The times., 1898-11-20
Gras. From Parrots, Food.

| oS
| Grass From Parrots Food.
In Lady Brasseys account of it, she
| speaks of the great fields of Guines grass,
which today feeds countless herds of
sleek cattle, and tells the story of the
| accidental Introduction of the seeds of
this valuable grass, from the coast of
| Guianea. In iIii quantity of the seed
/ was sent as food for some parrots. which
| had been forwarded from Guiana to ia
maica The parrots died; thOseeds were
! thrown away, took root, and spread, and
| in time became a most important factor
! in the prosperity of the island
| st. AIMS, with its pastures and pc per
| groves, is interesting as being the place
/ where Columbus was wrecked. in 1903
| He ran his caravals ashore and remained
| a whole year in the little bay ". ich he
! named Santa Gloria. History relates how
! the ships had become unsea worthy. so he
stranded them and built thatched huts
| upon their decks.
| Don Christopher's Cove" as the pre-
else spot where the caravals lay is called
! is the loveliest little bay in the world,
| between walls of coral rock. with beach
! of yellow sand overhung with tkickets f
| sea grapes. 1t looks just the spot which
| a mariner of good taste, or Il b-ccaE er
of the opera bouffe, would choose in
which to strand his sinking ship. TIE
| slopinG shore affords a secure resting
place, and the coral Iedses give protection
from stormiest seas and heaviest gales.
| Hope River Scenery.
| The way to Gordon Town. an impol tant
village in the Blue range. lies by the
side of Hope River. which cuts it's way
| out of the mountains through a narrow
l frin ax-i,N q
the stream trickles gently enough along
its rocky bed, but during the rainy sea-
son 1t becomes raging torrent me-
| times rising thirty or forty feet. En- r
| nous bowlders round as cannon balls an /
| weighing hundreds of tons show with
| what resistless power the floods swes p
| down.
| Within their limits no green thing
| grows, and the rocks are bare and for-
| bidding; but just above high water ma k
tropical vegetation waves in all its glory.
| At Gordon Town the valley widens out
| and is filed with coffee groves and cocoa
| palms.
| Though only a thousand feet cbove
| Kingston. the air Is much cooler. Here
we visited the plantation of a former
| Philadelphian, which lies 800 feet above
the village,-o a tributary of Hope River
/
| ing lane, between coffee bushes that per-
| fume the air with their jes=amine-lk Ike
blossoms, and orange trees glowing with
| golden fruit.
| Ivy and passion vines cover the veran-
| das, and in the beautiful gardens sur
| rounding the house roses and geraniums
flourish to perfection. From the draw
| ing room windows you can see peak ris-
| ing behind peak, till the highest is lost in
| the clouds; and below the valley of Hope
| River, with its groves and gardens and
| scattered villas. On the other side of the
house the tributary stream has carved
| out a second ravine. deep and dark, fran
which the sound of falling water, far be-
low among the ferns, comes family to the
| ear.
| Beauties of the Mountain.
| Gordon Town answers for halfway
house between Kingston and New Cas-
| tie. where the English troops are garri-
| soned mile above the sea. High over