1 74 



PRECAUTIONS. 



and uniform hours. I found nothing punctual in Jamaica 

 but the railroad and the sea and land breezes. 



The following letter, received recently from a gentle- 

 man residing in Kingston, whom I have had occasion to 

 quote once or twice before in the course of these pages, 

 contains some further information upon many of the points 

 to which I have referred, of sufficient interest to justify 

 me in inviting to it the attention of my readers. It will 

 be found a useful commentary upon some of the pre- 

 ceding chapters, which were all written and printed before 

 its receipt. 



Kingston, Jamaica, 



23d Sept., 1850. 



My Dear Sir : 



* * * * I feel assured that this " Italy of the 

 West," and its proximity to your country, need only to be 

 known to induce your men of enterprize to spend a portion 

 of their time with us. You know we have perpetual sum- 

 mer, and that there is a springing vegetation in every 

 month of the year. The products of our soil are very 

 varied. I think wheat, if cultivated, would succeed. But 

 I would refer rather to what is certain, such as Indian corn, 

 millet, peas of all kinds, sugar, coffee, cocoa, ginger, 

 pimento, indigo, cotton, flax plants, yams, cassedy, arrow 

 root, tobacco, a variety of oil-producing nuts, grapes, figs, 

 and all tropical fruits in abundance, for which now there is 

 easy access to the American market. These things, at 

 least some of them, command a high price on the spot, 



