270 



A FLYING TRIP TO JAMAICA 



and polite, and really saved us days of hard work in what they fur- 

 nished us. 



The printed matter was good, but we wanted to see rubber grow- 

 ing, and therefore took the nineteen-mile trip to Castleton Gardens. 

 These gardens, established some forty years ago in what was supposed 

 to be a sheltered valley, would, if more money were spent upon them, 

 be of great value to the whole of the West Indies. The average tem- 

 perature at the gardens is seventy-six degrees Fahrenheit, and the rain- 

 fall, 114.07 inches, annually. The first ten miles of the journey was by 

 excellent trolley cars and gave us a fine chance to view the country. 



COCOANUT PALMS. 



The product most abundant was, of course, the banana, grown in big 

 and little lots for the United Fruit Company. At the end of the trolley 

 line was the Constant Spring Hotel where we secured carriages for 

 the rest of the journey. The way was hilly, but the roads good, and 

 the soil although not apparently rich, seemed, under the influence of 

 the sun and the abundant rainfall, to be very productive. 



The gardens were in a measure a disappointment, as they are not 

 large, and have a neglected look, except in parts. This is due to lack 

 of money and not lack of interest on the part of the caretakers, the 

 whole appropriation for the upkeep being fifteen dollars, gold, a week. 



