brought from, the Island of Jamaica. 455 



In the eastern part of this district there is much forest land 

 that has never been under cultivation, and the elevation is 

 considerable, compared with the western part. The Carpen- 

 ter and Mayday mountains being about 2500 feet above the 

 level of the sea. The principal cultivation in this part is cof- 

 fee. The fences are either stone walls or posts and rails, 

 but few live fences, it being too cold at that height for log- 

 wood or pinguin to be advantageously planted. The walls 

 here also are a favourite habitat for ferns, but of different spe- 

 cies, except in one or two instances, from those found in the 

 western part. The fern that I most frequently foimd in the 

 western part was Cheilanthes microphylla, Sw. ; with occa- 

 sionally, but not often, Poly podium incanum, Sw. In the 

 eastern part the fern that was in the greatest abundance in 

 similar situations, (stone walls), was the very graceful Poly- 

 podium pectinatum, Linn., in company with P. incanum, and 

 two new species which are described below. 



Another favourite place of growth for ferns is the horizon- 

 tal branches of Bombax Ceiba, Linn., the towering silk-cot- 

 ton tree, which are always crowded with Filices, Orchidacece, 

 Bromeliacece, Aroidece, &c, forming beautiful gardens at a 

 considerable elevation above one's head. One thing that 

 struck me as very singular in these parasitic ferns was, that 

 the form of the fronds was always either simple or pinnate, 

 and I never observed a fern with a multifid frond grow- 

 ing in similar situations. I do not mean to assert that ferns 

 with multifid fronds do not grow on trees, but certainly 1 ne- 

 ver observed them, although I often searched. 



The richest collections of ferns are generally to be found 

 on the sides of roads cut through the forests, each side being 

 generally densely clothed with filical rarities in such abun- 

 dance, that a newly-arrived botanist cannot but be struck 

 with wonder at such a display of ferns, mostly unknown to 

 him ; and he is enabled to make a plentiful collection at a 

 trifling expenditure of labour. 



In the primaeval forests where the Bombax, Cedrela, and 

 Ficus grow to the enormous size of from 25 to 36 feet in cir- 

 cumference, and often from 50 to 60 feet in height before the 

 branches break forth, the tree ferns appear most to luxuriate. 

 In the district where I resided I never saw one above 25 feet 

 in height ; in fact, the average height is about 18 feet, with a 

 caudex of 6 inches in diameter : but in the Port Royal and 

 Liguanea mountains they attain a much greater altitude. — 

 They are very splendid in certain wooded districts, and ex- 

 ceedingly beautiful in their form ; the segments of their mul- 

 tifid fronds, moving with the slightest breath of air, are con- 



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