A FLYING TRIP TO JAMAICA 273 



added latc.r, it opens up a new field for the planting of this tree where 

 there is small rainfall but plenty of water for surface work. 



It may not be generally known, but Jamaica has its own rubber 

 producer, a climbing shrub known as the Milk Withe. Its botanical 

 name is Forsteronia Horibunda (G. Don) and its stem yields a rubber 

 that as long ago as 1891 was valued in England at seventy-nine cents 

 a pound. That does not mean necessarily that the product is equal 

 to fine Para, although it brought the Para price, for the samples were 

 very dry and showed but little shrinkage. It is a fact, however, that 

 it was a good grade of rubber, and if the reports of the first shippers 

 are accurate, the latex is very rich in caoutchouc. 



To go back a little, the plant is a climbing vine or liane, and grows 

 only in the woods in the interior, chiefly in Manchester and St. Eliza- 

 beth counties. The best manner of coagulating was found to be the 

 simple application of heat. So far, it has never been exploited commer- 

 cially, nor is it known whether or not the vine is susceptible of culti- 

 vation. 



Reverting again to the Castilloa, there is said to be one plantation 

 of some three thousand trees at the western end of the island, but it is 

 carefully guarded and information refused to all. 



I have not touched upon the varied delights of Jamaica to the 

 winter tourist, nor described the many minor adventures that three 

 Americans off for a holiday are sure to discover, for this, after all, is 

 not a holiday tale. It is rather a suggestion to Americans and English 

 that Jamaica is a good place in which to "get busy" on the short crop 

 proposition. 



