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Montserrat 22. talk for nearly two hours. Mr Wilson told me a lot concerning the cotton leaf worms. They produce two or three generations during a cotton season and if not checked in the first will increase to such an extent as to completely denude entire fields. It is not known whether the insects winter over in some form. He also described the history, etc. of the Montserrat Company. About 1838, one [[strikethrough]]Stug[[/strikethrough]] Sturge came to the West Indies in connection with the abolition of slavery. He was a Quaker, and bought a plantation in Montserrat to prove to the local people that "free labor" could be used successfully. By 1890-odd, the son and some other members of the family had organized a company, controlled entirely within the family. They were planters, commission agents, steamer agents, bankers, etc., etc., practically controlling everything that went on. Their policy was to aid the peasants as much as possible, and still involves a type of profit-sharing with laborers. Since the war they have dropped everything but the plantations, selling limes and cotton to all parts of the world direct. all the business is carried on in England, and I gather that Wilson is the local manager. [[end page]] [[start page]] Montserrat 23, final. We found out that the trunk didn't have to go down till tomorrow morning. Spent the evening at packing and went to bed early. (VII-27-36) Got up at 6 A.M. and finished all the packing before 7:30. The men came at 8 o'clock for the baggage, and Miss Gillie presented the bill. She had made a reduction of 50 cents a day; we were both surprised and pleased. It saved us seven dollars. We gave the tips to the maids and waiter and gave the dog a final back-scratching. [[Then?]] walked to town, mailed letters, saw the agent, left a note for Mr. Moir, and came aboard. Paid the man who brought our baggage and helped back the motor 10/-. The morning seemed rather warm on shore, but we soon cooled off on board. The boat is full, so we don't have a cabin. It's only till after lunch, so it doesn't matter much. Sailed at 11 A.M. It didn't seem rough, but I felt unusually unsteady. On SS. Lady Nelson. Half an hour later we passed to the east of Redonda. It is very rugged, quite steep, uninhabited, and a dependency of Antigua.
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