NATUEALIST’S SOJOURN

IN

JAMAICA.

London

Spottiswoodes and Shaw,
New- screet- Square.

~T{ iciccii

A

NATUEALIST’S SOJOURN

IN

JAMAICA.

BY

PHILIP HENRY GOSSE, A.L.S., &c.

Assisted by RICHARD HILL, Esq., Cor. M. Z. S. Lond., ‘

MEM. COUNC. ROY. SOC. AGRIC. OF JAMAICA.

.... Thy desire, which tends to know
The works of God, thereby to glorify
The great Work-Master, leads to no excess
That reaches blame, but rather merits praise*
The more it seems excess. Milton.

LONDON:

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.

1851.

PREFACE.

Natural History is far too much a science of dead
things; a necrology. It is mainly conversant with
dry skins furred or feathered, blackened, shrivelled,
and hay-stuffed ; with objects, some admirably beau-
tiful, some hideously ugly, impaled on pins, and
arranged in rows in cork drawers ; with uncouth
forms, disgusting to sight and smell, bleached and
shrunken, suspended by threads and immersed in
spirit (in defiance of the aphorism, that he who is
born to he hanged will never be drowned”) in glass
bottles. These distorted things are described ; their
scales, plates, feathers counted ; their forms copied, all
shrivelled and stiffened as they are ; their colours,
changed and modified by death or partial decay,
carefully set down ; their limbs, members, and organs
measured, and the results recorded in thousandths of
an inch ; two names are given to every one ; the
whole is enveloped in a mystic cloud of Graeco-
Latino-English phraseology (often barbaric enough);
— and this is Natural History !

Of the hundred thousand animals which are con-

VI

PREFACE.

sidered as known to naturalists,” it is probably much
within the mark to assert that ninety thousand are
‘‘ known ” only in such sort as is described above.

What should we think if the world were to collect
from Egypt the tens of thousands of mummies that
are said to be entombed in the mighty catacombs of
that country, and having placed them in museums
should appoint learned men minutely to measure
their differing features and limbs, to describe their
appearance with exactitude, and to depict their
portraits in all the leathery blackness of their phy-
siognomy ; then to give each a name, and record the
whole in a book ; — what should we think if the
world would call this Egyptian History ?

It is manifest that there is not an iota of History
in either the one or the other. For History is the
record of the actions of men, their relations to other
men, the circumstances in which they acted, their
characters, the influence of their lives upon society,
their connexion with the times preceding and follow-
ing their own, and other points of interest, not one
of which could be gathered from a description of
their dead and preserved bodies, though ever so exact
and minute. So, that alone is worthy to be called
Natural History, which investigates and records the
condition of living things, of things in a state of
nature ; if animals, of living animals : — which tells
of their ‘‘ sayings and doings,” their varied notes and

PREFACE.

vli

utterances, songs and cries ; their actions, in ease and
under the pressure of circumstances ; their affections
and passions, towards their young, towards each
other, towards other animals, towards man: their
various arts and devices, to protect their progeny, to
procure food, to escape from their enemies, to de-
fend themselves from attacks; their ingenious re-
sources for concealment ; their stratagems to over-
come their victims ; their modes of bringing forth,
of feeding, and of training, their offspring ; the re-
lations of their structure to their wants and habits ;
the countries in which they dwell ; their connexion
with the inanimate world around them, mountain or
plain, forest or field, barren heath or bushy dell, open
savanna or wild hidden glen, river, lake, or sea : —
this would be indeed zoology ^ i. e» the science of living
creatures. And if we have their portraits, let us have
them drawn from the life, while the bright eyes are
glancing, and the flexible features express the emo-
tions of the mind within, and the hues, so often fleet-
ing and evanescent, exist in their unchanged reality,
and the attitudes are full of the elegance and grace
that free, wild nature assumes.

The author would not be misunderstood. He is
far from despising the labours of those who describe
and catalogue the specimens that travellers send to
the cabinets of Europe. Careful and minute descrip-
tions, accurate admeasurements, and distinctive names

Till

PREFACE.

are absolutely indispensable to science ; hut they
must not he confounded with science itself. Valuable
as these details are, they form only the stepping-
stone by which we arrive at the knowledge of
animals ; or rather they are the cumbrous machinery
by which that knowledge is preserved and com-
municated to the world. The knowledge of the
name, position, and size of every rope in a ship is
absolutely necessary to a seaman, for without it
there could be no precision in command, no co-
operation in obedience ; — but surely it is \ioiseaman-
ship; and he who should suppose himself a skilful
navigator, with only such knowledge, though acquired
with the most minute pains, by actual study of a ship
lying in port, would find himself egregiously mistaken,
when he came to battle with sky and sea, tempests
and billows and currents, quicksands, and bristling
rocks, and the breakers of a lee shore.

Let closet-science take its true place as the hand-
maid of Natural History ; arranging and appropriating
the observations of the true naturalist, and enabling
him to record them with precision. The former may
be compared to the shelves, drawers, and pigeon-holes
of a cabinet, carefully arranged, affording a place for
every thing; the latter to a room-full of valuable
objects and curiosities, thrown promiscuously in a heap.
The objects themselves are almost unavailable until
they be arranged in the shelves and drawers appro-

PREFACE.

IX

priated to them ; yet it is obvious that the shelves
are for the sake of the objects, not the objects for
the sake of the shelves. The means, however, are
too often treated as if they were the end.

The efforts of many naturalists, naturalists in the
proper sense of the word, have been and are directed
zealously towards the right object, a real knowledge
of animals. Many have followed in the steps of the
venerable Gilbert White, and have discovered thou-
sands of facts of the highest interest, which they
have communicated in graphic language. We con-
sequently possess the living portraitures of many
animals, drawn from life, and depicted with a master’s
hand. Most of the animals of Europe, at least the
Vertehrata^ have been more or less studied at home,
and the Birds of America have found worthy bio-
graphers. But if we look at the expanded world
beside, how little is really known of its living trea-
sures ; how little even of the zoology of England’s
vast colonial possessions !

The writer of the present volume has endeavoured
to add a trifle to the amount of zoological knowledge.
He lately paid a visit to Jamaica, one of the loveliest
islands of the tropics, where the eighteen months of
his sojourn were almost exclusively devoted to Na-
tural History. The memoirs presented in the fol-
lowing pages may claim at least one excellence, they
were drawn up verbatim on the spot, in the midst of

X

PREFACE.

the animated beings which they describe ; they are,
generally, not the results of brief and transient
observations of their subjects, but of a protracted
acquaintance with them, in which feature after
feature was delineated, and line after line was added,
from time to time. The Author has aimed to do
more than merely give a record of the habits and
instincts of animals ; he has essayed to describe (as
well as feeble words may attain to do it) somewhat
of the glory and loveliness of the scenes in which
they dwell ; and he has endeavoured to do this with
a kind of panoramic effect, so that the reader might
have before his mind a succession of pictures, as it
were, of a beauteous tropic island.

In the arrangement of the Work the form of a
Journal has been maintained to such an extent as to
give a slight thread of continuity to the whole. It
is not, however, a Diary; chronological sequence
having been always made to yield to the superior
advantage of unity and completeness in the exhi-
bition of the various subjects. The Author has
grouped together all the information that he had
collected on each subject, though obtained at dif-
ferent times ; and thus the memoirs generally take
the form of monographs more or less complete.

The following pages are enriched with many
papers from another pen. The Author considers it
one of the happiest reminiscences of a visit unusually

PREFACE.

XI

pleasant, that it gave him the acquaintance of a
gentleman whose talents and acquirements would
have done honour to any country, but whose excel-
lencies as a man of science, as a gentleman, and as
a Christian, shine with peculiar lustre in the com-
parative seclusion of his native island. The Author
has long had the privilege of his correspondence ; —
he enjoys the still higher privilege of calling him
friend. It is with no small gratification that on the
title-page of this volume, he can again associate with
his own, the honoured name of Richard Hill, of
Spanish Town.

In the progress of the work through the press the
memoirs communicated by this gentleman have
greatly accumulated. The Author (or rather as far
as these are concerned, the compiler) has felt loath to
withhold the valuable imformation collected by the
zeal and industry of his friend, and so kindly placed
at his disposal ; though, being contained in letters, a
considerable number of which are dated subsequently
to his own departure from the island, they still
further attenuate that thread of continuity ” al-
luded to above, which before was sufiiciently slender.
The Author ventures to hope that the greater degree
of completeness thus attained in the survey of the
Jamaican Fauna, will atone for this lack of construc-
tive unity.

Twenty-four new species of animals are described

Xll

PREFACE.

in the following pages, distributed nearly equally
through the classes of Mammalia, Reptiles, and
Fishes. The notices of Birds will be found but
slight, a volume having been already devoted to the
Author’s researches on this beautiful and interesting
class of animals.

The Author begs to express his tbanks to the
officers in the zoological and botanical departments
of the British Museum, for much valuable assistance,
kindly and courteously rendered ; and to all the
friends both in England and Jamaica, to whom he
has been indebted for suggestions or information.

De Beauvoir Square, London,

September, 1851.

CONTENTS

Incidents of the Voyage. Change of climate. Fin-whale.
Capture of a Bonito. Snipe-fishes. Loggerhead Turtle.
Portuguese Man-of-war. Troop of Whales. Dolphins play-
ing. Towing-net. Glass Shells. Spirula. Barnacles. Por-
pita. Flying- fishes. Their motion proved to be real Flight.
Three kinds. A new Species described. Starlight and Sun-
rise from the Maintop. Moonlight Evenings. Land. Mont-
serrat. Its beauty. First sight of J amaica. Blue Mountain
Peak. Coast at night - - - Page 1 — 19

Kingston and Port Royal. Beauty of the scene. The
Mountains. The City. Canoes on the Sea. Black Pilots.
Calm. The Towing-net. Gulf-weed. Fishes. Curious An-
nellide. The Sea-breeze. Verdant Islets. Pelicans on the
Rocks. A Walk on the Palisades. Cocoa-nut Palms. Cacti.
Acacia. Seaweeds, Sponges, and Corallines. Shells. Chse-
todon. The Hemiramphus. Garfish - - 19 — 25

Alligator Pond. Sterility of the Coast. Carlisle. Sugar-
cultivation. Alligator Pond. Flowers on the Shore. Insects.
Prickly Pear. Humming-bird. Beautiful Spider. Ride up
the Valley. Wasps. Honeycomb Limestone. Shells. Pe-
culiar Vegetation. Orchidese. Fine Prospects. Collecting
Chitons. The Painted Swift-foot - - 26 — 35

Bluefields Bay. Ship strikes on the Reef. View of the
Land from the Bay. Pelicans and Frigate-birds. Trans-
parency of the Water. Savanna-le-Mar. Stores. Gardens

35—39

Bluefields. Description of the Estate. The Southern Cross.
Aspect of the Forest. Parasitic Plants. Wild Pines. Tropic
Birch. Soldier-crab. Calabash and Orchids. Long-tailed
Humming-bird. Vivid impression of the scene - 39 — 50

XIV

CONTENTS.

Belmont Beach. Creek. Calling-crabs. CIcindela. Cave
Swallows. Sponges. Holothuriae. Swimming-crab. In-
scribed Solenette. Corals and their Parasites. Stinging
Corals. Curious Annellida _ _ > 50 — 56

Market Day. Loading Canoes for Market. A Paddle across
the Bay. Animals seen on the bottom of the Sea. Helmet
Shells. Carrion-beetle. Lunar Rainbow. Leaf of Life

57—61

Bluefields Mountain. Zigzag Roads. Fine view of the
Coast. Fruit-trees. Flowering trees and shrubs. Bletia.
Pimento-groves. Parrots. Land Shells. Spiny Oniscus.
Earth-worms. Peripatus. Forest-covered Peak. Gloomi-
ness of the Interior. Elegant Club-moss. Broad-leaf tree.
The Jamaica Rose. Tree-ferns. Their elegance 61 — 69

Urania Sloanus. Its Beauty. Habits. Affects the Avocada
Pear. Suddenly becomes abundant. Loftiness of its Flight.
Scarcity. Second Brood. Eggs - - - 69 — 74

Lizards. Their abundance. Ground Lizard. Wood Slave.
Gecko. Anoles. Their playful familiarity. Changes of
colour. Pallette-tip. Venus. Iguana. Galliwasp 74 — 77
Sea-urchins. Fine long-spined species. Purple pigment.

Best mode of preparing specimens - - 77 — 79

Bluefields River. Value of Water. Resources in Droughts.
Romantic beauty of the Stream. Bordering vegetation.
Waterfall. Bathing Pool. A reconnoitring Vulture. Mullets
leaping. Tickiticky. Crustacea in the rivulet - 79 — 86

Ride to Content. Morning Shadow. Flowering Shrubs.
Pens and Gardens. Robin’s River. Plovers. Doves.
Orange trees by the road side. A pleasant Lane. Trumpet-
tree. White Indian Creeper. Peter’s Vale. A beautiful
Amphitheatre. Tichicro. Butterflies. Grand Vale. Sugar
cultivation. Cotta-wood. Content Cottage. Its singular
situation. Magnificent Prospect. Useful and ornamental
Trees ------ 86 — 94

Insects. Their general scarcity. Singular exceptions. Hamp-
stead Road. Character of its vegetation. Nocturnal Insects.
Sabito Bottom. Fine Butterflies. Belmont. Bluefields
Mountain, Fire-flies. Night in the Forest. Lampyridae.
Diversity of their Light. Southey’s Description. Glow-fly.

CONTENTS.

XV

Its two-fold Light. Anciently used for candles. Larvse of
luminous Beetles. Mr. Hill on Insect Phosphorescence.
Glow-fly injurious to the Sugar-cane. Cydimon. Curious
Habit. Trap-door Spiders. Construction of their nests.
Air-holes. Duck-ants. Their Edifices. Galleries. Used
for burning. Self-amputation - - - 94 — 121

Ride to Kilmarnock. Cylindrella. Highgate and Hamp-
stead. Romantic Scenery. Conical Hills. Bamboo Crowns.
Forest. Newly cleared Provision Grounds. Orchidese.
View of Grand Yale. Shells. Bamboo Walk. Guinea-fowl’s
Nest. Coulter-spring. Water-withe - - 121—126

The Kepp. Shells. Mountain-ponds. Bees and Ants drink-
ing. Perfume from the Orange Groves. Beautiful Estate
of the Kepp. Fine trees. Parasitic Bignonia. Orchideae.
Romantic Glen. Dumb Cane. Lily. Small Cylindrella

126—129

PiNNocK Shafton. Wall-plants. Nightshade. Elegance and
beauty of these Plants. Their poisonous Properties. Anec-
dote. Aloe. Misseltoe. Rooting on the Leaves of its
Support ----- 129—131

Bluefields Ridge. Solitude. Peculiar Vegetation. Green
Tody. OrchidesB. Gesneraceae. Wild Plantain. Moun-
tain-pride. Palms. Ferns. Their abundance, variety,
and beauty. Tree-fern. Beautiful Terrestrial Orchis. Pe-
culiar charms of this Region. Jabbering Crow. Solitaire.
Humming-bird. Bluefields Peak. Extensive Prospect over
the Island. Insects - - - - 132 — 142

The Venus Lizard. Origin of its name. Curious device to
capture it. Its Ferocity. Description of its colours, and
their changes. Sloughing. Phenomena of this Process.
Diet ------ 142—145

The Grave-digger. Old Boiling-house. Proceedings of a
burrowing Fly. Indefatigable Industry. The Wax Coccus

145—148

Inverart. Mountain Woods. Urena. Climbing Begonia.
Tuberous Orchid. Bognie. Inverary. Extensive Prospect.
Fine Wild Pine. Garden of English Vegetables. English
Plantain and Water-cress. Rocky Gully - 148 — 150

XVI

CONTENTS.

Mountain Gardens. Process of preparing them. Plants
cultivated. Cocoes. Plantains. Yam. Ginger. Log-hut.
Horse-eye Bean. Superstition. Voices of early Birds

151—154

Phcenix Park. Description of a Jamaica House. Great
Hall. Jalousies. Polished Floor. Curious Process. Garden
of ornamental Plants. Humming-birds. Chestnut Mastiff-
Bat. Its Habits ; in freedom ; in captivity. Bats crepus-
cular rather than nocturnal. AmpuUaria’s Eggs. Lucifu-
gous Insects. Centipede nursing. Scorpions. Spiders.
Phrynus. Myriapoda - - - - 155 — 166

Birds and Flowers. Tropical Birds not silent. Tropical
Flowers not scentless. Glass-eye Merle. Solitaire. Shrike.
Cotton-tree Sparrow. Hopping Dick. Flycatchers. So-
ciality of Birds. Swallows, Tichicro. Banana-bird. Blue
Quit. Vervain Humming-bird. Mocking bird. ISTocturnal
Melody. Water Thrushes. Wood Thrush. Minor Songsters.
Wild Doves. Mountain Doves. Plaintive voices of the
Whitewing and Peadove. Fragrant Flowers. Prevalence
of Clove odour. Night-blowing Cereus - 166 — 177

The Chigoe Flea. Burrows in the human Feet. Negroes
skilful in extracting it. Description. Symptoms of its
presence - - _ . . I77 — 173

The Smooth Sheath-Claw. Its appearance. Changes of
Hue. Singular Voice. Nocturnal activity. Power of
walking on reversed Surfaces. Skin and Scales. Sloughing.
Beproduction of the Tail. Phenomena of the Process. Eggs.
Young. Food ----- 178 — 186

The Pond Turtle. Pond in the Forest. Negro Water-girls.
Turtles sitting on Logs. Mode of trapping them. Manners
of a Young One - _ - . 186 — 190

Curious Fishes. Sparus? Chmtodon - - 190 — 191

Fig-Trees. Singular one at Bluefields. Net-like union of
Roots. Hypothesis of its growth. “The Scotchman em-
bracing the Creole.” A Tree upon Stilts - 191 — 194

The Ant-Lion. Bluefields Mill-house. Ant-lion’s Pits. In-
stincts and Habits. Ascalaphus - - 194 — 197

CONTENTS.

XVll

The Cotta Wood. A dark and gloomy Forest. Cuckoos.
Partridge-Dove. Erebus. “ Greenwood Shade.” The
Hallow- well. Notes of Birds - - - 197 — 199

The Bamboo. Its noble Beauty. Usefulness in Mountain-
roads. Bamboo-walks. Growth of Side Shoots. Interesting
Contrivance. Appearance of the Stem. Insect-net Bods

199—202

Periodical Bain. Begularity of its Becurrence. Prognosti-
cations of a Storm. Its sudden Commencement. Its Pro-
gress. Its speedy Cessation. The Fog. Brilliant Effect of
the declining Sunbeams. Lightning at Night - 203 — 205

Fishes and Fishing. Early Excursion. Canoe. Fish-pots.
Poison-grouper. Sucking-fish. King-mullet. Angel-Chm-
todon. Crustacea. Beauty of Snappers. Of Grunts. A
full bait. Comfortable Fishing. Hauling the Seine. Cave.
Beautiful Scene. Pleasant Boad. Flowers. Water-wheel.
Land Crabs. Alligator- apple. Negro Chaunt. Fishes

205—216

Angle Lizards. The faculty of changing Colour. Purple-
tailed and Pearly-bellied Anoles. Favourite Haunts. Feed-
ing on Insects. Mode of taking Ants. Playful Habits.
Agility. The Goitre. Its true Nature. An Extension, not
an Inflation. Its rich Colours. Not subject to Metachrosis.
Its object and use. These Lizards not Aquatic. Experiments.
Mode of Progression. Beauty. The Female. Note of
Mr. Hill on Metachrosis. Geographical Distribution of the
Species. The Zebra Anole. The Chain-marked Anole.
The Plate-headed Anole. Female with Eggs - 216 — 227

Fruit on Male Papaw. Beautiful Cocoon - 227 — 228

The Black Snake. Its Haunts. Heaps of Leaves. Stone
Walls. Trees. Mode in which Snakes climb misunderstood.
Free and graceful motions in a Tree. Ferocity and Boldness.
Bite. Varieties in colouring. Food - - 228 — 232

Negro Proper Names. Not arbitrary. Dependent on the
Days of the Week. Their grammatical Construction

232—233

Erebus Odora. Its Habits and Haunts - - 234—235

XVlll

CONTENTS.

A Naturalist’s Work-room. The Bird-skinner. The Shell-
cleaner. The Plant-presser. The Naturalist. Living Doves.
Finches. Humming-birds. Growing Orchideae 235 — 239
The Brush-footed Spider. Sabito Hill. Ebby Palms.
Forest Trees. The Spider’s Web. Length and Strength of
the Threads. The Spider’s Bite - - 239 — 241

The Nurse Shark. A specimen skinned and prepared. The
Liver. Sluggish Habits of the Species. Ovipositing. Egg-
capsules. Description. The Hedgehog Fish. Structure of
the Spines. Air bladder - - _ 241 — 245

The Mangrove. Its strange Appearance. Arching Boots.
Seeds germinating on the Twigs. Stain of the Sea beneath.
Miasma. Agency of this Tree in altering the relations of
Land and Sea. Lagoons. Waterfowl. Violet Flat-crab.
Its beauty. Habits. Curious manner of feeding. Delicate
Sense in the Claws. Analogy to the Spiders. Ferocity.
Jealousy ----- 245 — 251

A Swarm of Dragon flies - - - 251 — 252

Drive to Montego Bay. Haddo. The Prickly Pole. Water-
lily. Introduction of Guinea-grass. Grotto at Mount Carey.
Striking view of the Bay and Offing. The Bing-tail Pal-
lette-tip. Its beauty. Manners. Structure. Wide geo-
graphical Bange - - - - 252 — 256

Beauty of Negro Villages. Seclusion. Pinguin. Huts.
Various Fruit-trees. Mango. Bread-fruit. Plantain and
Banana. Elegant subordinate Plants. Cocoa-nut Palm. Its
novel Aspect to a Stranger. A Grove of Palms. Firmness,
not flexibility, characteristic of this Palm. Cloth-like tissue
of the Leaf-bases. Effect of the peculiar Development of
the Stem. Bud of Cabbage-palm. Frond entire at first

256—262

The Two-headed Snake. Ground of its name. Description
of its Form and Colours. Burrowing Habits. Egg in Ter-
mites’ Nest. Birth of the Young. Powers of Swimming

262—267

The Naseberry Bat. The Vineyard. Open Windows. In-
trusion of nocturnal Insects. Bats. The Naseberry Tree.
Habits of frugivorous Bats. Descriptions of Species

267—270

CONTENTS.

XIX

The Silk-cotton Tree. Its imposing Grandeur. Its aspect
in Youth. In Age. Eoot- Spurs. Stature and Diameter.
Parasites. Fall of the Leaf. Silk-cotton. Its unfitness for
manufacture. Value to Birds. Superstitions. Mr. Hill’s
Notes on this Tree. Peculiarities in its Economy. Alterna-
tion of Leaves and Flowers. Emblem of Hope. Formation
of Root-spurs. Half-dressed Trees - - 271 — 279

The Red Hairy-tailed Bat. Its Occurrence. Form.
Habits. Mode of Eating. Of Drinking. Parasitic Insects

279—282

Musquitoes. Their Ubiquity. Diversity in their Virulence,
Lowland Species. Mountain Species. Modes of Defence
against them. Singular instance of Cohesion. Remarkable
Habit of Limnobia - - - - 282 — 284

The Eyed Pallette-tip. Its Haunts. Spontaneous mutila-
tion. The Tongue. Habits. Eggs - - 284 — 287

The Sand Gootoo. Description. Power of Inflation. The
Piper. Specimens obtained by Shooting. The Sprat.
Beauty of Fishes. The Herring. The Jacks. Fry. An-
chovy. Silver-banded Herring. Their gregarious Habits.
Timidity. Use as Bait - - - - 287 — 292

The Monk Bat. Its distinctive Characters. Its Habits.
Agility. Silence. Monastic Habits. The Tongue. The
Female ------ 292—295

The Great-eared Leap Bat. Peculiarities of Form. Its
Manners. Activity. Power of Wing. Insect Parasites

295—297

Moonlight. Charms of tropical Nights. Sounds. Song of
the Mocking bird. Spark of the Fire-fly. Bats 297 — 298

The Liguanea Mountains. Aspect of the Coast. Old Har-
bour. Interesting Reminiscence. Excursion to the Moun-
tains. Magnificent Prospect. Shells. Birds. Coldness of
the Night. Stillness. Mist on the Mountains. Pancratium.
St. Thomas in the Vale. Gorge of the Bocagua. Wild
Scenery. Gibraltar. Plants. Scarlet Tanager 299—305

The Trunk Turtle. Newspaper Description - 306 — 307

XX

CONTENTS.

The Pedro Seal. Memoir by Mr. Hill. Habits of a living
Specimen. Blindness. Peculiarities of Organisation. Mea-
surements. The Pedro Kays. Mr. Wilkie’s Specimen. Its
Manners in Freedom. Ease in the Water. Maternal Vigil-
ance. Power of the Teeth. Their Employment. Mode of
Progression. Description - - - 307 — 314

The Yellow Boa. Its Form and Colours. Its Powers of
Injury. Its Fondness for Bedrooms. Predaceous Habits.
Fascination. Boldness when irritated. Gigantic Specimen.
Offensive Fetor. Entwined Heaps. Nest with Eggs. Mode
of Excavation. Incubation. Young found in the Belly of
one. Example of viviparous Generation. Ticks. Pupil of
the Eye. Cuban Serpent. Zebra-Snake - 314 — 324

The Pard aline Snake. Its Nomenclature. Description.
Habitat. Size ----- 324 — 325

The Owl-eaced Bat. Admeasurement and Description.
Habits in Captivity. Clicking of Bats. Mormoops. Clear-
winged Bat ----- 326 — 328

The Alco. Mr. Hill’s Lapdog. Spanish Descriptions of the
Aboriginal Dog. Mexican Mopsy. Haytian Scenes. A
- Visit to Yasica. Memorials of the Indians. The “ Painted
Gardens.” Beautiful Scenery. Cottages and Fruit-trees.
Permanence of Nature. The Aguara Dog of Surinam.
Lapdog of Peru. Forest Dog of Guiana. “ Prince.” His
Habits, Manners, and Instincts. Xibaro of St. Domingo.
Anecdote ----- 329 — 341

The Manatee. Its pachydermatous Appearance. Description
of a living One. Origin of the Name. Excellence of the
Flesh. Mr. Hill’s Notes of One. A dead Specimen in
Hayti. Six in confinement. Old anecdote of a tame One.
A Pair in Black River. Notes by Dr. Robinson 341 — 349

Cetacea. The Cachalot Whale. Breaching of One. Bay of
Fort Dauphin. Whale embayed. Assaults of the Sword-
fish. Early Whale Fishery of St. Domingo. Ambergris.
Dolphins seen at Passage Fort. Osprey. Young Sharks.
Their immense abundance. Dolphins in a Lagoon. At
Ray’s-town. Their linear arrangement - 349 — 357

CONTENTS.

XXI

Nocturnai. Forest Sounds. Cries of Night-birds. Insects.
Reptiles. Tree-frogs. Lie in Wild Pines. Snorings.
Musical Pipings. Brown Tree-frog. Changes of Colour.
Manners in Captivity. Lichened Tree-toad. Description.
A Window in its Eyelid. Green-backed Tree-toad. De-
scription and Note by Dr. Robinson. Stinging Property.
Analogy with the true Toads. Yellow Tree-frog. Note of
a benighted Traveller - - - - 358 — 368

Gregarious Trees. Plants overrunning Tracts of Land.
The Opoponax. Lignum vitse. Fan Palm. Nickar. Pi-
mento. Sea-side Grape. Jointwood. Logwood. Its Re-
semblance to the White Thorn. Used for Hedges. English-
like Scene ----- 368 — 371

The Gret Snake. Called “ Poison-snake.” Its Haunts.
Mode of taking its Prey. Description - ^ 371 — 373

The Crested Snake. Popular belief of a strange Reptile.
Its Form and Voice. Dr. Palmer’s Description of One.
Scenery of Drummond Castle. Exploits and Escapes of
Three-fingered Jack. Suggestion by Mr. Hill. Analogies
among the Sauria. Mr. Cargill’s Description of a Specimen.
Curious Serpents figured by Seba. Mr. Hill’s Remarks
therein. Haytian Scene. Recent Occurrence of the Snake

374—384

The Spotted-chinned Snake - - - 384

The Wild Hog. Its Rarity to Leeward. Description.
Skilful mode of Defence. An Adventure in Hayti. Cham-
bered Rock and Musical Mountain. The enraged Boar. A
formidable Enemy. A successful Defence. A Boar in a
Mountain Pass. Hog hunting. Forest Swine. Jerking.
Barbecued Pig. Maroons - - - 385—397

The Crocodile. West Indian species of Loricata. Habit of
feeding. Discrepancy among Naturalists. Prey killed, not
eaten immediately. Stones swallowed. Romantic Scene in
Hayti. Supposed partiality for Dogs explained. Different
modes of Progression. Adventure of a Spanish Priest.
Rapidity of Growth. Note of St. Mery. Of Robinson.

XXll

CONTENTS.

