15 



^Iva, and these, together with others from Florida, have been put out 

 at various elevations ranging from 3500 feet to 5500 feet. 



Grrape plants from Persia have been imported from California. 

 They grow on the table-lands of Persia, have a distinctive character of 

 their own, and are very highly spoken of by travelers. They ripen 

 early, and as they have a firm and tough skin they will probably prove 

 serviceable for early shipping. The native grape of Jamaica, so abun- 

 dant in these hills, though of no value as a fruit, may turn out to be 

 of special worth for grafting the more tender European varieties. 



These are a few of the cultures which may be taken up when roads 

 are made. The prosperity of the Jamaica will advance by leaps and 

 bounds with the increased production rendered possible by means of 

 communication, and a temperate climate all the year round will be 

 available for invalids, within a few hours' drive of Kingston. But 

 these benefits will also attract settlers from England when it becomes 

 known that we have a Florida and a California in an island under 

 British rule, with all the advantages of those climates and none of the 

 disadvantages. Elevation 3000 to 6300 feet ; annual mean tempera- 

 ture at 4900 feet is 62.7° F., average rainfall, 105 inches. 



CASTLETON GARDEN. 



The drive from Kingston of nineteen miles, though a long one is 

 full of interest. The start is made in the fresh cool air of dawn ; the 

 road leads through the plain of Liguanea with a view of the hills ia 

 the distance, bright with the ever- changing hues of early daylight. 

 Then the assent becomes steeper, passing by settlers' groves of cocoa, 

 cofiee, and bananas, with a sprinkling of oranges, akees, sugar-cane, 

 annatto, and yams. The road passes over the crest of an elevation of 

 1360 feet at Stony Hill ; thence down into the valley of the Wag water, 

 with broad alluvial stretches covered with tobacco, cultivated by Cu- 

 bans ; along the winding river fringed with clumps of graceful bamboo 

 plumes, and its banks hidden by masses of creepers ; past the rocks by 

 the roadside covered with ferns, mosses, the scarlet dazzle," and the 

 blue Jamaican ''forget-me-not," until Castleton is reached, where art 

 shows nature at its best by world-wide selection and harmonious com- 

 bination, i 



At the principal gate stands one of the most superbly beautiful of 

 all trees, the Amherstia nob His, which, when in flower in the spring is 

 worth crossing the ocean to see. Further on we see Norantea guia- 

 nensis climbing over a large tree, and brilliant with long spikes, not of 

 flowers but of nectar-secreting bracts ; Mesua ferrea attracting atten- 

 tion not so much by its large fragrant white flowers as b}^ the red colour 

 of the yonng drooping foliage ; the mangosteen with its delicious fruits 

 the travellers' palm of Madagascar ; Araucaria excelsa from Norfolk 

 island. The palmetum contains specimens of 180 species of palms 

 with great variety of graceful forms. The water lily tank is wonder- 

 fully beautiful with its surroundings of palms, bamboos, and grassy 

 slopes, and the placid surface of bright water on which float the sym- 

 metrical leaves of red, white and blue lilies, and the Vicforia*regia 

 in the centre, queen of the rest. From the brightness of the still iily 



