200 
BLUEFIELDS. 
noble reeds, standing in close array, each four or five 
inches in diameter, and rising in erect dignity to the 
height of forty feet, and all waving their tufted 
summits in diverging curves, moved by every breeze, 
— form indeed a magnificent spectacle. Growing in 
the most rocky situations, the Bamboo is frequently 
planted in Jamaica on the very apex of those conical 
hills which form so remarkable a feature in the 
landscape of the interior, and to which its noble tufts 
form a most becoming crown. But it is scattered 
over all kinds of situations, from these elevated 
summits to the green plains that border the sea. On 
the steep sides of the mountains it is applied to a 
singular use, the preservation of the roads, which are 
cut in zigzag lines upon the rocky face of the 
mountains. The gradual disintegration of the ex- 
terior edge of such a road by the influence of the 
weather, and the wear caused by travelling, would 
soon destroy its level, and necessitate the cutting of it 
afresh. To prevent this, it is found sufiicient to 
lay down lengths of green Bamboo just below the 
edge of the road, along the mountain side, and cover 
them with earth. These germinate at every joint, 
roots strike into the earth, binding it firmly, and a 
rampart of young shoots springs up, which, increasing 
every year in number and size, effectually prevent 
the crumbling away of the edge, and by throwing 
their feathery arches over the road, form beautiful 
green avenues, under whose grateful shadow the 
traveller may journey for miles, and scarcely feel the 
toil of the steep ascent. These avenues are called 
Bamboo walks, and their appearance is so peculiar, 