Humboldt’s Account. Note by Mr. Hill on the Anatomy of
the Crocodile. Anecdote of Animal Sympathy. A mischie-
vous Crocodile. Equestrian Exploit. Fatal Adventure

398—421

Land Tortoises. Hicatee. Specimens imported often escape.
Large Individuals taken. Anecdotes of Antigua Tortoise.
Species assigned to Jamaica. Robinson’s Notes. Eggs

421—425

The Agua Toad. A recent Discovery. Uncouth Size and
Appearance. Loud Voice. Description. Phenomena of
Croaking. Haytian Tadpoles. Origin of the Toad’s appear-
ance. Proposed Remedies for the Annoyance. Marsh
Turtles. Herons. Geographical Distribution of the Species

425—433

Deer. Their Importation. Capture of a Buck. Manners of
Forest Deer. Their acute Instinct. Caution. Examination
of Horn. Proves to belong to Fallow Deer. South Ame-
rican Species. Notices by early Historians. Virginian
Deer. Cariacou - - - - 433—440

Weld Goats. Their Origin. Love of Cliffs. Sentinel 441

The Rabbit. Note by Lady Nugent. Pinguin Fences.
Silver-sable Variety. Their Food. Love of Moonlight

441—444

Rats. Difficulty of Identification. Black Rat. Brown Rat.
Indian Rat. House Mouse. Cane-piece Rat. Description.
Charley Price Rat. Its Importation attributed to Sir C.
Price. Probably a Viverrine Animal. Notes by Browne
and Long. Great Black Caribbean Rat. Grey and Red
Field Rats ----- 444 — 450

Sugar-Cane Insects. Borer- Weevil. Mr. King’s Memoir on
it. Its mode of Life. Ravages. Transformations. Pre-
ventives and Remedies. Mischief in the Mill-house. Palm
Weevil. Borer-Moth. Trashing. Cane- Aphis. Cane-fly.
Ground-Termite. Tree-Termite. Nest-building Termite.
Smeathman’s Observations. Nature of their Food. The
Plough the best antidote , - - 450 — 463

CONTENTS.

xxiii

Curious Spider. Sloane’s figure. Culloden. Webs in the
Prickly-pear. Mr. Hill’s Observations. Crossed Lacings.
Arrangement of the Limbs. Structure of the Web. Its
Relation to the Spider’s peculiarities - - 463 — 466

Stingless Bees. Hive in a hollow tree. Besieging Ants.
Sentinel Bees. Wax. Honey. Brood-cells. Queen-bee.
Other stingless species - - - - 466 — 468

Indian Cony. Columbus’s Notice of Utia. Long confounded
with the Agouti. The Cuban and Haytian species. A new
one from Jamaica. Cuna-Cuna Ridge. Description. Ha-
bitat. Food. Movements and Habits. Prehensile Powers.
Sagacity. Power of the Hands. Singular Position of the
Teats. Other Examples. Familiarity of a tame specimen.
Pinguin Covers. Barks Trees. Notes of the earlier Natu-
ralists ------ 468 — 481

Orchideje. Some curious and beautiful Forms. Season of
flowering. Those of the Dry Season. Those of the Rains.
Dampness of high Localities. Choice of Supports not exclu-
sive. Trees covered with Parasites. A Fig-tree studded
with small Orchids. Easy transplantation of sylvan Species.
Preference of certain Localities - - 481 — 489

Departure and Return. Farewell to Bluefields. Long
coasting Voyage. Sting of a Scorpion. Its Effects. Starve-
gut Bay. Blue Butterfly. Zebra Lizard. Pedro Plains.
Guaiacum. Insects. Departure from the Island. Promon-
tory of Tiburon. Jacmel. Mountains of Hayti. Beauty of
Porto Rico. San Juan. St. Thomas. Entomology. Ber-
mudas. Arrival at Southampton. Conclusion - 489 — 497

APPENDIX 499—502

I. The Nurse {Scyllium cirratum),

II. The Silk-cotton Tree (Eriodendron anfractuosurn).

III. Vegetation on the Pedro Kays.

IV. Viviparous generation of the Yellow Boa {Chila-

bothrus inornatus).

XXIV

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATES.

I. Fishes

II. Bluefields River

III. View from Content

IV. Lizard and Serpent
V. Cave

VI. Bats

VII. Tree-toad and Tree-frog -

To face page 11

80

5?

93

142

212

296

362

VIII. Bluefields

Frontispiece

THE

NATURALIST IN JAMAICA.

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

On tlie 20th of October, 1844, I sailed from the
Thames for Jamaica. The early portion of the
voyage presented nothing so worthy of notice as the
rapid change of climate. Three weeks’ run ex-
changed the chilly fogs and frosts of a London
autumn for an atmosphere so hot, that even a sheet
on one’s bed at night was too oppressive to be en-
dured. The dark grey waves of the north, swelling
and surging with hoarse roar and crests of driving
foam, were left behind ; and were replaced by the
delightful stillness of the tropic sea, where the sun’s
rays piercing into the depth, imparted a beautiful
azure tint, approaching to pale Antwerp blue, to
the transparent water; and the little crests of the
rippling surface, as they rose and fell, and broke into
drops beneath the unclouded light, glittered and
sparkled gloriously.

The sight of a large Whale, doubtless a Rorqual
{Bal(Bnoptera)i as I distinctly saw his dorsal, wallowing

B

2

INCIDENTS OF THE YOYAGE.

in his huge unwieldiness, and making ‘‘ the deep to be
hoary,” was an incident which, though far from new
to me, was not without interest ; — I looked on the
vastest of known animals. On another day, when
about 160 miles S.W. of Madeira, the sailors, with
a surface line, caught the Bonito,” a beautiful
pearly fish of the mackarel family, with rainbow
stripes on the sides. The bait, which proved too
enticing for him, w^as the same as that with which his
more familiar, but not less beautiful, cousin is often
taken, a piece of red rag. The stomach was found
to be distended with a multitude of small Snipe-
fishes (Centriscus), all of the same size, about two
inches and a half long. A living specimen of the
same Snipe-fish was drawn up on the same day in a
bucket of water. The Centriscus is described by
Risso as rarely wandering far from the shore, and as
delighting in the mud at the bottom of the shoal sea.
But the facts just mentioned suggest very different
habits. The Bonito is well known to be a surface
swimmer ; and his morning’s meal having been ex-
clusively made of the Centrisci, combines, with the
living specimen lifted in the bucket, to prove that the
latter is also a surface-species, while the locality shows
it to be pelagic.

In mid-ocean, eleven hundred miles from the
nearest point of land, a large Turtle, probably of the
Loggerhead species {Chehne caretta), swimming on
the surface, was disturbed in his recreation by the
approach of the ship, and dived with a splash into the
security of the clear depths below. And as we ap-
proached the lovely Archipelago, toward which my

A BARE CETACEAN.

3

eyes and thoughts were continually turning, we saw,
more and more frequently, that little mimic ship, that
sailors delight to call the Portuguese man-of-war
{Physalisa pelagica), floating and tossing upon the
waves. Some of these appeared to me unusually
beautiful (though I have on former occasions seen
them in great numbers, once, in the Gulf, being
nearly a whole day traversing a fleet of them), the

sail ” being of a rich rosy pink hue, and the bladder,
or “ hull,” glittering in the sun with a glassy bril-
liancy.

An occurrence of much more zoological interest,
however, the sight of a veiy rare, if not quite new.
Cetacean, under circumstances peculiarly favourable
to observation, demands a more protracted notice.
Having been familiar with several species of Del-
phinidcE in former Atlantic voyages, I had taken for
granted that I should meet with some in this ; and
wishing to settle the question whether any of the
true Dolphins spout, I had studied the Order a little
before sailing ; and, in particular, had made careful
sketches of the form of the head in all the genera,
that I might not depend on that treacherous guide,
memory.

November 22d, — Lat. at noon 19° P N., long.
45° 42' W. ; the trade wind blowing a most exhila-
rating breeze, with flue weather. Between three
and four o’clock p.m., a herd of large Cetaceans ap-
peared astern, trooping towards the ship. They
soon came up and began to play around us, con-
tinuing to romp and frolic, in the manner of Dol-

4

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

phins, all the evening ; and even long after nightfall
they were still in company, being plainly visible
by the light of the moon. During this long time, I
had many opportunities of observing them. They
frequently protruded their heads from the surface ;
and then, presently, the huge round hack, with a
small dorsal far behind, was seen. In going along
beside the ship, one would occasionally turn on its
back, displaying the white belly, and in this position
swim a short distance. The muzzle was lengthened
into a snout, but, as well as I could judge from many
exposures, it tapered gradually without a furrow,
and resembled that of Delphinorhynchus. As nearly
as I could estimate from a position aloft, by com-
parison with the ship, their length was about thirty
feet, or perhaps not quite so much. The body was
elongated, black above, white beneath ; the swim-
ming paws appeared white, even on their upper
surface, but surrounded by dark colour on the body ;
— this is remarkable. The lips and extremity of the
muzzle appeared, when projected from the water, of
a flesh colour. They usually expired with a rushing
sound, the instant the blow-hole was exposed, but
did not, as far as I observed, spout. Once, however,
I noticed a little cloud of steam sailing away on the
wind, from the spot where one had just disappeared ;
it exactly resembled that appearance which succeeds
the spouting of the common Rorqual (which I have
seen many times), but as my eye did not catch the
animal itself, I cannot positively say that such was its
origin on this occasion. The evenings being cool

A WHALE ESCORT.

5

and refreshing after the burning days, and being
generally fair, and now lighted by the moon,

“ pura nocturno renidet

Luna mari, ” *

we spend them on deck, as the pleasantest hours
of the twenty-four. This evening, the wallowing and
sporting of the Whales added a new interest ; and at
nearly eleven o’clock, we left them still in company.

November 9.^d. — On rising, we were surprised to
find the Whales still attending us. I now had an
opportunity of seeing the profile of one very dis-
tinctly, and of assuring myself that the form of the
head was exactly that of the figured Deljphinorliyn-
chus, no furrow being visible between the forehead
and the snout. One of the officers informed me that
he had seen one of them breach^ or leap clear out of
the water. Soon after 8 a.m. they left us, having
continued with us nearly seventeen hours, a period of
extraordinary length, when we consider that the
visits of frolicsome Cetacea to vessels rarely last more
than half an hour or an hour. During the whole of
this time, the ship had been running before a gallant
breeze, and had proceeded nearly 120 English miles.

I have little doubt that the species was that very
interesting and rare Cetacean known as the Toothless
Whale of Havre, DelphinorhyncJius mieropterus. The
small size of the dorsal, and its backward position,
agreed well with the description of that species, and
though these were nearly double the length of that

* Hor. Carm. ii. 5.

6

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

celebrated specimen, this incongruity is of little
moment, since that was evidently a young one. If
this was, indeed, the Havre Whale, the occurrence in
associated numbers of a species, hitherto known only
by a solitary specimen, possesses an interest which will
be readily appreciated by naturalists ; if, on the
other hand, it was distinct, it is, perhaps, still more
interesting, as it proves the existence of a gregarious
Cetacean of large size in the Atlantic, which has
hitherto escaped the observation of zoologists. The
white hue of the flippers, isolated amidst the dark
colour of the upper body, would seem to favour the
latter conclusion.

I may add here that when we were off the west
end of Porto Rico, I observed a shoal of Dolphins
playing at a short distance ; one of them in leaping
fell ill a perpendicular position, the tail downward,
while the body was thrown into a double curve. I
was thus enabled to see that the belly was of a bright
rose-colour. Now this is the hue of the under parts
of the other DelphinorhyncJius (Z). rostratus), which
is about eight feet in length, and might well be mis-
taken, in the moment of leaping, for a true Delpliinus,
The coincidence is a curious one : especially as this
species is nearly as rare as the former.

I had prepared a surface-net for towing after the
ship in order to capture minute animals. It was
thus made : — The towing line, a stout rope, was at-
tached by a threefold bridle to a brass rod flve feet
in length, one foot of which was bent up at a right
angle at each end. The three sides formed by this
wire kept open the mouth of the net, which was

THE SUKFACE-NET.

7

about ten feet long, diminishing to a point. The
size of the meshes also diminished until the extreme
point was formed of gauze, and was not closed, but
simply tied with a tape. Three or four hoops, sewed
in transversely at intervals, kept the sides of the net
from collapsing when in use. When employed, it
was lowered over the quarter, gradually, so that the
extremity might be carried out by the ship’s way
before the brass wire touched the water, to prevent
entanglement. The wire being on three sides only
of the mouth, would of course lie perpendicular, and
the rope-bridle kept it transverse : corks at each
upper angle of the mouth preserved it from sinking.
The line was then payed out for ten or twenty fa-
thoms, so as to pass the net beyond the dead water
and eddy of the ship’s wake. After awhile it was
hauled in and examined. A bowl of water being
ready, the gauze end was untied and turned inside
out into the bowl, when the contents became disen-
gaged by floating off, and after the net had been re-
tied and lowered, were subjected to examination.

The booty taken by this apparatus, though for the
most part minute, was not devoid of interest. A
few of those delicate Pteropoda, the Hyalece, whose
shells look as if they had been blown out of the
thinnest glass, occurred ; as also many specimens,
more or less imperfect, of the CepJialopodous genus
Spirula, with pearly septa ; to some of these were
attached several very minute but perfectly developed
barnacles [Lepas), and many oblong and dark brown
eggs, apparently of the same cirriped. It was in-
teresting to see Barnacles no larger than rape-seed

8

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

projecting from the month of the little Spirulai and
throwing out their cirri with all the regularity and
energy of the larger species. But the most curious
thing was a small Porpita, a flat, circular Medusa of
about one-sixth of an inch in diameter. It consisted
of an annular disk, perfectly pellucid, inclosing an
opaque central portion, occupying about two-thirds
of the breadth, which seemed to he composed of
fibres radiating from the centre. On the under sur-
face this central part was flesh-coloured with a blue
margin ; and while alive, as it floated, I perceived
on it several teat-like projections, which had a slug-
gish motion. On the upper side the pellucid mem-
brane was continuous, and had a glistening appear-
ance ; the opaque part was here light brown. On
being handled, the little animal gave out a milky
fluid, which clouded the water.

I afterwards obtained several more of this minute
Porpita, some of which were very beautiful; the
margin being fringed with numerous oviducts (?) of
varying length, which were transparent, hut studded
and terminated with knobs (germs ?) of a deep blue
colour. In the centre of the under surface was a
fleshy sucker, and around it many teat-like projec-
tions, like the tentacles of an Actinia; these I saw
thrown out and suddenly retracted irregularly, and
independently of each other.^ All these surface-

* As this seems hitherto undescribed, I propose for it the name of
Porpita {polyhrachionea) minuta. It differs greatly in size from those
hitherto described, being only one-sixth of an inch in diameter, while
Bose compares P. gigantea to a 24 sous piece, and P. glandifera
(figured, of the natural size, in the Phil. Trans, vol. xxiv. p. 2053)

FLYING-FISH.

9

swimming creatures occurred within a hundred and
fifty miles of the northern tropic, after our crossing
of which they ceased.

The common opinion that the motion of the Flying-
fish through the air is nothing more than a vigorous
leaf^ sanctioned as it is by many honoured names in
science, I have long believed to be incorrect, having
on several former occasions seen what appeared to
me a distinct motion of the fins. To settle this
point was one of the desiderata which I had particu-
larly noted down on commencing this voyage ; and
the result has fully confirmed my belief. The obser-
vations as they occurred, I shall quote in the form
in which they were recorded.

Nov. — Lat. 19° ^4' K, long. 41° 5' W.
Many Flying-fishes appeared in the course of the day ;
the first we had observed. They were the silvery
species commonly seen in the Atlantic, of middling
size, with clear wings ; probably Exocoetus volitans.
I now feel certain that these fishes have power to
change their direction when in the air ; more than
one, which I saw to-day, turned aside at nearly a
right angle.

Nov. 22d. — Flying- fishes leap from the sea every

is about half an inch wide ; Guilding’s P. Linneana is stated to have
a diameter of eleven and a half lines, exclusive of the arms. It differs
from glandifera also in having numerous tentacles on the disk, and
likewise in colour, the disk being carnation, with a blue margin be-
neath, and brown above. The body of Linneana is described as of a
caerulean hue. P. nuda and P. appendiculata of Bose were evidently
founded on imperfect specimens.

10

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

few minutes ; several made courses distinctly angu-
lar, and some, I am quite sure, rose and sunk in un-
dulations, To confirm my own observations, I re-
quested a gentleman on board to notice this point ;
and he was quite certain of both these facts.

Nov, 24dh, — I observed to-day a Flying-fish, after
flying a very short distance, suddenly turn down-
ward, abruptly and perpendicularly, as if alarmed,
and enter the water. The action exactly resembled
that of a bird.

Nov, — Several times I have observed in the
flight of the Exocoetus, when near, an occasional
fluttering of the pectorals. In general, these wing-
fins appear motionless ; but at the moment of rising
to avoid the crest of a wave, there is a slight but
rapid vibration of these organs, distinctly perceptible,
if the fish be pretty close to the ship. I saw an Exo-
coetus to-day which was much larger than the species
hitherto observed, with the pectorals wholly of a
sooty black colour. Probably it is the Exocoetus
Novehoracensis of Dekay. The others are still
rather numerous, but do not rise in fiocks.

Nov, ^'Ith, — This morning multitudes of Flying-
fishes rose, disturbed by the ship ; a distinct species,
differing from both the former in many points (Plate I.
Fig. 1.). This species is much smaller; the pec-
torals are so delicately transparent as to be almost
invisible ; the upper parts are of a fine deep blue ;
their flight is swifter, more hurried, and continued
for a shorter distance ; they often merely shoot along
at the surface, just cutting the water, and sometimes
emerge for five or six feet only. The form appears

^ w

I.

\, EtXOCCETUS HILLIANUS,

1, CLUPEA LAMPROT^ENIA iKrj-

3. PCECILIA MELAPLEURA , ATi-.

4, MONOCHIRUS INSCRIPTUS ,

FLYING-FISH.

11

more taper at the extremities than that of the species
hitherto common.*

Nov. 2Sth. — Five of the little Blue-backed Flying-
fishes flew on board early in the morning, by which
I was enabled to secure specimens, and to make a
careful drawing while the colours were yet undimmed.
The brilliancy of the deep-blue on the upper parts,
and of the burnished silver of the sides and belly is
very striking. While passing Radonda, a rock to
the north of Montserrat, multitudes of this species

* This is the “ Volador” of Parra (pi. xv.), but certainly not the
Exocoetus mesogaster of Cuv. et Val., which those learned zoologists
have identified with Parra’s Volador, after Bloch. They describe
their mesogaster as having the pectorals of the same deep blue tint as
the back, with a large transverse band ; the ventrals of the same deep
colour, with white at the base of the internal ray, and a little at the
tip of the second external ray ; the dorsal and caudal, grey ; the anal
white. Its length is seven inches French, or nearly seven and a half
inches English. How importantly this differs from the species men-
tioned in the text will appear from the following description of the
latter : —

Back deep blue ; sides and belly pearly : pectorals perfectly hya-
line and colourless, except a tinge of black on the basal half of the
interspace between the first and second rays ; no trace of any band ;
ventrals colourless ; dorsal colourless for the basal half, the terminal
moiety black ; caudal white ; anal colourless. The anterior part of
the pectorals, and of the ventrals, runs out in a short point; the in-
sertion of the latter is just midway between the extremity of the lower
jaw and the fork of the caudal. The eye is large, the iris is blue,
tinged with yellow anteriorly ; the muzzle is tipped with black.
Total length five inches.

Fin-ray formula. P. 13. — D. 12. — V. 7. — A. 13. — C. 19.

Believing that this species, though allied to mesogaster, is distinct
from it, and as yet unnamed, I propose to honour it with the appellation
of Exoc. Hillianus, after the name of Richard Hill, Esq., of Jamaica,
a gentleman, whose scientific attainments are equalled only by his
urbane manners, and truly estimable character.

B 6

12

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

rose on each side, flitting but a yard or so, and often
only ruffling the surface. They were in small shoals,
each containing about a dozen Ashes.

Nov, 29th, — I noticed a Flying-flsh curve its
course so as to describe more than half a circle,

Nov, SOth, — Before breakfast the motion of the
ship disturbed multitudes of Flying-flshes of the blue-
backed species, which flew in shoals every moment
from each side of the bows. Many Bonitos pursuing
them were likewise leaping from the surface ; at
length a seaman from the martingale struck one of
the latter with the grains, and secured it. It was a
beautiful flsh, remarkably plump and hard ; the
rainbow hues of its skin were most rich and lustrous,
the pink predominating. Several black stripes run-
ning along each side marked it as the Thynnus
pelamys of Cuv. et Val. We ate it for dinner, and
found the flesh pleasant, but rather dry. In its
stomach were six of the Blue-backed Flying-fishes,
partly digested. Some large oceanic birds were like-
wise pursuing the little aeronauts, swooping down
amidst the flitting shoals. As far as I remember,
this is the only occasion in which the pursuit of the
Exocoetus, by either winged or flnned enemies, has
ever occurred to my observation ; I incline to think
that it is much oftener described than seen.

Here end my notes of the Flying-flsh ; except that
long afterwards I saw two or three of the Blue-backed
species skimming the surface of Bluefields Bay.
Besides the fact, which these notes appear to me to
prove, that the Exocoeti have the power of increasing,
directing and terminating their progress while in the

SCENE BY STARLIGHT.

13

air, by the action of the pectorals — a true flight,
those connected with the geographical distribution
of the species are worthy of notice. The common
Atlantic species, which I take to be volitans, suddenly
appeared in considerable numbers in long. 41°, or
just midway between Africa and the West Indies.
They continued to be abundant until within a day’s
sail of Antigua, where they were replaced by the
little Blue-backs, and were seen no more. This
beautiful little species suddenly became quite as
abundant as the former had been, and so continued
until we neared Hayti. The great Black-winged
kind appeared three days to windward of Antigua,
and continued to appear, conjointly with the Blue-
back, but rarely more than two or three in a day.
The last seen w^as near the west end of Hayti.

One morning I rose at three to enjoy the delight-
ful coolness of the scene by starlight. The watch
were all seated on the booms beneath the shadow of
the boats amidships, and the only living being visible
on deck was the man at the wheel, and he did his
easy work silent and motionless. The white sails
were bellying out before the gallant trade-wind, and
the rushing of the bows through the little waves,
and the rustling of the water beneath the quarter,
were the only sounds to be heard. The sky was
almost cloudless; Orion, in glittering splendour, —
armatus auro Orion,” — was nearly in the zenith ;
Ursus major had just risen from his ocean bath, no
longer answering to the ancient description, —

“ "ApKTog

Oitj S’ aixfiopog iari Xoerpojv ’QKeavoto,” —

14

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

and was curving round the low Pole-star ; the Moon
and Jupiter had set. Presently Venus rose from
the sea, enveloped in a slight haze, and looking,
when a few degrees above the horizon, exactly like
a light-house, but glowing like a torch as she rapidly
mounted up the sky. About six o’clock I went
aloft and sat in the maintop to see the sun rise
free from distraction. It was a splendid sight : the
gradual lighting up of the eastern quarter of the
heavens, and the refulgent gilding of the few clouds
that gathered there, were most gorgeous, and went
on increasing in splendour every moment; till at
length the sun leaped up “ in his clearness,” and
irradiated the solitary ocean far and wide. The whole
scene was indescribably beautiful; and though its
elements are common to all parts of the earth, yet
the effect was something new, and produced a peculiar
emotion of delight ; a sort of thrilling feeling, some-
what like that which the deep tones of a fine band of
music will often excite.

There is not a more pleasant situation on board
a ship than the maintop in fair weather. To take
a hook up for an hour’s quiet reading, or to sit with
our hack against the topmast shrouds, and enjoy our
own meditations ; or to gaze upon the vast expanse
of ocean all spread out around and beneath us ; or
to mark under the lifting sail the double hillock of
foam tossed off by the vessel’s prow breasting the
waves ; or to watch the curling of the dark eddies
beneath the stern till they subside into the long
wake, which, like a line of silver, we leave behind
upon the sea, — all these are delightful to a passenger

THE CHARMS OF NIGHT.

15

who has learned to mount a vessel’s rigging. In the
afternoon it is an especially pleasant post ; for the
broad shadow of the topsail begins to fall aft, and
the elevated solitude is screened from the rays of the
too fervid sun.

Night, too, had charms of its own. The pleasant
breath of the steady trade-wind blew with a refresh-
ing coolness over the level sea, breaking its surface
into ripples and wavelets, that washed, with a whisper-
ing sound, along the counter of the ship. The ladies
would linger on the quarter-deck till late ; and
cheerful conversation, innocent mirth, and mutual
congratulations and anticipations connected with the
land whose distance was diminishing with winged
speed, beguiled the hours. The moon, walking in
brightness,” poured down a flood of soft light on the
ship and the wide sea around, putting out the stars
above, but making amends by the thousand mimic
ones that were momentarily forming below by the
reflection of her silver face in the dancing, breaking
wave-crests. Sometimes we watched the phospho-
rescent flashings of the sea, and the brilliant sparks
that went and came among the curdled milkiness
beneath the stern, stirred and whirled by the action
of the rudder; or sometimes we would w^alk into
the forepart of the ship, and see the same curious
phenomena to still more advantage, where the bows
dived into the sea, and threw off the luminous foam
on either side. Or from the same spot we would
gaze aloft, and admire the swelling canvass, partly
white as snow in the glancing moonbeam, partly in
deepest shadow ; while each sail stretched and bellied

16

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE,

out before the breeze, just as the poet has described
it,—

“ tumidoque inflatur carbasus Austro.”

Reluctantly the passengers one by one retire, and
the meditative watch is left in undisputed possession
of the silent deck.

At length all eyes were directed westward to look
out for land: and presently (on the 28th of November)
the little isle Desirada was detected on the horizon
like a thin band of blue cloud. Antigua and Gua-
daloupe succeeded, both dim and distant ; then
Montserrat appeared ahead, and quickly grew distinct
and palpable. It w^as afternoon, and the sun was
sunk behind its heights as we neared it, so that we
could see nothing but one dark blue ragged mass,
tapering down at each extremity, and rising into
irregular peaks in the centre. We rounded the
north end, and saw the opposite side, where the
beams of the slanting sun shone full upon the green
woods and verdant cane-fields, displaying many white
houses scattered about the hills. On the summits
of the mountains many palm-trees elevated their
noble feathery heads above the general mass of foliage.
The central peaks were shrouded in a cap of cloud,
and while we looked on the smiling scene, the mists
began to roll down the mountain sides like the falling
of a curtain ; and soon the beautiful island was but
a shapeless mass of grey haze.

The fresh breeze rapidly swept us along between
Montserrat and another object of interest that now
appeared. It was Radonda, a vast mass of barren

BLUE MOUNTAIN PEAK.

17

rock, that rose steep and abrupt out of the sea before
us, relieved against the horizon already glowing with
the declining sun. As we neared it, I v/as struck
with its resemblance to the Bass, as well in form
and appearance as in the myriads of sea-birds that
were congregated in clouds around it. They were
settling down for the night ; and strings of other
birds, from all points of the compass, were seen on
flagging wing wending their way to their island lodg-
ing, after their predatory seaward excursions of the
day. Behind the rock in the northern horizon, was
seen the conical form of Nevis, that lovely little
gem of the Hesperidan archipelago, but blue and
distant, and presently lost ; for the sun had set, and
the night, like a giant, strode quickly over the scene.

BLUE MOUNTAIN PEAK.

Dec. — My first sight of Jamaica was one that
I never can forget. The approach to the land of
one’s destination after a long voyage is always a season
of pleasurable excitement ; a peculiar flutter of the
spirits, a disposition to hilarity, and to mutual gratu-
lation pervades more or less every one on board, from
cabin passenger to the black cook in the caboose.
Every one may be seen from time to time straining
his eyes, in the direction from which the first dim
blue indication may be expected ; and those who dare
to go aloft make free use of the advantage which that
elevation affords them. I had arisen early, and at
dawn of day had seen Cape Tiburon, the west point
of Hayti, dark, distinct, and palpable, though distant

18

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

sixty or seventy miles. The brightness of the east
was behind it, and threw it out into strong and bold
relief ; but the moment the sun was visible above its
outline, it faded away and became entirely invisible.
Just before sunrise, or just after sunset, is a time
much prized by mariners for discerning distant land.

During the forenoon the mountains of Jamaica
were seen, and gradually grew more distinct as we
neared the island. Yet the cloudiness of the day had
prevented my having had any satisfactory view of it
until evening. About sunset, I was standing forward,
when one by my side said, Look at the Peak ! ” I
looked intently, directing my gaze to the neighbour-
hood of the horizon, where I supposed it was to be
seen ; but nothing but the dull white clouds met my
eye. “ Up there ! ” said my informant ; and his
finger pointed up into the sky ; and there indeed was
its noble head (perhaps elevated by refraction), a co-
nical mass, darkly blue, above the dense bed of clouds
that hung around its sides, and enveloped all beneath
its towering elevation. Yet it is situated far inland,
and was then full forty miles distant from our ship.

But night soon fell, and, as we were somewhat
anxiously watching for the light on Point Moran t, I
had the pleasure of first seeing it from the main
rigging. We were soon abreast of it, and as we
passed on before an increasing breeze, that tempered
the tropical heat with its refreshing breath, we saw
the coast dark and high only a few miles off. Many
lights were seen in the scattered cottages, and here
and there a fire blazed up from the beach, or a torch
in the hand of some fisherman was carried from place

KINGSTON AND POET EOYAL.

19

to place. My mind was full of Columbus, and of his
feelings on that eventful night, when the coast of
Guanahani lay spread out before him with its moving
lights, and proud anticipations. With curiosity and
hope, somewhat analogous {'parva componere magnis),
did I contemplate the tropical island before me, its
romance heightened by the indefiniteness and ob-
scurity in which it lay. I was on deck several times
during the night, and during the intervals was still
engaged, in dreams, in endeavouring to penetrate the
darkness of the shore.

KINGSTON AND PORT ROYAL.

At day-break (Dec. 5th) we found ourselves off
the mouth of Kingston Harbour, becalmed. How
lovely was the scene ! The sea was of crystal clear-
ness, allowing the eye to penetrate far into its depth
beneath the shadow of the ship’s stern ; while all
around, sleeping in the perfect calm, it reflected the
heavens like a plate of steel. No clouds broke the
uniformity of that reflection ; but all above was clear
transparent blue, already suffusing with brightness in
the seaward horizon. Before us stretched away on
either hand the beauteous island, with its many
mountain ridges, showing their purple summits in re-
ceding succession. But one object instantly arrested
the eye, and long detained it ; right over against us,
apparently overhanging the city of Kingston, towered
in its giant grandeur the Peak which I had seen the
evening before. It seemed close at hand, from its
vastness ; though its uniform blue hue told on re-

20

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

flection its distance. Presently the sun rose, and
purpled the conical head long before he shone on us,
or even on the lower ranges of mountains. The
well-known comparison by which Columbus is said to
have given Queen Isabella an idea of Jamaica, — a
sheet of paper crumpled up tightly in the hand, and
then partially stretched out, — occurred to me, and I
could not hut admire its striking appropriateness.
The oblique rays of the sun showed out the alternate
hollows and ridges in vivid distinctness, and gradually
raised thin white mists from the former, which soon
grew into clouds, and spread themselves about the
summits and sides of the higher mountains, until
these were quite veiled, except where dark portions
were here and there revealed through openings, like
great rents in a garment.

The city of Kingston, with its steeples and white
houses, was visible from the rigging, over the long
low' spit of sand called the Palisades, on the point of
which we could see the collection of hovels known as
Port Royal, with the masts of a line-of-battle ship
towering above them.

By and by black specks appeared upon the shining
sea as suddenly as if they had just emerged from its
depths, each of which we understood to be the canoe
of a fisherman, engaged in examining the wicker

pots ” or traps, which had lain all night upon the
bottom, or else in the more active employment of
fishing with the hook and line. One of these tiny
specks pulled out to us, and as she lay alongside, I
observed with delight the brilliant colours and strange
forms of the fishes that had just been caught; among

KINGSTON HAEBOUK.

21

which, however, was a young shark, some three or
four feet long, and not yet dead. Three brawny
negroes were on hoard, whose dark brown skins,
plump and glossy, were only partially concealed by
their ragged garments ; yet one of these was the pilot,
to whose skill and local knowledge we were to be
indebted for a safe guidance among the kays, and
through the coral channels, that guard the magnificent
harbour of Kingston.

