16 



we had returned to Kingston I mentioned the fact to 

 Mrs Wooler, who seemed quite interested. She said 

 that most of the New Englanders who migrated to Jamaica 

 at the beginning of the American Revolution because of 

 loyal sympathies settled in this part of the island and 

 apparently they retained their notions of farming and 

 farm buildings* We decided to stop in Fern Gully for 

 collecting but when we got there we found the conditions 

 not good* The soil was quite dry and the leaf cover was 

 scanty and not good for sifting* Found a few Staphylin- 

 ids but little else* Our next stop was at Roaring River 

 where we did find conditions reasonably good* Below the 

 falls and on each side of the stream there is flat land 

 with dense shrubbery and plenty of moisture. Sweeping 

 was fairly good; took a series of a pretty black and 

 white barine weevil and some chrysomelids. Noticed some 

 small fishesr in the still water just off the main stream 

 and caught some with the beating net* Had lunch and left 

 at about 2*30 PM. Decided to put the net up* Emptied the 

 net first in Fern Gully, noting one very slender weevil 

 and a nice cioid* Small catch, however, undoubtedly 

 because it was so early in the afternoon* Stopped again 

 at the upper end of Fern Gully to see if the deep shade 

 in the gully had an effect on the flight of insects* 

 The catch was not large but perhaps a few more that the 

 previous one. It contained a few staphs as well as the 

 same types mentioned above. Didn't stop again until we 

 reached Ewarton. This time the catch was considerably 

 larger and with more species. Next stop was just above 

 Spanish Town, after going through the gorge of the Rio 

 Cobre and along the river. Catch large, containing many 

 new species including Aphodiinae, Heteroceridae and Dry- 

 opidae. No more stops until we reached Half Way Tree 

 where we took a very heavy catch from the net. Dick 

 estimated the Staphylinidae at about 6,000. This catch 

 was analyzed later and contained representatives of 34 

 families of beetles and about 140 species. There were 

 also Heteroptera and Homoptera. The Diptera, consisting 

 mainly of Chironomidae, are not good when taken from the 

 net as they are so soft that th«y break up. The Chiro- 

 nomids amounted to about a teacup full from this one 

 catch. We had time to bathe and dress for dinner and 

 afterward sorted the catch and labelled the bottles. 

 Feb. 3. Went into town to get the films that were left for 

 developing. On the whole not good; all were slightly 

 fogged as if the pack had been opened in "safe light". 

 As the film is a Panchromatic, there is no safe light. 

 Bought a cutlass at Henderson 1 s for one and nine and 

 paid a boy one shilling to sharpen it. He did a good 

 job and it will be very handy in the brush. Went for 

 the mail and then back to 5 Cargill Ave. to finish sort- 



