601 



JAMAICA. 



J!lca. age of Port Antonio, the harbour of which is one of 

 > "V ' the most commodious and secure in the island. The 

 parish of St George contains Annolto Bay, a shipping 

 place. The county of Cornwall contains five parishes, 

 in which are situated two towns and eight villages. The 

 towns are Savannah le Mar, which being destroyed by 

 the hurricane in 1780, consists at present only of 60 or 

 70 houses ; and Montego Bay Town on the north coast. 

 The villages of Jamaica are generally small hamlets on 

 the bays, where the produce is shipped in the droggers, 

 to be conveyed to the ports of clearance. The few 

 other places worthy of mention are Falmouth on the 

 north coast, on the south side of Martha Brea harbour ; 

 Lucca harbour, also on the north coast ; Bluefield Bay 

 on the south coast, three leagues east of Savannah le 

 Mar, the usual rendezvous of the homeward bound 

 fleets ; and Carlisle Bay, also on the south coast. The 

 chief headlands of the island are Point Morant, more 

 generally known to seamen by the name of the East 

 find of Jamaica, and dreaded by them for its thunder 

 and lightning squalls. Nepil by North and Nepil by 

 South are two promontories on the west end of the 

 island. The islands deserving mention near Jamaica, 

 are the Pedea Keys and Portland Rock, on a large bank 

 south of the island, and Morant Keys, eight leagues 

 south-east of Morant Point. 



Mountains The island is crossed longitudinally by an elevated 

 and face of ridge, called the Blue Mountains. What is called the 

 the country. Blue Mountain Peak, rises 7431 feet above the level of 

 the sea. The precipices are interspersed with beautiful 

 savannahs, and are clothed with vast forests of mahoga- 

 ny, lignum vitse, iron wood, logwood, brazilletto, &c. 

 On the north of the island, at a small distance from the 

 sea, the land rises in small round topped hills, which 

 are covered with spontaneous groves of pimento. Un- 

 der the shade of these is a beautiful and rich turf. This 

 side of the island is also well watered, every valley 

 having its rivulet, many of which tumble from over- 

 hanging cliffs into the sea. The back ground in this 

 prospect, consisting of a vast amphitheatre of forests, 

 melting gradually into the distant Blue Mountains, is 

 very striking. On the south coast the face of the coun- 

 try is different ; it is more sublime, but not so pleasing. 

 The mountains here approach the sea in immense 

 ridges ; but there are even here cultivated spots on the 

 sides of the hills, and in many parts vast savannahs, co- 

 vered with sugar canes, stretching from the sea to the 

 foot of the mountains, relieve and soften the savage 

 grandeur of the prospect. 



Soils. The soil of Jamaica is, in many places, deep and fer- 



tile. On the north side, chiefly in the parish of Trelaw- 

 ney, there is a particular kind of soil of a red colour, the 

 shades of it varying from a deep chocolate to a rich scar- 

 let. In some places, it approaches a bright yellow; but it 

 is every where remarkable, when first turned up, for a 

 glossy shining surface ; and for staining the finger like 

 paint, when it is wetted. It seems to be a chalky marl, 

 evidently containing a large portion of calcareous mat- 

 ter, from the circumstance of its holding water, when 

 formed into ponds, like the stiffest clay. What is call- 

 ed the brick mould in Jamaica, is a deep, warm, mellow, 

 hazle mould, with an under stratum so retentive, as to 

 retain a considerable degree of moisture even in the 

 driest season. This is the best soil in the West India 

 islands for sugar canes, next to the ashy loam of St 

 Christophers, and is followed by the deep black mould 

 of Barbadoes. On the whole, however, the cultivated 

 soil of Jamaica is not remarkably fertile. 

 Rivers. The island has upwards of one hundred rivers, rising 



in the mountains, and running with great rapidity to 

 the ea on both sides. This rapidity, as well as the ""~V 

 obstructions from rocks, renders them unnavigable ex- 

 cept by canoes. The deepest is the Black River on 

 the sonth coast, which flows gently through a consider- 

 able tract of level country, and is navigable by flat boats 

 for 30 miles. There are some medicinal springs, warm, 

 sulphureous, and chalybeate. The most remarkable of 

 these is in the eastern parish of St Thomas, in the 

 neighbourhood of which, a village called Bath has been 

 built. The heat of this spring raises the thermometer 

 to 123 degrees. It is said that the Spanish settlers 

 once wrought mines both of copper and silver ; and one 

 of lead was opened a short time since in the parish of 

 St Andrew, but it was soon abandoned. 



The climate of Jamaica, even on the coast, is tempe- ciimau. 

 rate, the medium heat at Kingston, throughout the 

 year, being 80, and the least 70. In ascending to- 

 wards the mountains, the temperature quickly alters 

 with the elevation ; eight miles from Kingston, the 

 maximum is only 70 ; at the distance of 14 miles from 

 this town, where the elevation is 4200 feet, the average 

 range of the thermometer is from 55 to 65, and the mi- 

 nimum in winter 44. On the summit of Blue Moun- 

 tain Peak, 7431 feet above the sea, the range in the 

 summer is from 47 at sun-rise to 58 at noon ; and the 

 minimum in winter is 42. The year mav be divided 

 into four seasons ; the first commencing with the vernal 

 or moderate rains in April or May, which usually 

 last six weeks ; the second season includes June, July, 

 and August, and is hot arid dry ; the third includes 

 September, October, and November, or the hurricane 

 and rainy months ; and the fourth December, January, 

 February, and March, which are the most serene and 

 the coolest months.') 



Besides the staple exports of Jamaica, consisting of Vegetables 

 sugar, indigo, coffee, and cotton ; the cultivated vege- an d fruits, 

 tables are maize, Guinea corn, and calavances for the 

 food of the negroes, and almost all the kitchen vege- 

 tables of Europe, besides many indigenous ones, as the 

 sweet potatoe, yam, eddar root, callaloo, a kind of spi. 

 nach, and the commonest substitute for greens, cassara, 

 okasy, &c. Few of the northern European fruits 

 thrive, but the indigenous ones are numerous and de- 

 licious ; the principal are the plantain cocoa-nut, guava, 

 sour-sop, sweet-sop, papaw, custard apple, cashew ap- 

 ple, granidella, prickly pear, pine apple, &c. The 

 orange, lime, lemon, mango, and grape, have been na- 

 turalized, as well as the cinnamon tree, of which there 

 are now considerable plantations. The bread-fruit tree, 

 with other useful plants, has been introduced by the 

 exertions of Sir Joseph Banks. This island abounds in 

 various grasses of an excellent quality. Of the native Grassts. 

 grass, good hay is made, but in no great quantity ; but 

 there are two exotic grasses that are extremely valuable, 

 and yield an abundance of food for cattle; the first is 

 an aquatic plant called Scots grass, from a single acre 

 of which five horses may be maintained for a whole year. 

 The seed of the other kind, called Guinea grass, was 

 introduced into the island, about 70 years ago, as food 

 for some birds brought from the coast of Guinea. Cat- 

 tle are remarkably fond of this grass, and thrive won- 

 derfully upon it. The greater part of the grazing and 

 breeding pens throughout the island are supported 

 chiefly by means of this in valuable herbage. The prin- 

 cipal forest trees have been already mentioned ; many of F oresttrccSi 

 them rise to a prodigious height, as the papaw anu the 

 palmeto royal, the latter of which is frequently found 

 140 feet high; the trunks of the ceiba, or wild cotton 