Not a breath yet stirred the sea ; and though long
gentle undulations rolled slowly in from the ocean,
their surface was glassy and unbroken ; and the re-
flections from the dark land were thrown up in broad
masses, caught by one rounded swell after another, as
the smooth side of each successively presented itself
to the eye. It was a trial to patience to lie idly
there, beautiful as was the scene; the heat was in-
tense, though the season was December, almost too
great, indeed, to allow of an emergence from the
shadow of the awning into the unclouded beams, to
examine the towing-net, which lay overboard. It
had gathered little ; masses of tangled gulf-weed and
other Alg(2 had from time to time accumulated in it,
some of the stems of which were covered with the
pretty netted Flustra^ so commonly found investing
these marine plants. A few minute fishes, of the
genera Hemiramphus and Antennarius , were entangled
in the weed, and many little Swimming-crabs
with the hindmost pair of feet dilated into flat
rounded plates, and the shell produced on each side
into a sharp spine, ran swiftly among their yellow
mazes. Two specimens of a Nereis also occurred ;

22

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

but the most curious creature was an Annellide, that
inhabited a hollow stick, lined with a tough mem-
brane, exactly in the manner of Phryganea,

It was noon before the welcome sea-breeze came
in, and then it was so slight that we could scarcely
feel its gentle breathing. It was sufficient, however,
to impel us gradually nearer to the land, and thus to
reveal the minuter beauties of the scene, whose
grander features we had been admiring at a distance.
Many little flat kays, as such islets are called, lay
around, among which our tortuous course led us ;
scarcely more than the flat tops of coral rocks, almost
level with the sea, on which sand and shells had been
accumulated by the waves ; yet pleasant to look on,
because covered with low bushes of a refreshing
greenness. On their snowy beaches, where the gentle
ripple was sparkling, or perched on the irregular blocks
of black rock that lay half covered with the tide, sat
many Pelicans, preening their plumage, and dashing
the water over their wings, or lazily resting after
their morning’s fishing excursion. * Some sat sleepily
on the sea, their forms reflected from its bosom,
inert and motionless, except for the alternate rise
and fall which were produced by the undulation of
the ground-swell.

At length, the peculiar harsh rattling of the chain
cable rushing through the iron-lined hawse-hole, an-
nounced that the anchor was dropped, and at the

* “ Tranquillo silet, immotaque attolitur unda
Campus, et apricis statio gratissima mergis.”

ViRG. Mndd. V. 127.

THE PALISADES.

23

same moment the captain’s gig was lowered to convey
himself and the passengers across the beautiful broad
harbour, to the thriving city at its head. But it was
as a naturalist that I was there, and the sea-beaten
shore promised me greater gratification than a visit
to Kingston ; hence I availed myself of the boat only
to be put ashore at Port Royal Wharf, whence I
speedily found my way to the long sandy beach of
the Palisades.

It is true there was little of the luxuriance or
beauty that we associate with tropical scenery, here.
It is a low bank of sand nearly nine miles in length ;
but scarcely any where more than a few hundred
yards in breadth, forming a natural breakwater that
separates the broad lake-like harbour of Kingston
from the Caribbean Sea. I found it barren enough ;
but it was all strange, and to feet which for nearly
two months had not felt the firm earth, even a run
along the beach was exhilarating. The graceful
Cocoa-nut Palm sprang up in groups from the water’s
edge, waving its feathery fronds over the rippling
waves that dashed about its fibrous foot. Great
bushes of Prickly-pear and other Cacti were growing
on the low summit of the bank, covering large spaces
of ground, with their impenetrable masses, presenting
a formidable array of spines : as did also a species of
Acacia, that grew in thickets and single trees. All
along the line of high water lay heaps of sea-weeds
drying in the sun, among which was particularly
abundant a species of Padina, closely resembling the
pretty “Peacock’s tail” of our own shores, though
less regularly beautiful. Sponges of various forms.

24

INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.

and large Fan-corals, with the gelatinous flesh dried
on the horny skeleton, were also thrown up on the
higher beach ; and I found in some abundance, a
Coralline, of a soft consistence, and of a bright grass-
green hue, each branch of which was terminated by a
radiating tuft of slender filaments.

Shells were very scarce on the sea-beach ; but on
the harbour side many species were found in the
crevices and pools of the low rocks, and just within
the margin of the water. All were small, and few
presented any facts worthy of being noticed ; they
were chiefly of the genera Turho^ Phasianella^ Pla-
naxis, Buccinum^ Vermetus and Fusus ; the bivalves
Ostrea^ Anomia, Spondylus, Avicula, Area, Cardium,
Venus and Pliolas. Several specimens of a brilliant
little ChcBtodon were swimming and darting about
the narrow, but deep pools ; they were not more than
an inch in length, marked with alternate bands of
black and golden yellow. In the vertical position in
which they swim, with the eye of the observer look-
ing down upon them, they appear to bear the slender
proportions of ordinary fishes ; and it is only by
accident, as in turning, or on capturing one, that we
detect the peculiar form, high and vertically flattened,
of this curious genus.

THE HEMIRAMPHUS.

While lying off Port Royal, just within the mouth
of Kingston Harbour, I had the pleasure of seeing
a shoal of that curious and interesting fish, the Half-
beak Garfish {Hemiramphus), A few single sped-

THE HEMIEAMPHUS.

25

mens had occurred in the towing-net, while approach-
ing the island ; but they were young, and not more
than a few inches in length. But at this time about
fifty were gathered, in the perfectly smooth water
under the ship’s stern, where they remained actively
playing just beneath the surface. They were all of
nearly the same size, about a foot in length. The
negro-boys called them Ballahoo.* A few bits of
bread which the steward had just shaken from the
breakfast-cloth, were objects of great attention to
the fishes ; they clustered round each fragment, and
bit at it every moment, not attempting, however, to
take it in by opening the jaws ; but each fish suc-
cessively making a dart at it obliquely from beneath,
and just touching its underpart with the point of the
upper (and shorter) jaw. I could not perceive that
their attacks, though pertinaciously continued, de-
tached any sensible quantity, though some very small
fragments were carried down a few inches below the
surface, and then being let go rose again. Presently
a Garfish {Belone) called Piper, about two feet in
length, appeared among the Ballahoo, and was fol-
lowed by another. I observed that the shoal of
Half-beaks gave these strangers a wide berth, though
they did not disperse. Probably this singularly
formed fish habitually feeds on greasy substances,
or minute animalcules that float near the surface,
always taking its food from beneath. The Garfish
and the Saury (^Scomberesox) are both surface-swimming
genera.

* Probably H, apicalis (Bennett), or H. Brownii (Cuv. and Val.).

C

26

ALLIGATOR POND.

ALLIGATOR POND.

Dec, 9t]i. — A few hours’ run from Port Royal
brought us to Alligator Pond. Most parts of the
intermediate coast had a most sterile appearance, the
hills being covered with small scrubby wood, unre-
lieved for miles by a single plantation. The little
village of Carlisle displayed a pleasanter scene, where
on the flat were seen flelds of sugar-cane of a delicate
light green hue waving in the breeze, windmills with
their sails in revolution, the smoke ascending from
the boiling-houses and other buildings of a sugar
estate, and men and cattle actively performing the
several duties of the culture or manufacture. Alli-
gator Pond is the mouth of a valley which runs up
between the May Day Mountains and the Santa
Cruz Mountains. It consists of a few stores, with
a wharf, a dwelling-house, and a few negro huts. I
went on shore with an insect net. On the sandy beach,
so loose and heavy that I could scarcely walk on it,
the Convolvulus 'pes cajprce was growing in profusion,
covering its upper part with a carpet of verdure, and
trailing its long stems in every direction over the
beach, while its beautiful purple blossoms, mingled
with the pink flowers of the Canavalia rosea, grace-
fully relieved the dark foliage. Here an active pre-
daceous beetle {Cicindela Guadalupensis) was run-
ning and flying alternately with the wary agility
common to the genus, so as to be difficult of capture.

The soil all around consists of the same heavy
sand, into which the feet sink to the ankle at every

PEICIvLY PEAKS.

27

step, which, added to the sun’s rays direct and re-
flected, makes any exertion terribly fatiguing. Dra-
gon-flies and Butterflies were numerous here ; one of
the first objects that attracted my attention was
Heliconia charitonia. Its beauty and singularity of
form, the great length and little breadth of the wings,
the length and slenderness of the body, and the
brilliant contrasts of colour, lemon-yellow and vel-
vety black, together with the very peculiar flapping
of the wings in flight, as if their length rendered
them somewhat unwieldy, gave me a sensation of de-
lighted surprise. It is one of the most easily cap-
tured of Butterflies, being slow of flight and fearless ;
it flutters heavily along over low herbage at the sides
of roads, and by the sea-shore, rarely mounting as
high as one’s head, except when alarmed. Colcenis
Delila^ Agraulis vanillce, and the minute Polyom-
matus Cassius^ were also abundant here. A large
Opuntia was growing in great straggling beds, the
broad spine-set articulations displaying both flower
and fruit in profusion. Notwithstanding the pencils
of fine barbed spines with which the latter is armed
at intervals, well maintaining its title of Prickly pear
I was tempted by its plumpness and rich blooming
colour to taste one. My lips were soon full of the
spines, which are detached from their base with the
slightest force, and left sticking in the flesh ; yet the
pulp and juice, both of which were of the richest
crimson hue, were pleasantly sweet-acid, though
somewhat insipid, and full of stony seeds. An ex-
cellent crimson dye, equal to true cochineal, has re-
cently been obtained in the East Indies from the

28

ALLIGATOR POND.

fruit of Opuntia coccinellifer, the NopM, on which
the cochineal insect is fed ; it would he worth while
to institute experiments on the fruit of this species,
which is so abundant in the most sterile places in the
West Indies.. While I was looking at a large But-
terfly {Callidryas^ Euhule) that flitted about the ex-
panded blossoms,, and admiring the similitude of
colour between the fly and the flower, both being
entirely of a delicate sulphur-yellow, — a Humming-
bird suddenly appeared probing one of the latter,
but was gone before I could w’ell observe his plum-
age. By the ruby gleam that flashed from his
throat, however, I conclude it to have been the
Mango {Lampornis porphyrurus) , the sides of whose
gorget are crimson in some lights..

Among the joints of the tangled Prickly pear,
many vertical spiders’ webs were hung, some of
which were of sufficient strength to offer considerable
resistance to the hand. I looked at the tenant, and
found it to be Nephila clavipes, a spider of exceed-
ing beauty. It is of large size, being an inch and a
half in length, exclusive of the legs, which extend
over a space five inches in diameter. The body is
lengthened, and studded with round white spots, each
environed with a black border, on a rich greenish-
brown ground, reminding one of the characteristic
marking of the Tragopans among birds. The ce-
phalo-thorax is shining black, its lustre half concealed
by a clothing of short silvery down ; the legs are very
long, and have a remarkable appearance from having
a bunch of black hair set around the extremity of
the first and second joints, like the bristles of a bottle-

SPIDERS.

29

brush ; the third or short pair of legs, however, is
destitute of these appendages. These peculiarities
impart an interesting character to this fine spider,
which seems also to have a wide geographical range,
extending from Florida, and perhaps Georgia, to the
Bermudas, all through the Antilles, and even over the
continent of South America as far as Brazil. But
to return to the individual which was now attracting
my interested attention. Several young ones were
scattered about the net of one of large size, each of
which hung head downward on the threads in the
manner of the adult, remote from her, and from its
fellows. Hence it would seem that the young of
this species learns its first fly-catching lessons on the
parental web, and is not sent into the world to prac-
tise on its own account its net-weaving trade, until it
has attained some size and strength. Most of the nets,
however, in the Prickly-pear bush were occupied by
Spiders {G aster acantha) of smaller size, but equally
curious; the abdomen having a shell-like hardness
and polish, and being hexagonal in form, with the
angles produced into sharp points. There seemed
to be two species of these, some having the abdomen
of a dull red, and others, the more common, of a
porcelain whiteness.

I rode a few’ miles up the valley to dine with a
gentleman at his coffee plantation. Looking into a
deserted house not far from the shore, I was astonished
to see that from every beam, rafter, and projection
of the interior, hung multitudes of nests of a brown
slender Wasp {Polistes ruhiginosa ?) in all stages of
progress ; some just begun ; others as large as a tea-

30

ALLIGATOR POND.

cup, and crowded with wasps ; others old and aban-
doned. There must have been in that hut some
hundreds of nests. Wasps of the same species were
swarming about the spinous leaves of the Pinguin,
a sort of wild pine-apple, of which fences are made.
The road soon became interesting, being bounded by
huge masses of white limestone singularly honey-
combed with round holes of various sizes.* In these
holes often were seen small shells, perfectly white
like the stone itself, of the genera Helix, Cyclostoma,
Cylindrella, &c. ; and many were scattered about,
some whole, and some in fragments. In many cases
the shell accurately fitted the hole, and the stone
bore evident marks of having been in a plastic con-
dition when the shells were enveloped in it. I at
first supposed that they were fossil, but I have since
found that they are the common living species of the
woods. This fact is interesting, as it seems to prove
the comparatively recent formation of this honey-
combed limestone, which forms so large a proportion
of the rock in the central part of the island. Out
of the hollows of the rock on either hand, their roots
fast grasping the projections and twining round the
sharp points between the holes, grew many tall trees
of various kinds, interlaced with climbers, and hung
with festoons of Hanes, resembling long and twisted

* The appearance of this limestone is very singular. Sir H. De la
Beche accounts for its structure, by suggesting that it is not homo-
geneous in substance ; that some parts were originally more argilla-
ceous than others ; and that these becoming decomposed by the action
of the atmosphere, left irregular cavities in the harder and more
durable stone.

ORCHIDEiB:.

31

cords, thrown from one to another, or depending
from the branches towards the ground. The great
Keratto, or American aloe, as it is often called {Agave
herato\ threw up its broad, fleshy, spinous leaves,
and lofty flower-stalks from the crevices, in profusion ;
and numerous Cacti, both erect and trailing, helped
to give a very peculiar character to the vegetation.
I here saw epiphyte OrcJiidece for the first time
growing in native wildness. Some large bunches of
crimson blossom caught my eye, far up above my
head ; and giving my horse to my negro guide, I
climbed the rock to examine the plant. It was, as
I had suspected, the elegant Broughtonia sanguinea,
growing in profuse luxuriance in tufts, depending
from the trunks of some Hog-plum trees (Spondias
graveolens). On another tree, a species of Bignonia,
I found masses of Brasavola nodosa, with long leaves
resembling porcupine quills in form, and hanging
racemes of elegant white flowers. I carefully de-
tached all the specimens, greatly to the mystification
of my sable companion ; who, as I afterwards found,
told his master how the strange buckra had taken
the trouble to get parcel of hush ! ”

The mansion of my kind friend afforded me one
of the most magnificent prospects that I had ever
beheld. From the wide balcony that surrounds the
house, the eye roams in one direction over many
miles of savannah, or open pasture country, with all
the varieties of surface produced by rounded hills,
valleys, and sheeted slopes, beautifully spotted with
large clumps of bushes, imparting somewhat of the
character of our English downs. In another direction

32

ALLIGATOR POND.

the wooded sides of the limestone valley lay beneath
us, a broad expanse of sea filling like a cup the
hollow formed by the distant valley’s mouth. But
the most striking feature was an enormous mountain
rising immediately in front of the house, covered to
the summit with dark woods ; so steep and towering
that as I lay in bed in a lofty room I could but just
see a little portion of sky in the upper corner of the
window. The top of this mountain was the cofiee-
plantation, and would doubtless have repaid the toil
of an ascent, if I had had time to accomplish it.

COLLECTING CHITONS.

Dec. \Sth. — I walked a mile or two along
the beach, towards the lofty clifis called the White
Horses. Two isolated masses of rock had attracted
my attention from the ship, and I hoped to obtain
some shells here. They were situated just within
the tide, and the surf was dashing furiously over
them. As I could see from the beach that shells
were adhering to the very rugged surface, I stripped,
and waded out and examined. After picking off a
few species of Phasianella^ which w'ere very nume-
rous, I was delighted with the sight of a Chiton, and
presently, many others of several species, the largest
about two inches in length. They were Ch. marmo-
ratus, assimilis, squamosus, and pectinatus.

Chitons are rather difficult shells to procure. The
force with which the broad muscular foot adheres to
the rock is too great to allow them to be removed
with the hand ; and if they be touched without

CHITONS.

33

being detached, they instantly become alarmed, the
shelly valves bend more downward, the leathery
mantle clings to the surface, and the muscular adhe-
sion of the foot becomes so great that no force can
now detach the animal, short of that which would
destroy the specimen. The approved mode of pro-
ceeding is as follows. Tate an old rounded table-
knife, with which the collector should be provided,
in the left hand, so that the tip of the blade shall be
close to one extremity of the Chiton^ without touch-
ing it. Then, with the palm of the other hand, as a
mallet, give a smart blow to the handle, the effect of
which will be that the animal is pushed from its hold
before it has time to be alarmed. In the present
case, however, this device was impracticable ; for,
owing to the very carious surface of the rock, and the
Chitons generally filling a hollow, it was impossible
to push them off. But I found that by suddenly
inserting the dull point of a strong pocket-knife
under the margin of the mantle, and giving a quick
wrench, I could remove them with facility, and gene-
rally without cutting or tearing the edge. Out of
more than fifty specimens which I essayed, I did not
lose more than two or three. Yet the operation was
not without difficulty, from the very sharp projec-
tions of the rock, and the force of the surf, which
frequently dashed violently over my head, and once
or twice knocked me down. I had to catch the
momentary intervals of the waves, to dislodge my
booty ; and sometimes a sea coming at the moment
I had done it, washed it from my grasp. The finest
specimens were found on the seaward side, and on the

34

BLACK KIVER.

under surface of projecting ledges, which made them
more hard to he got at.

These Chitons I prepared in the following manner :
— Having brought them on board, 1 threw them into
a tub of cold fresh water to kill them. When dead,
which was known by the absence of muscular rigidity,
the soft fleshy parts were cut out, leaving only the
shelly plates and the leathery margin. Some strips
of board, just wide enough to receive the specimens,
having been provided, I placed each Chiton length-
wise, exactly in the position it had assumed when
alive on the rock, and with a thread, passed several
times round it and the board, bound it firmly down.
It thus dried in a natural form, instead of the con-
dition in which we sometimes see these interesting
shells in cabinets, coiled up like a millepede, from
which, when once dried, it is difficult to relax them
permanently.

A day or two afterwards, I obtained from the
rocks near Black River Chiton piceus in abundance,
a much larger and finer species than any of the
former.

THE PAINTED SWIFT-FOOT.

Dec. Ylth. — About the rocks in the vicinity
of Black River, I noticed many specimens of this
beautiful Crab {Grapsus tenuicrustatus). Its form is
remarkably flat, as are also the legs, and particularly
the thighs, which pack one on the other in a very
curious manner : the hue is a chaste warm grey,
marked with transverse zigzag black lines, somewhat
like writing. It is difiicult to capture, for it is very

BLUEFIELDS BAY.

35

wary, and its swiftness of foot is amazing ; it darts
from side to side over the rough surfaces of the rocks,
with a rapidity that is much more like flying than
running ; not in a continuous course, but fitfully and
irregularly, now shooting hither, now thither, and re-
maining still for momentary intervals between, watch-
ing the intruder. What is remarkable is, that it
does not matter whether the rock on which it runs so
swiftly be horizontal or perpendicular, nor whether
its back or its belly be uppermost ; it shoots round
the projecting ledges, and darts about on their under
sides with as perfect security and ease, as on the
broad flat top of the rock. Does not this indicate a
delicate sense of touch in the tips of its shelly feet ?

BLUEFIELDS BAY.

It was on the morning of the 19th of December
that we entered the beautiful Bay of Bluefields. It
had well nigh been a serious, if not fatal, acquaint-
ance, which I made with it ; for the ship here
suddenly struck upon the reef that stretches off some
distance from the shore. The wind was happily
light, and by the good providence of God, an anchor
carried out succeeded, after some hours of anxiety, in
warping the ship off without much damage. When
morning broke, it found us in the midst of the broad
bay, that stretched in a wide semicircle before us, just
off the open harbour, or rather roadstead, of Savanna-
le-Mar. Under a gentle breeze we were running
in, and I had opportunity to admire the lovely scene.
The verdant Guinea-grass pieces and pastures of

36

BLUEFIELDS BAY.

Bluefields and the pens around, sloped up from the
sea, studded with white houses that gleamed in the
rising sun. Further to the eastward lay the park-
like estate of Mount Edgecumhe, its greensward
varied with groves and clumps of the graceful Pi-
mento. Behind, rose the mighty rampart of the
Bluefields Ridge, rising into one conical peak of half
a mile in height, and others of less elevation, and
jutting out into the bay in a bold promontory,
covered, from the rounded surhmit to the very foot
upon the sea-beach, with the dark and dense prime-
val forest. The town of Savanna-le-Mar, scarcely
rising above the sea-level, could be recognised only
by the clustered masts of the shipping at anchor ; and
from it stretched away, in a long needle-like point,
the eastern extremity of the island, Cape Negril.
Blue and distant, yet bold and well-defined in out-
line, rose above the flat country about Savanna-le-
Mar, the Dolphin’s Head, a single mountain, re-
sembling in form a crouching lion, and reputed to be
equal, if not superior, in altitude to Bluefields Peak.
In the smooth water in-shore, that accurately re-
flected the outline of the land, long strings of Peli-
cans were alternately plunging after their prey, and
sailing on heavy flagging wing ; and far, far over-
head, like black specks against the bright sky, a flock
of Man-of-war birds were placidly floating ; resting,
if I may be allowed the term, in the lofty air,
after their morning meal upon the flying-fish in the
offing.

The water all over this beautiful bay is unusually
transparent, so that in six fathoms the bottom, with

S A VANN A-LE - MAE.

37

every rock, patch of sand, or bunch of weed, was
as distinct as if seen simply through a broad plate
of glass. We ran in through a very narrow channel,
the coral reef almost touching us on either side, as I
saw plainly enough from a little way up the shrouds.
The pilot had taken his station on the end of the
bowsprit instead of the poop, that he might the
better discern the slender passage, cut as it were
through the coral rock, which we were threading;
and very delicate work it was. This was not the
ordinary channel for large craft, but that was denied
to us in the present case by the wind, except with
the loss of a tide.

SAVANNA-LE-MAR.

The town of Savanna-le-Mar presents little which
is attractive to a stranger, though its aspect is charac-
teristic enough of West Indian manners. It stands
very low ; on the eastern side a grove of cocoa-nut
palms, nearly a mile in length, fringes the white
beach ; and on the other the eye rests on nothing at
all but a wall of sombre mangrove trees, growing
actually out of the sea for miles. You climb the
wharf, and are immediately in a broad and long
straight street, that constitutes the town. There is
no pavement but the sandy earth, ploughed into
ruts by the waggons, some of which you may see
with their long teams of oxen, bringing in puncheons
of rum and hogsheads of sugar from the country.
Right across, at irregular intervals, run great water-
courses, dry sometimes to be sure, but in the rainy

38

SAVANNA-LE-MAR.

season, as now, liable every day to be flooded, eacb
a foaming torrent of muddy water rushing and froth-
ing into the great mangrove morass that environs the
town. Most of the houses are shops, or stores as
they are called in American fashion ; each store,
whatever the character of its merchandize, — shoes,
drapery, ‘‘ dry-goods,” ‘‘ hard-ware,” spirits, tobacco,
provisions, or what not, — fitted up in the same
manner, with an open piazza in front, three or four
yards wide, in which the various goods are exposed,
and in which the owner may commonly be seen with
a friend or customer, seated on chairs, the feet often
on another chair (this too in American fashion) dis-
cussing the amenities of a cigar or a glass of malt.”
Behind the piazza is the shop, with unglazed win-
dows, through which communication freely takes
place to the clerks and shopmen inside ; this is fitted
up with counters and shelves, rather more in English
style. Above, the ceiling of the piazza being sup-
ported, on the street line, by one or two slender
pillars, are the rooms of the dwelling-house, or else
balconies ; in either case furnished with jalousies,
or strong Venetian blinds, which admit light and air
from beneath, excluding the sun’s rays ; or can be
entirely closed. Towards the upper end of the long
street the shops cease, the houses become more
elegant, each inclosed in a court or garden, often
adorned with the beautiful or fragrant blossoming
trees and plants of the island, or such as unite fruit
with beauty and shade. Of the former the scarlet
Cordia, the noble Agave, and the Oleander or South
Sea Rose, both beautiful and odorous, are great

BLUEFIELDS.

39

favourites; and of tlie latter, the wide-spreading
Genip and Tamarind, the tall Papaw, and the golden-
fruited members of the Citrus genus, from the
gigantic Shaddock to the diminutive Lime.

BLUEFIELDS.

A day or two sufficed to apprehend the beauties
of Savanna-le-Mar, and I was anxious, besides, to
commence my regular collecting. The ship’s cutter
was put at my service, and manned to rov/ me across
the Bay. Kind friends were waiting fof me on the
beach, and the hospitable roof of Bluefields soon
received me, and became my home thenceforward as
long as I remained in the island, a period of eighteen
months.

In the prosperous days of Jamaica, Bluefields
was a sugar estate; but is now, like many other
beautiful properties, given up, almost entirely, to
resume the original wildness of nature. The greater
partis, therefore, what is called ruinate, the expressive
term applied to land in such a neglected condition.
About a dozen acres are kept open in pasture, among
the grass of which grow many flowering weeds,
such as the Mexican Horn-poppy {Argemone), the
West Indian Vervain {Stachytarplia), Swallow worts
{AscleyiadcE), small Passifiorce, and others ; and about
as much more is planted with the valuable, and
always verdant, Guinea-grass (Panicum, jumentorum),
among the tussocks of which may generally be seen
fluttering dozens of that pretty pink-winged moth,
Deiopeia hella. But all around is covered with a

40

BLUEFIELDS.

dense and tangled mass of second-growth, chiefly
logwood, interspersed with calabashes, breadnuts,
and cotton trees, and with the usual fruit-trees of a
plantation, the avocada-pear, the akee, a recent in-
troduction from Africa, oranges and limes, cocoa-nuts,
mangoes, guavas, papaws, sops, and custard apples.
There is not a day in the year in which fruit from
some or other of these may not be plucked. The
fences consist of dry- wall,” that is, a low wall built
up of loose stones without cement ; which, when the
stones are skilfully arranged, so as to bind each other,
is sufiiciently firm and durable. It is easy, however,
to guess that such walls afibrd a prolific harbour for
vermin; and, in truth, spiders and scorpions, great
biting ants, centipedes, and all the kinds of lizards
and snakes, find refuge in their crevices. Over these
walls sprawl multitudes of creeping plants, covering
their tops and sides with a festooned drapery of ver-
dure and blossom ; various kinds of Cereus, Aristo-
lochia, AroidecB, and beautiful Convolvuli, Ipomece,
and Echites, are abundant; w'hile at their bases
spring up numberless bushes of Lantana, of several
species, (always covered with their bunches of cheer-
ful blossom, and clusters of berries), Cleome penta-
phylla, Solanecc, and many papilionaceous and other
flowering plants, both herbaceous and shrubby; many
of the latter overspread with the tangled leafless stems
of Dodder (Cuscuta Americana), like a great yellow
spider’s web thrown over them. A beautiful rivulet
runs through the estate in a winding course to the
sea. The soil is a friable whitish marl ; the highest

THE FOKEST.

41

elevation may be a hundred feet, sloping down gently
to the shore.

THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

A few days after my arrival, I had set out some
time before dawn, to go in a canoe round the neigh-
bouring shore. As I walked along the road to
Belmont, suddenly and unexpectedly the Southern
Cross caught my eye, close to the meridian, and
therefore erect. My first emotion was a gush of
pleasure, at seeing what I had so often read of, and
wished to see; my next, a feeling of disappoint-
ment at its efiect. I had expected a much more
splendid constellation; if I had not known its form
from books, I do not think I should ever have been
struck with it, or hardly have noticed any resemblance
to a cross ; the westernmost star is too near the
beam, and too high, to be symmetrical with the
opposite one ; it is much inferior, too, in magnitude ;
and there is another star, quite supernumerary, a
little below it ; all which circumstances greatly de-
tract from the efiect of the constellation as a whole.
Still there is a sort of classic association with it,
which must always give it an interest to an European
who looks upon it for the first time.

ASPECT OF THE FOREST.

It was pleasant to walk out the morning after my
arrival at Bluefields, and survey my hunting-ground.
It was not so much to collect specimens, nor to

42

BLUEFIELDS.

pursue any particular line of observation, as to take
a general glance at Nature, and to delight my fancy
with the richness and the novelty of the field in which
I thus found myself. At one corner of the pasture
a steep rocky hill rises abruptly, covered with pristine
woods. The boughs of an immense fig-tree, which
had been prostrated in a storm a few weeks before,
enabled me to climb the ascent ; but I was astonished
at the difficulty of penetrating the forest. The num-
ber of tough withes, many of them fearfully spinous,
that entwine about the trees and about each other ;
the long prickly cacti, too, that trail here and there ;
the lianes, that resemble ropes, or lines, or strings,
according to their thickness, hanging down in loops,
or loosely waving to and fro, — are wonderful : these
last frequently extend from a lofty bough nearly to
the ground, without a branch or leaf till near the
extremity, where the cord commonly divides into
three or four more slender ones. Some of the larger
ones are woody, and are often seen tightly twisted
together, like the strands of a cable. The bushes
and smaller trees are sometimes very numerous and
close, quite choking the ground, and preventing the
view beyond a few yards in any direction. The
oppressive heat, the insects, and often, as here, the
loose stony character of the ground, render it im-
possible to go far into these woods.

Yet here was much to interest a stranger. The
large trees, and many of the small ones, were studded
with parasites, springing out of the bark of the trunk,
from the angles of the forks, or from the upper sur-
face of the great horizontal branches. Some of these

WILD-PINES.

43

were Orchideous, but the chief belonged to the same
family as the pine-apple, the resemblance to which
has been recognised in the appellation provincially
conferred upon them, Wild-pines. They are found
in all situations, on the tops of the mountains, in the
plains, by the sea side, in the depths of the forest,
in the open pasture ; and on all sorts of trees, scarcely
a tree being without some, large ones often carrying
hundreds ; nor do they seem to attach themselves,
as far as I can discern, to dying or diseased trees,
more than to such as are in perfect health. One
species, called Old-man’s-beard (Tillandsia usneoides),
is very small and slender, but forms great matted
bunches, with wiry stems, which often hang down like
tufts of ragged hair. Others are highly ornamental.
One, rather common, has a swollen base, much like
the bulb of a lily (hence called Tillandsia hulbosa) ;
and narrow, almost cylindrical, pointed leaves, of
which those near the blossom are often crimson.
A spike of flowers lengthened in form, and of crimson
and purple hues, with singularly sheathing bracts,
and projecting purple stamens, makes this a beautiful
plant in the blossoming season. Another still more
abundant kind, a species of Vriesia, throws out a
long branching spike, of crimson and yellow flowers,
imbricated or sheathed in a singularly compact man-
ner. In the mountain-woods a crimson and purple
species of JEchmea is very gorgeous ; but the most
imposing of all is the noble Tillandsia lingulata ;
the leaves of which are long, and shaped like those
of the pine-apple, widened and, as usual, sheathing
each other at their bases, and throwing out in July

44

BLUEFIELDS.

large flowers of a rich crimson hue and polished
surface. The sheathing bases of the leaves form
natural reservoirs for water; the rains and dews
accumulating there in considerable quantities, and
forming a resource for thousands of birds, and even
for man himself, in the season of drought, and afibrd-
ing retreats, always cool and moist, for those reptiles
that respire through the skin.

