269 



The only means of communication, until quite lately, in all this region 

 from one district to another and to the sea coast road, was by bridle 

 paths, a terror to nervous riders and impossible for invalids. The road 

 connecting the plain of Liguanea with Gordon Town is so short that it 

 scarcely counts when there is now a commencement of the construction 

 of roads which are to be 100 miles in length. 



The whole scheme is due to the initiative of Captain Taylor of Moy 

 Hall, who, with unfailing energy and hard work, first surveyed the 

 interior road from the 11th milestone on the Windward Koad and then 

 laid down a general scheme for the other roads. 



The only cultivation in these mountains on a large scale has been 

 coffee, and this industry has been seriously hampered by the expense 

 and difficulty of transport. 



In 1867, Sir John Peter Grant with great foresight made the first 

 attempt at other cultures beside coffee — one which could be carried on 

 at higher elevations, namely cinchona. The experiment was a com- 

 plete success, for the Government established the fact that cinchona 

 could be grown in the Island, and realized a sum of about £17,000 by 

 the sale of bark. But for the very reason that the whole region was 

 without roads, planters hesitated so long about embarking in the new 

 industry, that the golden opportunity was lost, the price of cinchona 

 bark fell, and many lost money in the venture, whereas in Ceylon, with 

 good roads and railways, fortunes had been made by all the pioneers. 



Here, in Jamaica, the loss to private individuals of large sums over 

 cinchona planting, coinciding with low prices for coffee and general 

 depression in trade, led to the cry some ten years ago that the Hill 

 Garden instituted by Sir J. P. Grant, had proved a failure, and should 

 be abandoned. Fortunately this desponding wail has not been generally 

 supported in the Island, nor acceded to by the Government. Six or 

 seven years ago, Mr. Thistleton-Dyer, the Director of Kew Gardens, 

 gave it as his opinion that it was quite possible that the Hill Garden 

 might again become the chief Botanic Garden of the Island ; and this 

 prophecy, unlikely though it might have seemed to most, seems now in 

 a fair way to become fulfilled, and to justify the faith of the few. It is 

 situated about half way between Newcastle and Abbey Green, and the 

 elevation of the Government property ranges from about 3,000 to 6,300 

 feet, so that very varied experiments can be made in cultures requiring 

 different altitudes. 



The Hill Garden, however, was not devoted solely to the cultivation 

 of cinchona. Vegetables have been grown and instruction imparted so 

 successfully, that all the settlers round for many miles grow such 

 "English" vegetables as peas, cabbages, carrots,' turnips, potatoes, 

 artichokes, horse-radish, cucumbers and beet-root. 



Tea has been grown of a quality declared by London brokers to be 

 excellent, and an order has just been received from a planter for 1 ,000 

 plants. 



Timber trees of various kinds have been planted out and tended for 

 years, and a knowledge gained of the capabilities of different tre. s for 

 use in these hills where nearly all the valuable timber has ahead)- been 

 cut. The nurseries at present, contain some thousands of seedling' trees. 



Fodder plants have been under experiment as well as many different 

 kinds of economic plants, which will be taken up by planters in the near 



