[November 2, 1891. 
352 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
the light friable limeBtone of the iHland, which is bo 
soft that it can ho readily sawed into blocks. ICven 
the roofs are ninde of thin stone idatca, and tho whole 
bnildingia whitewasbod till it glittora. In apite of this 
ahining color the honaca have no staring or obtrnaivo 
effect, but being auhstanttal and low they only serve 
to deepen tho color of green about thoin, making 
tho landacapo more cheerful and investing it with a 
more home-like and human interest. 
Once on the land, tho roads are amongthe first objects 
to invite attention. Very few level acres can bo found 
on the islands, but theao old highways adjust tlieni- 
selvos most graciously to the contour of the lulls 
and tho curving of the ahorea, winding m and out 
apparently without purpose or direction. But in so 
small an area there is little need of railway 
diroctnosa, and one is glad to lose a little time in 
travel wliore there \h ho much of it m a day. At 
every turn there is a changing prospect a new ar- 
rangement of sea and shore, ot ch f ami dell, of Lily- 
fields and Oleander-hedges. Broken pieces of the 
soft stone apread upon the road-bed at once pack 
into a smooth snrface over which a wheel delights 
to roll, and its gray tone blends most happily with 
the prevailing colors of tho landscape. And then tho 
fences, wliieli generally are objects whoso ugliness 
needs some excuse, are here a |)uaitive ornament. 
They are walls constructed of tho same sawed-stono 
blocks and cement whicii are used in all tho island 
architecture, and they would stand for a century hero, 
where there is no forest to heave them, unless they 
should chance to bo crowded over by the roots of 
some pushing tree. They seem to have been limit 
along the roads generations ago when slave-labor was 
abundant, atnndiiig ovciywhere square and firm— now 
as parapets along the lirow of some cliff whose base 
is beaten by the sea, and again as retaining walls 
against the face of some cutting—iisnally bare, gray 
and honey-combed with age, but often draped and 
garlanded with Maiiraiidy and other vines, or over- 
liuiig bv huge masses of t'actus. They iiro always 
picturesque, and, like all solid, hoary and woathor- 
iieaten structures, »ro agreeably suggestive of an- 
tiquity These, then, are tho leading features of 
tlm landscaiie which are porniaiient : a narrow 
gtrotch of land, with a rolling and often a rugged 
surface ; bold shores i iirroiindcd by a sea of an un- 
spoakablo blue; open fields with scant, coarse gi-ass, 
which loaves them rather brown than green ; forests 
of Cedar with blue-gray foliage; snow-white cottages 
and a web of roads in a close net-work, uniting with 
each other at every conceivable ciii-vo and angle. 
Over all hangs a translucent atmosphere which dims 
tho distance, mellows the outline ol objects nearer 
by. and softens away the glare of every intcnso 
color. Very beautiful and iiiipressive are the shift- 
ing coiiibinntions of these simlilo eleineiits under 
such a sky. , . . 
Th» efforts of the Iloniiudians in the past to im- 
prove tho sceiiory hy planting do not aeeni to have 
been as successiul as one could wish. 8o many 
treasures for gardens in such a climate could bo 
found by searching that one marvels at tho scanty 
catalogue of male-rials used in tho most elaborate 
ohicos: and yet tho gardens are hy no means devoid 
of interest or beauty, -lust now the most con- 
Hpicuous of iilants is the Oleander, which grows and 
snreads with such persistenco that many of the is- 
landers count it a niiisanoe. To a stranger, however, 
there are few more attractive objects than tho great 
mass which ultimately forms from a single parent stem 
Xh soil '".Klb ''dll 
in lien BUI j ground in a circle whose 
haTtlV^nio™ ^ 
over with bright Hewers w neh r^gefimii 
pure white through “ f eeded to start an 
8011 in Homo caHca. All timi hi tho 
Oleander-hedge is to place a , i .i/’qI those 
t/round, and one often see** S' hroau - 
plantH extending entirely around the ^ 
estate. 'I’lie i liineso HiIuscuh ih, perhapri, 
tho Oleander in abundance, and it Heenis o<l n V 
luxuriant. In many placoH these pUintH are sliearot 
into formal hedgCM, and the grcjat floworfl oiimi on 
tho smooth face of thia verdurous walls as fioel> as 
