17 



it is said that the Maroons alone penetrate into their fastnesses in 

 hunting wild pig. Inspector Thomas of the Jamaica constabulary- 

 crossed them a few years ago, and published an account of his expedi- 

 tion, but he is the only white man who is actually known to have ven- 

 tured into them. These limestone mountains are of some considerable 

 elevation (about 2000 feet), and are only ten miles from Bath, seven 

 miles of which can be ridden. They ought to prove a happy hunting 

 ground for the botanist. There are specimens of two species of tree 

 fern, Cyathea conquisita and C. pendula in the British Musium, coll- 

 ected by Nathaniel Wilson who lived at Mansfield, two miles from 

 Bath, but they have never been found since, and it is quite possible 

 that he may have come across them near the John Crow mountains 

 where no botanist has ever been since his time. The soil at Bath is 

 alluvial, deep and rich. The rainfall is heavy, being on the borders of 

 the district which is classed by Maxwell Hall as having the heaviest 

 fall, viz., over 100 inches in the year. 



The garden |is only a remnant of Nathaniel Wilson's garden, but is 

 maintained by government as a small arboretum. It contains several 

 trees of great interest and beauty, and is much more tropical in its as- 

 pects than any of the other gardens. Elevation 70 feet ; mean annual 

 temperature 78° F. 



THE FLORA. 



J amaica is a paradise for the botanist, whether he specialises in algse 

 fungi, mosses, ferns, or flowering plants. Of ferns there are about 

 450 species, and of flowering plants 2180 species ; a number of both are 

 endemic. Among the flowering plants are not only those found every- 

 where in the tropics, but types from North, Central and South 

 America and the other West Indian Islands. 



Forty-four new species of mosses from a limited area in the Blue 

 Mountains have just been described in Bulletin de VHerhier Boiisier. 

 A synopsis of the ferns is now appearing in the Bulletin of the Botanical 

 Department, Jamaica. Grisebach's-F/ora of the British West Indies is 

 the only book that gives a connected account of the flowering plants. 

 The flora of the whole of the West Indies is being thoroughly worked 

 up now by Professor Urban, assistant director of the botanic garden of 

 Berlin. I he results of his labours appear in Engler's Botanische 

 Jahrbilcher. The monographs in continuation of De CandoUe's Prodro- 

 mMsalso contain later works than Grrist bach's. In the Jahrbuch of the 

 botanical gardens of Berlin Dr. Mez has published a monograph of 

 the American Lauracese including those of the West Indies. 



Elevations. 



The following table gives a general idea of the area in square miles 

 embraced in the different zones of elevation, above sea level, in the seve- 

 ral parishes. 