One of the largest trees on the hill of which I have
been speaking was the Tropic Birch {Bursera gummi-
fera), a tree not very common, but often attaining a
giant bulk and height. It is less infested than many
with these parasites, owing to the smoothness of its
bark, which is glossy, and peels off in thin papery
laminae, like the northern tree after which it is
named. A clear resinous substance exudes from the
trunk, which is viscid, and appears to possess many
of the qualities of turpentine.

THE SOLDIER CRAB.

Among the loose pebbles that formed the surface
of this hill, wherever the huge outcropping masses of
rock did not appear, and that added to the difficulties
of penetrating the maze, were many large shells.
The first of these that I saw was a large round brown
Snail {Helix Jamaicensis), and as its exterior was
very fresh, I thought I had a prize ; but on taking it
up, I saw the large claw of a Hermit-crab, red and
tuberculous, closing up the orifice, which it exactly
fitted. The negroes call these crabs Soldiers, per-
haps from their red hue. Afterwards I saw other

THE SOLDIER CRAB.

45

specimens, and some of a large Trochus {Meleagris
picus)^ with pearly interior, as well as a capacious
Ampullaria, inhabited by the same species. It
crawls irregularly, but quickly; making its shell
rattle against the pebbles as it proceeds ; but if
alarmed, it instantly withdraws into its house, and
bringing its strong legs around its head in the form
of a semicircle, claps its greater claw upon the whole,
presenting, as I have said above, nothing but a hard,
shelly, prickly, convex surface within the margin of
the house, so accurately filling the aperture, and so
strongly held down, that it is impossible to extract
the animal alive without breaking the shell to frag-
ments. Yet the wary Soldier is ready for fight;
while I was holding one in my hand, the rogue pro-
truded his claw, and seizing the skin of my palm,
fairly took the piece out.

The species was the well-known Ccenobita Dioge^
neSj and, as I afterwards found, abundantly common
in the woods near the coast. I even found it nume-
rous, inhabiting the shell of the same large Helixy
far up on the side of the mountains, behind Blue-
fields, in the dryest and most rocky situations. Sir
H. de la Beche found it inhabiting sea-shells, near
the Rio Minho, ten miles from the sea. It is evident
that the active little creatures must have crawled
this whole distance, and as the Helix is found in a
living state only in the woods, and, as far as I know,
only in the mountains, it follows that the Soldiers
must have travelled up the country in their sea-side
shells, until they came to the region of the Helixy
and there have changed their houses, and brought

46

BLUEFIELDS.

the latter down towards the sea in their return.
Many of the Helix shells were so pearly in the in-
terior, and so bright and fresh on the exterior, as to
show that they could not have long lain exposed to
the weather, since tenanted by the original proprie-
tor. This suggests the inquiry, whether in any case
the Coenohita destroys the Snail to obtain his shell
for a dwelling.

THE CALABASH AND ORCHIDS.

Just behind the pasture, among the fruit-trees,
now all choked up with bushes and young wood, are
many Calabash trees {Crescentia cujete), a tree com-
monly found around the homesteads and negro vil-
lages, and cherished for the sake of the large gourd-
like fruit, the woody shell of which, divested of its
pulp, makes admirable domestic vessels. The tree has
a strange appearance, easily recognised when once it
has been seen, from the peculiarity of the foliage,
which does not form masses, but fringes the long
branches ; and as these are slender and straight,
shooting out in all directions, and continually cross-
' ing each other, but never tortuous, the effect is much
more curious than beautiful. The large oval gourds
hang from the branches in all stages of maturity,
together with the blossoms, which are large, and
shaped like our Canterbury bell, but of a greenish
hue, with dull purple lines. They are sessile, that is,
without footstalks, and to add to their singular ap-
pearance, they sit as it were on the naked bark of
the branches, and frequently on the bare trunk itself,
without any leaves or bracts surrounding them.

THE ONCIDIUM.

47

No tree in the lowlands is so great a nursery of
OrchidecB as the Calabash. On one of these I found
large masses of Brasavola nodosa, and on another a
species of noble size. Great thick ovate leaves a
foot and a half long, and four or five inches wide,
without bulbs, formed immense bunches on several
of the principal branches and their forks, from the
axillae of which sprang pendant flower-spikes eight
feet or more in length, bearing, however, no flowers,
but elliptical seed-capsules three inches in length.
One of the tufts was throwing up a new blossom-
shoot ; and this I left untouched, in order to ascer-
tain the species. I suspected it to be Oncidium Car--
thaginense, and this it afterwards proved to be. It
came into full blossom about three months after-
wards, in the beginning of April; at which time,
masses of the same species growing on the trees at
intervals all along the road between Bluefields and
Savanna-le-Mar, burst simultaneously into flower.
In a few weeks, however, the blossom had quite dis-
appeared ; and nothing was to be seen on any spe-
cimen but one or two maturing seed-vessels, till the
following year. Notwithstanding its size, the blos-
som is not conspicuous for beauty ; the loose, panicled
character of the raceme, and the hue of the flowers
(yellow, studded all over with red dots) detract from
its effect. This species is essentially a lowland
plant ; for though it is found at a considerable eleva-
tion on the mountain-slopes, it is most abundant
near the shore ; it bears the open sun better than
most Orchidece.

On another Calabash, hanging over Bluefields

48

BLUEFIELDS.

brook, was an Orchideous plant more curious, and
much more rare ; since I found it only on one or
two other occasions all the time I was in Jamaica.
It was Angrcecum funale ; entirely leafless at all sea-
sons, and consisting of an intertwined congeries of
contorted roots, long, slender, and cord-like, of a
pale glaucous hue, except at the lengthening tips,
which are bright yellow-green, and polished. The
greater portion of these roots hang down in an irre-
gular mass ; but such as touch the bark of the tree
grow to it, flattening themselves on that side which is
in contact, and clinging so closely and firmly to the
bark that it requires considerable force to detach
them, the root often breaking rather than relinquish-
ing its hold. This habit and mode of clinging is
common to the roots of many OrcJiidecB, and is a
curious provision for giving to the plants a secure
hold in situations, such as the trunk of a smooth-
barked tree, where it would have seemed impossible.
This AngrcBcum throws out its flowers through the
whole year, but not in great numbers, nor in spikes,
but singly, or by twos or threes. The blossom is
moderately large and pretty, the sepals and lateral
petals pale green, the lip expanded and delicately
white, with a long slender spur. The seed-vessel is
slender, spindle-shaped, somewhat fluted, nearly four
inches long, of a dull yellow-green when ripe.

While I was up in the Calabash tree, engaged in de-
taching the bunches of Oncidium, the beautiful Long-
tailed Humming-bird (Trochilus polytmus)c2ime shoot-
ing by with its two long velvet-black feathers fluttering
like streamers behind it ; and began to suck at the

HUMMING-BIRD.

49

blossoms of the tree in which I was. Quite regard -
less of my presence, consciously secure in its power
of wing, the lovely little gem hovered around the
trunk, and threaded the branches, now probing here,
now there, its cloudy wings on each side vibrating
with a noise like that of a spinning-wheel, and its
emerald breast for a moment flashing brilliantly in
the sun’s ray ; then apparently black, all the light
being absorbed ; then, as it slightly turned, becoming
a dark olive ; then in an instant blazing forth again
with emerald efiulgence. Several times it came close
to me, as I sat motionless with delight, and holding
my breath for fear of alarming it, and driving it
away ; it seemed almost worth a voyage across the
sea to behold so radiant a creature in all the wild-
ness of its native freedom.

As I now, several years afterwards, here in the
suburbs of London, copy these notes for the press,
the impressions then produced on my mind as one
novelty after another presented itself, — things that
I had read of with eager desire to see, that had
become encircled with halos of romance in my
imagination, — come gushing upon my memory in all
their fulness and freshness, like some sweet tune,
that one has not heard for years, unexpectedly played.
But how shall I transfer these impressions to my
readers ? I can name some of the prominent objects
that helped to make up the picture, and by some
short description, or a few well-selected epithets,
may communicate a certain definiteness to those
objects ; but the picture itself, the thousand things
that cannot be enumerated, birds, insects, flowers,

D

50

BLUEFIELDS.

trees, the tone of the whole, the sunlight, the suffused
sky, the balmy atmosphere, the variety of the foliage,
the massive light and shadow, the dark, deep open-
ings in the forest, all new, rich, and strange ; — not
only new individually, but quite new and strange in
character, quite unlike anything that I had seen
before; — all this I cannot hope to convey. Nor can
I hope to convey more than a very, very faint reflec-
tion of that delightful excitement with which I gazed
around, bewildered and entranced, almost, with the
variety of charming objects, all at once appealing for
attention ; the remembrance of which, protracted
as it was through eighteen months’ duration, with
scarcely any abatement, has given in my habitual
feelings, a kind of paradisaical association with lovely
Jamaica.

BELMONT BEACH.

The great post-road of the southern side, after
passing Bluefields, (supposing the traveller to be pro-
ceeding eastward), runs along the coast to Belmont,
Mount Edgecumbe, &c., often at the very water’s
edge, and sometimes separated from the sea only by
a narrow belt of woods. Close to Bluefields, the
shore is a beach of white sand, not siliceous, but
consisting almost wholly of coral, shells, echini^ &c.,
bleached and pulverised by the long action of the
weather. A small stream running through a foetid
morass crosses the road about half a mile from Blue-
fields, and has deposited a broad flat bank of mud at
its mouth, which is uncovered at low water. At this

BELMONT BEACH.

51

time it is seen to be pierced with innumerable little
holes ; and hundreds of a tiny Calling-crab [Gelasi-
mus vocans) are running over its surface, the males
of which hold up their enormous claw in front, as if
in defiance. At the approach of an intruder, every
one hastens into his burrow, and in a moment the
muddy bank, that was alive with the moving atoms,
is perfectly still ; except that a dull-coloured but
agile beetle {Cicindela Guadalupensis) is flitting about
and alighting upon it. The little Crabs are very
swift and wary, so that it is difiicult to capture them,
except by making a sudden rush from a distance
among them.

Beyond this creek, as the stream is called, a pro-
jecting point runs out into the sea, round which the
coast is more rocky. A low cliff terminates the land^
excavated in shallow caverns, from the roofs of which
the Cave Swallows {Hirundo poeciloma) suspend their
mud-formed nests ; and great masses of honeycombed
limestone lie in the sea at its base. After a while,
the clifi’ becomes gradually obsolete, and the beach
of coral sand reappears.

All along the beach at high-water-mark there lay,
at the time of which I speak, an immense number of
Sponges, exhibiting great variety of colour, form, and
structure ; they were mingled with Sea-weeds, and
had been, as I was informed, thrown up by the sea
in a very tremendous gale that had occurred a few
months before my visit. I collected some hundreds
of specimens of the different species, with little
labour; and, as they had all dried with the gelatinous

52

BLUEFIELDS.

flesh enveloping the skeleton, they were in the very
best condition.

A few yards from the beach the bottom is a white
tenacious marl, covered with a dense but short coat
of marine grass. On this lie in the shallow water
many Holothurice ; they are soft and flaccid when
first taken out of their element, but after being held
in the hand a few moments they become tense and
stiff, and usually discharge a small stream of water
from the extremity of the body. They do this, I
find, even if held under water: it is doubtless the
result of strong muscular contraction. They are
sluggish, unattractive animals, of a dull olive tint.
A species of Swimming-crab [Lupa) common in these
shallows is very active and fierce, extending its open
claws in a threatening manner when danger is near ;
but, if allowed to escape by swimming, it does so
rapidly, bending up the claw of the side which hap-
pens to be foremost, and allowing the other to stretch
out behind. Probably this is the arrangement in
which these unwieldy members offer least resistance
to the water in progression.

Raking with an insect-net among the weeds in
these shallows, I captured a Sole of small size,
prettily marked in ’a netted pattern of confluent
lines.*

* It appears to be new, and may be thus described ; — The Inscribed
Solenette, Monochirus inscriptws (Plate I. Fig. 4.); Right pectoral
composed of two minute filaments, left composed of a single one
almost obsolete. Ventrals indistinct, brush-like, united to each other,
and to the anal. Anal and dorsal united to the caudal. Form nearly
oval, slightly tapering ; caudal rounded ; mouth and chin fringed
with short bristles ; mouth much decurved ; lower eye close to rictus.

COKALS.

53

CORALS AND THEIR PARASITES.

Jan. ^Srd. — Observing that what appeared to he
rocks under water were really growing corals, I
stripped and got in among them. They are of many
kinds and of various colours ; being covered with the
round disks of the soft gelatinous animals aggregated
so closely as to touch each other, giving a very slimy
unpleasant feeling to the foot that treads on them,
though with a shoe on ; for I dared not trust myself
with naked feet among the Echini, and other for-
midable creatures, not to mention the sharp points
of the honeycombed rock. It was at the ebb of a
spring-tide, the moon setting as I began my examin-
ation^ ; yet I found little variation in the height of
the water, tide here being very small. Some of the
corals {Millepora complanata ?) grow in thin irregu-
lar perpendicular plates, joining each other at various
angles, so as to form large honeycomb work, some-
what resembling the second stomach of an ox ;
others present thick flattened branches, covered with
minute projecting mouths : these are of a bright fawn-

Lateral line arched at its comiriencement, and then curved slightly
downward, rising again to the tail. Fin-rays, D. 46; A. 40; C. 12.
Ground colour pale bluish-grey, covered with an irregular network of
rich, deep brown, confluent lines ; these marks, on the dorsal and anal,
assume a longitudinal direction, but still irregular and confluent.
Caudal pale brown, with indistinct dusky bands. Left side white.
Length of specimen to extremity of tail, 2^ inches.

I scarcely know whether to call this a Monochirus or an Achirus ;
the under pectoral is certainly present, but only as a rudiment, while
the upper is so minute as hardly to be anything more.

♦ High water at Bluefields is exactly at the southing ot the moon.

54

BLUEFIELDS.

colour, while alive ; other close-pored masses, of a
rounded form, are bright grass-green ; and huge round
brainstones {Meandrind) which are very numerous,
are of a dull olive-brown hue. The first two kinds
were easily broken, so that I detached large frag-
ments without difficulty ; hut though touching them
for this purpose did not sensibly affect the hand, the
more tender skin of the thighs and legs was suscept-
ible of a stinging influence from the slightest contact;
and my leg, which was rudely scratched against one,
presently swelled up into a large tumour, very pain-
ful. The water in some parts was up to my neck,
and the rolling surge made it difficult to preserve my
footing. All were slimy to the touch ; but a very
branched and flexible kind, growing in a tuft of
numerous stems, springing from a common basal
point, and waving gracefully in the roll of the sea, —
was particularly slimy, and communicated to the
hands more of the remarkably strong nauseous smell,
which all living corals possess. Three or four living
Sea-fans I took, and also some soft bunches of a
plentiful Coralline.

After this I waded out to the reef which runs along
parallel to the shore, at about a hundred yards’ dis-
tance from it. The water here was knee-deep. Many
small Corals were on the bottom, apparently alive,
of different species, some of which were very pretty.
On almost every specimen that we lifted there were
marine animals, parasitically lodged in the interstices.
Among them were two or three of a little Sepia, that
adhered with exceeding tenacity to the coral, and
contracted its arms so as to lie in the hollows, resist-

CORAL PARASITES.

55

ing all attempts at dislodgement ; till suddenly, on
a moment’s respite, the creature would rear up its
leprous form, like Satan before Ithuriel, and try to
scud away. A species of Aphrodite was numerous,
which on being handled thrust out bundles of white
silky bristles that adhered to the fingers ; their points
had been visible before, just projecting from the
sides. Star-fishes {OphiuriB)^ of two or three species,
entwined their snake-like tails in the crevices, and
were difficult to get out ; and when out, usually
broke into fragments. One specimen dismembered
itself the moment it left the water, before it had been
touched.

A very singular creature was found on one piece of
coral, which seems to approach the Holothurioe. The
body consists of a slender membranous bag of great
length, of soft semi-transparent skin, filled with sea-
water while immersed, and therefore plump and
round; but on being lifted out the w’ater escapes
from some orifice, and the sac-like body becomes
empty and flaccid. It is rather gaily coloured, being
whitish on the under side, and yellow on the back,
with broad transverse bands of dark brown. Around
the mouth are set about fourteen broadly fringed
tentacles, some of which in turn were continually
bending inward towards the mouth. It was lively in
its motions, twisting about in the water with con-
siderable vivacity.

Besides these, some of the masses sheltered tiny
fishes, brilliantly coloured, of the genus Lahrus ; a
species of Sea-slug {Aplysia), and many other curious
things, including some Nereidous Annellida, Holo-

56

BLUEFIELDS.

thuricB of various sizes and species lay on the bottom,
as inert as usual.

On another occasion I found a large mass of soft
coral-rock, lying in the water, dead. On being
broken it was found to be perforated by cavities
inhabited by two species of Pholas, two species of
Sipunculus, and some Annellida, which I judged to be
of the genus Syllis, One of the Sipunculi had a long
slender body inhabiting a membranous tube, and
communicated with the surface of the stone, whence
it protruded its tentacles in the form of a circular
disk of great beauty ; the individual tentacles radiat-
ing from the centre, and the whole disk marked with
alternate concentric lines of light and dark hue. The
other species, which was larger, when put into a
vessel of sea-water, protruded by the evolution of the
integument a long neck, bearing at the extremity a
similar tentacular apparatus. I brought home several
of these in a bottle of water, preserved pure by the
presence of some sea-weeds, together with two hand-
some Actinias of a reddish-brown hue, with white
warts. The Annellida were remarkable for the ease
and agility which they now and then displayed in
swimming, throwing their lengthened bodies into the
most elegant serpentine curves.*

* The diversified animals seen by Captain Basil Hall on coral, in
his voyage to Loo Choo, and described by him in a passage very
interesting and often quoted, were certainly parasites analogous to
those above mentioned, and not the worms that form the coral, as the
Captain seems to have thought them. From his description I should
take them to be Ophiurai, HolothuricE, Sipunculi (or perhaps some
Annellida), naked Mollusca, and macrurous Crustacea ; — the very forms
which I have enumerated above.

MARKET-DAY AT SA YANNA-LE-MAR. 57

MARKET-DAY.

Feh. Is^. — Having occasion to visit Savanna-le-
Mar, I took the opportunity of crossing the Bay in a
negro’s canoe. Saturday is market-day; and many
of the black and coloured people resort on that day
to the towns from the country, some on horseback,
some on foot carrying their own loads, others driving
donkeys, and others by sea in canoes, with provisions
for sale. The concourse, the gossip, and the excite-
ment of the market present great charms to the
negro’s mind ; I have known, repeatedly, a woman
to carry on her head a huge tray of yams to Savanna-
le-Mar, a journey of twelve miles, and return the
same evening ; when she had actually refused to sell
her produce at Bluefields-house, close to her own
door, for a price larger, actually larger, than she ex-
pected to get at the market.

At sunrise I walked down to the beach, and
waited until the preparations were completed, much
amused at the busy scene presented by the shore,
usually so still and solitary. Three or four canoes
lay half-launched at the water’s edge, around which
were congregated nearly a hundred persons ; and
more were continually arriving with trays or shal-
low baskets of provisions and fruit on their heads.
Heaps of yams, cocoes, sweet potatoes, plantains,
pumpkins, oranges, sugar-canes, and other produce,
calabashes of water, bottles, &c., were lying about,
which with much clamour were being deposited in
the canoes. The jabber was immense ; — a hundred
negroes, many of them women, all talking at once

58

BLUEFIELDS.

make no small noise ; and the white teeth were per-
petually shining out in the sable faces, as the merry
laugh — the negro’s own laugh — rose continually.
The figures of the women, many of them not ungrace-
ful, though plump and muscular, were picturesque,
clad in short gowns of showy colours, and wearing
the peculiarly set handkerchief for a head-dress, in
form of a turban, often also of bright hues, though
in most cases white as snow. They moved about
amidst the bustle, crowding up to the canoes to stow
their ware ; tucking up their frocks still higher as
the depth of water increased, regardless of displaying
their bronzed legs. At the edge of the water, on
whose mirror-like surface the mounting sun began to
pour torridly, the little children sat, sucking cane or
oranges, while the elder ones played around them,
helping to augment the noise.

As I was in no hurry, I quietly waited, enjoying
the novel scene, until, at last, the canoe being loaded,
I took my seat in the prow among the garden-stuff,
and the men launched her into deep water, climbing
in over her gunwales as she floated. They paddled
swiftly along ; and as we glided over the reefs and
shallows, the bottom of the sea in many places was
distinctly visible. On the snowy coral-sand lay
hundreds of Echini^ very conspicuous, like great
black spots ; while here and there a large Star-fish
of bright orange hue varied the character of the
spotting. The ripple of the canoe’s motion pre-
vented clear vision, notwithstanding the calmness of
the air ; but once or twice I caught sight of other
objects still more interesting. On later occasions.

MARKET-DAY AT SAVANNA -LE-MAR.

59

however, I had better opportunities of admiring
these large Echini, a species of Cydaris, with very
long purple spines ; and also of seeing what had
escaped my notice at this time, the magnificent living
Corals that form great bushes, if I may so say, on
the bottom. They principally grow in large, irregu-
larly-waved foliations, and in thick-set shrubs of
cylindrical branches much ramified. After two hours’
rowing we landed at Savanna-le-Mar, and I found
myself in the midst of the market, held on the very
beach ; a scene somewhat similar in its character to
the morning bustle on Bluefields beach, but much
livelier and more like a rustic fair. The country
people, as fast as they arrived, either by land or
w’ater, displayed their produce, in heaps, on white
cloths spread out on the ground, and squatted down
by them, or stood to chat and laugh with their ac-
quaintances ; while the townspeople were bringing
their wares from their respective stores, and laying-
out cloths and linens, butter and pork, bread and
buns, on standings and benches, or even in some
cases on the bare sand.

The fishermen often see from their canoes large
shells crawling on the bottom, and dive for them.
The great rosy-mouthed Conch {Strombus gig as) is
obtained in this way, and so are the more valuable
Helmets (^Cassis), and others. The noble C. Mada-
gascariensis and C. tuherosa, the former called here
the Heavy-back, the latter Turtle-back, with the large
and beautiful Tritonium variegatum, are brought me
by the fishermen for sale alive, and olfered at about

60

BLUEFIELDS.

a shilling each. The animal of Cassis cannot be
extracted in the ordinary way, owing to the narrow-
ness of the aperture ; the shell must therefore be
buried in the earth for a few weeks, after which the
flesh may be shaken out, carrying with it the long
horny operculum.

In Helmet-shells buried for this purpose I found a
hrachelytrous beetle which enjoys a very wide geo-
graphical range. It is Stajphylinus {Creojphilus^ vil-
losus, which is so abundant in Newfoundland, as to
be quite a pest, crawling about and devouring the
drying codfish ; it is there called the fish-fly. In
Canada, and in Alabama (U. S,), I have also met
with it, but rarely ; and now I trace it to Jamaica.
The hrachelytra, however, are very scarce here, as
are the carrion-eating beetles generally ; their place
is probably supplied by the Aura vulture. I only
on one other occasion met with this fetid and dis-
gusting beetle.

LUNAR RAINBOW.

Jan. 22d. — This evening I had the pleasure of
seeing, for the first time, that rare meteor, a lunar
rainbow. The arch was large and perfect ; the
southern limb was distinctly coloured, the northern
just perceptibly ; the middle portion was destitute of
colour, displaying only white light.

THE LEAF OF LIFE.

About a hundred yards from Bluefields-gate there
grows by the roadside a considerable bed of Verea.

THE LEAF OF LIFE.

61

crenata; a tall, rather handsome plant, with thick
succulent leaves notched in a fashion which heralds
term engrailed, leaving rounded segments. It is
now in blossom, throwing up a spike of greenish
flowers to the height of three feet. It is considered
a great curiosity by the creoles, on account of its
tenacity of the living principle, w^hence they call it
the Leaf of Life, or the Life Plant. A single leaf is
sometimes broken off, and suspended by a thread
from the top of a window ; when a number of delicate
white rootlets are presently thrown out from the base,
and the leaf forms a young plant. Some prefer to
throw the leaf into a draw^er or box, and to open it
in a week or two, when the same results are found to
have taken place. I have found that even half a leaf,
cut across, will root ; and it is impossible to dry the
plant in an herbarium, without first killing it wdth
a hot iron, or by boiling water. This property, in a
greater or less degree, is common to many members
of the Order Crassulacece, to which the Verea belongs.
Perhaps it is not indigenous, but is a truant from
some garden.

BLUEFIELDS MOUNTAIN.

Many days had not elapsed, after my arrival at
Bluefields, before I determined to explore the sum-
mit of the lofty mountain that rises behind it, and
bears the same name. A ride of four or five miles
brought me to the brow of the mountain, the steep-
ness of the ascent being mitigated by the practice
(common on the precipitous mountains of the south

62

BLUEFIELDS.

side of Jamaica) of conducting the road in a zigzag
line instead of a direct one. Owing to this circum-
stance, a much more varied, as well as more extensive,
prospect is obtained of the country below. The
opening of the hays and harbours that vary the sinu-
ous coast, as we gradually mount higher and higher,
is very interesting ; and as we draw nearer the lofty
summit, and look down on the variations of outline
beneath our feet all marked as in a map, — Savanna-
le-Mar, with a broad tract behind it, St. John’s Point,
and even the extreme western headlands. North and
South Negril appearing just at hand, so that the eye
looks into the bay between the last-named points, —
and then, leaving the land, as we gaze out on the
sparkling Caribbean Sea stretching away to the far, far
distant horizon — the expanded prospect becomes in-
deed a noble one.

The side of the mountain up which the zigzag road
winds, was formerly under cultivation ; and many
fruit-trees record the fact, amidst the maze of young
shrubs that have sprung up since it has been thrown
aside. Many a time when descending in the burning
sun of noon, after a fatiguing morning’s excursion,
have I been refreshed by the delicious sour-sops or
custard-apples detected by the keen eye of my faith-
ful negro Sam within the bush,” and obtained by
his dexterity. If these tropical fruits do not happen
to be known to my reader, let him imagine, for the
latter, a custard inclosed in a rough skin bag, most
lusciously sweet ; and for the former, nearly the same,
but rather more fibrous, and of a delightful acidity.
Both are as large as a child’s head; the sour-sop

BLUEFIELDS MOUNTAIN.

63

often larger, kidney-shaped, and covered with flexible
prickles.

Several of the primitive forest trees have been
left on each side of the road for the comfort of their
shadow. The common Cedar {Cedrela odorata)^
the Bastard Cedar {Guazuma ulmifoUa), and the
Fiddlewood are numerous ; a species

of Coccoloho,, called the mountain grape, and the
Clammy cherry {Cordia collococca), covered with
great bunches of scarlet berries, also occur, and two
or three large Mahogany- trees. Near the summit
the Mountain Mahoe {Hibiscus tiliaceus), a tall and
spreading tree, displays its large gorgeous blossoms
in the season, a mass of scarlet and yellow; and a
considerable tract on either hand is covered with the
elegant Bamboo, whose dead and dried leaves com-
pletely hide the ground, and preclude the intrusion
of any other plant, where this gigantic reed has once
obtained possession. Many kinds of flowering shrubs
fringe the sides of the road ; among which the most
characteristic is a species of Heliotrope, possessing
neither beauty nor fragrance. At the elevation of
about (to speak roughly) 1500 feet, I found growing
on the bare rock a terrestrial Orchid of much ele-
gance, a species of Bletia {B, verecunda ?) of a crim-
son hue, striped with yellow. It was not, however,
at present in flower ; but the tall grass-like leaves
were beginning to wither, and young flower-shoots
were already springing from the sides of the globose
bulbs. Though very local, being confined to the
space of a few' yards, it had much increased in that
spot ; for I obtained upwards of three hundred bulbs.

64

BLUEFIELDS.

without including the very small ones, all closely
packed together in masses that could be stripped
bodily from the rock.

Just on the very brow of the mountain is a small
plantation devoted chiefly to the Pimento or Allspice.
At this time, the beginning of February, the groves
were thickly covered with the green unripe berries,
just fit to be gathered and dried for exportation ;
and accordingly a group of children were stationed
around each tree, one of whom plucked the loaded
twigs, from which the rest stripped the berries.
Every part of this elegant tree is aromatic ; the
wood, the blossoms, the fruit, the leaves; but the
seeds are especially hot in the mouth. The berries,
if suffered to ripen, become black, pulpy, and sweet,
retaining very little of their spicy character. Many
birds eat them when in this condition ; but even in
the unripe state, as when I first visited these moun-
tain-groves, they presented temptations to some.
Flocks of green Parrots and Parroquets were shooting
from tree to tree, screaming discordantly as they
went, but, with the characteristic intelligence of the
tribe, as quiet as mice the moment they had alighted,
that no sound might betray their presence, so well
concealed by the greenness of their plumage, while
they luxuriously fed upon the aromatic berries. The
planter, however, was warily marking them with his
fowling-piece, and at the instant of my passing, he
brought down a beautiful Yellow-billed Parrot {Psit-
tacus leucocephalus), which he politely presented to
me. The Solitaire {Ptilogonys armillatus\ too, and
the Glass-eye {Merula Jamaicensis)^ both of which.

LAND-SHELLS.

65

but especially the former, are most jealous recluses
in common, haunting the dark recesses of the moun-
tain forests, find in the green pimento a temptation
too strong to be resisted.

In a piece of ground just reclaimed from the
forest, cleared and burnt over, but not yet planted,
full of blackened stumps and stones, I searched for
land-sheils. Under the stones were great numbers
of the pretty pink Cylindrella cylindrus, with the
whorls diagonally fiuted in an elegant manner. Al-
though multitudes were alive, I was surprised to
observe that all were defective at the apex, which
had evidently been broken off. But from some spe-
cimens which were less maimed than others, and
from the discovery of one or two of the detached
apices, I perceived that in a perfect state this shell
would terminate in a slender elegant spire, colourless
and pellucid ; and at length I had the pleasure of
finding a single specimen (the only one I ever ob-
tained) in this perfect condition. Other shells were
also found in some abundance, as Helix sinuata,
picturata, and soror ; Cyclostoma xanthostoma and
mirahile ; Cylmdrella Maugeri ; Helicina pulchella,
neritella^ aureola, &c., all under stones, inert and
apparently torpid.

Some other interesting animals were found under
stones in this locality, though not all at the same
time. A curious little dark grey Oniscus, every seg-
ment of which is armed with two spines, was nume-
rous ; it has been described by my friend, Mr.
Adam White, of the British Museum, under the
name of Acanthoniscus spiniger. Some Earth-worms

66

BLUEFIELDS.

