56 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



Later, as the land gradually emerged from the sea, water would 

 accumulate in the hollows, river systems would be formed, and 

 the finer ddbris brought down from the interior would be con- 

 tinuously deposited, forming soils suitable for the growth of 

 plants. 



Where the original quartzy rocks, in the form of a bold con- 

 glomerate, gravel or fine sand derived from the central zone, 

 appear on the surface, they give rise to extensive tracts of 

 undulating, or comparatively level country, known locally as 

 " pine-ridges," so called from the prevalence upon them of trees 

 of the yellow pine (Pinus cubensis). 



These tracts, as may be expected, possess a shallow, poor 

 soil ; and they are covered only by hardy, coarse grasses, of little 

 value for pasturing purposes except in a young succulent state. 

 The pines mentioned above are dotted over the country in small 

 clumps or singly, giving it an open, park-like appearance. 

 Associated with the clumps of pine-trees is a small, slender, 

 fan-leaved palm, known locally as " pimento thatch " : the stem 

 of this palm, after being cleaned of its investing coat of fibre, is 

 used for fences, sides of houses, and generally, where a tough, 

 slender pole is required. Another common " pine-ridge " plant 

 in the south is the " crabboe," which yields a kind of plum or 

 cherry, sometimes used for food, and whose bark is used for 

 tanning ; as, also, the " haha," a wild fig, whose leaves are so 

 rough that they are an excellent substitute for sandpaper. To 

 the west, in the neighbourhood of Eoaring Creek, the ordinary 

 pine-ridge plants give place to groves of oak (probably Quercus 

 mrens). Some of these oaks attain great size, often measuring 

 50 feet to the first branches, and correspondingly large in girth. 

 The pine-ridges of the colony occupy slightly rising country, 

 generally at some distance inland from the rivers and the coast. 

 In the north there is a large pine-ridge running north, between 



