BOTANICAL GARDENS OF JAMAICA MAXON. 529 



as a staple crop in the Blue Mountain region. Seeds of three species 

 of cinchona (C. succirubra, C. nitida, and C. rrdcrantha) had been 

 received from Kew by Wilson in 1861 and plants raised from these 

 set out at various points in the mountains. This preliminary plant- 

 ing resulted so favorably that in 1868 a tract of approximately 600 

 acres, located upon the moist upper slopes of the Blue Mountains, 

 at 4,000 to 6,000 feet, 16 to 20 miles northeast of Kingston, was set 

 aside and partially planted to cinchona. At various later times ad- 

 ditional neighboring territory was acquired for this and other ex- 

 perimental purposes until the initial tract was greatly extended. 

 Owing to the unforeseen and disastrous competition of the East 

 Indies, however, the quinine industry was never a great success in 

 Jamaica, although the growth and yield of the trees fully justified 

 the expectation of those who had initiated the enterprise. 



Besides efforts directed to the cultivation of cinchona, attention 

 was given to the introduction and selection of various vegetables — 

 such as peas, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, and 

 beets — suited to temperate tropical regions, and of various fodder 

 and fiber-yielding plants, as well as fruit trees of temperate climates. 

 The idea of a garden in the cool moist hill country for the propaga- 

 tion of European vegetables had, indeed, been conceived as early as 

 1774, by Sir Basil Keith. The project as finally achieved a century 

 later proved successful in many ways, and the Hill Gardens, or 

 " Cinchona," as the place came to be generally called, became and 

 for many years remained the headquarters of the Department of 

 Public Gardens and Plantations, from which work in other parts of 

 the island was directed. Excellent administrative .and residential 

 bungalow quarters ( Belle vue House) had been established on an out- 

 lying southern spur at 5,000 feet elevation, commanding an almost 

 unobstructed view in three directions and somewhat protected on the 

 north by Sir John's Peak, John Crow Peak, and the lofty connecting 

 ridges which here form the backbone of the Blue Mountains. These 

 were carefully maintained also during a later period, after agri- 

 cultural and horticultural activities had been centered at Hope 

 Gardens. In 1903, following the virtual abandonment of active work 

 at Cinchona, the buildings and about 10 acres of adjacent land were 

 rented to the New York Botanical Garden, which with the enthu- 

 siastic approbation of a large number of botanists of both this 

 country and Europe at once carried out a plan, long cherished, of 

 establishing a botanical laboratory in some accessible part of tropical 

 North America. The arrangement then begun continued for 10 

 years, during which period many important studies, mainly syste- 

 matic and physiological, upon the flora of the region were carried on. 

 Since 1913 the property has been leased for one year by the British 

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