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The Lecturer then proceeded to show, and describe, the typical 
sugar-cane estates, one view representing three distinct epochs 
(1) the old mill, (2) the cattle-driven mill, and (3) the up-to-date 
steam mill. 
The best way to see the coast of Jamaica was to take the little 
steamer ‘ Delta,” which started from Kingston every Tuesday 
morning and returned every Saturday. As they came back in 
the moonlight, near to the coast, all was quiet and still and 
poetical, and they occasionally heard the cooning of some planta- 
tion song by the natives. 
One of the healthiest spots in the island was Browntown. 
Twenty-five years ago a man went there to die, and now he 
weighed 22 stones! The sacred tree of the native was the silk 
tree. To cut one of these trees was almost akin to sacrilege, and 
no nigger in his right mind would wound the bark. The canoes 
of the natives were cut out of the trunk of a tree, and could be 
navigated in seas when a steamer would be in distress. 
Continuing along the north coast road, passing typical country 
residences and native homesteads, to Antonio Bay, the scenery, 
which was intersected by the railway, gave an excellent idea of 
what a tropical primeval forest was like. The Lecturer was able 
to show views of Port Antonio, (before and after the recent 
cyclone), a place which suffered more than any other in the island. 
These views were the first which had appeared in England. It 
had been reported that Port Antonio had been ‘‘ wiped out,’ but 
that was a gross exaggeration, as was shown by the views. Many 
places had suffered considerably, but the worse wreck of all was 
the Catholic Church. The total damage to public buildings did 
not exceed £25,000, but the most serious result was not to the 
buildings, but to the banana crops, which had, to all intents and 
purposes, been destroyed. Before the next crop was ready the 
island would suffer a loss of one million pounds. Cyclones 
were rare. It was one week short of 23 years since the last 
Visitation. One result of these visitations was, that the producing 
quality of the soil was invariably improved, not only were larger 
quantities of fruit produced, but also of better quality, so that 
after all, there was some good resulting from the cyclone. 
In conclusion the Lecturer said ; ‘‘ Do you want to escape an 
English winter? Do you suffer from lung complaints? Do you 
desire to take waters equal to those of any German Spa, but 
during a winter which is like an ideal English summer ? Are you 
anglers, botanists, or archzologists ? Then go to the land of per- 
petual summer, where the advent of night does not bring a 
dangerous chill, where the air is laden with the scent of fruit and 
flowers, where the fireflies light up the night, and all is “ dolce far 
niente ’’—in one word, Jamaica.” 
