Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-10-17
IN JAM iCA
DR.. N. L. Britton Tells of Trip to This
Interesting Island.

New York. Oct 15.-Dr. n. L. Britton,
director of the New York Botani cal Gar
den. has returned from Il trip i'll behalf
Of the Garden to the island of Jamaica
H., said:
Although much is known of the. flora
OF jamaica. considerable areas of the Is
land have been only fmpcrfectly explored
and some of the regions, accessible only
with difficulty and by the expenditure OF
much time, have not yet been visited BY
hotanists. one object of the expendtion
was to determine upon the most practi-
cabl" plans for reaching these UNEMPLOYED
regions. the most noteworthy of which
arr the sO-calcd Cockpit Country, in the
west central part OF the island, and the
John Crow Mountains. at the extreme
eastern end.
I'VE spent a week i'll the eastern: edge
of tn. Cockpit Country. Centcring at Troy
and at Ral3clava, under the guidance of
William Harris. superintendent OF public
gardens and planta atoms of Jamaica, who
had previously made several trips to this
any other b0tanist had been able to dc.
| He I'D me To many of the novelties
| found b. him. and We secured addition
al specimens Of them. We also detected
| a number of other new species, including
| some Of great interest.
The region is a very rough one phySio-
graphically. consisting Of a porous lime
st NC. crodcd into hills and deep hollows.
tn" ragged edges of the rocks making
| passage through it excepting on the few
roads and trails. exceedingly difficult: 1t
| mas Il general 'l''Ndllbli Oh SplDt -,Nc I'ft
it's highest hills are said to reach -"
feet, and its climate is delightful. Natu-
rally; it is very sparsely populated. We
concluded that its complete exploration
could only he accomplished by means of
| Il park-traiu and camp outfit, using OK
| listing trails. and penetrating laterally
| from them as TAR as possible on foot
There is no doubt that this method would
| bring ont MANY additional novelties. as
the distribution Of plants there is very
| local.
| "A week was given to collecting in the
| higher portions Of the Blue Mountains.
| using Cinchona. the Gardens sIihtropical
| station and laboratory, as a base. Ex-
rcditinns were mad" to the summit of SIR
| of til" range. along trail recently cut
| ont; by means OF contributions of stu
! dents who have used the laboratory.
/ which opins an interesting tract OF
| m r'mtain forest. at attitudes of 5000 to
800 feet. Here the hryologistS of the OK
| petition rcvcllcd in the wealth of rar"
| tree trunks the shrubs. and the ground.
| forming cushions and festoonS Of rare
| b,autv John Crow Peak. a much better
known mountain of SEQ feet altitude.
was also visited and extensive collec-
| tionS made there and at lower attitudes.
"A visit was made to Hollymount. near
Mount niablo in tho central part of the
island. where collections were made. and
I was able to study and collect ut sever
al points in the vicinity of Kingston, in
that part Of the island which has the
least raiIfal. ana Wncrc Cacu abound.
Through Mr.. IIarris's collections and my
own We have now secured living speci-
mems of all the CaCti known to grow in
Ja:n1lca. except one small and little
credited to Jamaica by itnnacuS. but not
found there in many wears. 1t is cs-
pcc.ally interesting rs the typ" Of the
genus Mlmillarfa. mostly globos" plants.
| SO rich in species IN Mexico ana in the
arid portions ~ Arizona and New M"xi-
| ,t,,,n J,r,,:., .a,,,,s u.aro .Icy ,,,,1, :,
| subject Of special study and | WAS fortu-
! nate in being able to see nearly Ill tho
| kinds known and to collect h,rbaIium
| specimens Tho most remarkable of them
| is a fan-that"h Sp. cieS. presumably of the
| genus ThrinaX abundant in TIL" woods
| covering tn" limeston" hills about Holly
feet with a trunk only about SIX inches
| in diameter. Its flowers and fruit are I'M
| known to hntanstS. aud ar, apparently
produced only spaIinelN and - long in
t5vvalS. Another very interesting ,pecies
of Thr;naX grows IN great quantities
ut the mouth Of PriestmanS River. at the
| extreme n"rthca stern part 81 N" island
IE.s IS a s;call tree, nom SIN hy rs BE-
Urge clusters Of stalked milk white
fruits nearly half an inch in diameter
the cabbage palm. the trunk of whict
sometimes reaches Il height Of TO feet
The royal palms of Cuba and Porti Rice
do not grow naturally in Jamaica. bu
are lreeiN planted Tor ornament
Parts Of several DAYS were srent a
the Public Gardens at HOPE. in studying
. the plantations and hrrbarium. In ad1i
ton to its function as public garden
ana park, Hope is a very important zen
tire of botanical and horticultural inves
tig1tion. serving also as an agricultural
experiment station. The public garden a
C1stlcton. near the centre. Of the island
was also visited. and the planta ton
stalled with much interest and nrodt
This is i'll very wet region. permitting
I \,
10 the much drier climate at Hope: an