sheep in five months. Mr. Curwen, the late M.P. for Cumberland, gave every sheep of his numerous flock about half an ounce per diem. I have heard more than one great flockmaster say, "that no sheep, either in flesh or fleece, would succeed well without a supply of salt." Mr. Youatt, no mean authority, says, "that it is the basis of every medicine which really has power over the rot; and in the early stage of that disease, it has often completely arrested its fatal progress." Other very decisive evidence may be found in my brother's "Essay on the Uses of Salt in Agriculture." 3. The third and last essential point I shall mention, is providing shelter for the flock. This can be done at a very trifling expense, and the benefit to the general health, and to the superiority of the wool, I am told, is only to be appreciated by those who have compared the fleeces of sheltered sheep with those produced by sheep exposed without any care to the full meridian sun, to the heavy night dews, and to the storms of these tropical latitudes-a few panels made of mat hurdles, supported by stout bamboo stakes, and arranged in the form of a rectangular cross, is all that is required, and may be constructed in the vicinity, or in the middle of the usual pasturage, and moveable at pleasure, for a very few rupees. If constructed in the following form, let the sun shine or the storm arise from whatever quarter it may, one angle will always be shady and sheltered. The importance of shelter to sheep was appreciated by Messrs. Simes & Co., the great woolstaplers, and with their observations upon this subject, and the packing of fleeces for transport to England, I shall conclude the subject. Though it is highly necessary to the perfection of the fleece that its fibres should be acted upon by the air, it is also strongly recommended that fine wool flocks should be kept under sheds every night, their constitutions being unable to sustain the effects of the cold nights and heavy dews which commonly succeed the hottest day, from which transition they must be carefully guarded: care should therefore be taken to provide a constant succession of clean litter in the sheep-stalls, that the full effect of the perspiration on the fibre may not be interfered with, by the fleece being loaded at the extremities with an accumulation of filth of any sort. "It is of great importance that the fleece should be well washed, that the wool may be brought to market with as bright a colour as possible: every convenience, and a plentiful supply of pure water, should therefore be provided; a running stream being most desirable. The preferable mode of washing is that which is performed before shearing, according to the German manner: 'some growers have tried the plan of washing after the fleeces have been shorn and sorted, and, as is supposed, have used tepid water, following the French and Spanish method; but this has not been approved of by the buyers generally, and particularly by those who buy for combing purposes. "The breaking of the fleece and washing after shearing gives the wool more the appearance of Spanish than of German wool, and consequently reduces it to a lower standard of comparison. It is well known that the sheep of those German flocks that are best washed, are after that operation driven into some shed strewed with clean litter, or penned up with hurdles on clean grass; that the utmost care is taken to prevent their exposure to dirt, or whatever else might tend to sully their whiteness; and that they are not shorn until a sufficient degree of moisture is deposited in the fleece by perspiration, to impart a soft handle to the wool. It may here be added, that it is very important, if possible, to prevent the sheep from filling their fleeces with grass seeds, broken leaves, and other extraneous substances, which cannot be removed in the operation of washing, and which are productive of labour and expense in every process of manufacturing; in some cases, indeed, rendering wools almost unsaleable. It may here be observed, that so conscious are the Spaniards of the superiority of the German mode of washing and assorting, that they are making every effort to introduce it. "In order to assimilate the Australian wool as much as possible with the German in preparing it for market, the fleeces should not be broken, but merely divested of the breech and stained locks, and so assorted or arranged that each packet may contain fleeces of the same character as to colour, length of staple, fineness of hair, and general quality. "If the washing has been performed at the same time and place, and with an equal degree of care, the colour is likely to be uniform, and it will then only be necessary to attend to the casting of the fleeces as to length, fineness, and general quality; but if a large grower has flocks of different breeds, and fed on different soils, care should be taken that the fleeces be separated first as to colour, and then again as to length, fineness, &c. "The fleeces being assorted, as already suggested, should be spread one upon another, the neck of the second fleece being laid upon the tail of the first, and