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Zoological Jamaica 
HE last day of April 1896 found the Marine Laboratory of the 
Johns Hopkins University settled at Port Henderson, Jamaica. 
From the porch of the little cottage we occupied, one looks straight 
up Kingston harbour, where, seven miles away, lies the commercial 
capital of the island. Beyond the city rises Long Mountain, behind 
which the Port Royal hills show green and rugged; and, forming a 
background to the whole picture, tower the lofty Blue Mountains, 
with the Peak capping all. At early morning when the dawn 
comes up from behind that range, or late in the afternoon when the 
setting sun lights up with endless variety the ravines and gorges of 
the Port Royal hills, the scene passes description, and we constantly 
assured each other that a lovelier spot could not be found. Back 
of the cottage, the Salt Pond hills, surmounted by Rodney’s lookout, 
separate us from the large salt-ponds, which he a few miles down 
the coast. 
The district around Port Henderson is one of the driest in 
Jamaica, and cacti form one of the most striking features of the 
landscape. These dry hills have a characteristic fauna, consisting 
largely of birds and lizards. The latter are very abundant, of half 
a dozen species, nearly all of which are handsomely coloured. At 
least two of them lay their eggs in the angles of the stem of the 
large cacti, called ‘ dildoes, where they are safely protected by the 
thick, sharp thorns. Hermit-crabs and the large white land-crab 
are also abundant on these hills, and scorpions and centipedes are 
common under the rocks and logs. The white ants or termites are 
very common in the neighbourhood of Port Henderson and their 
large brown ‘nests’ are to be seen on all sides, These latter are 
excellent material, when dry, for a smudge to drive away mosquitoes, 
which are not wholly absent, though they seldom become much of a 
nuisance. 
Although bats are occasionally seen at dusk and may be found 
in the caves during the day, the only common mammal, so far as 
our observations went, was the mongoose, which we often saw very 
near the house. The most interesting bird is a mocking-bird, 
peculiar to Jamaica, and said to occur at no other point on the 
island. The night-hawk, called by the natives ‘Gie-me-a-bit’ from 
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