THE  GUIANAS

195

Banking  is  done  through  Canada  and
London;  banks  in  these  places  having  branches
in  Georgetown  and  selling  exchange  on  New
York.  English  or  American  money  is  used.
Sugar  is  the  great  crop  here  and  rum,  a  byproduct ­
  from  the  sugar  cane,  the  next  largest.
Cattle  might  be  raised  extensively.  The  forests ­
  are  rich  in  cabinet  woods.  Cocoa,  rice,
bananas,  rubber  and  cocoanuts  could  be  more
extensively  grown.  There  are  some  gold  and
a  few  diamond  mines  in  operation.  This
colony  could  be  much  more  highly  developed.
The  business  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands
of  the  British,  England  selling  about  65  per
cent,  of  its  requirements  and  the  United  States
25  per  cent.
They  import  bags  and  sacks,  boots  and
shoes,  flour,  corn  meal,  coal,  drugs  and  medicines, ­
  vegetables,  hardware,  machinery,
clothes,  textiles,  oils,  wines  and  liquors,
tobacco,  cigars  and  cigarettes.
Georgetown  is  the  only  town  to  visit,  and  is
best  reached  by  either  one  of  the  several
steamers  sailing  from  Trinidad  or  Barbados.