Chapter 55: Colonial development

America, on the island of Grenada, this is the tenth month after the arrival of the colonists. Grenada is a tropical island and it is hot all year round. Therefore, the agriculture here is little affected by the season. Because all seasons here are the same. In other words, there is no other season here, only summer.

Last September, when the first batch of 400 immigrants arrived in Grenada, they started the difficult land reclamation work. Fortunately, the local Arawak people welcome their arrival. After Americo left Grenada, the Arawak village was once again attacked by cannibal Caribbeans. However, with the help of the simple fortifications left by Amerigo, and the help of metal spears and 10 bows, the small village of Arawak called Bukas once again repelled the enemy's attack.

When the 400 immigrant boys arrived, they were warmly welcomed by the Bucas tribe. The Bukas tribe arranged the immigrants warmly on the edge of their villages. When the young immigrants began logging and opening up farmland, the Bukas people came to help enthusiastically.

Moreover, in the surprise eyes of the Bukas, the bricklayers who came with the ship built a huge yard with the bricks and cement they brought. There are suggested walls around it that can be used for defense.

When the Caribbean again attacked, the immigrants easily repelled the enemy's attack by relying on the large yard with cement walls and the firearms and bows they brought. Even when the Caribbean killed, Marlin appointed the Governor of Grenada, the old George (Old Knight Hoffman's knight servant, who could read and write), and also put the local Bucass in and let them come to take refuge.

But I did not expect that after the Bucas entered the compound, some refused to leave ...

The Burkas patriarch Rabeli strongly requested George to repair a large yard like this for the Burkas, so that the safety of the Burkas could be guaranteed.

Even, in order to get a safe place, the Bukas Zhanglabury, who is already in his 50s, was tumbling in front of George, a few years younger than him, just to have a defensive courtyard.

Old George couldn't help crying, so he could only promise him first. Then, he wrote a letter and brought it back to Europe through the returning ship, hoping that Marin could allocate more cement. As for the bricks, it is easy to handle. You can set up an earthen kiln to burn them.

Then, the old George first took the boys and used the bricks fired in the newly built earthen kiln to help the Bukas and build a large yard beside the immigration yard. It's just that the big yard of the Bukas, with only bricks and yellow mud, was not covered with cement. If you want to apply cement, you have to wait for the cement transferred by Marin.

Of course, old George did not forget the business. After arriving in Grenada, he first sent people to clear out a small piece of land, planted the sugar cane seedlings purchased from the Madeira Islands in Portugal, and urged the Berber slaves to take care of them carefully.

After all, Marin had confessed to old George and planting sugar cane, which is a very important task for Grenada ...

There are not many sugarcane seedlings purchased from Madeira, only enough to plant two acres of land. However, as long as these seedlings are served well, more plants will definitely be planted in the future.

Old George is the person Marin believed, so Marlin also told him the secret of making fertilizer. Therefore, in the Fort Grenada colony of Fort George, all immigrants must go to the toilet. Then, the feces will be collected by several close-knit serfs brought by old George, and taken to a secret place, mixed with grass and ash, and then air-dried and hardened, waiting to be used as fertilizer. In fact, the governors of the three colonies are all people trusted by Marin. The production of fertilizers is basically controlled by them. No one else can interfere.

Later, when Columbus came back, the spice seeds, rice seeds and Indian pariah slaves brought back were also sent to Grenada.

Then, the old George arranged these Indian pariahs to plant the spice seeds and rice in a free space. Of course, the area is not large. Even though the largest area of ​​rice is planted, only 5 acres are planted. The seeds of other spices are basically planted in a small plot, and some do not even have an acre of land.

As for the problem of cutting trees, here is also difficult. However, the only advantage is that the Grenada region cuts trees, instead of moving the whole tree to a certain place, it is directly broken down into small pieces on the spot. Because Grenada is tropical, there are no oak trees. There may be precious wood suitable for shipbuilding, but Marin didn't know or understand, so he didn't ask to stay. Therefore, local trees are directly cut down and then broken down into small pieces.

