3 



timber except teak, for a variety of purposes, but it soon decays under ground. The astringent roots 

 have been used as a remedy for thrush ; the bark and leaves are purgative. 



Spathodea campanulata grows to a height of 80 feet at Castleton. The branches do not spread, but 

 the mass of rich orange-coloured flowers gives it a most attractive appearance. 



Caryocar nuciferum produces theSouat i or Butter Nuts, the kernels of which have a pleasant nutty 

 taste, and from which an oil may be extracted by pressure. The nuts have a very hard shell, and are 

 enclosed, 2, 3, or 4, together in a fruit about the size of a child's head. The flowers are very large, and 

 of a deep purplish brown colour The tree is a native of Guiana, where it often grows to a height of 100 

 feet. The timber is very durable, and is used for ship-building. 



Sterculia carthaginensis, called u Chica" by the Brazilians and " Panama" by the inhabitants of tha 

 Isthmus, is a fine tree, 40 to 50 feet high It has become naturalized in the West Indies, and does well 

 in the plains. The flowers are yellow, spotted inside with purple. The seeds are about the size of 

 pigeons' eggs ; they have an almond-like taste, and are sometimes eaten. 



The Candlenut, sometimes called Walnut (Aleurites triloba) grows to a height of 30 to 40 feet. 

 The seeds yield oil, which is a good drying oil for paint. In the Sandwich Isles 10,000 gallons are 

 annually produced, and used there as a mordant for their vegetable dyes. The cakes, left after the oil 

 has been expressed, is used as food for cattle and also manure. It thrives along roads. 



The Mountain Mahoe (Hibiscus elatus), a native of Jamaica and Cuba reaches a height of 50 to 

 60 feet The timber is valuable, especially to cabinet-makers ; it has the appearance of dark-green 

 variegated marble. The fibres of the bark make good ropes. The lace-like inner bark was at one time 

 known as Cuba baik, from its being used as the material for tying round bundles of Havanah cigars 



Three species of Ficus are growing well in the Parade Garden: — (1) Fiats indica is one of the 

 Banyans, the roots which drop from its branches becoming new stems with spreading branches and 

 fresh branch roots, so that of some of these trees it is said, *' at the age of 100 years one individual tree 

 will shade and occupy about one and-a-half acres, and rest on 150 stems or more, the main stems often 

 with a circumference of 50 feet, the secondary stems with a diameter of several feet." (Mueller.) (2) 

 Ficus lucida, another native of India, affords dense shade. (3) licus Benjamina, a native of North Aus- 

 tralia has handsome, drooping, willow-like branches. It forms part of the avenue at King' House. All 

 these trees form very shady avenues. 



The Ginep (Melicocca bijuga ) is a native of Guiana and New Grenada. It is a good shade tree, 

 and there are very fine examples at King's House. The timber is hard and heavy, and the fruit has an 

 agreeable flavour, but the stringy portion which is usually swallowed by children, is most injurious, 

 and according to good medical authority has frequently caused death by coating the lining of the 

 stomach. 



The Flamboyante ( Poinciana regia ) is a native of Madagascar. It is a tree with very showy 

 flowers, and is suitable for planting in open spaces, or in broad mixed avenues. 



The Red Bead Tree ( Adenanthera Favonina ) is a native of the East Indies and China, growing up 

 to an elevation of 4,000 feet in Sikkim. The common name is derived from the bead-like seeds, which 

 are of a bright scarlet colour, and of a uniform weight (4 grains) so that they are used by jewellers in 

 the East as weights. By rubbing the wood against a wet stone, a red dye is%btained, which is made 

 use of by Brahmins for marking their foreheads after religious ceremonies of bathing. The tree affords 

 hard, durable timber called ''Coral Wood," or "Red Sandal Wood." There are trees in the Parade 

 Garden and in Orange Street. They are well suited for avenues. 



The Kananga ( Cananga odorata ) of India is largely cultivated there for its ornamental appearance. 

 It is soft-wooded, quick growing, ultimately reaching a height of 150 to 200 feet. The specimen at 

 Castleton is at present about 40 feet. 



The Guango or Rain Tree (Pithecolobinm Saman) is a native of Brazil and Venezuela. It is fast, 

 growing and ornamental, and very suitable for open spaces. It is so much desired in India that in 1880, 

 the Jamaica Botanical Department sent 130 lbs. weight of seed, Dr King, the Government Botanist 

 in Calcutta, says of it, — "This wonderful tree grows faster than any hitherto introduced into Bengal 

 with the single exception of Casuarina. It gives a beautiful shade and yields a pod with a sweet pulp 

 which is greedily eaten by ca tle. For avenues, cantonments, squares, and situations where dense shade 

 is wanted, no tree is more suitable than this." 



The Casuariuas are mainly Australian, but are also found in the East Indies and Polynesia. They 

 grow quickly but are not good shade trees, for the leaves are represented by scales. The general ap- 

 pearance is something like the larch. The timber, called, beefwood" in Australia, is hard ; it makes 

 excellent firewood, and as the ashes retain heat for a long time, it is much used for ovens and steam 

 engines. Casuarina equisetifolia, the Swamp-Oak, is found in the East Indies and Polynesia. The hard 

 wood is known as " Iron-wood" ; it is durable under water, forms good posts, and bears a considerable 

 strain. This is an excellent tree for planting in sandy districts along the sea-coast. Casuarina stricta, 

 the Hurricane Tree, is found in the islands of the Pacific. At Castleton, it has grown to 80 feet. 

 Casuarina muricata, from India, has a showy wood of great weight. Grown close, it forms pretty 

 avenues in narrow roads. 



The Betel-nut Palm (Areca Catechu) of Tropical Asia is a very graceful palm of remarkably per- 

 pendicular growth, with a trunk seldom more than 6 or 8 inches in diameter, it grows to a good height, 

 — at Castleton, it has reached 60 feet. The flowers are very fragrant. There is an immense trade in the 

 nuts in the East, for the Malays and other natives use them for chewing, rolling a small piece up with 

 some lime in leaves of the Betel Pepper. 



The Talipot or Umbrella Palm ( Corypha umbraculifera) of India and Ceylon is a very fine Palm, 

 60 to 70 feet high, with fan-shaped leaves, 12 feet in diameter. 



One of the Royal Palmettos (Sabal umbraculifera), a native Palm, is well worth planting. 



The Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) has become quite naturalized, growing wild in some parts of 

 Jamaica. The Cocoa-nut (Cococa nucifera) is also suitable for planting. 



