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Zoological Jamaica 



THE Inst day of April 1896 found the Marine Laboratory of the 

 Johns Hopkins University settled at Port Henderson, Jamaica. 

 From the porch of the little cottage we occupied, one looks straight 

 up Kingston harbour, where, seven miles away, lies the commercial 

 capital of the island. Beyond the city rises Long Mountain, behind 

 which the Port Royal hills show green and rugged ; and, forming a 

 background to the whole picture, tower the lofty Blue Mountains, 

 with the Peak capping all. At early morning when the dawn 

 comes up from behind that range, or late in the afternoon when the 

 setting sun lights up with endless variety the ravines and gorges of 

 the Port Pioyal hills, the scene passes description, and we constantly 

 assured each other that a lovelier spot could not be found. Back 

 of the cottage, the Salt Pond hills, surmounted by Rodney's lookout, 

 separate us from the large salt-ponds, which lie a few miles down 

 the coast. 



The district around Port Henderson is one of the driest in 

 Jamaica, and cacti form one of the most striking features of the 

 landscape. These dry hills have a characteristic fauna, consisting 

 largely of birds and lizards. The latter are very abundant, of half 

 a dozen species, nearly all of which are handsomely coloured. At 

 least two of them lay their eggs in the angles of the stem of the 

 large cacti, called ' dildoes,' where they are safely protected by the 

 thick, sharp thorns. Hermit-crabs and the large white land-crab 

 are also abundant on these hills, and scorpions and centipedes are 

 common under the rocks and logs. The white ants or termites are 

 very common in the neighbourhood of Port Henderson and their 

 large brown ' nests ' are to be seen on all sides. These latter are 

 excellent material, when dry, for a smudge to drive away mosquitoes, 

 which are not wholly absent, though they seldom become much of a 

 nuisance. 



Although bats are occasionally seen at dusk and may be found 

 in the caves during the day, the only common mammal, so far as 

 our observations went, was the mongoose, which we often saw very 

 near the house. The most interesting bird is a mocking-bird, 

 peculiar to Jamaica, and said to occur at no other point on the 

 island. The night-hawk, called by the natives ' Gie-me-a-bit ' from 



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