l!'> CUBA AND POltTO RICO 



greens of the bamboo patches rustling like feathery plu- 

 mage, the dark evergreens of the pimento- and mango-trees, 

 the old gray-greens of the orchid-decked ceibas, and the 



splashes here and there of growing cane-fields of an inde- 

 scribable pale turquoise-blue green, adding lighter touches 

 to the emerald background of the forest setting, overwhelm 

 one with a beauty which changes with every passing cloud 

 or angle of the sun into wonderful blues, purples, and 

 olive tints. 



This gentler aspect of the landscape is not diminished 

 by the touch of man. The well-built roads, the neat stone 

 walls, the comfortable homes of the planters, the sleek, 

 browsing cattle, add to the beauties of the tropical land- 

 scape the charms of the English countryside. 



Although the flora of Jamaica is of the same tropical 

 character as that of Cuba and Porto Rico, already de- 

 scribed, it has certain local variations. Everywhere there 

 is a wealth of trees mangos, ceibas, wild oranges, palms, 

 plantains, and many others. One looks in vain, however, 

 for the royal palm, the pride of Cuba; but in its place 

 Jamaica possesses the pimento- (Pimenta officinalis) or 

 allspice-tree, which grows nowhere else. The giant ceiba, 

 the Jamaica cedar, the logwood, and fustic are other 

 common trees. Grasses, orchids, and small flowers 

 abound. Begonias and ferns border the roadsides, and 

 tradescantia covers the stone walls. This flora shows 

 considerable variation in different parts of the island. On 

 the southern coast, at the foot of the mountains, it is of 

 an arid type, comprising many species of thorny acacias, 

 including the mesquit of our own southwestern chap- 

 arral, and a tall species of cactus of the Cereus tribe. 

 Other than these, there is hardly a plant on the island 

 which has a thorn. In the western portion much of the 

 country has the aspect of an open forest carpeted with 

 grass. In this portion the pimento abounds, the pro- 

 duct of which our commercial allspice is a source of 

 much revenue to the island. Besides the native flora, 