so alternately to the extent of eight to ten fleeces, according to their size and weight. When so spread, the two sides should be folded towards the middle, then rolled together, beginning at each end and meeting in the centre--and the roll or bundle so formed, held together by a slight packthread. "The baggage should be of a close, firm, and tough nature. The material hitherto most generally used has been sail-canvas, which very ill resists bad weather on a long voyage, and when received here even in favourable condition, is so dry and crisp that it will tear like paper. A thicker twilled, more flexible, and tough material, would be preferable. The size and form of the package may be in length about nine feet, and width four feet, sewed up on the two long sides, and at one end-the other end being left open, and the sheet so formed being sus pended with the open end upwards, to receive the bundles made up as before directed, which are to be put in one at a time, one of the flat sides of the roll or bundle being put downwards, and so on in succession, being well trod down until sufficiently filled for the mouth to be closed. This is the German mode of packing; but it is doubtful whe→ ther smaller packages, of the dimensions that have been hitherto sent from the two Colonies, may not be more convenient for so long a voyage. "The operation of screwing should be discontinued where it has been practised; as the pressure by the serew, and remaining compressed during the voyage, occasions the wool to be caked and matted together in a manner that is highly prejudicial to its appearance on arrival. The practice also of winding up each fleece separately and twisting a portion into a band, is productive, in a minor degree, of the same prejudicial effect; and it is to avoid this, that the making German bundles of eight or ten fleeces is suggested. "It is very desirable that the wool should be shipped, if possible, so as to arrive in England in June."* AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIBERATED AFRICAN BY GEORGE M'HENRY, M.D., C.M.G., MEMBER OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE OF PARIS, LATE SURGEON TO THE LIBERATED AFRICAN ESTABLISHMENT AT ST. HELENA. (Continued from vol. v. p. 441.) CHAPTER III. Arrival of the first Slaves in St. Helena---Circumstances attending the Capture of the Julia---Description of Lemon Valley, the principal Station of the Liberated African Establishment---First Sight of the Inmates of the Establishment---Scene on Shore---Scene on Board the Andorinha, the Hospital Ship---Description of the Negroes in their Native Country---Their Capture by Man-stealers---Their Location in the Portuguese Barracoons, and their Treatment on Board the Slave Ships. THE first slaves, captured on the western coast of Africa, and conveyed to the island of St. Helena, were taken there by the brig "Waterwitch," on the 9th of June, 1840, and amounted to only four. On the 6th July following, the slave vessel " Andorinha," captured by the brig "Brisk," arrived with one slave on board; and on the 25th of the same month two more were added to the number, which was further increased by the accession of fifteen on the 24th of October ensuing. All these Africans, amounting to only 22, having been liberated by the judgment of the Vice-Admiralty Court, were easily disposed of as servants to the people of the island, and were consequently of little expense to the Government. On the 17th December, the slave vessel "Julia" arrived with 215 • Proceedings of Agri-Hort. Soc. of India, March, 1840, p. 16—19. negroes on board, among whom smallpox, dysentery, scurvy, and the long catalogue of diseases so common and so fatal to the African race, were committing their usual ravages. The "Julia" was taken close to the shores of Benguila, under circumstances as creditable to the British captors, as they were disgraceful to the Portuguese officers and crew of the slaver. The armed boats of the cruizer "Waterwitch" having been despatched to board her, when the Portuguese saw the boats approaching, previously to taking to their own boats, and reaching the shore in safety, they told the slaves, whom they left on board, that the English would cut their throats if they fell in their power, and advised them to throw themselves into the sea, and swim ashore to escape from the cruel death they would meet if they remained on board. Believing the accounts of British barbarity related to them, a large number of the slaves threw themselves overboard. Some of them certainly reached the shore, but only to be captured by the Portuguese there, and embarked in another slaver, which actually took place; for they were put on board the " Louiza," and she being taken and brought to St. Helena, the Africans on board were recognised by those who previously had arrived in the " Julia," much to their mutual gratification. Many, however, were not able to swim, and of these the most were drowned; but a few were saved by the exertions of the British officers and seamen, who threw themselves into the water to rescue them from death. One officer, who had been particularly active in his efforts