200 BLUEFIELDS. 



noble reeds, standing in close array, each four or five 

 inches in diameter, and rising in erect dignity to the 

 height of forty feet, and all waving their tufted 

 summits in diverging curves, moved by every breeze, 

 — form indeed a magnificent spectacle. Growing in 

 the most rocky situations, the Bamboo is frequently 

 planted in Jamaica on the very apex of those conical 

 hills which form so remarkable a feature in the 

 landscape of the interior, and to which its noble tufts 

 form a most becoming crown. But it is scattered 

 over all kinds of situations, from these elevated 

 summits to the green plains that border the sea. On 

 the steep sides of the mountains it is applied to a 

 singular use, the preservation of the roads, which are 

 cut in zigzag lines upon the rocky face of the 

 mountains. The gradual disintegration of the ex- 

 terior edge of such a road by the influence of the 

 weather, and the wear caused by travelling, would 

 soon destroy its level, and necessitate the cutting of it 

 afresh. To prevent this, it is found sufficient to 

 lay down lengths of green Bamboo just below the 

 edge of the road, along the mountain side, and cover 

 them with earth. These germinate at every joint, 

 roots strike into the earth, binding it firmly, and a 

 rampart of young shoots springs up, which, increasing 

 every year in number and size, effectually prevent 

 the crumbling away of the edge, and by throwing 

 their feathery arches over the road, form beautiful 

 green avenues, under whose grateful shadow the 

 traveller may journey for miles, and scarcely feel the 

 toil of the steep ascent. These avenues are called 

 Bamboo walks, and their appearance is so peculiar, 