{Lumbricus)^ very much like those of our gardens in
appearance, but two or three times as large, and
glossed with more vivid prismatic reflections, were
also found. But what I considered the greatest cu-
riosity was a small PeripatuSf which I suspect to be
different from the species found by the Rev. Lands-
downe Guilding at St. Vincent’s. It is a curious
creature, and I certainly think rather allied to the
Annellida than to the Mollusca, It is of a velvety
appearance, of a blackish-brown hue, the tentacles
tipped with white. From these latter organs there
exudes, when the animal is touched, a thick gluti-
nous substance, as adhesive as birdlime. It crawls
about as fast as a caterpillar of a Bombyx, and much
in the same manner. The skin repelled both water
and spirit when immersed. When put into the
latter, a considerable quantity of milky fluid was
poured from the mouth. The animal was rather
scarce, only five or six specimens having been dis-
covered, all under the stones ; one was twice as large
as any of the others.

Immediately above the piece of ground in which
these researches were made, the mountain rises into
a conical peak of considerable elevation, though not
the very loftiest. It is covered with the original
forest, all in the rude luxuriant wildness that it bore
in the days when the glories of these Hesperides first
burst upon Europeans’ astonished eyes. The gloom
of the interior is so sombre, and its contrast with the
effulgence of the sunshine without so great, as almost
to deter one from penetrating it. I certainly felt a

MOUNTAIN-FOEESTS.

67

sort of undefined awe, as if I knew not what I might
meet in those deep solitudes, where

“ The roof

Of thickest covert was inwoven shade.”

But when once we are within the shade, and the
pupil of the eye, relieved of the broad glare, has had
time to dilate a little, there is found to be abundant
light for every purpose, softened and subdued as it is
by being transmitted through the thousand green
leaves that quiver and flash over head. The ground
is very rocky ; vast masses of rock lying irregularly
heaped on one another, as if the fabled Titans had
been attempting to scale heaven from thence. Com-
paratively few of the trees are large, the great ma-
jority showing trunks so slender as to suggest the
idea of second growth ; that is, of wood springing
up spontaneously after the ground had been once
cleared. But the great prostrate trunks, lying in all
directions, so soft with decomposition as scarcely to
hear their own weight, — long columnar masses of
pap-like substance, woody fibre deprived of tenacity
and saturated with water, the outer surface for se-
veral inches deep already turned to black mould, and
bearing a dense crop of ferns and mosses, — proved
convincingly that the hand of man had not disturbed
the primal forest here; but that these giants had
died a natural death where for ages they had reared
their lofty heads. Many of these fallen trunks, and
of the masses of rock, are covered with a dense and
elegant sort of club-moss (^Lycopodium) ; a graceful
drapery concealing the decay of the former, and the

68

BLUEFIELDS.

rude angles and gaping crevices of the latter, like a
thick and soft green carpet thrown loosely over them.
The Broadleaf {Terminalia), a great timber tree, with
leaves that remind one of those of our horse-chestnut
in form, but immensely larger, and bearing edible nuts,
like almonds, is a common tree in this region ; and
the edges of the woods are occupied by Clidemia and
other forms of Melastomaceous shrubs, whose leaves,
divided by a few longitudinal ribs, and crossed by
transverse ones at right angles, have so very singular
an appearance to an European observer. Among
them stands conspicuous for beauty Blakea trinervia^
whose expanded crimson flower has received the
name of the Jamaica Rose ; a tall shrub or small
tree, with smooth but not glossy leaves of a lively
green, supported by three nerve-ribs.

It was here that I first became acquainted with
those elegant plants, perhaps more than almost any
others peculiarly characteristic of tropical vegetation,
the Tree-ferns. Many specimens were growing on
this wooded hill, but all, I believe, of one species,
Alsophila aculeata. I gazed upwards with peculiar
delight at the minutely fretted fronds that formed a
wide umbrella of open work between me and the
sky. In one respect only was I disappointed ; from
descriptions and figures in books, I had expected to
see the Tree-fern far loftier and more Palm-like than
I found it. I do not think any specimen that I saw
exceeded fifteen feet from the ground to the bases
of the fronds ; but then the expansion much exceeded
my pre-conceptions. I should conjecture that some
of these trees covered with their arching shade a

TPtEE-FEENS.

69

circle of nearly twenty feet in diameter. There is
no very close similarity between a Tree-fern and a
Palm in appearance ; there is a remarkable lightness
and voluptuousness, if I may be allowed the expres-
sion, in the filagree work of the one, produced by
the minute subdivision of the immense frond (of
which every one may form a feeble notion from the
commonest ferns of our heaths), that contrasts with
the stiff, simply-pinnate or fan-shaped leaves of the
Palms ; yet these latter have a beauty and elegance
of their own.

When the emotion produced by the first sight of
these interesting plants had subsided, I still found
much to admire in a more minute examination. The
formidable prickles studding the knobbed bases of the
fronds, that swelled out around the summit of the
trunk, like the bulging branches of a candlestick ;
the elongated scars on the stem, that marked the
position of the fallen fronds ; and especially the
basal part, that looked like a mass of intertwining
wire, black and shining, as if running down with the
concentrated moisture of those damp woods; — all
were novel, curious, and pleasing.

URANIA SLOANUS.

Leaving, for the present, our description of this
elevated region, which on a future occasion we may
still further pursue, I will call my reader’s attention
to one of the most brilliantly lovely of animal forms ;
of which this spot forms one of the favourite localities.
I speak of Urania, an insect which on account of its

70

BLUEFIELDS.

general form and appearance, its colours, and their
arrangement in transverse bands, any one, at first
sight, would pronounce to be a Butterfly of that
typical division commonly known as Swallow-tailed ;
yet which is found, on anatomical investigation, to
possess a very close affinity with Moths. Its habits
partake of the same equivocal character, as observed
in the Cuban species, Ur. Fernandinos, so delightfully
described by Mr. Macleay in the Zool. Trans., and
in U. Sloanus, the species which inhabits Jamaica.
The contrast produced by the rich velvet-black of the
general ground, with the glittering emerald of the
bands which cross the wings, is very fine ; and, added
to the broad notched band of ruddy gold, sparkling
like powdered gems, that is so conspicuous on the
posterior pair, entitles this insect to take its place in
the very foremost rank of the most lovely class of
animated beings.

The Urania Sloanus is not, like its Cuban relative,
abundant on the sea-shore : nor does it manifest any
predilection for the Sea-grape {Coccoloha) ; though
this common tree fringes the beach in the immediate
vicinity of Bluefields. A single specimen may he
now and then seen in the winter months, flitting
along over the sea-side bushes ; but it was not until
the middle of March that I saw it in any number.
Just at that time the Avocado Pear {Per sea gra-
tissima) was bursting into blossom on the summit of
Bluefields mountain, the drought having just yielded
to the first vernal showers. Several trees of this
species were growing at the spot I have described
above ; some (which had sprung up in an open space.

URANIA SLOANUS.

71

long used as a pasture) well-grown and spreading;
others (which had been spared in the recent clearing)
slender, tall and branchless trunks, with a little tuft
of foliage at the extremity. In an excursion to the
mountain at this period, I observed UranicR fluttering
around these trees, soon after sunrise ; some half a
dozen round each tree, and others very high in the
air, dashing along in a headlong manner over the
loftiest trees. They chiefly affected a very lofty
isolated tree, and hence were with difficulty captured.
Anxious to know at what time they began to be
active, I ascended the mountain by starlight, cheered
on my way by the rich gushes of melody from that
worthy rival of the Nightingale, the Mocking-bird.
I first saw Urania as the sun was rising.

But about three weeks later than this, viz. in the
first week of April, I had much better opportunities
of observing this magnificent insect at my very door.
For it then began suddenly to be numerous at early
day about the Pear-trees around Bluefields House.

Stationing myself under these trees in the morning
twilight, I found that a little before sunrise the
UranicB begin to appear. At first they come slowly^
one by one ; but about the time that the glowing
sky over the mountain betokens the march of the
advancing sun, they are fluttering in scores round
the trees, sucking the blossoms. They are not here
nearly so difficult of capture ; on the first morning
I secured in about an hour fifteen good specimens,
besides several which I rejected ; and I might have
caught twice that number, but I abstained from
molesting those which I saw to be imperfect. This

72

BLUEFIELDS.

is indeed the case with a large proportion of the speci-
mens that one sees, the slender delicate tails of the
wings being often broken off long before the downy
surface is at all defaced. After a few mornings,
though the numbers did not seem diminished, they
were evidently grown more wary, and difficult to net.
Except that a few individuals would occasionally
hover round the Mango-trees that grew near, I have
not found that the species affects, at least in numbers,
any plant but the Persea : though many fruit-trees
besides were blossoming at the same time.

These beautiful butterflies occasionally fly at a great
elevation, far beyond that which has procured, for our
finest British insect, the title of Purple High-flyer.
I almost hesitate to say how high, yet I think I do
not at all exceed the truth when I say I have seen
them soar away over the open field to a height of
500 feet, when they were just visible as moving
specks of black against the bright sky. They thus
fully justify their name of Urania (heavenly). May
not the human draw an instructive moral from

the heavenward soaring of its insect symbol ?

When one alights, unless it is to suck the blossoms,
it chooses a leaf, or other surface, that is nearly
vertical, and instantly turns head-downward, and
rests with the wings expanded in the plane of the
body ; the anterior pair, however, inclined backwards,
so as to form an angle with each other, and partly
covering the posterior ones. They chase each other
about playfully ; half a dozen or more sometimes
joining in the gambols, when their wings glitter in
the sun like the plumage of the Humming-birds.

URANIA.

73

Their manner of flight is much more that of a Moth
than of a Butterfly. I may observe that the hooked
form of the tips of the antennas, which we see in
cabinets, does not characterise the living insect ;
they are curved only in the process of drying.

As soon as the sun becomes hot, that is about
eight or nine o’clock, they one by one retire ; and
scarcely a single individual is to be seen until after
the rain, which at that season falls every afternoon,
when they crowd around the Pear-trees, as numerous
as in the morning. These semi-daily visits are con-
tinued for about a fortnight, while the Pear-trees
continue in bloom; and then the insects gradually
become scarce, and we see only an occasional straggler
until the season returns.

To this scarcity, however, I found one remarkable
exception. On the 18th of June, being on the
lonely mountain road near Basin (or Beeston) Spring
soon after sunrise, I was surprised by the sight of this
beautiful butterfly, very abundant, though few other
insects were abroad. They were flying low, and rest-
ing on the leaves of trees over the road, so as to be
taken with ease. Nearly all were in the highest state
of perfection, as if just emerged from the chrysalis. If
this was the case, as I believe, these must have been
the progeny of the brood which had been active in
April ; and as the abdomens of the females were at
that period quite globose with eggs just ready for
exclusion, we may consider the period that elapses
from the deposition of the egg to the evolution of
the imago to be about two months. I regret that I
have nothing to say respecting the transformations of

E

74

BLUEFIELDS.

this specie^ ; no caterpillar at all resembling that
of U. FernandincE ever occurred to me. Several of
the eggs above mentioned I examined with a micro-
scope ; their form is that of a globe slightly flattened
at the poles, marked with numerous ridges running
perpendicularly, like meridians : their colour is yel-
lowish-white.

LIZARDS.

One feature with which a stranger cannot fail to be
struck on his arrival in the island, and which is
essentially tropical, is the abundance of the Lizards
that everywhere meet his eye. As soon as ever he
sets foot on the beach, the rustlings among the dry
leaves, and the dartings hither and thither among the
spiny bushes that fringe the shore, arrest his atten-
tion^ ; and he sees on every hand the beautifully-
coloured and meek-faced Ground Lizard {Ameiva
dorsalis) scratching like a bird among the sand, or
peering at him from beneath the shadow of a great
leaf, or creeping stealthily along with its chin and
belly upon the earth, or shooting over the turf with
such a rapidity, that it seems to fly rather than run.
By the road-sides, and in the open pastures, and in
the provision-grounds of the negroes, still he sees
this elegant and agile Lizard ; and his prejudices
against the reptile races must be inveterate indeed,
if he can behold its gentle countenance, and timid
but bright eyes, its chaste but beautiful hues, its

* “ Nunc virides etiam occultant spineta lacertos.” — Virg.

LIZAEDS.

graceful form and action, and its bird-like motions,
with any other feeling than admiration.

As he walks along the roads and lanes that divide
the properties, he will perceive at every turn the
smooth and trim little figures of the Wood-slaves
(Mahouya agilis) basking on the loose stones of the
dry-walls ; their glossy fish-like scales glistening in
the sun with metallic brilliance. They lie as still as
if asleep ; but on the intruder’s approach they are
ready in a moment to dart into the crevices of the
stones, and disappear until the danger is past.

If he looks into the outbuildings of the estates,
the mill-house, or the boiling- house, or the cattle-
sheds, a singular croaking sound above his head
causes him to look up ; and then he sees clinging to
the rafters, or crawling sluggishly along with the back
downward, three or four Lizards, of form, colour, and
action very diverse from those he has seen before.
It is the Gecko, or Croaking Lizard ( Thecadactylus
IcBvis), a nocturnal animal in its chief activity, but
always to be seen in these places, or in hollow
trees, even by day. Its appearance is repulsive, I
allow, but its reputation for venom is libellous and
groundless.

The stranger walks into the dwelling-house.
Lizards, lizards, still meet his eye. The little
Anoles (A. ioduruSf A. opalinus, &c.) are chasing
each other in and out between the jalousies, now
stopping to protrude from the throat a broad disk of
brilliant colour, crimson or orange, like the petal of
a flower, then withdrawing it, and again display-
ing it in coquettish play. Then one leaps a yard

76

BLUEFIELDS.

or two through the air, and alights on the hack of
his playfellow ; and both struggle and twist about
in unimaginable contortions. Another is running
up and down on the plastered wall, catching the
ants as they roam in black lines over its whited
surface ; and another leaps from the top of some
piece of furniture upon the back of the visitor’s
chair, and scampers nimbly along the collar of his
coat. It jumps on the table ; — can it be the same.^
An instant ago it was of the most beautiful golden
green, except the base of the tail, which was of a
soft, light, purple hue ; now, as if changed by an en-
chanter’s wand, it is of a sordid sooty brown all over,
and becomes momentarily darker and darker, or
mottled with dark and pale patches of a most un-
pleasing aspect. Presently, however, the mental
emotion, whatever it was, anger, or fear, or dislike,
has passed away, and the lovely green hue sparkles
in the glancing sunlight as before.

He lifts the window-sash ; and instantly there run
out on the sill two or three minute Lizards of a new
kind, allied to the Gecko, the common Pallette-tip
{Sphceriodactylus argus). It is scarcely more than
two inches long, more nimble than fleet in its move-
ments, and not very attractive.

In the woods he would meet with other kinds.
On the trunks of the trees he might frequently see
the Venus {Dactyloa Edwardsii), as it is provincially
called ; a Lizard much like the Anoles of the houses,
of a rich grass-green colour, with orange throat-disk,
but much larger and fiercer : or in the eastern parts
of the island the great Iguana {Cyclura lophomd),

SEA-URCHINS.

77

with its dorsal crest like the teeth of a saw running
all down its back, might be seen lying out on the
branches of the trees, or playing bo-peep from a
hole in the trunk : or, in the swamps and morasses
of Westmoreland, the yellow Galliwasp (Celestus
occiduus), so much dreaded and abhorred, yet with-
out reason, might be observed sitting idly in the
mouth of its burrow, or feeding on the wild fruits
and marshy plants that constitute its food.

SEA-URCHINS.

Feh, 2\st. — I find lying on the sand and white
chalky mud in shallow water along the shore at Bel-
mont, some specimens of the large long-spined Echi-
nus that I had noticed in crossing the Bay. On
touching them, though cautiously, several of the very
acute points entered my fingers, and I thought were
broken off in the wounds ; for something black re-
mained there, and the part soon began to be tense and
painful. But this substance afterwards proved to be
merely a dark purple pigment, which came off from
the spines whenever they were handled. The best
mode of lifting the specimens, which at first seemed,
on account of the points bristling in every direction,
to be impracticable, was by putting the fingers under
the animal; as the spines on the inferior side, that is,
those surrounding the mouth, are short and com-
paratively blunt. The projection of the mouth is of
a rich red-purple, and the spines and body purple-
black. The spines, viewed through a microscope,
display a beautiful structure ; being each surrounded

78

BLUEFIELDS.

by regular and close-set rings of polished, pointed
spiculae, overlapping each other, most elaborate in
their finish. The length and slenderness of the
spines, combined with their brittleness, rendered it
difficult to handle the animals ; especially as, after
they were removed from the water, they kept agitat-
ing these organs briskly, and each spine with a move-
ment independent of the other spines. The sight of
so many long needle-like points moving irregularly
together, some oscillating to and fro, and others
partially revolving on the curious ball and socket
joints at the base, had a very singular appearance.
Several, however, in spite of every precaution, were
broken in removing the animals from the sea into a
basket, and in taking them out at home.

A quarter of an hour’s immersion in fresh water
was sufficient to deprive them of life, and the soft
viscera were easily removed by slightly enlarging the
anal orifice in the centre of the upper surface. But
now the problem was how to dry them, so that they
might retain somewhat of their original beauty. For
the spines, no longer sustained by muscular power,
were now all fallen flat, and were lying across one
another in confusion ; and if the specimens were put
to dry mouth downward, of course the spines would
dry in such unnatural positions ; and thus the whole
of the elegance arising from their regular divergence
would be lost. On the other hand, if they were set
to rest in an inverted position, the weight would
break the points of the spines, or distort them worse.
I at first attempted to lay them, mouth upward, on
two or three threads stretched across a box, but

BLUEFIELDS RIVER.

79

owing to the structure of the spines above described,
the threads were caught by them every moment, and
it was not possible to make them reach the root of
the spines. This plan therefore would not do.
Then I took a thread, and having tied a bit of stick
transversely at one end, passed the other end, by-
means of a long needle, through the anal orifice, and
brought it out at the mouth. The piece of stick re-
tained the Echinus on the thread, suspended in the
air, while the free end was tied to the branch of a
tree. The long spines thus hung downwards, and
presently assumed their natural divergence, in which
position the wind soon dried them immoveably ; and
I thus had the pleasure of preserving the natural ap-
pearance of these fine Echini in great perfection.

BLUEFIELDS RIVER.

To have a permanent supply of clear, pure water
is a very important advantage in a climate, where,
during the long droughts, unmitigated by a single
shower, the pastures become burned up, and the
cattle languish for want of grass as well as water ; —

“ nulla neque amnem

Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam.”

ViRG.

At such periods, in many cases, the only resource is
a filthy pond, whence the water has to be fetched
several miles. The beasts are fed on the berries of
the Bastard-cedar {Guazuma ulmifolia), which are
very mucilaginous, and on the leaves of the Bread-nut
{Brosimum alicastrum), great bundles of which are

80

BLUEFIELDS.

cut in the woods, and brought in every evening. No
place is better off in this respect than Bluefields ; a
rivulet of the most cool and sparkling water running,
with many meanderings, through its whole extent.
In truth it is a romantic little stream. Here it dilates
into broad but shallow pools ; there, confined between
narrow banks, it rushes like an arrow in a black and
deep rapid; now it brawls among the rolling pebbles ;
then it pours foaming over a succession of round
terraced rocks ; and anon falls in a sheet over a little
precipice, a Niagara in miniature. Here the ground
is on a level with the water, and the brook flows be-
neath clumps of feathery bamboos, and luscious-
fruited guava-trees : there the banks rise to high and
steep walls, clothed with grass to the water’s edge,
where they are fringed with a luxuriant border of
vegetation springing out of the stream. The broad,
peltate leaves of the Cowfoot {Piper umbellatum), and
those of the still broader Calalue (a species of Cala-
dium), overshadow the water beneath ; while among
them peeps forth a lovely white blossom, resembling
a star at the extremity of a long and slender tube.
This, notwithstanding its treacherous beauty, is one
of the most venomous of plants {Isotoma longiflord)^
commonly called Horse-poison, from its fatal effects
on those animals, if they chance to eat it ; causing
their bodies to swell until they actually burst : even
the juice of the leaves will raise bladders on the
skin.

After having passed under a one-arched bridge,
the rivulet is divided by a little islet, tenanted only,
as far as I know, by a pair of Petcharies {Tyr annus

riah’ 11

BLUEFIELD5 RIVER

BATHING-POOL.

81

caudifasciatus)^ that have built their nest in a shrub
thereon, and make the air vocal with their early cries
of OP — p p — p — Q, as they seem impatiently to
call for the rising sun. Suddenly the brook plunges
over a ridge of limestone rock into a secluded pool,
hidden from view by overhanging trees, and by the
pasture boundary -wall, which crosses the stream just
at the waterfall. Thick matted masses of the Wall-
Marigold, festooned with the clustered blossoms of a
yellow Convolvulus, and the magnificent fiowers of
the Violet Hogmeat {Ipomcea violacea) cover the
wall, and project far over the water on each side of
the cascade, the spray from which keeps them ever
verdant, and ever in bloom ; while the living prin-
ciple preserves them from becoming covered with the
tuberculous incrustation of friable lime, which is
thickly deposited upon every other object within
reach of the spray. A tall Fiddlewood tree spreads
its branches over the spot, gay at the time of which
I speak (June), with its conspicuous bunches of
crimson berries, relieving the dark green hue of its
foliage.

To this little clear pool I usually resorted in the
middle of the day to bathe ; delighting to hold my
head under the waterfall, and to receive its sudden
coldness like an electric shock upon my back,
until the stimulus ceased ; and then to lie at full
length in the shallow, just covered by the limpid
element. How refreshing this is, those only can tell,
who have felt the lassitude produced by a vertical
sun ; and how conducive to health, I can thankfully
testify. Several pleasant observations have I made

82

BLUEFIELDS.

on the living things around me, while thus delight-
fully immersed by the half-hour together ; and, as
was indeed but fair, observations have been made on
me. On one occasion I had been lying motionless
for a long time, just beneath the surface, when a
Y v\iwxQ {Cathartes aura) that had marked me from a
distance, began to descend in circles, swooping over
me, nearer and nearer at every turn, until at length
the shadow of his gaunt form swept close between my
face and the light, and the rushing of his wide-spread
wings fanned my body as he passed. It was evi-
dent that he had mistaken me for a drowned corpse ;
and probably it was the motion of my open eyes, as I
followed his course, that told him all was not quite
right, and kept him sailing round in low circles
instead of alighting. ^

One day, about the middle of June, as I had just
jumped over the wall, and was walking down the
steep bank through the high Guinea-grass, with my
towel under my arm, my attention was arrested by
observing several little objects leaping up from the
pool against the cascade. Presently perceiving that
they were fishes, I returned to the house for my
insect water-net, and proceeded to the margin to
endeavour to capture one. I was not at once suc-
cessful ; my presence scared them : but soon one and
another began to leap from the boiling pot beneath
against the glassy wall above them. Most of them
achieved only a foot or two ; but I perceived one very
nearly lodge at the top, though the height of the fall,
from surface to surface, was not much short of six
feet, and the little performers were scarcely more

MULLET.

83

than half that number of inches. At length I suc-
ceeded in thrusting the net under a leaper, and into
it he fell. I carried him to the house, and placed
him in a large washing-basin of water, uninjured,
though a trifle exhausted ; when I found that I had
captured a young individual of the Grey Mullet of
our fresh waters. At first he could not maintain his
equilibrium, but rolled over and over in his efibrts to
preserve his back uppermost. As he gained strength.,
however, he became more at ease ; but was very im-
patient, swimming rapidly round and round the basin,
projecting his open mouth. Sometimes he would
swim rapidly in a perpendicular position, evidently
striving to get out, but showing no tendency to leap ;
perhaps because there was not sufficient room in the
basin to allow him to gain the required impetus.
The energy, and muscular power, as well as the
strength of instinct displayed by so young a fish (for
it was only about three and a half inches long), not
having attained more than one-sixth part of its adult
dimensions, seemed to me remarkable. I continued
to see the little creatures leaping at the cascade all
through the summer.

In the holes and basins of this romantic little
river, particularly at the foot of the many falls, large
Mullet of the same species lurk, some as much as
eighteen inches long. They are often taken by hand ;
the negroes plunging their arm into the holes be-
neath the bank, and feeling for the fish. They bite
freely also at the hook, the most successful bait being
a piece of a mellow Avocada pear, in the season. It
is one of the most highly esteemed fishes for the

84

BLUEFIELDS.

table ; and has considerable pretensions to beauty,
for, every scale on the upper parts being bordered
with black, an elegant reticulate appearance is given
to the fish.^

Another fish of still more minute dimensions, but
of remarkable beauty, is also numerous in the basin
of the waterfall, and all along the stream. The
negroes call it Tickiticky, a term formed like our
word Stickleback (the initial S being omitted in negro
pronunciation before another consonant), and allud-
ing to the strong spine in the anal. All along the
margins of the rivulet, particularly where a coarse
grass grows in the shallows, and shoots its pointed
blade- tips above the surface, the Tickiticky is nu-
merous, herding together in little parties of half-a-
dozen, or a dozen, of various sizes, but none exceed-
ing two inches in length. They are active and
amusing; and leap out of the water, if pursued,
with great vigour. It is a beautiful little fish.f

* As this Mullet seems to be hitherto unrecognised, I shall describe
it. Mugil irretituS) mihi. Operculum smooth, silvery ; pre-opercu-
lum scaled. Lips moderately thick. Fin-ray formula ; — D. 4 — 8 ;
A. 10 ; C. 17; P. 14; V. 6. Irides golden orange; upper part of
the body pale olive ; sides silvery ; belly white. Each scale on the
upper parts is bordered with black. Fins transparent ; the first dorsal
tinged with yellow ; the rays of all irregularly marked with black,
which, on the caudal, forms an indistinct blackish transverse band.

M. monticola of Bancroft is assigned to Jamaica in Griffith’s Anim.
Kingd. ; no description is given, but the figure does not agree with
the above, nor does the description of M. aibula in MM. Cuv. and
Val.’s Poissons.

•j" The Tickiticky is an undescribed species of Pcecilia, with the
following characters. Pcecilia melapleura (MeAas, black ; irXevpd, the
side). Fin-rays, D. 11 j A. 10; C. 28 ; P. 13 ; V. 6. The caudal

KIVER-PEAWNS.

85

Some interesting Crustacea are also found in Blue-
fields rivulet. I obtained in some numbers a new
Atya which has been since described by Mr. New-
port under the name of occidentalism and a new Palce-
mon, named in the List of the Crustacea in the
British Museum, P, Procles. Besides these, a Prawn
of large size is common, provincially known as the
Crayfish (P. Jamaicensis). Specimens are often
found seven inches in length, independent of the
claws, one of which is sometimes enormously de-
veloped, while the other remains of the usual size.
They are frequently seen from the banks, darting
with the swiftness of an arrow, tail foremost, from the
shelter of one stone to that of another ; and, as their
flesh is esteemed, they are much sought after. The
most common mode of capturing them is by a small
fish-pot, or lengthened basket made on the principle
of a wire mouse-trap, admitting the entrance, but re-
fusing the exit of the prawn. I procured a good
many specimens of these and other Crustacea, by
means of this device.

In the hollows of the limestone-rock beneath the
waterfall, and at either side of it, subject to a con-
tinual dripping, where the calcareous matter with

has an upward direction. There are thirty-one scales in a straight
line, from the gill-aperture to the base of the caudal ; and three more
upon the caudal ; there are nine in transverse series at the vent.

The irides are green, brilliantly iridescent. The body almost pel-
lucid ; olive above ; the sides pearly, with rich amethystine reflections ;
green and golden hues prevail on the cheeks and gill covers ; a black
band, rising from the upper side of the base of the pectoral, runs along
the side about one third of the length : the dorsal and caudal are
edged with blackish. Length to two inches. (Plate I. fig. 3.)

86

A RIDE TO CONTENT.

which the river is impregnated forms little irregular
pillars and groins of coarse stalactite, play a number
of small reddish-brown Crabs, about three-fourths of
an inch in diameter, a species of Sesarma^ allied to S,
reticulata. They are slow, deliberate, and circum-
spect in their general motions, creeping on a hori-
zontal or perpendicular surface with equal facility ;
but, on being alarmed, they dart hither and thither
with great swiftness, shooting into the dark irregular
recesses of the stone, so that it is not easy to take hold
of them.

A RIDE TO CONTENT.

March \st. — About fifteen miles to windward of
Bluefields, there is a little cottage, most singularly
and romantically perched on a mass of bare rock on
the steep mountain-side. The coffee property on
which it stands is called by the favourite appellation
(in Jamaica) of Content and here, in the society
of some valued friends whose residence it is, I passed
many contented days. Higher engagements than
those connected with Natural History called me into
the vicinity every other week, and this cottage was
always my home on such occasions. Setting out
from Bluefields in the cool of the newly-opened
morning, I could attain a considerable portion of
my journey, before the torrid rays of the sun began
to pour down upon the road; the gigantic shadow
of the mountain-ridge, rising up in a lofty barrier
between it and the glowing east. The shadow that
intercepts the rays of the declining sun is a grateful

eobin’s kiver.

87

relief; but the coolness of a spot that remains en-
wrapped in deep shadow in the fore part of the day,
where the dew of the night lies collected in the
hollow leaves, and glitters on the blades of grass,
long after all moisture has been dissipated around,
is pecuharly refreshing. Four miles of a very rocky
road, bounded, on the upper side at least, by a belt
of high shrubs, that much remind us of the tall, lux-
uriant, uncut hedges that we see in many parts of
England, lead through the estates of Belmont and
Shafton ; the former apportioned out in small negro
allotments, and cultivated in gardens ; the latter a
‘‘ pen,” that is, a grazing farm. The hedgerow-like
shrubs are gay with the beautiful scarlet blossoms of
the Morass-bark (^Malvamscus arhoreus)^ in particular
abundance. The rich vegetation of the negro gar-
dens, surrounding their cottages, many of which are
neat and pretty, forms a pleasing interchange with
the broad sunny pastures, studded with clumps of
the peculiarly dense and massive Mango-trees, under
the shade of whose dark foliage, the cattle are con-
gregated, and peacefully ruminating. The purple
leaves of the Dragon’s blood grow in thick tufts out
of the crevices of the loose walls, on the top of which
many withes and cactaceous plants creep in loose
confusion ; and beside them spring up luxuriantly
Annotto bushes, the fruit of which is so much used
to give a heightened colour to cocoa and chocolate.

