4 TRINIDAD. 



hardly within the scope of these pages. I may here, however, as 

 well enregister mv conviction that Trinidad like other fertile 

 tropical countries will, from its own boundless luxuriance, never 

 nourish a very industrious population. 



The general character of our flora approaches that of Guiana; 

 partaking, however, more or less, of that of the West India islands, 

 in general, as will appear hereafter. The botanical traveller 

 will therefore find the works of Aublet as useful and necessary to 

 him in his researches as those of Swartz, Bonpland, and Kunth. 

 This is, however, not to be understood in the sense that we 

 have absolutely the same species of plants that grow in and charac- 

 terise Guiana and the Antilles, for I have found this to be true 

 in respect of genera only ; but as genera, in most cases, exhibit 

 the same vegetative characteristics in all, or most of their species, 

 this is quite sufficient to demonstrate and explain the similarity of 

 general aspect between our island, its continental neighbour, and 

 the sister-islands. 



With regard to species, I must say that of them I have not 

 been able to determine a great number, and have, therefore, 

 limited myself to giving in the annexed catalogue the names of 

 genera only. Species can only be determined with absolute accu- 

 racy in large cities, where collections of plants, and libraries of 

 reference, can supply all comparative informations. I could 

 give only approximate determinations, which would prove of no 

 real use ; I have, therefore, preferred giving none. 



The lists of species which I have seen of other islands, such as 

 JBarbadoes and St. Thomas, fully corroborate the truth of what I 

 assert ; for they are replete w ith errors of all sorts, merely because 

 the writers thought it incumbent on them to particularise the 

 species. 



Forest-growths take the most predominant place in our vegeta- 

 tion ; and that which at once strikes the European on reaching our 

 shores, is the multiplied variety of forms and foliage they present. 

 A large number of families contribute their quota to these forma- 

 tions ; among which may be mentioned Palms and Lauracea?, 

 Rubiaceae and Apocynaceae, Verbenaceae and Cordiacese, Myr- 

 sinaceae and Sapotaceoo; as also Ebenacea% Myristieaceaa, and 

 Anonaeeae, Capparidaceae, Malvaceae, and Sterculiaceae ; with 

 Tiliaceae, Ternstromiaceae and Clusiaceae, Meliaceae and Oedre- 

 laceae, Malpighiaceae and Sapindaceae, Euphorbiaceaj and Bur- 



