BOTANICAL GARDENS OF JAMAICA MAXON. 533 



driveways bordered with thriving exotic palms of varied habit and 

 foliage, shrubs massed in profusion along the borders of the grounds 

 as far as the eye can distinguish and forming arbors over many of 

 the walks, and a wonderful display of trees of many kinds growing 

 singly or in groups, brought together from all the tropics. The 

 luxuriance and perfection of growth is owing largely to irrigation 

 from the Hope Reservoirs. There are ferneries, both open and 

 under glass, orchid houses, propagating houses, and, above all, a 

 wonderful double row of divi-divi trees (Caesalpinia coriaria) be- 

 neath which is an almost unrivaled collection of living epiphytic 

 orchids, assembled through years of exchange. One of the most 

 interesting trees is the native lacebark {Lagetta lintearia), confined 

 to Jamaica, whose inner bark, beaten out into a strong and beautiful 

 lace-like cloth and made up into various ornaments, is thoroughly 

 familiar to the tourist. 



At one end of the gardens is located the director's residence, and 

 near the middle the administration building, a two-story structure 

 which contains the offices, library, and herbarium. The herbarium 

 is nearly complete in its representation of the native Jamaican ferns 

 and flowering plants, the collection and study of which have always 

 received special attention. 



From an old " sugar estate " Hope has developed into an establish- 

 ment of first importance, known the world over. Its influence in 

 the island has already been mentioned. There remains to acknowl- 

 edge with gratitude the courtesies which have invariably been ex- 

 tended to American visitors in increasing numbers for 20 years past, 

 both tourists and special investigators of the flora or economic prod- 

 ucts of the island. 



OTHER GARDENS. 



Besides the gardens already described there are two which require 

 brief mention. The first is the Kingston Victoria Park, sometimes 

 known as the Parade Garden, situated in the heart of populous 

 Kingston, the seat of government and now as for centuries past the 

 principal port of the island. It is 60 feet above sea level and em- 

 braces 7 acres planted to flowering shade trees and palms, with 

 borders of ornamental shrubs and herbaceous flowering plants. It 

 is lighted by electric light in the evenings, and affords a fine recrea- 

 tion ground for the inhabitants of Kingston. The annual mean 

 temperature here is 79°, and the average annual rainfall is slightly 

 less than 32 inches. 



King's House garden and grounds comprise the inclosed tract of 

 ground surrounding King's House, the official residence of the gov- 

 ernor of Jamaica, 4 miles from Kingston on the road to Hope, at an 

 elevation of 400 feet. The mean temperature here is about that of 