Presently we open the wide pastures of Robin’s
River, through the midst of which runs the little
stream that bears the same name. The sun is by
this time high, and pours down slantingly on our

88

A RIDE TO CONTENT.

heads and into our scorched faces the torrid fury of
his effulgence, unmitigated by a cloud ; —

“ ■ ■ ireirraTO S’ avy}j

’HeAtou o|e?a, v4(pos 5’ ov cpaivero irdarfs
Tai7}S, ouS^ opewv” — (//. xvii. 371.)

amidst which the brawling, murmuring sound of the
running brook, and the sight of its sparkling, dash-
ing, crystal waters, have an indescribably refreshing
effect upon the senses. The wild scream of the
Kildeer Plover is suddenly heard, and up springs a
flock of these birds, which wheel in swift flight
around the traveller’s head, and alight close to their
first station. In the rushy shallows of the stream
the stately form of the Snowy Gaulin is seen, de-
liberately wading hither and thither ; or watching,
motionless and silent, for his aquatic prey. Plump
Peadoves, with large liquid gentle eyes, walk about
on the turf beneath the pimento trees, picking up
the fallen fruit, or the seeds of papilionaceous weeds ;
and now and then their reiterated cooing, a very
soft and mournful sound, comes from the bordering
woods, falling gently and soothingly on the ear. In
the farthest corner of the pasture, a great bed of
that truly gorgeous plant, the Barbadoes Pride, or
Flower-fence [Ponciana pulcherrima) , glowing with
scarlet and orange, indicates the commencement of a
road that leads through the gloomy forest to Basin
Spring, near the summit of the Bluefields Ridge.
But this we leave on the left ; and pursue our road be-
neath the orange-trees, that have been planted in bor-
dering rows along each side of the highway. Beauty,

THE TKUMPET-TREE.

89

fragrance, and fruit, combine in the citron family ;
and wherever they will grow they are sure to he
favourites. In Jamaica they are planted in profu-
sion, and in the winter months refresh the eye and
the palate of the wayfarer with their golden fruit.

We are again in shadow. The open pastures
afford no shelter from the sun, except that of their
scattered trees ; but now we enter a romantic road of
delightful coolness and shade. The sea is at our
back ; and as we turn from time to time on the road,
now rapidly ascending, we get more and more ex-
tended views of it, over the intervening woods, spark-
ling and flashing as its clear blue surface is broken
up by the awakening sea-breeze. In the woods on
our right hand, whose tall mass casts the high road
into shade, the Trumpet-tree {Cecropia peltata) is
particularly abundant, giving a remarkable character
to the scene. It shoots up a slender jointed stem to
the height of forty or fifty feet, from the summit of
which a few digitate leaves, resembling gigantic horse-
chestnut leaves on long footstalks, radiate horizon-
tally, with a very palm-like aspect. The stem is
hollow between the joints, and composed of light
porous wood ; the bark when wounded bleeds a
milky fluid, which is said to make good india-rubber.
Hundreds of these curious trees are seen in these
woods, and on the mountain-side before us, conspi-
cuous a long way off*, amidst the dense surrounding
foliage of the other forest-trees.

The opposite side of the road is bounded for some
distance by a bank fifteen or twenty feet high, out
of which the highway has been scarped. Several

90

A RIDE TO CONTENT.

shallow caverns have been excavated in the gravelly
sides, from the roofs of which many ferns and
climbers hang in wild grace and beauty. The Cave-
Swallow shoots in and out, pursuing the minute
insects that dance in the air ; and the forest around
rings with the voices of many birds. A little way
farther, among many other flowers, a beautiful little
Ipomea, resembling the delicate Quamoclit^ but pure
white, with digitate leaves, covers the low wall-fences
with its long graceful twining stems and star-like
blossoms. That fine butterfly Papilio Pelaus, may
very commonly be seen flitting about this shaded
lane; with its low, irregular, not very rapid flight,
it dances along from bush to bush, and from flower
to flower, rifling them as it goes ; now and then rest-
ing on a leaf to suck while it vibrates strongly its
half-erected wings, in a manner peculiar to itself.

After awhile we break away from the woods, and
open a scene of exquisite beauty, but of a totally
different character. It is the noble sugar-estate of
Peter’s Vale ; now, however, like so many other fine
estates, thrown out of sugar-cultivation, and its
buildings and offices hastening to swift decay. It is
a long and spacious valley, bounded by wooded hills,
which almost everywhere assume a rounded or conical
form, clothed principally with clumps and groves of
the dark green Pimento. Yet in one quarter the
native forest covers the shaggy sides of the moun-
tains, which slope up till they merge into the ridge
of Bluefields ; and, in another direction, over the in-
tervening hills, the mountain of Grand Vale rises to
view, hazy and blue in the distance, but with the

GKAND VALE ESTATE.

91

Bamboo-walk cutting a conspicuous zigzag line upon
its dark mass. The ride through this beautiful na-
tural amphitheatre, which extends for three or four
miles, is for the most part over the short soft turf of
expanded pastures, which sustain hundreds of cattle,
and are studded with many noble and useful trees.
Among these the Star-apple [ChrysojpJiyllum cainito)
is especially worthy of notice ; the golden tint of the
under surface of its leaves, moved with the breeze,
perpetually interchanging with the deep glossy green
of their upper sides.

Such open pastures as these, intermingled with
fields where the valuable, always verdant. Guinea-
grass grows in thick tussocks, are the favourite resorts
of the Tichicro, a prettily-marked ground sparrow,
who calls ‘‘ tichicro ! chi-chi-tichicro ” in a loud tone
from his grassy cover, or sits on a large stone and
warbles forth a pretty melody, as the traveller is
passing. Among the orange and pimento trees, the
Wild Canary hops and twitters ; a colony of imported
strangers, it is said, which have lost in song, what
they have gained in richness of colouring. Thousands
of little Teriades and Polyommati (minute yellow
and blue Butterflies) with white Pierides and tawny
Danaides, flit over the pasture in the bright sun,
paying perpetual homage to the blossoms of Asclc'pias^
Argemone, Stachytarpha^ Cassia, and many other
weeds that spring up amidst the pasture grasses.

To this beautiful estate succeeds another very
similar in character, but more uneven in surface,
called Grand Vale. It is still cultivated as a sugar
estate ; and here only, within a circuit of many miles

92

A EIDE TO CONTENT.

of Bluefields, may yet be seen the luxuriant beauty
of the majestic Sugar-cane, the busy scenes of in-
dustry of which it is the subject, and all the varied
processes by which it is converted into sugar and
rum. The hum of many voices, the cheerful song,
the merry horse-laugh, the shrill notes of the women
and children, with the creaking of ungreased wheels, —
all tell pleasantly of industry and happiness, in a
country where certainly a stranger is apt to be pain-
fully struck with the prevalence of silence and neglect,
and of that sort of decay which consists in the too
successful efforts of wild nature to reconquer from
man the possessions which he had once wrested from
her sway.

At length the quiet smiling valley of Peter’s Vale,
and the busy laughing one of Grand Vale, are both at
our back, and we enter the Cotta-wood, a dense but
low coppice, and begin to ascend, by a narrow path,
the steep mountain-side. The rock projects in many
parts in huge tabular shelves, forming rude steps,
up and down which it is terrific to ride, though I
have done both, trusting to the surefootedness of the
horses bred in the mountains, which are used to these
precipitous paths. Long, tough, spinous stems trail
in every direction through these woods, tangling them
beyond all description, and making it a most laborious
and painful task to penetrate them. Birds abound in
them, especially various species of terrestrial Pigeons,
the White- belly, the Partridge, and the Ground-
Dove ; and many fine and curious insects, I have
exclusively found here. At length we suddenly
break through the bushes, and find ourselves on a

m '

THE COTTAGE.

93

good broad road, that leads from Black River to
Hampstead and over the Luana-mountains; and here,
just round a corner of the zigzag line, is perched
the little cottage of Content.

Why this situation was chosen for the house, I can
hardly imagine, unless the wide-extended prospect
afforded the inducement, or else the contiguity to the
high road. The thin stratum of sloping earth, that
originally supported the forest-trees, has been quite
cleared from a small area, leaving only the naked
furrowed rock, which has partly been built up with
masonry on the lower side, to form a site sufficiently
level for the harhican, on which the coffee, pimento,
&c. are dried in the sun. Yet a few hundred
yards within the forest, on the same plantation, a
spacious and fertile level dale exists, which would
seem to have offered a spot far more eligible for
habitation.

Above, below, and around, is the primeval forest,
scarcely interrupted by the small and widely scattered
clearings that here and there occur. From so singular
a position, — the tops of the trees immediately be-
neath the little space that surrounds the dwelling
scarcely reaching to the level of its base, — the eye
commands a magnificent prospect, embracing the
indented coast from the bold promontory of Pedro
Bluff on the east as far as the park-like slopes of
Mount Edgecumbe on the west ; ranging over the
sombre intervening forest, with its cultivated open-
ings, and resting on the broad savannahs and flooded
meadows that surround Black River ; this town with
its bay and shipping in the distance, and the course

94

CONTENT.

of the river itself visible at intervals, winding like a
silver thread through the dark morass.

The rocky hill-side below the house is thickly
studded with fruit-trees, principally consisting of the
luscious and juicy Sweet-sop [Anona squamosa), but
mingled with Oranges and Limes, all greatly mul-
tiplied by self-plantation. Some trees grow among
them apparently for ornament ; the brilliant scarlet
blossoms of a Coral-tree {Erytlirina), and its equally
showy seeds, display themselves at the different sea-
sons here ; and just below the window is a fine Moringa
or Horse-radish tree {Moringa pterygosperma), where
we may see the various species of Humming-birds
buzzing round and round, like bees, all day long,
and at all seasons of the year, within a yard or two
of our face.

ENTOMOLOGY.

I had left England with high expectations of the
richness of the West Indian entomology: large and
gaily-coloured beetles, I supposed, would be crawling
on almost every shrub, gorgeous butterflies be filling
the air, moths be swarming about the forest-edges at
night, and caterpillars be beaten from every bush.
These expectations were far from being realised ; a
few species of butterflies, chiefly Pieris, Callidryas,
Terias, Heliconia cliaritonia, Argynnis yassiflorce,
and A, Delila, Cystineura mardania, and one or two
NymphalidcR and LyccEnadce, are indeed common
enough at all times, and in almost all situations ;
others are abundant at a particular season or locality ;
but in general butterflies are to be obtained only

ENTOMOLOGY.

95

casually. Moths are still more rare : I had provided
myself with bull’s-eye lanterns, and repeatedly took
them out after nightfall, carefully searching the
hanks and hedges by the sides of roads, the margins
of woods, &c., but never, in this way, took a single
specimen. At some seasons, however, as in De-
cember, and more particularly June, on rainy nights,
hundreds of little Noctuadce, Pyralidce, Geometradce,
TineadcBi &c. fly in at the open windows, and speckle
the ceiling, or flutter around the glass-shades with
which the candles are protected from the draughts.
A good many small beetles, and other insects, also
fly in on such occasions, and several interesting
species I have taken in this way which I never saw
at any other time. But in general beetles and the
other orders are extremely scarce, and especially
Diptera ; I have often been astonished at the paucity
of these, as compared with their abundance in
Canada, the Southern United States, and other
localities (in which I have collected) during the hot
weather. One may often walk a mile, — I do not
mean in the depth of the forest, but in situations
comparatively open, beneath an unclouded sun, —
and not see more than a dozen specimens of all
orders. Nor is the beating of bushes productive of
insects and their larvae, as I have found it in North
America. In Canada I have shaken off perhaps
twenty species of lepidopterous larvae in the course
of an hour or two on an autumnal morning ; but I
think I have seen scarcely more than half that
number in Jamaica during a year and a half’s col-
lecting.

96

CONTENT.

To this scarcity of insects, however, there are two
or three local and seasonal exceptions. The high-
road, passing just behind and above the cottage of
Content, climbs the mountain in the zigzag direction
so frequently adopted in Jamaica, to diminish the
steepness of the ascent ; and it is a mile or two of
this road that forms the most remarkable exception
to the general scarcity of insects that I have noticed.
During the month of June the shrubs and trees that
border the road (which is cut through the forest) are
alive with insects of all orders, but particularly
Coleoptera; many species of Longicornes, LampyridcB,
Buprestidce, CassididcB, ChrysomelidcB, &c., occur by
hundreds on the twigs and leaves ; and the air is alive
with butterflies, Plymenoptera and Diptera. I can-
not at all tell why this abundance exists ; it is very
local ; beyond a certain point, the road, the forest,
seem to be unchanged, but the insects have ceased :
it is very temporary also ; it suddenly commences
about the end of May, and by the middle of July
scarcely a dozen beetles are seen where there were
thousands. I might have supposed it a casual thing,
if I had had but one season’s experience ; but in
1846 it was the same as in 1845, the same abundance
at precisely the same season, and with the same local
limits. It is worthy of record, that at the same time
and place the leaves of the trees were studded with
shelled Mollusca, of the genera Helix^ Cylindrella,
Helicina, Cyclostoma ^ &c., as I never saw them else-
where.

It is not improbable that some peculiarities in the
geological or the botanical character of this region

ENTOMOLOGY.

97

would account for what I have mentioned; hut
of this I can give little information. The Mahoe
{Hibiscus tiliaceus), the Bastard Cedar {Guazuma
ulmifolia), the Mammee Sapota {Lucuma mammosa),
the Locust {Hymencca couharil), and the Trumpet-tree
{Cecropia peltata), are some of the forest- trees, with
others called Burn-wood and Down-tree, of which I
know not the systematic appellation, unless the latter
he the Ochroma lagopus of botanists. But there is one
tree which grows numerously in that locality, which
I suppose to have some influence on the Lepidoptera
and Hymenoptera ; it is provincially called the Po-
tatoe-wood ; it is at that time covered with blossoms,
which, though they grow in thick racemes, offer
nothing pleasing to the sight or the scent. But these
form the centres of attraction to the insects I have
named ; Pierides and Theclcc in particular flutter
around the summits in considerable numbers, and
swarms of small beetles and flies. The Bauhinia
displays its elegant blossoms, and in one corner a large
patch of Cassia attracts Papiliones and Coliades ; but
in general there is an almost total lack of the flower-
ing herbaceous vegetation that fringes the roads in
most other places. It is remarkable also that the
trees in these woods are nearly, if not quite, destitute
of epiphyte OrcJiidacecCy which are so abundant on
Bluefields Mountain at a similar elevation, that hardly
a tree is without one or more specimens. But in
other respects the character of the vegetation in the
two regions differs greatly.

This district I habitually visited every alternate
week, very frequently spending eight or ten days at

F

98

SABITO BOTTOM.

a time with my worthy friends at Content. Probably
two thirds at least of my collection of insects were
the result of my labours here. Yet I never found
insects abundant except at the season named above.
The elevation of the region may be assumed (I speak
only from my own estimate) as ranging from 1500 to
2000 feet above the sea.

I may add, that during the period of insect-abun-
dance on the Hampstead road, a large number of
species were taken by flying in at the open windows
of Content cottage by night. Many valuable speci-
mens occurred in this way, not only of the crepuscu-
lar and nocturnal Lepidoptera, but of other Orders,
in considerable variety. Curculionidce, LongicorneSt
and Lampyrid(E were very numerous. I am inclined
to think that a far greater number of insects are
active by night than by day.

The other exceptions to the general paucity of
insects were principally in Westmoreland. In going
from Blueflelds to Savanna-le-Mar, the road for some
miles borders the sea-shore, which at first is a sandy
beach, but soon rises to a shelving, rubbly sort of
cliff, at the top of which the highway passes. The
first portion, extending to about a mile from Blue-
flelds, is called Sabito Bottom ; the soil here is a
heavy sand, mixed with shingle, doubtless washed up
by the surf in strong gales ; large masses of the Ma-
ritime Lily {Pancratium) spring up on each side of
the path ; a narrow belt of single trees, chiefly of the
Sea-side Grape {Coccolohd)^ on the left hand, over-
hang both the road and the sea-beach, and on the
right a dark and fetid morass is hidden by great

ENTOMOLOGY.

99

bushes of the black-withe. This would seem an un-
promising place for a collector, and yet it forms one
of the signal exceptions I have mentioned to the
general paucity of insects. Many magnificent but-
terflies frequent this bottom, as Aganistlios Orioriy
Charaxes Cadmus, Charaxes Asiyanax, Papilio Pe-
laus, P. Cresphontes, P. Polydamas, P. Marcellinus,
and other PapilionidcB, besides more common Lepi-
doptera. And when we get up the hill, — where the
trees are Manchioneel, Cedar ( Cedrela), Mahogany,
Bully-tree {Achras), Logwood, &c., with the fragrant
Wild Cofiee {Tetramerium odoratissimum), the Papaw,
the Trumpet-tree {Cecropia), the beautiful Spanish
Jasmines (Plumeria alba et rubra), and the rocks are
hung with festoons of Portlandia grandiflora, gay
with their noble tubular blossoms, — we find insects
very numerous. Many species of Pieris, Callidryas,
Terias; of NympJialidce ; Heliconia charitonia ; of
Lyccenadce ; of Hesperiadce ; and not a few of other
Orders, are at most seasons, abundant here. A large
portion of my insect spoils was collected in this lo-
cality.

Pursuing the same sea-side road, but in an op-
posite direction from Bluefields, we come to the
estate of Belmont. It is very sandy, close to the sea,
and on the same level with Sabito Bottom ; yet
it possesses some peculiarities both in botany and
entomology. Prickly Acacias of several species bor-
der the road, intermingled profusely with the formid-
able Pinguin (Bromelia pinguin). The fences are
logwood hedges, over which trail many beautiful
creepers, as different kinds of Ipomcea, and the lovely

100

BLUEFIELDS.

'Clitoria Plumieri; and Passion-flowers throw their
feeble stems and entwine their tendrils among the
shrubs and herbaceous plants that fringe the road-
sides. Some small Melit(B(B, Cystineura Mardania,
and Charaxes Astyanax ; some pretty low-flying
Glaucoyid(B and PyralidcBy haunt these lanes, and
a few rare Coleoptera have been taken from the
shrubs.

A few rods’ length of the high-road at the brow of
Bluefields Mountain, along the edge of the dark
wood where grow the tree-ferns already described,
has also produced several flne insects. Here, and in
the neighbouring parts that have been once under cul-
tivation but are now “ruinate,” bushes of numberless
kinds have sprung up, many of which are in blossom
at all seasons. Though the flowers of most of these
are individually small and inconspicuous, yet from
their profusion they present an attraction to Hy-
menopterous and Lepidopterous insects ; and such
a wilderness of vegetation is usually more or less
productive to the entomologist. In this particular
locality I have usually found butterflies pretty nu-
merous, principally Nymplialidoi and Hesperiadce, and
those of sorts rarely found in the lowlands ; but
from the tangled character of the “ bush,” and from
the height of the blossomed summits about which
they hover, they are less readily obtained than ob-
served.

FIKE-FLIES.

101

FIRE-FLIES.

“ How beautiful is night !

A dewy freshness fills the silent air ;

No mist obscures, nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain,

Breaks the serene of heaven ;

In full-orbed glory yonder moon divine
■ Rolls through the dark blue depths,”

Thalaha, i. I.

A noble description, though expressed in few
words ; but fully to enter into its beauty, we must
have seen the glorious nights of the tropics. There
the ‘‘ dewy freshness ” receives a heightening charm
by its contrast with the burning day : there the sky
has, indeed, a ‘‘ dark blue depth,” into which the eye
seems to go onward and onward interminably ; and
gains an idea of the illimitable expanse, the infinity
of space, that our paler skies fail to convey. And
surely nowhere else does the moon appear invested
in such full-orbed glory,” or pour down such a flood
of brilliant lustre on forest and sea, as from those
“ serene,” transparent heavens.

A scene particularly lovely is presented by one of
those little glades, or open spaces of greensward, in
the midst of the woods, that are not uncommon in
Jamaica, — when seen under the light of a brilliant
vertical moon. The forest, like a bounding wall,
rises all around, within which everything is hidden
under the blackest gloom. The thick leathery leaves
of many of the trees, however, reflect from their
glossy surfaces the moon’s light, and, moved by the
gentle land-wind, throw off the flashes in all direc-
tions. And, after the daily shower in the rainy

102

CONTENT.

season, the drops, depending from every twig, and
lying in globules in the hollows of the leaves, both
reflect and refract the beam, like thousands of dia-
monds.

I have said that the interior of the forest is veiled
in the deepest gloom, concealing every object ; but
this is true only of such objects as depend for their
visibility on external light. The very depth of the
darkness only makes more perceptible some objects
there, which shine by their own proper radiance.
Here and there, all around, among the trees and
shrubs, little lights are flitting along a few feet above
the ground, which the beholder can scarcely persuade
himself are not candles borne about by some human
inhabitants of the forest. These are Fire-flies, species
of the same family (Lampyridce) as the Glow-worm of
our own summer evenings, but in many instances far
exceeding it in lustre. There are other lights, how-
ever, which surpass the brightest of these ; a red
glare dashes by with headlong rapidity along the
grassy edges of the woods, now concealed, then
flaming out again, which we at once see to be of
a superior character to the sparks of the woods.
This also is the torch of an insect {Pyrophorus me-
tilucus), to which I shall give the English appellation
of Glow-fly a beetle of the family Elateridce, To
each of these families I shall devote a few remarks.

The Lampyridce are, in Jamaica, far more abundant
than Pyrophorus noctilucus,^ At all times, their

* Mr. Sells’ statement, that the splendid luminous spectacle in
Jamaica is produced exclusively by the ElaUridx^ the light of the

FIKE-FLIES.

103

sparks, of various degrees of intensity, according to
the size of the species, are to be seen, fitfully gleam-
ing by scores about the margins of woods, and in
open and cultivated places. About fourteen species
have occurred to me, all luminous. Photuris versi-
color, a large species with drab-coloured elytra, I
found abroad soon after my arrival, in December.
One flying around the house in the evening, I was
struck with its swift and headlong flight and nearly
permanent luminosity, which was much more bril-
liant than that of any species which I had at that
time seen.

A large Pygolampis, which I have called P. xantho-
photis, I did not meet with until May, when one flew
into the house at Blueflelds in the evening ; and
two nights afterwards I observed it rather numerous
on the very sea-beach at Sabito. It was conspicuous
for the intensity of its light, much exceeding that of
Photuris versicolor. Sometimes it is only the last
segment but two that shows luminosity; but when
excited, the whole hinder part of the abdomen is
lighted up with a dazzling glare.

It is in the woods of St. Elizabeth’s, in the month
of June, that I have seen the Lampyridce in their
glory; and particularly along the road leading up
the mountain from Shrewsbury to Content, where it
is cut through the tall forest, which overhangs it on
each side, making it sombre even by day, and casting

glow-worm which is occasionally seen being no more comparable
to that of the Elater than a dying oil-lamp to a jet of pure gas ” ( Tr.
Ent. Soc. I. xlvi.), I can by no means confirm.

104

CONTENT.

an impenetrable gloom over the scene by night. The
darkness here, however, and especially at one point,
a little dell, which is most obscure, is studded thick
with Fire-flies of various species, among which the two
large ones above-named are conspicuous. I have
delighted to watch and study their habits in this
lonely spot, while the strange sounds, snorings,
screeches, and ringings, of nocturnal reptiles and
insects, sounds unheard by day, were coming up from
every part of the deep forest around, giving an almost
unearthly character to the scene.

Pygolampis xanthophotis I have observed only in
flight : its light is of a rich orange-colour when seen
abroad, but w'hen viewed in the light of a candle
appears yellow. It is not of so deep a tint as
the abdominal light of Pyropliorus noctilucus. It is
intermittent.

Photuris versicolor is noticeable by its frequent
resting on a twig or leaf in the woods, when it will
gradually increase the intensity of its light till it
glows like a torch ; then it gradually fades to a
spark, and becomes quite extinct; it thus remains
unseen for some time, but in about a minute, or, it
may be, two, it will begin to appear, and gradually
increase to its former blaze ; then fade again ;
strongly reminding the beholder of a revolving light
at sea. The light of this species is of a brilliant
green hue. I have seen a passing Pyg^ xanthophotis,
attracted by the glow of a stationary Phot, versicolor,
fly up and play around it; when the intermingling
of the green and orange rays had a charming appear-
ance, like the two lights of Pyrophorus noctilucus, of
which I shall presently speak.

FIRE- FLIES.

105

The smaller species have, some yellow, some green
light : I have noticed only these two colours in the
luminosity of such Lampyridce as I have observed.

Pygolampis xanthopJiotis, when held in the fingers,
will frequently illuminate the antepenultimate seg-
ment of the abdomen, over which the light plays fit-
fully, sometimes momentarily clouded, more or less,
but generally saturated, as it were, with most bril-
liant effulgence. This species occasionally comes in
at open windows at night, but much more rarely than
Photuris versicolor and the smaller kinds, a dozen or
more of which may be seen almost every night, espe-
cially at Content, crawling up the walls or flitting
around the room and beneath the ceiling.

Southey’s well-known lines on the Fire-flies of
tropical America, are, with one or two trivial excep-
tions, as correct as they are poetical : —

“ Sorrowing we beheld

The night come on ; but soon did night display
More wonders than it veiled : innumerous tribes
From the wood- cover swarmed, and darkness made
Their beauties visible ; one while they streamed
A bright blue radiance upon flowers which closed
Their gorgeous colours from the eye of day ;

Now, motionless and dark, eluded search,

Self-shrouded ; and anon, starring the sky,

Rose like a shower of fire.” Madoc, i. v. ’

I would substitute ‘‘ green radiance ” for blue ; ”
1 have never seen a blue gleam from a Fire-fly, either
in the Antilles, or in continental America. The
phrase “ starring the sky ” seems rather at variance
with the lowly habits of the genus : I would not say

106

CONTENT.

I have never seen one against the sky, hut, generally
speaking, their flight takes a range of only a few feet
or yards from the ground. The term ‘‘ swarmed,”
too, must be understood as expressing only their
numbers, which are often very great ; not any associ-
ation, like the swarming of gnats or bees, for the
LampyridcB are essentially solitary in their habits.

I will now speak of our other luminous insect, the
Glow-fly {Pyrophorus iioctilucus). From February
to the middle of summer this beetle is common in the
lowlands, and at moderate elevations. Lacordaire’s
account of the luminosity of this Plater (known to
me, however, only by the citation in Kirby and
Spence’s Introd. to Ent. ii. SS3., 6th edit.) differs so
greatly from the phsenomena presented by our
Jamaica specimens, that I cannot help concluding
that he has described an allied but very distinct
species, and I feel justified therefore in recording
what I have myself observed. The light from the
two oval tubercles on the dorsal surface of the thorax
is very visible even in broad daylight. When the
insect is undisturbed, these spots are generally quite
opake, of a dull white hue ; but, on being handled,
they ignite, not suddenly but gradually, the centre of
each tubercle first showing a point of light, which in
a moment spreads to the circumference, and increases
in intensity till it blazes with a lustre almost daz-
zling. The colour of the thoracic light is a rich
yellow-green. In a dark room, pitch-dark, this
insect gives so much illumination as to cast a definite
shadow of any object on the opposite wall, and when
held two inches from a book the whole line may be

GLOW-FLIES.

107

read without moving it. The under part of the thorax
has a singular appearance when the tubercles are fully
lighted up ; for the horny coat of skin being some-
what pellucid, displays the light within redly and
dimly, as if the whole thorax were red-hot, particu-
larly at the edges, immediately beneath the tubercles.
When left alone, the insect soon relapses into still-
ness, and the tubercles presently fade into darkness,
either total, or redeemed only by a spark scarcely
perceptible.

I had been familiar with this Glow-fly for some
weeks, and had made the above observations on it,
without being aware that it possessed any other
source of light than the thoracic tubercles. I had
indeed remarked that when flying at liberty the light
which it diffused was of a rich ruddy glow, and yet
these individual insects, if captured and held in the
hand, showed only green light. I much wondered at
this, but knew not how to account for it, until a
friend explained it, illustrating his remarks by expe-
riment. On the ventral surface, when the abdomen is
extended, there is seen, between its first segment and
the metathorax, an oval transverse space, covered
with thin membrane, which glows with orange-
coloured light ; totally concealed, however, when the
abdomen is relaxed, by the overlapping of the meta-
thorax. When the insect is placed on its back it
throws itself into the air like other Elaters ; but if it
be made to repeat this many times it appears to be-
come weary, and endeavours to raise itself by bending
the head and the abdomen back, so as to rest on the
extremities, in hope to roll over. It is when thus

108

CONTENT.

recurved that the abdominal light suddenly appears,
the oval space being uncovered. When held in the
hand, the same effect is produced by forcibly bending
back the abdomen with the fingers ; but this is not
very easy of accomplishment, on account of the re-
sistance of the closed elytra ; but if these be held
open with one hand, and the abdomen recurved with
the other, it is readily shown. As the open space,
then, can be exposed only when the elytra are ex-
panded, the reason is manifest why the red light is
never displayed by the insect when walking or rest-
ing : the green thoracic light on the other hand may
be displayed at any time ; it is however very rarely
shown during flight. On one occasion two or three
Glow-flies, having entered the sitting-room in the
evening, gave out the red light most brilliantly as
they flew round near the ceiling, the spectators being
beneath them ; one of these, being alarmed by my
efibrts to capture it, gave out the thoracic light also
very brightly ; and the mingling of the green and red
light in the evolutions of flight produced an effect
indescribably beautiful.

That the thoracic light is subject to the will of the
insect is indubitable ; but whether the same can be
predicated of the abdominal light I am not assured.
During flight it is every second intermitted, as far as
the observer can detect ; but its appearance or dis-
appearance may depend upon whether the dorsal or
ventral surface is presented to the eye. This is
when, soon after dark, the insect is sweeping in rapid,
headlong, irregular curves over the fields or along the
edges of the forest ; when the appearance resembles

GLOW-FLIES.

109

that of a stick with the end on fire (but not in flame)
carried or whirled along by one running swiftly,
quenched suddenly after a course of a dozen yards, to
appear again at a similar distance. When slowly
flying over the grass, the progress of one may often
be traced by the red glare on the ground beneath ; a
space of about a yard square being brightly illumi-
nated, when no light at all reaches the spectator’s eye
from the body of the insect.

Whether any light would appear pervading the
abdomen if the segments were stretched, I cannot
positively say, for I have not in my journal any note
on this point. I think not, however ; for in my re-
peated handlings of these insects and experiments on
their abdomens, I could scarcely have avoided ex-
tending the segments, even unintentionally; but I
am quite certain I never saw any light except in the
one ventral and the two thoracic spots. If one be
trodden on, a mass of mixed light remains for some
minutes among the fragments. The story told by
Peter Martyr of these Elaters having been hunted
for, to eat the mosquitoes is sufficiently amusing ; of
course it is not right to contradict a statement be-
cause one has never verified it, but I may be per-
mitted to observe that I utterly disbelieve it. That
they might afford a substitute for candles in per-
forming household operations that required no great
exactness, is certainly true, provided they were
constantly carried in the fingers; but if put under
a glass or allowed liberty in a room, as I have abun-
dantly proved, they very quickly conceal their light.
I have found too, that one kept beneath a glass

no

CONTENT.

would display very little light the next evening, even
under the excitement of being handled, and on the
following night would be irrecoverably dark ; this may
have resulted from the lack of food or of exercise, not
I think from the lack of air or of moisture.