to assist the negroes, nearly lost his life on the occasion, having become so exhausted that he would have been unable to reach the boat but for the timely assistance of a faithful and devoted Krooman. Not only able-bodied men and women among the slaves threw themselves into the sea, but so dreadful was the horror they entertained of the English, that little boys and girls imitated the example shown them by their seniors. A woman attempted to swim away from the ship with her child on her back; the child let go its hold, and though the poor mother arrived safe on shore, yet it was to suffer greater anguish, deprived of her child, as she imagined, and again reduced to bondage, than if she had remained and met the fate which she fled from. With what agreeable surprise, after her arrival at St. Helena, in the "Louiza," she discovered her child, having been brought there before her in the " Julia"! It appears, when the child became detached from its mother, and was struggling in the waves, it was picked up by a kindhearted British sailor. Some conception may be formed of the loss of lives sustained during the performance of this shocking tragedy, when it is considered that 215 Africans alone arrived at St. Helena in the " Julia," although the large number of 350 were put on board. Certainly some of them died of disease during the passage, and the whole of those who swam ashore, amounting to about 50, were subsequently put on board the "Louiza"; still an immense deficiency is left to be accounted for. Although the authorities in St. Helena had received from the officers of the cruizers, when the first of the Africans were taken there, intimation that for the future considerable numbers of them might arrive, yet no preparations had been made on the part of the former for their reception. When so large a number as 215 of them arrived, and had to be provided for immediately, the confusion that prevailed could scarcely be imagined; and the circumstance of the prevalence of smallpox amongst them, added terror to the apprehensions entertained respecting the possibility of procuring suitable accommodations for them. The officer in charge of the "Julia" was ordered to take the vessel, and drop anchor at Lemon Valley, a narrow rugged ravine on the north-west side of the island, distant about three miles from James'-town, the capital; and the Colonial Secretary, the Collector of Customs, and the Colonial Surgeon, were instructed to repair thither, and examine the locality, if favourable for a depôt of the newly-imported Africans. They reported favourably of the place, and it was in consequence selected for the site of the principal station of the Liberated African Establishment. Lemon Valley is one of those singular ravines that abound in St. Helena, and are there dignified with the name of vales. They are characterised by the wildness and grandeur of the stupendous precipices that form their sides, where no vegetation grows except stunted wiregrass, and by the dreary aspect of the ground below, strewed everywhere with stones and rocks, detached from the hills above: through the centre of the ravines a small stream generally flows, clothed with a sheet of verdure from being filled with the spontaneous growth of watercresses, or vivifying the arid earth around with patches of the Arum esculentum (the St. Helena yam), rock rose, thorn apple, or purple groundsel: amongst the stones the prickly pear and the aloe love to luxuriate; while on some favoured spot, rendered fertile by the existence of a spring, the banana, fig-tree, and Indian lilac, present the most beautiful forms of vegetation, offer the most luscious fruits, and exhale the most exquisite odours. Leaping from ledge to ledge, the wild goat may be seen on the towering cliffs, the resort also of sea-birds and partridges, which, instead of stubble fields, frequent here the wildest and most dreary parts of the island, because safest there from the attacks and incursions of man; on the cliffs also the dove delights to build its nest, and its soft cooings, together with the bleating of a strayed sheep, the whistling of the averdevatt, and the chirping of the grasshoppers, are the only sounds that disturb the deathlike silence that reigns in some of these solitudes. From these ravines Lemon Valley is distinguished only by possessing a superior character for fertility. It had, in old times, when labour was cheap, from the existence of slavery on the island, been in a great part cultivated; and fields of yams, beans, and pumpkins then flourished, where nought but stones exist now; or if a few weeds grow, they are stunted and shrivelled, extracting but a precarious nourishment from the moisture around the stones, which, protecting the ground from the effects of a powerful sun, when rain falls, prevents its quick evaporation, so that the earth about the stones is not so parched up as it is in more exposed situations. A number of fine lemon trees, six of which are still remaining, were then planted, and throve remarkably well, and gave the name by which the place is designated. Lemon Valley extends about two miles and a half from the |