=Sugar=, the chief source of revenue for the colony, in slavery days brought great wealth to the planters; but after the emancipation some estates were divided, the negroes refused to work steadily if at all, and production greatly declined. At length East Indians who were imported helped to revive the industry. Of 105,000 agricultural laborers 73,000 are East Indians. The plantations are mostly in the coastal lowlands where 77,000 acres are cultivated. Attention to the dams needed to keep out the sea in front and water from the morass at the side, also to the drainage ditches, necessary on account of the sudden rains, occasionally ten inches a day, adds much to the labor, as they demand incessant care. The value of the product in 1916 including sugar and rum was estimated at $15,000,000 or more. Demerara sugar has long been famous; the soil is extremely fertile. =Rice=, to which 60,000 acres are devoted, and which the East Indians especially consume, is next to sugar in importance. Formerly 39,000,000 pounds were imported annually, while in 1916, about 70,000,000 pounds were produced and 30,000,000 exported. The largest producer is an American company. The value of the rice exported in 1916 was over $1,000,000. The quality is superior to the East Indian. =Coconuts.= Increasing attention is paid to raising coconuts. Thirty thousand acres of the trees, which seem to enjoy the sea breeze, have been planted. In one year 2,000,000 nuts and 180,000 pounds of copra, dried coconut, were exported, also coconut oil, the value of all the products shipped being $45,000. This will be greatly increased when all the trees come into bearing. =Cacao.= The culture of cacao, as yet unimportant, is increasing. It grows well in the river bottoms of the forest region, but does not like the sea breezes. It may, however, be protected from these on the coast lands by a wind break of tall trees. =Coffee= also has been neglected though about 240,000 pounds were exported in 1914. Its quality is said to be equal to that of Trinidad or Caracas. =Pará rubber= is cultivated in plantations on river lands and immediately back of the coast, more than 6000 acres being planted; but as yet little has been exported. The =plantain=, beloved by the negro, and praised for its food value, is grown in enormous quantities. The unripe fruit is usually eaten boiled, but is better fried, or roasted and buttered. Sliced, dried, and ground, it is thought by some to be superior to arrowroot or sago. Other tropical fruits might be grown for export, oranges, limes, mangoes, pineapples, _sapodilla_ called luscious, guava, _cassava_ biscuit, etc. The _saouri_ nut which grows in the forest one writer calls the most delicious nut in the world. FORESTS