Peter Martyr asserts that the natives of Hispa-
niola, at the time of the discovery, were in the habit
of tying one of these Glow-flies to each of their great
toes, when they journeyed by night through the
woods ; a thing not at all improbable. The two
insects would throw a considerable light around the
traveller’s steps ; and if they should withhold their
luminosity, might easily be replaced by others freshly
caught. On this custom Southey, in the beautiful
Poem already quoted, has founded a pretty inci-
dent. When Coatel was guiding Madoc through the
cavern, —

“ She beckoned, and descended, and drew out
From underneath her vest, a cage, or net
It rather might be called, so fine the twigs
Which knit it, where, confined, two fire-flies gave
Their lustre.” Madoc, ii. xvii.

Of the earlier stages of any of these light-bearing
insects I have been able to procure little information.
About the middle of May a larva of an Elateridous
beetle was brought to me which was luminous ; in
the dark the whole insect was pellucid, but the divi-
sions of the segments showed distinct light, blue and
pale, not very vivid. It was impatient of being
handled, and bit fiercely at the hand, but inef-
fectually. I suspect that it was the larva of the
Glow-fly; the specimen is now in the British Mu-

PHOSPHORESCENCE OF FIRE-FLIES.

Ill

seum. And at Content, in the latter part of July, I
found in fresh-turned earth a larva of a Lampyris,
small and lengthened : the abdomen, like that of the
European Glow-worm, was furnished with a retractile
brush of divergent filaments, ordinarily concealed;
but having no lens with me I could not examine it
particularly.

Mr. Hill has favoured me with the following inte-
resting speculations on the phosphorescence of these
insects ; particularly on the Pyrophorus noctilucus,
which he indicates by the term ‘‘ Eire-fly.”

“ Humboldt states that the larva of the Eire-fly
feeds on the roots of the sugar-cane, and proves de-
structive to that plant in the West India Islands.
This remark was no doubt made on information
derived from Spanish planters ; and relied on, be-
cause consistent with the known habits of the larvae
of European ElateridcB, — particularly the well-known
wire-worm, which devours the roots of vegetables,
and does considerable damage to corn-fields. No
one can have looked upon a stretch of canes in some
rich and teeming soil in one of our serene nights, and
seen the numerous luminous insects shooting athwart
the gloom like meteors, or spangling the wide land-
scape as with a thousand stars, without being struck
with the relation which subsists between the preva-
lence of phosphorescent insects, and the growth of
a plant, like the sugar-cane, which depends on the
presence of an unusual degree of phosphates in the soil.
The fact is, that the peculiar economy of these insects
with respect to their phosphorescence is carried on by
the aid of vegetable food in which phosphorus is

112

CONTENT.

elaborated. Vegetables fashion elementary or mine-
ral matter ; and when fashioned those matters pass
ready formed into the bodies of animals ; — animals
change one portion of them, and store up another in
their tissues : — they engender heat, and elicit force
in consuming that which vegetables have produced and
slowly accumulated. This is the relation between
the luminous insect, and the soil charged with phos-
phates. What the plant reduces, the insect appro-
priates and consumes ; — plants decompose carbonic
acid to seize upon its carbon, and they decompose
water to seize upon its hydrogen ; animals burn car-
bon to form carbonic acid, and they act on hydrogen
to form water. The Fire-fly, in its economy of life,
burns the phosphorus, absorbed from the plants that
nourished it, to give forth light. The phosphorus in
a state of combustion unites with the oxygen of the
air, and when we experimentalise this process of com-
bustion, in order to trace the parts severally played
by vegetables and by animals in the economy of
nature, we find that phosphorus, when it unites with
the oxygen of the air, produces a solid acid, which
falls down in the included air like flakes of snow, and
in this way it again combines with the soil.

It is certain that the Fire-fly feeds upon the
sugar-cane ; and should the larva do so likewise, as it
is xylophagous, this insect must be added to those
that do mischief to the planter ; considering the
abundant swarms which nightly, at certain seasons,
illuminate the cane-flelds. When Mr. Lees, from
the Bahamas, carried the living Fire-fly to England,
he took sugar-canes to sea with him, on which the

CYDIMON.

113

beetles fed. They readily broke away the wood to
obtain the saccharine matter ; and after his stock of
canes was consumed, they ate brown sugar ; and
were kept alive the whole of their voyage from June
to the middle of September. (Zool. Journal, vol.
iii.) Of the two kinds of luminous beetles which we
possess, the Elater noctilucus^ with the large phospho-
rescent tubercle on either side of the thorax, produces
the wire-worm of the corn-fields, — the Lampyris,
which we call the Blinker^ has not been traced
through its transformations. It is usually found on
the trunks of trees, and in a state of inactivity ; ^ —
during the day it clings to their bark or is concealed
in their fissures.”

CYDIMON.

Two species of the genus Cydimon, the one C,
lunus of Cramer, the other considered by my late
lamented friend, Edward Doubleday, Esq., as new,
though closely resembling the former, I have occa-
sionally found in the summer months around Content,
but very sparingly. The genus is interesting, as
being, like Urania^ one of those dubious forms which
connect the Butterflies with the Sphinges. In habit,
as well as in form and coloration, Cydimon is more
allied to the Moths than Urania is ; for, as far as my
observation goes, I believe it to be exclusively cre-
puscular, if not nocturnal, in its activity. The few
specimens that I have taken, have all been found
resting on the walls and in the angles of houses, in
the morning, just in the manner of the GeometradcB^

114

CONTENT.

having flo’wn in at the open windows between sunset
and sunrise.

One evening near the end of June, I was return-
ing to Content from a visit to the Kepp. The sun
had already gone down into the wide Caribbean Sea
that spread out before and almost beneath me ; and
the little peak-like clouds, that always appear like so
many islets on the horizon after his departure, were
beginning to lose the brilliancy of their golden
borders, when I entered a part of the road where the
beauteous scene was suddenly shut out by the lofty
woods towering on either side. The trees nearly
met overhead, so as almost to exclude the little day-
light that yet lingered in the sky, when my attention
was attracted to what at first appeared an Urania in
the air ; but which I presently perceived, by the
broad-tailed processes of the wings, to be a Cydimon,
Its manners were singular, and unlike those of any
Moth or Butterfly that I had ever seen ; so that I
drew up awhile to watch it. It hovered in one spot
high in the air, immediately over the road, at an ele-
vation of perhaps twenty-five feet, just in the manner
of a Syrphus or of some Bees, the front margin of
the wings strongly and rapidly tremulous ; at inter-
vals of a few seconds, it gave a single stroke with the
wings, and darted laterally to a distance of several
feet. Here it would become instantly stationary as
before ; and so proceeded, alternately hovering and
shooting to and fro, without leaving the open space
between the trees, as long as I remained.

TKAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

115

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

In digging their mountain-gardens the negroes
often expose the curious subterranean nests of the
Trap-door Spider {Cteniza nidulans), many of which
are brought to me. This Spider makes its tubular
dwelling in soft earth, frequently choosing cultivated
ground, on account, doubtless, of this quality; each
nest is cylindrical, or nearly so, from four to ten
inches deep, and about one inch in diameter ; the
bottom is rounded ; and the top, which is at the
surface of the soil, is closed very accurately with a
circular lid. They are not all equally finished, some
being much more compact, and having the lid more
closely fitted than others. Some have irregular
bulgings, and ragged laminated ofif-sets on the outer
surface ; but all are smooth and silky on the inside.
This smoothness, however, does not preclude little
irregularities or unevennesses of surface, nor is it
glossy ; its appearance rather resembles that of paper
which has been wetted and dried ; it is always of a
reddish-buflP hue, but the outside is stained of the
colour of the surrounding earth. The mouth of the
tube, and the parts near it, are very strong; the walls
here often having a thickness of from |^th to ^Jth of
an inch ; but the lower parts are much thinner. The
lid is continuous with the tube for about a third of its
circumference, and this part may be called the hinge,
though it presents no structure peculiar to itself; it
is simply bent at a right angle, as is manifest if a nest

116

BLUEFIELDS.

be cut longitudinally through with scissors, the inci-
sion passing through the midst of the lid.

The mode of construction I judge, from exami-
nation of many nests, to be this. The Spider digs a
cylindrical hole in the moist earth, with her jointed
fangs or mandibles, carrying out the fragments as
they are dislodged. When the excavation has pro-
ceeded a little way, she begins to spin the lining
which forms the dwelling. I conclude thus, because
nests are occasionally found a few inches in length,
with the lid and upper part perfect, but without any
bottom, these being evidently in course of formation.
I suppose that she weaves her silk, at first, in uncon-
nected patches, against the earthy sides, perhaps
where the mould is liable to fall in ; and thus I account
for the loose rough laminae of silk that are always
found projecting from the outer surface. These are
overlaid with other patches more and more extensive,
until the whole interior walls are covered ; after which
the silk is spun evenly and continuously all round the
interior, in successive layers of very dense texture,
though thin. Under the microscope, with a power
of 220 diameters, these layers are resolved into
threads laid across each other and intertwined in a
very irregular manner ; some are simple, varying from
y— ^th to 20^0^^ diameter, and others

are compound, several threads, in one part separate,
being united into one of greater thickness which
cannot then be resolved. No pellets of earth are ever
interwoven with silk to form the outer layers of the
walls, though the adhesive nature of the silk, when
freshly spun, causes fragments of earth to remain

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

117

attached to the surface. The mouth of the tube is
commonly dilated a little, so as to form a slightly re-
curved brim or lip ; and the lid is sometimes a little
convex internally, so as to fall more accurately into
the mouth and close it. The thickening of the hinge
by additional layers is, I think, accidental only, as,
out of many specimens that I have examined, only
one or two had such a structure. In the neatest
examples, the lid is of equal thickness throughout its
extent, agreeing also with the walls for the first few
inches of their depth.

One of peculiar compactness now before me I have
slit open longitudinally with a pair of scissors in the
manner spoken of above. The thickness of the sub-
stance is in no place greater than y^^th of an inch,
which is very regularly maintained throughout the
lid and upper parts. The appearance at the cut
edge closely resembles that of millboard so divided;
the layers of which it is composed being very nume-
rous and compact, especially towards the interior side,
where they can scarcely be distinguished even with a
lens. In this specimen there is what I cannot find in
any of the others that I have examined. A row of
minute holes, such as might be made by a very fine
needle, are pierced around the free edge of the lid,
and a double row of similar ones just within the
margin of the tube. There are about fifteen or six-
teen punctures in each series; and they penetrate
through the whole substance, the light being clearly
seen through each hole. Now, what is the object of
these orifices ? I do not think, as I have somewhere
seen suggested, that they are intended to afibrd a

118

BLUEFIELDS.

hold for the Spider’s claws, when she would keep her
door shut against the efforts of an enemy ; for what
would be the use of having them in the tube, close to
the lidi so close that not the eighth of an inch inter-
venes between the series of the lid and that of the
tube, when the former is tightly closed ? I would
suggest whether they may not be air-holes ; for so
tight is the fitting of the lid, and so compact the
texture of the material, that I should suppose the
interior would he impermeable to air, but for this
contrivance. And as those in the horizontal lid might
possibly be closed by minute particles of earth rolling
on it, the second row around the edge of the per-
pendicular tube, just at the surface of the ground,
would still be available in such a contingency. They
may admit also an appreciable amount of light. On
viewing such a structure, with its beautiful contriv-
ances for security and comfort, we may well say with
the Psalmist, “ O Lord, how manifold are Thy works !
in wisdom hast Thou made them all.”

The Spider that inhabits this nest is black, with
the thorax of an exceedingly lustrous polish ; its ab-
domen is full and round, its legs very short. It
retreats on alarm to the bottom of its tube, whence
it is very reluctant to be dragged ; and when ex-
posed, seems inert and helpless. Yet it is much
dreaded, its bite being reputed to cause tumefac-
tion, and painful fever.

TERMITES, OR DUCK-ANTS.

In going only a few rods into the woods, a stranger
cannot help observing many of the trees encompassed

DUCK-ATsTS.

119

with large black, round masses, often as big as a
hogshead, adhering to the trunks or the branches.
Curious to know the nature of so singular an appen-
dage, he is told that these protuberant masses are the
nests of Duck-ants or Termites ; and on examination
he finds that they are composed apparently of an
earthy substance, comminuted very fine, and made
into a sort of paste with animal gluten. The outside
is friable, and much resembles, except in colour, that
description of pastry technically called “ short,” as
does the whole of that portion which is newly con-
structed ; but the interior has a hardness and firm-
ness superior to that of wood. The whole mass is
composed of numberless passages of the diameter of
a man’s little finger, separated by walls about one-
tenth of an inch thick, and running without any
obvious regularity or design. On the surface-walls
being broken in, out swarm hundreds of the inhabit-
ants, most of them active little fellows with black
heads, but many, rather larger and plumper, with
yellow heads are scattered among the crowd. I pre-
sume the former to be the labourers, and the latter
the soldiers. A single covered gallery is invariably
found to extend from the edifice along the trunk of
the tree to the earth. Frequently I have observed
in the morning a similar covered gallery, as thick as
one’s thumb, extending all across the high-road daily
travelled by vehicles of various kinds ; whence I con-
clude that the construction of such a passage was the
work of the preceding night.

After a time, from some cause or other, the great
nests are deserted; but continue to maintain their
integrity for an indefinite period. In this state the

120

BLUEFIELDS.

Yellow-bellied Parroquet chooses

to build her nest in them, excavating a chamber
with her pow^erful beak. Snakes and their eggs are
often found in them, and the eggs of Lizards also.
I once found in one several eggs of the small
Pallette-tip Gecko {Sphceriodactylus argus). It is
now an excellent fuel, burning readily, with a flame
and a glowing brightness, little inferior to coal. As
no ammoniacal smell proceeds from it, and as it con-
sumes into a clear white ash, I conjecture that the
substance is of vegetable origin. It is sought after,
in those districts and seasons in which the Musqui-
toes make a more than endurable pest, in order to be
burned in a chafing-dish ; as it gives out a good deal
of smoke, which is the only weapon that those
formidable, though minute, warriors fear. The
smoke clears the house of the insect-hosts in a few
seconds ; and is much preferable to that of wood,
because far less painful to the eyes.

The Termites do not often enter dwelling-houses ;
but sometimes they do penetrate the floors, and
devour whatever lies in their way, encrusting the
residue with their galleries, which they invariably
make as they go along. Some spare bedding that
had lain in one corner of my bed-room for some
weeks, tied up in a blanket, I found, on removing
it, much injured in this way; the blanket being
devoured in long meandering lines, and so defiled
with the crustaceous deposit as to be irreparably
spoiled.

In the spring a swarm of the winged males and
females often enters the house, to the great annoy-

CYLINDRELLA GRACILIS.

121

ance of the inmates. The insects flock to the candle-
shades, and spread themselves over the table, and
especially crowd upon books, papers, or any other
white materials. Their four wings, which are ample,
are of a dull brown colour, possessing little trans-
parency. Presently we are surprised to see several
dismembered wings lying about ; and, looking at the
insects more carefully, we perceive that they are
casting these organs voluntarily, which seem to be
annoying encumbrances rather than serviceable parts
of their bodies. They are seen to throw the wings
very far forward towards the head, and then suddenly
jerk them back ; these motions soon dissever their
connexion with the thorax, which appears to be very
slight.

RIDE TO KILMARNOCK.

March Srd. — Rode from Content to Hampstead,
and thence, along the summit of the Luana moun-
tains, to Kilmarnock ; returning through the Bamboo
walk of Grand Vale. Near Hampstead, by the side
of the road, half-hidden among the luxuriant herbage,
was a large mass of stone which I alighted to examine.
Beneath the ledges, adhering to their under surface,
were many specimens of a pretty white shell, Cylin^
drella gracilis. The delicate pointed spire seems less
deciduous in this than in other species, for most of
the individuals were perfect.

At the summit of the mountain are two elevated
peaks of a rounded form, about half a mile distant
from each other ; on the very apex of each is a
dwelling-house, the one of which is named Highgate,

G

122

KILMARNOCK.

and the other Hampstead, doubtless in allusion to
the somewhat similarly situated villages in the
neighbourhood of London. It is spoken of as
something rather wonderful in the country round,
that in these elevated dwellings the apartments are
furnished ^lih. fire-places.

The scenery about this part is singularly romantic.
Large, round hills, almost hemispherical in their
contour, rise out of the valleys in great number,
apparently without any order ; yet so regular in
their form that they seem as if cast up by art. The
road often winds round the sides of these, and opens
delightful and ever changing panoramas. The valleys
and plains beneath, smiling in verdure, and studded
over with clumps of ornamental trees, now hidden
and interrupted by these conical hills, now breaking
into view between them, strike the passenger with
ever fresh delight; and the various hills themselves,
half in the glowing sunlight, half in deep shadow,
changing their relative places as he moves on, have a
wonderfully beautiful effect, totally unlike anything
I have ever seen elsewhere. We look across a deep
grassy vale from the hill-side around which we are
winding, and see another similar mound, with the
narrow line of road passing across its rounded side in
like manner. We are told that we shall presently
pass along that line : it looks almost within gunshot,
but we wind on, and lose sight of the opposite hill,
and it is perhaps half an hour before we arrive at it,
having made many tortuous courses and opened
many new scenes in the intermediate space. The
summits of many of these hills have been planted

KILMARNOCK FOREST.

123

with clumps of bamboos; and these verdant, plumose
crowns, expanding their arched heads like gigantic
tufts of ostrich feathers against the brilliant sky,
finish the picture.

After travelling some miles through an open
country, we entered the forest at Kilmarnock, where
some new provision gardens had recently been re-
claimed and planted. The grace and luxuriance of
the yam-festoons, and other cultivated plants already
shooting up, nearly concealed the hideousness of the
blackened stumps that thickly studded the ground.
Here I saw Brasavola nodosa in full flower, the spikes
of white blossom large and massy ; and from a huge
fallen tree by the side of the road, I obtained many
bulbs of a species of Maxillaria, The woods were
now high and dense, and presented much of the same
character as those on the Bluefields Ridge. Pre-
sently we began to descend, and soon opened the
beautiful sugar estate of Grand Vale, with its bright
green cane-fields and pastures spread out below us as
on a map. The mill-house with its curious conical
roof ; the boiling and trash-houses, and other offices;
and, at a little distance, the great house,” beside a
beautiful sheet of water ; all could be traced from
our elevated position ; while the groups of busy
labourers, the teams of working oxen, and the
pasturing cattle, moved about like ants over the sun-
lit scene. The dark forest bounded the estate on
every side, heightening by its sombre contrast the
cheerfulness of the variegated inclosure ; and beyojttd
this stretched away the boundless sea, sleeping in
silvery beauty beneath the noontide sun.

124

KILMARNOCK.

The number of dead and bleached shells that lay
on the road hereabout, induced me to search for
living ones ; and I spent an hour or two in the
examination. Nor was the search unsuccessful ;
beneath the loose stones on the hill-side, a little
within the forest, were several species in considerable
abundance, some of which I had not at that time
met with. Among the most conspicuous was Helix
JamaicensiSf which I now saw alive for the first
time; the surface of the foot was, in most of the
specimens, infested by a minute species of mite in
great numbers. This fine shell was still rare. A large
flattened species of much value {Helix Sfengleriand)
occurred more numerously ; Cylindrella sanguinea
and cylindrus were abundant ; and several species of
AcJiatina were found sparingly, such as the lovely
A. Philippianai A. venusta. A, Phillipsiif and others.

The zigzag avenue of Bamboos afforded a grateful
shadow as we descended the mountain ; and the dis-
covery of a nest of the wild Guinea-fowl, with twenty
eggs, was an incident which enlivened a peculiarly
toilsome part of the journey, the passage through a
long but narrow water-course, now dry, filled with
masses of loose slippery stone, almost impassible for
a horse. In the midst of a thick tuft of grass, within
the wood beside this rocky path, the Guinea-hen had
deposited her numerous eggs. At length we arrived
at the bottom of the Cotta wood, and were again
sheltered from the burning sun till we arrived at
Content.

THE WATER-WITHE.

125

THE WATER-WITHE.

March 6th. — From Shrewsbury I went a little
W'ay into the woods to see the Coulter-Spring, a
stream so named. A walk of half a mile through the
tall and dark forest brought me to a wild rocky de-
file, in the bottom of which the stream ran. In the
rains this is a roaring, impetuous torrent, and must
he wildly magnificent ; at this time it was romantic
enough, though in another way. The water was
dwindled by the parching weather, until it no longer
formed a stream, but lay in calm, glassy pools,
hounded by the huge, angular masses of black rock
that lay in confused disorder in the ravine. Tiny
threads of water trickled from one reservoir to
another, and produced a tinkling music, sufficiently
audible in the deep silence of the woods. The lofty
trees that shot up their straight branchless stems all
around, were reflected in the dark pools with perfect
outline ; not a bird, not an insect was visible ; the
obscurity, the stillness, and the silence gave a gloomy
awe to the scene, and I felt a sort of relief at again
breaking out into the sunny fields of Shrewsbury.
In this obscure glen the friend who acted as my
guide pointed out the Water- Withe {Vitis Indica),
a valuable plant, for the resource it affords to thirsty
travellers. A long twisted stem, much like that of
the common Grape-Vine, and about as thick as one’s
wrist, was hanging down from one tree to another ;
with a stroke of his heavy knife he cut this in two,
and putting one extremity to my mouth, bade me

126

THE KEPP.

drink. A copious supply of fluid instantly flowed
from it, which I should not have distinguished from
pure cold water. A junk of a yard long, it is said,
will yield a pint; and lives have been saved by the
seasonable supply of this plant, when travellers have
lost their way in the woods, and have been fainting
with thirst.

THE KEPP.

March 8th. — A friend having business at Pains-
town, about eight miles distant from Content, I ac-
companied him. We rode through a lovely mountain
country, chiefly laid out in pens or grazing farms,
well studded with trees, and broken by tracts of
forest. In the neighbourhood of Highgate, on the
side of a conical hill, covered with huge masses of
limestone and with small rubble, and crowned with a
,tuft of Bamboo, I found some shells, especially the
pretty little new species, which Dr. Pfeifler has
done me the honour to name Bulimus Gossei, but
which seems to be rather a Cylindrella, This was in
great abundance beneath the loose stones.

In these mountain estates there are no streams ;
and the resource of the inhabitants is to dig large
pofids in the hollows, into which the rain-water col-
lects in the wet season. Owing to the long con-
tinued drought, these ponds were now very low,
some dry, and others reduced to a small space of
water in the centre of a large area of parched and
cracking mud. At the ooze which margined the
water, I was interested to observe the honey-bees

THE KEPP.

127

thronging to drink in great numbers ; I have seen
the same thing, however, in other places, lately.
The ants, also, are very thirsty, crowding to every
vessel of water in the house ; forming long, serpen-
tine, black lines up the sides, around the edges, and
down the concavities of the basins and ewers in our
bed-rooms, and black circles around the water’s edge.
The orange-groves were in blossom, and delighted
the senses of sight and smelling with their beauty
and profuse fragrance.

After winding round many of the curious hemi-
spherical hills that I have already mentioned, we
came to the Kepp, the estate of George Marcy, Esq.,
to whom I had an introduction. This property is par-
ticularly beautiful: its surface is very varied, present-
ing continual changes of scenery. The broad swells
and slopes of pasture, verdant in spite of the drought,
are enriched by a great variety of fine trees, standing
singly and in clumps, all of them useful, and many
of noble and imposing beauty. The negro huts of
the estate, embosomed, as usual, in luxuriant groves
of deepest green, and in small gardens of pro-
visions;— the white mansion crowning a swelling
hill ; — the dark belts of surrounding forest, admitting,
here and there, peeps at the smiling fields of neigh-
bouring estates ; — impart a peculiar character of
loveliness to the scene. One lofty tree was nearly
covered with the dark-green foliage, and magnificent
white trumpet-blossoms of a climbing plant, probably
a species of Bignonia, that had spread itself over the
branches like a mantle, and hung down in the richest
profusion. On the fruit-trees of the estate, many

G 4

128

THE KEPP.

species of epiphyte OrcJiidecR were numerous ; we had
obtained a noble mass of Epidendrum ciliare, from an
Avocada Pear near Higbgate ; there were forty-two
of the fine lengthened bulbs in the cluster, but the
singular fringed blossom was not displayed. On the
trees in the Kepp, this species occurred again ; Epid,
fragrans was in blossom, most beautiful and sweet-
scented ; Brasavola nodosa was also in flower : —
other species displayed only the leaves and pseudo-
bulbs.

A slight depression in the ground, gradually
deepening, led us into a most romantic little glen.
One side of it was formed by a very steep slope,
covered with trees, and difficult to be climbed ; the
other side was an enormous sheet of limestone,
greatly overhanging, from the moist surface of which,
slender lianes were hanging, and many interesting
ferns threw out their gracefully curling fronds. The
bottom of the dell was damp and tenacious, and sup-
ported a rank vegetation ; largely consisting of the dan-
gerous Dumb-cane (Caladium seguinum)^ a tall kind of
Arum^ so virulently acrid, that the juice of any part,
incautiously applied to the mouth, causes the tongue
to swell so as to take away the power of speech, and
produces burning torments of long duration. It is
said to have been one of the modes of torture em-
ployed by cruel masters in the dark days of slavery.
Amidst these fine-looking, but deleterious Arums, I
found a liliaceous plant with ovate-leaves, the bulbs
of which I took ; these subsequently blossomed in
my possession, and proved a fine species of Pancra-
tium^ delightfully fragrant. The smooth overhanging

NIGHTSHADE AND MISSELTOE.

129

rock I found bristling with hundreds of minute slender
shells, all of the same species (Cylindrella suhula)^
alive, but shrunk into the interior of their dwellings,
which were attached by their mouths to the surface
of the rock, at various degrees of inclination from the
perpendicular. The great majority were decollated,
as is customary with this genus ; but some half-dozen
occurred in a perfect condition, the shell running off
into a delicate taper spire with an acute point. The
summit, however, was excessively fragile, so that it
was almost impossible to secure the specimens, with-
out reducing them to the ordinary condition of ampu-
tation.

The gentleman on whom my friend had intended
to call was lying on what proved to be the bed of
death, too ill to receive us ; we therefore returned
without accomplishing the main object of our jour-
ney, but in other respects much gratified.

NIGHTSHADE AND MISSELTOE.

Immediately behind Bluefields, extending over the
plain at the foot of the mountain, and considerably up
its steep side, is the pen of Pinnock Shafton. A
small inclosure, into which the numerous cattle may
be driven for examination when required, contains a
few objects of interest. The loose stone walls that
surround it, as well as the other fields, are half-
hidden by a vegetation whose wild luxuriance con-
ceals or adorns their naked unsightliness. Long
Cacti, with cylindrical or angular stems, especially
Cereus grandiflorus and C. triangularis, trail irregu-

130

BLUEFIELDS.

larly over them to a surprising length, and hang
about in loose festoons, mingling with the contorted
stalks and broad noble leaves of Arums, the Five-
finger {A, auritum), and other species. Especially
characteristic of these walls are the plants called
Nightshade, species of Echites, with handsome yellow
or white flow^ers, somewhat resembling, at first sight,
those of a Convolvulus. These are elegant slender
climbers, which blossom profusely at most seasons
of the year, and, being very common on fences,
along with the noble Hogmeat {Ipomcea violacea),
wEich exactly represents a Major Convolvulus of
three or four times the usual dimensions, materially
contribute to the gaiety of the fields in this island.
The seed vessels of the Echites have a curious appear-
ance; they are long, slender, and slightly spindle-
shaped, always disposed in pairs at the end of a stalk,
from which they diverge either at a very wide angle,
or in opposite directions at right angles to the foot-
stalk, like the head of the letter T. These plants
have been named Nightshade because of their poi-
sonous character ; they are not botanically allied to
the true Nightshades : they belong, however, to an
equally virulent order, Apocynece, An instance of
the deadly qualities of these beautiful plants was
named to me. Two men, not long ago, Vere found
lying dead in the road : — the only clue to the cause
of their decease was that a bottle of rum was found
with them, from which they had been drinking, and
which they had stopped with a plug made of the
leaves of the Echites, growing in its usual abundance
in the spot, instead of a cork. The alcohol had

MISSELTOE.

131

probably extracted the poisonous properties of the
leaves, and had become fatally impregnated 'with
them.

Here grow several bushes of the true Aloe {A. soco-
trina) ; whose serrate, fleshy leaves, and tall spikes of
tubular flowers, red, yellow and green, are well-
known. Though cultivated in some of the Antilles,
it does not appear to be much known in Jamaica, at
least in the parts with which I am familiar; this
being the only locality in which I remember to have
seen it.

But what interests me most in this place is a
flourishing Misseltoe, or God-bush, as the negroes
call it. It is growing on a Soursop [Anona muricata),
a tree which it principally affects, overspreading every
branch, and effectually, though gradually, killing its
supporter. The seeds are viscous, and are to be seen
sticking on the leaves and twigs^ as well as on the
trunk ; in every instance rooting and shooting where
they adhere ; so that hundreds, perhaps I might say
thousands, of young plants, in various stages of for-
wardness, may be seen on this Soursop, springing
up from the surface of the leaves, three or four
on one leaf, and that on both the inferior and
superior faces. This I take to be a somewhat un-
usual phenomenon. It would be curious to ascertain
what becomes of these young plants when the leaves
on which they grow, fall and decay. Do they
become terrestrial, or perish ? Certainly I saw no
Misseltoe plants growing beneath the tree.

132

BLUEFIELDS RIDGE.

BLUEFIELDS RIDGE.

The road which leads from the shore to the sum-
mit of Bluefields mountain, branches off right and
left at a point just beyond the Tree-ferns, formerly
described ; or rather abuts upon another road run-
ning at right angles to it along the ridge. We will
first pursue the right-hand branch, which, at the
distance of about three miles, leads us to Rother-
wood, a coffee plantation. The intervening space,
for the most part, consists of the primitive woods ;
and the road is nothing more than a narrow rocky
bridle-path, just wide enough for two persons to pass
each other. The negroes of the lowlands have little
gardens or provision-grounds embosomed in these
woods, where they rear various kinds of produce ; on
Fridays they resort hither, early in the morning, to
perform the little tillage that is required, and to col-
lect the fruits and roots which, on the next day, they
carry to the market at Savanna le Mar. With the
exception of the Friday in every week, however,
when the woods re-echo the voices of men, women,
and children, and the sounds of the axe and the hoe,
this path is almost an unbroken solitude, where the
voices of the mountain birds by day, and of the
strange reptiles that are vocal by night, and the
sighing of the breeze in the upper foliage of the
forest, are the only sounds that break the solemn
silence. The vegetation here is totally different from
that of the lowlands; more luxuriant, more close
and matted, the parasitical plants are more numerous
and varied, the air is more humid, and the whole

FOREST SCENERY.

