For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from an illness of
long standing, and I was suddenly called to join in the mournful
procession to her grave. This was indeed a loss which I deeply
deplored.
At length death left the little settlement, and a ray of sunshine
shone through the gloom which would have made many despond.
Fortune smiled upon everything. Many acres of forest were
cleared, and the crops succeeded each other in rapid succession.
I had, however, made the discovery that without manure nothing
would thrive. This had been a great disappointment, as much
difficulty lay in procuring the necessary item.
Had the natural pasturage been good, it would soon have been an
easy matter to procure any amount of manure by a corresponding
number of cattle; but, as it happened, the natural pasturage was
so bad that no beast could thrive upon it. Thus everything, even
grass-land, had to be manured; and, fortunately, a cargo of guano
having arrived in the island, we were enabled to lay down some
good clover and seeds.
The original idea of cultivation, driving the forests from the
neighborhood of Newera Ellia, was therefore dispelled. Every
acre of land must be manured, and upon a large scale at Newera
Ellia that is impossible.
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