512 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Sept., 



Chester except what is collected in the cattle pools and drinking water 

 cisterns, but the washing of the surface by torrential rains has had its 

 effect in shaping the topography. The rain water, however, soon 

 passes underground, and these underground waters have honeycombed 

 the limestones, forming numerous caves and pipes in the limestone 

 and resulting in sinks and "cockpits," so that the entire surface is 

 covered with cup-shaped valleys, more or less surrounded by hills, and 

 is very uneven, a few acres of level ground being rarely found. The 

 hills are generally steep, in many places limestone cliffs of 20 to 50 

 feet high rising abruptly on their slopes ; the hill-tops very frequently 

 show base rock in places. On this account the hill-tops have often been 

 left covered by jungle except where the wood was needed for fire-wood, 

 etc. ; but even these are often cleared, especially on the lower ground 

 towards William sfield and Porus, and to a less degree along the roads 

 towards Kendal, so that only fruit trees or occasional shade trees 

 remain. 



Along the William sfield road, at Wesley Mount Church, and on the 

 parish roads to the south in the direction of Porus to Sterridge's Place 

 and beyond, as well as along the Newport road running out of Mande- 

 ville to the south, most of the hills have been cleared of trees and 

 large patches of woods are not common, but a few bits of the original 

 forest remain. Such are the woods at Benin ore and at the King 

 Edward Hotel and the woods opposite Cedar Hill. The species ob- 

 tained at Wesley Mount Church were from the roadside on the lime- 

 stone sand and rock and at the base of the limestone walls. These 

 limestone walls are a feature of the region; they line the roads every- 

 where. They are built from the stone gathered in the adjoining field, 

 without plaster, and as the limestone weathers soon become the home 

 of numerous species of snails. Much of the roadside collecting is 

 from the walls, especially after a rain, when the animals crawl out on 

 the surface of the walls and may be gathered in quantities. At 

 Sturridge's the country has been completely denuded of trees and the 

 small collection made there came entirely from the walls. At Cedar 

 Hill there are no trees, the collection was taken from a low limestone 

 cut about ten feet high along the roadside. The Bloomfield colony 

 lives on a similar cut. and a steep hillside rising above it, where some 

 trees shade the road. These conditions continue for about one-third 

 of a mile. Garrett's woods is a hill top covered with almost untouched 

 virgin forest, but is only some five or six acres in extent. The speci- 

 mens from the Lower Santa Cruz road are from small roadside cuts, 

 some in limestone and some in the red residual clay from its weathering, 



