)lied with water throughout the year, and are.