However, it is too difficult to dig the roots of those thousand-year-old trees. It's been 10 months, and even with the help of the Bucas, the immigrants have reclaimed 1,200 mu of cultivated land. Without these big trees, hundreds of immigrants must have reclaimed thousands of acres of arable land.

In addition, the old George also found that there was a big problem-that is, European cattle are not well adapted to the hot and humid tropical climate. Hundreds of young men who immigrated, including the old George who was born as a knight servant, were all very good, and there was no problem. It was those cattle bought in Poland that probably adapted to the cold climate of Poland, but not to the tropical climate of Grenada. Of the 200 cattle brought by Marin's ship, 90 died of illness. Of course, the remaining 110 Polish cattle have gradually adapted to the local tropical climate.

When the old George's report was sent to Marin, Marin wondered-did he get some buffalo in the past?

Because yellow cattle are not well adapted to paddy field farming. After learning that Columbus brought the rice seeds back and sent them to Grenada, Marin was actually very happy. Because he can eat rice in the future.

Moreover, Grenada is a tropical island, hotter than Hainan Island. The rice there is cooked three times a year, not a problem at all. Only, there is a problem. That is, oxen are not suitable for cultivating paddy fields, and rotten hoofs easily. Moreover, cattle are afraid of water, and no buffalo adapt to tropical regions.

So, Marin wondered if he was going to get some buffalo. In the Nagazi region of India, rice has been grown, and there are naturally buffaloes. So, next time you go to India, buy a buffalo suitable for tropical areas? Yellow cattle can be used as beef cattle in tropical regions. In hot and humid areas, the service cattle are over. Unless, do n’t use them to cultivate rice paddy fields ...

……

Not to mention the Grenada area, the islands of Amerigo and Cape Breton, it is very smooth. In addition to the trouble of cutting down trees and digging up roots, agricultural activities started smoothly. There was no problem with the cattle being transported. Because the climate here is very similar to that of Poland, and cattle are very comfortable.

It is conceivable that the harvest season in September ~ www.wuxiaspot.com ~ will definitely have a good harvest of rye in these two places. As for soybeans, Americo Island has also tried planting, and the situation is somewhat unsatisfactory. Because it is an Indian variety, it may be used to tropical climates and less used to temperate climates. Therefore, the germination rate of soybeans on Amerigo Island is only 60%, and the growth is also general. It's a one-acre trial planted soybean on the island of Grenada. The growth is very good. It is worthy of the tropical zone, with a similar climate to India.

However, Marin attaches more importance to the cultivation of soybeans in North America. Although the soybeans on the island of Amerigo grow generally, they at least prove that they can be grown here. At that time, after the autumn harvest, Marin can pick out the best-growing soybeans and continue to plant seeds. A few generations later, these soybeans have adapted to the North American climate.

After all, planting soybeans in the future must depend on the vast land of North America. And it is absolutely wasteful to use so little land in Grenada to grow soybeans. There, sugar cane, spices, and rice are the most important things to grow ...

Moreover, Grenada's first batch of **** is already ripe. Old George arranged for 1,000 pounds of **** to be shipped back to Europe for Marin to enjoy.

In fact, Marin succeeded in growing **** in the glass greenhouse outside the city of Aurich, and there was no need for **** in the colony. However, Grenada's ability to produce **** in quantity is also gratifying. Because **** is also expensive, it can be used as a commodity and sold to others. The growth cycle of other spices is too long, Marin may not be able to wait. But **** can mature in about five months. Marin can grow **** in Grenada and sell it in Europe. The price of **** is now comparable to other spices in Europe. By selling ginger, Marin can make a lot of money ... Not to mention, since Marin saved Prince Juan with **** brown sugar water, **** has become a valuable medicinal material and the sales are greatly good ...