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Jamaica 13.

Caymanas Estates, Inc. is a large company formed by the amalgamation of six or eight planta-tions under one manager, Mr. Bonell, and a board of trustees. The former owners now own shares, but control is held by a very large landholder, Mr. Crum-Ewing. The Estates are primarily for sugarcane growing but has many acres in bananas. They must cover at least a thousand acres and employ seve-ral hundred men. A rather small sugar mill is in operation but a new and modern mill is being constructed to replace it. We went to the New Factory Lab where we were met by Miss Marjorie Bonell. We looked over the new plant, met Mr. Bonell, and then drove up to the house on a hill overlooking the Estates for lunch with Mrs. Bonell & Marjorie. 
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About the house we saw agave plants (magay) in bloom and also a fine bush of crotow. This has spear-shaped leaves about six inches long and brilliantly colored with green yellow, ochre, and reds. The hill on which is the house is of [[struckthrough error]] volcanic rock, very vesicular and apparently not extrusive. After lunch Marjorie drove us down to the old mill and showed us through it. Then
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we drove around through the same fields and banana walks in search for likely spots for future collecting. We saw cane fields of all ages from newly planted to harvested and cleared. The fields are planted [[strikethrough]] from [[/strikethrough]] with cuttings. [[strikethrough]] from the previous growth, these set in rows between the previous ones. The latter are then plowed under. [[/strikethrough]] In 12 to 18 months the cane is six to ten feet high and ready to harvest. After the stalks are cut off near the ground, the refuse and stubble is burned. The cane then comes up again from the same roots. The fields are so dense when mature as to be impenetrable except by cutting one's way with a machete. The banana walks seem too well kept for good collecting, – the undergrowth is kept down and all refuse plowed under. We spotted several areas where a few plants have "escaped" along the edges and where other plants have been allowed to thrive. We forded the Rio Cobre and noticed some promising-looking spots along it. After returning to the house for tea we dropped Marjorie at the mill and Mrs. Bonell took us eastward along a road at the edge of the hills. It winds
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