TRANSACTIONS 
THE CROYDON NATURAL HISTORY AND 
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 
1902-1903. 
2.—A Trip to tHe West Inpizs. 
By James Epps, Jon., F.L.S. 
(Read December 16th, 1902.) 
The eventful day arrived, and it appeared as if I should at last 
have the opportunity of seeing with my own eyes Trinidad, the 
island"that I had for years looked forward to beholding, of which 
I had heard so much, and of which I had drawn so many 
beautiful fairy pictures; and more, it was the island in which 
our firm was interested, as producing the chief article of its 
manufacture. 
The West Indies are not so difficult to reach as one might be 
led to suppose. Every winter the Royal Mail Steam Packet 
_ Company now issues sixty days’ excursion tickets to the West 
Indies, and those who have no special liking for fogs, frost, snow, 
and cold north-easterly winds will find it a most enjoyable trip. 
The best time for starting is the end of November, or early in 
December, for two reasons—first, the weather, as a rule, is not 
so boisterous as it often is later in the new year; and secondly, 
the weather in the islands has commenced to get dry and sunny, 
after their five months of wet season. 
_ The dry season in Trinidad extends from December until the 
end of May; about that time the weather breaks; a thunderstorm 
and slight earthquake are the usual forerunners. The wind 
during the dry season is constant, varying very little from east 
in the morning to south-east in the evening. The temperature 
epends a great-deal on the elevation. It varies, during the dry 
B 