on the plants which are left to develop into fair-sized 
trees. Tn-owa ('npnt.ns is another plant which is 
largely used in hedges, arid,ju«t now, it in hrilliant with 
oruiige-colored ilowers, while 7’. stan.-i, one of the most 
beautiful of yellow dowering shrulis or sniall trees, is 
at the height of its bloom. The Tamarisk, lioro as 
elBewhero, shows its sturdiness against tho salt-laden 
gales of tho soa-coost, and has been planted very 
largely and with good judgment in exposed places 
on the shore, 'i'lie grogeous blooms of I*uihcut}ia 
had not yet appeared, hut its relative, /*. pnl- 
chfrniiKf, wm growing and blooming everywhere. Oc- 
casionally fine masses of Ihimhoo are soon, and these, 
with tljc native Palmetto fSofml /{larl‘hurin(imi ), the 
evor-nrosent Ihuuuia, and some of the hardier Palms, 
are tlie most distinctly tro]ucal features of the scen- 
ery, although tho I’oinsettias, Pomegranates, Hignonias 
(especially /h known liero as tho White 
('eaarj the so-called Sand-plant. Kriif/trina 
with lirillianL scarlet flowers on hare hranclms, and 
largespecimensof the India Uul»hcr-tree wears strange 
look to noi then eyes. Of course, this is not meant 
to servo as a complete list of tho garden plants of 
tho island, hut only to recall those which were sufth 
cieiitly conspicuous at this season to impress a casual 
visitor. Space would fail to mention the striking 
individual plants, like the two fine “Gru-Gru" Palms 
(A.-itrouan/iiiii uuirvtti) at Mount Langton, hut Kosos 
ought not to bo omitted, for, although our hardier 
kinds do not flourisli here, those with some blood of 
the Teas or other tender strains, like Pamarjiue, for 
example, were hearing lino flowers in profusion. In 
tile Ciovornor’s grounds a superb specimen of Ifosa 
fiitu'frata sJiowod that the soil and climate were well 
adapted to this beautiful species. 
Ifow readily some )>lants will become naturalized 
when they find favorable conditions is shown hy the 
case of one of the .Jessamines (J. (jmeih) wliicli was 
brought to the islands in 1810. It soon escaped from 
cultivation, and now it is chimhoring over tho rocks 
and juakiiig an almost impenetrablo tangle in tho 
woods of a broken region near the famous Walsing- 
ham tract. It is a delightful vine with glossy and 
fragrant white flowers, and it seems strange that more 
genenrl use has not been made of it. It would make 
a cliarming addition to the landscape if allowed to 
clainlier over the walls along the highways. Oc- 
casionally one sees a European Elder, which grow's 
hero with great vigor, and is always a beautiful tree. 
M’he islanders seem to have cauglit tlie European 
halut of setting it close to tho sides of their houses, 
and it shows to groat advantage against their walls. 
This masking of the house-foundations witli slirub- 
bery, however, is no more generally practiced than 
it is in tho United States, l>ut these stone housea 
would seem to offer oxcelleiit opportunities for makiug 
such connections with the earth. Jly ono cottage 
along tlie road which winds about tho north shore 
stands a pair of Agaves close to the front wall, one 
on either Hide of the entrance of a narrow loggia, 
and the sharp stilT leaves against tho wh^to stone 
produce an cifect tliat no one who drives hy them 
will forget. 
All tho world knows how extensively the bulbs of 
the great I'jastor Eily are cultivated here, and the 
more beautiful old Ascension Lily, L. candidum, flour- 
ishes cipially well, whilo llippeastrums (Amaryllis) 
and h'recsias m’ow like woods. At many seasons tlio 
fields are brighter than tho gardens, hut Bermuda is 
a land of flowers at all times. Our northeru states 
in iato May are so attractive that one iiesitates about 
leaving them oven for a short absence. But when 
a few hours can land us amid tlio vegetation of the 
tropics, under a now sky and encircloa hy a strange 
sea, tile change will prove a pleasing ono, and the 
return will liring a keener apjireciation of tho rare 
loveliness of our northern Bpnng. 
New iork. 8. 
(Jauuonatk ok Coe'pku may bo made by dissolving 
1 lb. of co])per milphate in 2 gallons of water, and 
li lb. of soda carlionato in half a gallon of water; 
mix the two Holulions; a brownish jiowder will ho 
precipitated; tho water sliould lie poured oil’ from tho 
precipitate, wliicli is the coppor carhonato. — 
if<Mdcui-i-&' Vhivait.lct 
