82 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1904. 



The lover of plants will find at Hope Gardens and at Castleton 

 much that will be of interest. Palms will be fomid that are 

 veritable trees. The pandanus, century plant, oleander, jus- 

 ticia, acacia, dracena, begonia, araucaria and the croton in all 

 its beautiful tints are here in great numbers. At Castleton 

 Gardens the rainfall for twenty-six years has averaged 113 

 inches per year, while on the south side of the Blue Mountains 

 at Kingston only 30 inches falls, and that too in a distance 

 of about twenty miles. 



The bamboo serves many useful purposes. It forms a very 

 important part in the construction of the natives' houses; 

 growing by the roadside it forms an interesting feature. The 

 African bamboo has a very peculiar habit of twisting its growth 

 in toward the trunk, then upward, forming an impenetrable 

 mass of growth. 



In Mandeville, at an elevation of 2,000 feet, is probably the 

 most comfortable sp,ot for the tourist, a place that in some 

 ways reminds one of an English village. The people are most 

 hospitable and take great pleasure in showing attention to 

 American guests. This is the home of oranges, grape-fruit and 

 coffee, the first two most luscious and the other the best in 

 the world after it has been properly cured. Unfortunately the 

 natives use the coffee green antl make it so strong that it is 

 not liked very well by the traveler. Here and at Kingston 

 we find the most interesting markets. We shall miss a great 

 deal if we do not visit these places on market-day, when the 

 people for miles around come to market, laden with their 

 scanty products to barter for other goods. The women carry 

 everything on their heads, frequently requiring assistance to 

 place in position the loads which they are able to carry for 

 a long distance. The little children are trained to first balance 

 an empty pail or basket and then to increase their load. It 

 is not uncommon to see young women carry a can holding 

 five gallons of water and hardly spill a drop. When their load 

 is too large the donkey is calletl into service, and on these 

 market-days there will be seen several hundred coralled near by 

 while their owners are busily engaged in disposing of their wares. 