133

scene is much nearer that described by South
American travellers, as characterising the interior of
the forest in that region. That giant of the lowlands
the Ceiba or Cotton-tree {Eriodendron anfractuosum)
hardly reaches these elevated woods ; but its place is
supplied by scarcely less bulky Fig-trees, whose hoary
trunks and broad horizontal limbs are a perfect
nursery of OrcliidecR and BromeliacecE ; and magni-
ficent Santa-Marias [CalopJiyllum), Broad-leafs {Ter^
minalia)i Parrot-berries {Sloanea), and other lofty
trees, tower up to an enormous pre-eminence above
their fellows. In parts which have once been cleared,
and since neglected, — according to that law by
which a primitive forest, when once cut down, is
succeeded by a spontaneous growth of a totally dif-
ferent kind of wood, — dense thickets of a species
of Piper, called (from the propensity of this tribe
to form thickened nodes, like those of grasses, at
regular intervals on its trunk and branches) Jointer
or Jointwood, grow in large tracts to the exclusion
of everything else. In these Jointer thickets the
Green Tody, Green Sparrow, or Robin Redbreast
of the colonists (Todus viridis), is particularly abund-
ant; a lovely little bird, with the upper parts emerald
green, the belly pale yellow, tinged with rosy, and
the throat and gorget deep rich crimson-plush. It
sits with the utmost fearlessness on the low twigs
that jut out into the road, almost brushing our faces
as we pass ; or flits about on feeble wing, pursuing
flies, with a soft plaintive squeak.* In other places

* In The Birds of Jamaica, p. 77., Mr. Hill has described the
eggs of this little bird as “ grey, brown-spotted.” He has since had

134

BLUEFIELDS PaDGE.

the trees are tall, slender, and somewhat open in
growth, but the edge of the woods is formidable with
cutting Sedges, and spinous Solanece, relieved by
beautiful tufts of Cannce. Hereabouts Orchidece are
very numerous ; almost every tree, from the size of
one’s arm and upwards, being studded with masses of
pseudo-bulbs of various species, enwrapping the
trunks with their matted roots, and throwing out
their fleshy leaves and spikes of fantastic blossom.
Epidendrum ciliare, Maxillaria Barringtonice, Bras^
sia caudata, and other epiphyte kinds, grow here in
great luxuriance. Farther on, the road is bordered
by shrubby Gesneracecs, of which the curious Rhy-
tidophyllum tomentosum, with its woolly spindle-
shaped leaves, and branches of pale green flowers,
and another species called Glass-eye berry, from its
forming the principal food of the Thrush of that
name, are pre-eminently abundant. Here and there
the immense leaves of the wild plantain (HeUconia)^
of the most delicate green hue, wave out from the
more ignoble bush ; and, looking in, we see a clump
of these magnificent plants, and catch sight of their
massive branches of blossom, enveloped in great boat-
like bracts of richest scarlet. Looking over the
forest from an eminence, the eye is attracted by the
elegant Mountain-pride {Spathelia simplex) rising
here and there above the mass ; a beautiful tree,
whose straight slender stem, terminated by a crown

an opportunity of seeing other specimens, and of finding that this was
an error. The eggs are pure ivory-white, unspotted. The spots that
deceived him, were probably stains produced by the earth in which
they had lain.

PALMS.

135

of large pinnate leaves radiating from the centre and
arching outwards, hears a remarkable resemblance to
the habit of the Palms. Beautiful it is at all times ;
hut it is in the flowering season that its name of
Mountain-pride is felt to be appropriate ; when its
summit is crowned by a dense pyramid of lively pink
flowers, several feet in diameter and in height. In
districts where this tree is numerous, the eflect is
said to be most magnificent.

Two fine species of real Palms are found in these
lofty woods, though not in great numbers. The one
is the Long Thatch, a species of Cocos, whose long
pinnate fronds are used for thatching the houses of
the negro peasants ; the other is the Mountain Cab-
bage {Areca oleracea), one of the very noblest of this
kingly race of plants. It shoots up its verdant tuft
of feathery fronds to an enormous elevation, some
specimens even to the height (as is credibly asserted)
of two hundred feet. To think of a tree as high as
the Monument of London, with a slender branchless
stem, as straight as an arrow, perfectly cylindrical,
yet not more than a foot in diameter ! The immense
spike of blossom that projects in the early autumn
from the base of the crown, arching gracefully down-
wards, is a fine object. I have seen, at such times,
the earth beneath the tree, for a space of many
square yards, quite white with the scattered pollen,
as if a light snow shower had fallen. Bees, Beetles,
Flies, and other insects, throng around it in this sea-
son, attracted by the nectariferous bloom, and them-
selves forming an attraction for numerous Swallows,
which, darting by on rapid wing, snatch their selected

136

BLUEFIELDS RIDGE.

victims as they pass, and, wheeling round, return
again and again to the prey.

But if I were asked to name the most prominent
character of the vegetation on these lofty peaks, I
should designate it a region of Ferns. Scores of
species, and thousands of individuals, fringe the sides
of the path with their graceful fronds, and almost
choke the way. If we sit down on the grey-spurred
root of a tree, the great fronds of Phlehodium aureum,
so elegantly pinnate, arch over our heads, and spread
widely on each side ; while the eye is pleased with
its massive twisted leaf-bases, covered with golden
hair that shines like silk, and with the brown, de-
licate, thread-like roots, that cling to the bark of the
tree spur, meandering over it like a spider’s web.
The large triangular pinnae of Adiantum macrojphyl-
lum overlapping each other, and gradually diminish-
ing, have a very striking appearance ; and many of
the minuter kinds growing in the hollows of the
stones, and beneath the roots of the trees, display a
grace and beauty peculiarly their own. Within the
gloom of the forest other forms are seen in luxuriant
profusion. The trees are loaded with them : many
of the terrestrial kinds spring in feathery tufts from
the crevices of the bark, and curve gracefully towards
the ground ; others fringe the horizontal limbs, and
conceal the forks ; and others, perhaps the most
curious of all, as Phlehodium lycopodoides, Ph. vac-
cinifolium, Polypodium acrostichoides, &c., crawl up
the trunks of the tall trees, from the earth to their
summits ; their lengthened slender stems clinging
fast to the bark, fringed, throughout all their irre-

CYATHEA AKBOKEA.

137

gular windings, with their small oval or oblong leaf-
like fronds. The sides of the hare rocks, and the
surfaces of the large loose stones, that lie in the
woods, half concealed by bushes, are sprawled over
by similar caulescent and clinging species of the great
Fern tribe, which is estimated to constitute one ninth
part of the whole vegetation of Jamaica.

I will mention but one more member of this tribe,
a Tree-fern of peculiar beauty, that I found growing
in some abundance in a spot of more than usual
gloom and grandeur, far on towards Rotherwood.
The species was, I believe, Cyathea arhorea, taller
and more graceful than the Alsophila of the moun-
tain-brow. The slender stems, each marked with its
oval, scale-like scars, and throwing out from its sum-
mit its swelling cluster of leaf-bases so compact and
so regular as to look like the elegantly fluted knob
of some cast-iron pillar, again constricted before they
spread abroad in a wide umbrella of finely cut foliage,
— had an imposing effect here in the rather open
woods, surrounded by the naked irregular trunks,
moss-grown and studded with parasites, of the tall
trees that towered up, and interwove their branches
far above their heads, shutting out the sun, and
almost the light.

In a very dense, and nearly impenetrable, part of
the bush that borders this lane, I found, about the
end of February, some fine plants, in full flower, of
that noble and magnificent terrestrial Orchid, Phajus
TankervillicE.^ The flower-spikes, which rose to a

* Though the extremity of the labellurn in the plants above
mentioned, was of a deeper and more purple tint than in the pub-

138

BLUEFIELDS EIDGE.

height of about thirty inches, sprang from a mass of
pseudo-bulbs that had attached themselves to the
surface of a huge stone. I was much struck with
the presence of so rich and elegant a flower in so
gloomy, obscure, and tangled a place, uncared for
and unknown. For years and years it may have
successively displayed its gorgeous beauty, without
the eye of man having ever rested on it ; and for ages
more it might have continued to blush unseen, but
for the curiosity of a prying naturalist.

This lonely road was one of my most favourite
resorts, and will ever be associated with my most de-
lightful recollections of Jamaica. I am sure I cannot,
by any attempt to describe the scene, or by any enu-
meration of its more prominent constituents, give any
adequate notion of the peculiar charm that belonged
to it. The gradual ascent higher and higher up the
mountain, with the commanding view thus obtained,
widening and spreading beneath, imparted an exhi-
laration to the spirits that probably had something
to do with it. Then the leaving behind, and far below,
the habitations of man, to plunge into the deep and
wild solitudes of Nature ; and the thought that pro-

lished figures of this species, the similarity is so close as to warrant
their identification. Yet Phajus TankervillicR is a Chinese plant, and
the genus has never before been recognised in the New World. The
suggestion occurs that it may have been introduced, and have been
increased by cultivation, and that the seeds may have been scattered
by the winds, or carried by birds over the island. The lone humid
forest at the summit of Bluefields Peak, does not certainly seem a
very likely locality in which to find a large and beautiful flower
escaped from a garden. I may add that just a year afterwards I met
with it again in blossom in the neighbouring woods.

MOUNTAIN BIRDS.

139

bably few Europeans, at least few who could at all
appreciate their beauty, had ever trodden them, were
pleasant accessories ; not to mention the delightful
coolness of a temperature which, perhaps, never ex-
ceeds 70°, after the oppressing heat of the lowlands.
I used frequently to set out two hours before dawn^
and ride leisurely up, by the light of the moon or
of the twinkling, quivering stars, listening to the rich
melodies poured forth by dozens of Mocking birds
from the fruit trees and groves of the lower hills, and
arrive at the mountain-brow about sunrise. There I
would leave my horse, and, throwing the bridle over
his neck, allow him to graze on a little open pasture
until my return, while I pursued on foot the track
which I have been describing. Here I often spent
many hours at a time, engaged in collecting speci-
mens of zoology and botany, in making observations,
or in calmly drinking-in the quiet enjoyment that
the scene afforded. Very few birds occur in this
region ; but such as are found are of peculiar interest.
The wary Jabbering Crow {Corvus Jamaicensis) gives
utterance to his strange, uncouth articulations, as he
calls to his fellow from the topmost branches of the
very loftiest trees, or sails along, on labouring wing,
from one such post of observation to another, taking
good care to keep out of harm’s way. This, too, is
the region of the Solitaire {Ptilogonys armillatus) ;
that mysterious recluse, whose rich flute-like tones
fall slowly upon the ravished ear, like the measured
notes of a psalm. One, and another, and another,
take up the strain, till the mellow notes come one by
one from all parts of the dark surrounding woods,

140

BLUEFIELDS RIDGE.

at different distances, and at considerable intervals ;
the effect of which, so unlike the ordinary voice of a
bird, is startling until you are acquainted with the
performers, and always charming when you are. You
listen with the more interest, because the bird itself
is very shy, and consequently very seldom seen ;
ordinarily keeping with jealous suspicion in the most
dense and sombre parts of these mountain woods.

But there is one bird which is very abundant here.
As the Ferns are eminently characteristic of the
botany of this lofty elevation, so is the lovely Long-
tailed Humming-bird {Trochilus polytmus) of its
ornithology. The velvet crest, and emerald gorget,
and long streaming tail-plumes of this lustrous living
gem, flit, and flutter, and hover about this shady
lane all day long, and all the year round ; but it is
especially numerous in the spring, when scores, and
even hundreds, may be seen rifling the perpetually-
blossoming shrubs that are its denizens. To sit on a
fallen log in the cool shadow, surrounded by beauty
and fragrance, listening to the broken hymns of the
Solitaires, and watching the Humming-birds that sip
fearlessly around your head, and ever and anon come
and peep close under the brim of your broad Panama
hat, — as if to say, “ Who are you that come intruding
into our peculiar domain ? ” — this is delightful.
There is nothing to mar the charm of the situation ;
no wild beasts in the forest behind glaring at you,
and ready to make their fatal spring; no deadly
reptiles coiled beneath your seat, or swinging from
the branches of the neighbouring trees ; for Jamaica
possesses, as far as I know, neither the one nor the

MOUNTAIN PROSPECT.

141

other ; scorpions, and centipedes, and red spiders, are
far too rarely seen, unless searched for, to be any
objects of dread; and even the petty insect annoy-
ances, which commonly make the woods rather in-
tolerable, are wanting here. You may sit for hours
without having your clothes and your hair full of
little stinging ants, or without disturbing a city of
those formidable warriors, the great-jawed Corro-
mantee Ants ( Odontomachus) ; and even the Mus-
quitoes, except on rare occasions, are so little
troublesome, as to be scarcely more worth minding
than the gnats in England in an autumnal evening.

“ Hie ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus aestas.

At rabidae tigres absunt, et saeva leonum
Semina; nec miseros fallunt aconita legentes ;

Nec rapit immensos orbes per humum, neque tanto
Squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis.”

ViRG. Georg, ii. 149.

Above this secluded road on the seaward side,
shutting out the view in that direction, except in
little peeps here and there through the valleys, — rise
the peaks of the ridge. Up the highest of these I
climbed, with no small toil, one day in March, and
stood on the loftiest point in the western part of
Jamaica. I was well rewarded for the difficulty and
labour of the steep ascent, by the extensive prospect.
I counted six ranges of mountains to the eastward,
each beyond the other, besides Bluefields Ridge, on
which I stood ; the most distant of which was in all
probability that of the Manchester Mountains, near
the centre of the island. A few insects commemorated
my visit : Passalus inter stitialis, a curious flattened

142

BLUEFIELDS KIDGE.

Beetle of large size, somewhat allied to our Stag-
beetle, was found in some numbers beneath the
decaying bark of a fallen tree ; as also some specimens
of a large and noble Forjicula, and of a small Osorius,
A very lovely little Hawkmoth {Empyreuma Uchas)^
of two colours, greenish-black, and rich crimson, was
sitting beneath a loose stone, very perfect, and ap-
parently just out of pupa. Attached to the under
surfaces of contiguous stones were several thin cocoons
of yellow silk, all empty ; very probably belonging to
this species. This pretty moth is not uncommon in
the lower hills, and even by the sea side, occasionally
flying into dwelling-houses at night : when seen by
day it is always in dark woods.

THE VENUS LIZARD.

The first time I met with that fine Iguaniform
Lizard, Dactyloa Edwardsii, called Venus ^ by the
negroes, and sometimes Green Guana, was on this
ridge. And though I afterwards found it in lower
situations, as on the moderate elevations of the
St. Elizabeth’s hills, and even in the pimento groves
of Mount Edgecumbe that border the sea shore, it
seems rather to afiect the higher mountain-woods.
The mode in which I formed an acquaintance with

* This name has probably no allusion to the Goddess of beauty.
Mr. Hill writes me as follows: “The brilliant green Lizard [you
speak of is usually called the Green Venus. Venus in this case I
take to be an Indian word ; for I found it, — in a district of St.
Domingo (Yasica) in which all the rivers had Indian names, — as the
same of one of the streams. We have an Indian name for another of
our Lizards in Iguana."

-1/

C H I LA BOTH RU5 INORINATUS ^ks. DACTYLOA EDWARDSII,

THE VENUS LIZAED.

143

the species may be worthy of being related. One
day in February, having ascended the ridge with a
companion, my attention was arrested by a Lizard
about a foot long, and of a lively green colour, on
the trunk of a small tree, head downward, intently
watching our motions as we stood near. My young
friend suggested the possibility of capturing it by
sbpping a noose over its head, while its attention was
engaged by whistling. I laughingly proceeded to try
the spell ; and having made a noose of small twine,
which I tied to the end of a switch, I gently walked
towards him, whistling a lively tune. To my astonish-
ment he allowed me to slip the noose over his head,
merely glancing his bright eye at the string as it
passed. I jerked the switch ; the music ceased ; and
the green-coated forester was sprawling in the air,
dangling, greatly to his annoyance, at the end of my
string. He was very savage, biting at every thing
near ; presently his colour began to change from
green to blackish, till it was of an uniform bluish
black with darker bands on the body and a
brownish black on the tail : the only trace of green

♦ As published descriptions of tropical reptiles are commonly
made from specimens in spirits, with the colours and even the forms
greatly altered, I may be excused for the following note made on the
species during life. The length of adult males varies considerably,
from 13 to 18 inches, but I have invariably found the dilference to
lie in the tail, the body being always about 5 inches, the tail varying
from 7 to 12 inches. The colour, when the animal is not excited, is
brilliant yellow-green ; the hind half of the tail pale grey ; the goitre
orange, set with longitudinal rows of separated pale-yellow scales;
the edges of the eyelids white. In some specimens the body, tail,
and limbs are marked with transverse bands of a bluer green, those on
the trunk more slender and oblique. (See Plate IV.)

144

BLUEFIELDS EIDGE.

was just around the eyes. I carefully secured, without
injuring him, and brought him home in the collecting-
basket, into which I had no sooner put him, than he
fiercely seized a piece of linen in his teeth, and would
not let it go for several hours. I transferred him to a
wired cage, linen and all ; and at length he suddenly
let go his hold, and flew wildly about the cage, biting
at anything presented to him. At night I observed
him vividly green as at first; a token, as I pre-
sumed, that he had in some measure recovered his
equanimity.

The next day he continued very fierce. I hung
the cage out in the sun ; two or three times in the
course of the day I observed him green ; but for the
most part he was black. The changes were rather
quickly accomplished.

After he had been in my possession about four
days, I observed him one morning sloughing his skin ;
the delicate epidermis, loosened from the body and
legs, looked like a garment of thin white muslin,
split irregularly down the legs and toes, and separated
from that of the tail, on which the integument yet
adhered unbroken. Throughout the day the loosened
skin hung about the animal, though more and more
loosely. He had not abated a whit of his fierceness ;
leaping at a stick pointed at him, and seizing it
forcibly with his teeth.

Another individual, caught in the same locality,
and by the same device, I introduced into the cage of
the former, who did not offer any molestation to the
intruder. After they had remained in my possession,
the one about six weeks, the other about four, they

THE YENUS LIZARD.

145

both died, almost on the same day, and both in the
process of sloughing. In this operation the skin ap-
pears to be first separated from the head ; for in one
of these, it was perfectly loose from the whole head,
and was removable in one piece, but to the neck and
entire body it still adhered by organic union. I
suspect that the sloughing of the skin is, at least
sometimes, the result of universal excitement. All
that I have taken alive, and caged (amounting to
many individuals), after most violent behaviour at
first, soon sloughed ; usually the very next day.

The food of this Lizard appears to include both
vegetable and animal substances. I was never able
to induce one to eat in captivity ; but the dissection
of several has given me this result. Thus in one I
found hard seeds and farinaceous substance ; in
another the fragments of a brilliant Curculionidous
beetle, and other insects. I once observed a large
one on the summit of the mountain, deliberately
eating the ripe Glass-eye berries, munching half of
one away at a mouthful.

It would require no great warmth of imagination to
identify these sunny, spicy, pomiferous groves with
the golden-fruited gardens of the Hesperides, and
this fierce, sinister, saw-crested Lizard, with the
watchful dragon that guarded them. If I had had
the naming of him, I would have called him Ladon.

THE GRAVE-DIGGER.

On the earthen floor of the building, formerly used
as the boiling-house on Bluefields estate, but now

H

146

BLUEFIELDS.

dilapidated and partially unroofed, where twine-like
roots depend from the rafters, and elegant ferns
spring out of the crevices of the crumbling walls, a
good many large wasp-like Flies may be observed in
the hottest part of the day, briskly flying to and
fro. It is a species of Sphex, closely allied to
S. ichneumonea, hut with the abdomen wholly rufous.
On closer examination we discover numerous holes
entering diagonally into the dry and dusty ground,
into which some of these bright-coloured flies are
crawling, and from which others are emerging. From
some of the holes proceeds a shrill, but intermitted,
buzzing ; and if we watch one of these we perceive
the Sphex at work therein. At first we cannot see
what she is doing, for she crawls in head-foremost,
and in a second or two comes out tail-foremost, re-
cedes a few inches, and then advances again ; again
emerges in the same manner, and again enters ; and
continues thus to crawl backward and forward with
bustling activity, and with much flirting of the purple
wings. She is almost white wdth dust, and is
evidently very busy, if we can but comprehend her
motions.

On stooping down and bringing our face very near
the scene of labour, we discover by narrow watching,
that she is digging the hole ; and hence the negro
children have given her the appropriate title of grave-
digger. Every time that she comes forth, she brings
a load of the powdery earth, much larger than her
head, tightly held between the shanks of her two
fore feet, her breast, and her chin, and this she drops
an inch or two from the cave’s mouth. Sometimes

THE GRAVE-DIGGEK.

147

slie brings a stone still larger, and this is grasped in
the jaws, and dragged to the distance of four or five
inches, for fear it should roll in again. I have seen
her bring two stones together, one grasped beneath
the chin, the other in the jaws. Each time she has
dropped the load, she never fails, as she advances, to
keep the road clear by scraping with the fore shanks,
throwing the dust behind her. But for this, the
earth brought out would soon accumulate in a heap,
and roll back. If a dry leaf or small stick happen to
drop against the mouth of the hole, she seizes it with
her curved jaws, and carries it to a safe distance.

I observed one filling up a hole. No doubt she
had deposited her egg at the bottom, and stored suf-
ficient provision (caterpillars or spiders disabled but
not killed, according to the custom of these interesting
insects) to last the young grub when hatched, until
its maturity, — ^‘haud ignara ac non incauta futuri.”
With her tail towards the hole, she scraped back a
little heap of dust ; then turned, and with her head
moved it about, that it might fall to the bottom. Then
she turned again, and did the like, repeating this pro-
cedure several times in succession. At length no
more earth would go down, for the hole was full •
she then rammed it two or three times with her
head, and flew away, leaving still, however, the
situation of the orifice obvious enough.

These insects work very fast in the soft dusty
earth, for they are indefatigable in their exertions.
The Bee is the recognised symbol of industry, but
the labour of the bee is play compared with the
efforts of the grave-digging Sphex.

148

BLUEFIELDS KIDGE.

WAX COCCUS.

March ^Sth. — Visited Basin-Spring, a romantic
little fountain high up on the side of Bluefields
mountain. A sugar estate was here formerly, but
now the greater part is mere wild forest. On the
trunk of a slender Lancewood tree, I found many
small sub- conical bodies closely adhering ; they were
of a pale yellow hue, smooth and shining. They
were evidently insects allied to those which produce
cochineal, lac, and wax. The bodies of these speci-
mens, when applied to the flame of a candle, I found
to melt into a sort of wax.^

INVERARY.

The left branch of the mountain road has in many
respects the same character of vegetation as the one
already described. It is, however, more frequented,
and is therefore less romantic. Considerable tracts of
Bamboo occur, and the road side is bordered with
large beds of Urena lohata, a pretty Malvaceous
flower, with a profusion of pink blossoms. Within
the woods is situated a curious limestone cavern of
several chambers, which I have described elsewhere.f
Farther to the westward, the forest becomes par-
ticularly gloomy, and more humid than any other
part that I have seen ; hence F erns and Parasites are

* These have been since described by my friend Adam White, Esq.,
F.L.S., in the Annals of Nat. Hist., under the name of Ceroplastes
Jamaicensis.

t Birds of Jamaica, p. 103.

VIEW EEOM INVER ARY.

149

growing in great luxuriance. Handsome Begonics,
are numerous, some of which are semi-parasitical,
clinging to the trunks of the larger trees, and climbing
with a profusion of stems and foliage to the height of
twenty feet or more. This is not the usual habit of
Begonics, Within the edge of the woods, which is
always much more dense and bushy than the interior,
a terrestrial Orchid, which I have no means of
identifying, with large irregular tubers, and ample
plaited leaves much like those of Bletia, grows to the
height of three feet. The appearance of the plant is
striking, but the blossom, which appears in June,
has little beauty.

A tangled path through the woods of what was
formerly a coffee property named Bognie, now de-
serted and allowed to fall into neglect and ruin, leads
to a little retired plantation called Inverary, em-
bosomed in the lofty primitive forest. Its elevation
is but little inferior to that of Bluefields Peak, and
the prospect from it, if not quite so extensive, is
more rich and varied. In one direction it takes in
Montego Bay on the north side of the island ; in
another it looks over the capes of Negril and the
expanse of blue sea far beyond ; to the eastward
it extends to the parish of Vere, over four ranges of
mountains.

A very noble species of wild Pine {j^chmea) was
in blossom at the time I visited the place, about the
end of January ; a magnificent spike of densely set
dowsers, crimson and purple, shooting out from the
tuft of broad sheathing leaves, parasitically growing

150

INVERAKY.

on the trunks of the great trees. Epidendrum nutans
was also in flower, and very abundant.

A small garden, in which English vegetables were
cultivated, was interesting, and its owner was not a
little proud to show it. Cabbages, carrots, parsley,
thyme, and sage, were healthy and thriving ; and an
apple tree displayed a blossom or two. It is curious
that our common Plantain {Plantago major) is as
abundant by the way sides, and in the clearings, on
these mountain-summits as it is in our meadows at
home. It has doubtless been accidentally introduced,
and its seeds dispersed by birds. The negroes call it
English Plantain, to distinguish it from the stately
Musaceous plant that bears the same name. In like
manner Water-cress, apparently identical with ours,
grows abundantly in Blueflelds rivulet, and forms an
agreeable salad all the year round.

Near Inverary there is a deep gully, or narrow
rocky glen, between almost perpendicular rocks. The
bushes and trees that shoot out of the clefts, and the
profusion of long lianes and climbing plants that
sprawl over the surface of the precipices, make it very
interesting. I endeavoured to go through it ; but
after advancing some distance, was compelled to re-
trace my steps, on account of the excessive difiiculty
presented by the enormous masses of rugged stone
heaped one on another along the bottom in the most
Cyclopean confusion, as if thrown there by an
earthquake.

MOUNTAIN GARDENS.

151

MOUNTAIN GARDENS.

The provision-grounds of the negroes present an
interesting object to a stranger. As I have said,
many of the black peasantry inhabiting the lowlands,
have their gardens on the summits of the mountain
(where the soil is more productive), as well as around
their dwellings. The mode of proceeding is as fol-
lows. The negro having chosen his spot, in the un-
touched forest, hires it from the owner of the land,
at a certain yearly rent per acre. He then cuts
down the timber, piles the logs, and in a dry time
sets fire to the piles, much in the same manner as in
the United States and Canada : this is called “ burn-
ing-over ” the piece. It now presents a very unpre-
possessing aspect ; the large charred and blackened
stumps stand as thick as tombstones in a churchyard ;
the bare ground is strewn with half calcined stones,
unrelieved by a green leaf ; and great heaps of ashes
lie here and there with fragments of burned wood,
the only remains of the giant trunks that once reared
their verdant crowns to the skies.

If we visit it in a few months, however, how
different is the scene ! A large portion of the ground
is seen to be occupied by that indispensable West
Indian root, the Coco ( Colocasia esculenta) whose

* The term “ Coco ” is applied in the West Indies to three very
distinct kinds of vegetable productions cultivated for the food of man.
The first is the Cocoa, which is prepared from the seeds of the
Chocolate tree, and forms a well-known beverage. The second is
the equally familiar Cocoa-nut, the fruit of a Palm ; the third is the
thick farinaceous root of an Arum, mentioned in the text.

H 4

152

BLUEFIELDS.

broad leaves expand themselves, and touching each
other form a surface of the most beautiful green hue,
which conceals the earth and every thing upon it.
The English reader may form a very correct idea of
this useful plant from the Cuckoo-pint, or Lords
and ladies ” of our hedges, only magnifying the leaves
to two feet in diameter, and all the rest of the plant
in proportion. From the midst of this sea of great
green leaves rise many young Plantain trees in rows,
already putting forth the great spike of blossom,
which will soon be thickly studded with whorls of
close-set fruit. The leaves, five or six feet in length,
and a foot wide, are noble objects when entire ;
especially as they are then of a very brilliant light
green hue ; but each plant rarely can show more than
a single leaf in this condition, the action of the wind
soon tearing them up into lateral strips, in the
direction of the transverse veins.

In another part of the ground we are reminded of
the hop-fields of Kent, or the vineyards of France ;
for the graceful Yam, a plant not inferior in beauty
to either, twines its slender stems up tall poles, and
stretches from one to another, making wild natural
arbours ; while various sorts of pumpkins and melons
trail over the ground at their feet. Perhaps a little
patch of Sugar-cane occupies one corner; a few
bushes of the Castor-oil plant, or of the Cassava,
another; with two or three Cotton-trees, not the
lowland giant of that name, but the Malvaceous shrub
that throws out its snowy bunches of genuine cotton,
capable of being manufactured into calico ; — but
a small tract, carefully cultivated and kept free from

MOUNTAIN GARDENS.

153

weeds, we shall see exclusively devoted to those useful
and closely allied 'plants, the Arrow-root and Ginger ;
each consisting of succulent green shoots formed by
the sheathing leaves, and the former displaying hand-
some heads of scaly flowers. The rootstocks of Ginger
remain long in the ground after cultivation has ceased^
and continue to increase and to throw up their verdant
shoots. We often used to dig them up in the neglected
bush of second growth on Bluefields ridge.

After a few years, the first energy of the virgin
soil being somewhat diminished, the ground is
thrown up, and allowed to resume its native wild-
ness. Another plot is then selected from the forest,
and rented in like manner ; the same process of
clearing and cultivation is pursued as before, and
after a few years this also is relinquished; no at-
tempt being ever made to maintain the fertility of
the soil by manure.

No house is attached to these gardens, their owners
dwelling, as already said, around Bluefields ; a slight
hut of logs, however, is sometimes erected, a lodge
in’a garden of cucumbers,” as a shelter to creep into
during the brief, but deluging, torrents that descend
in the afternoons of the rainy season ; and the floor
is strewn with twigs of trees, or ‘‘ trOjsJi,'' that is, the
dried leaves of the Plantain, as a rude couch on
which the negro may take his customary siesta.

The whole, however, would be incomplete, at least
in the opinion of those old negroes, few now in
number, who are of African birth, without one plant
of little beauty, and of no use, except the imaginary
one for which it is planted. It is the Horse-eye

H 5

154

BLUEFIELDS.

bean [DolicJios ensiformis) bearing large swordlike
legumes, with white oval beans. An old Guinea
woman, whom I asked about the matter, after much
evasion of the question, and apparent reluctance, at
length mysteriously told me that — “if any some-
body look into de groun’, him make dat him no cut
him eye ; ” that is, the plant will prevent any one
from casting an evil eye into the ground. This dread
of the evil or “ cutting ” eye, is a very prevalent
form of superstition among this superstitious race, as
it seems to have been among the ignorant of all
nations, in all ages.

VOICES OF EARLY BIRDS.

April 29th. — I rose some hours before the sun,
and proceeded to the Peaks of Bluefields. Passing
through the wooded pastures and grass-pieces of
Pinnock-Shafton, I was interested in the voices of
“ earliest birds.” While as yet no indication of day
appeared over the dark mountain, no ruddy tinge
streamed along the east; while Venus was blazing
like a lamp, and shedding as much light as a young
moon, as she climbed up the clear dark heaven
among her fellow-stars ; — the Piramidigs or Night-
jars were unusually vociferous, and careering in great
numbers; they flew low, as I could perceive by
listening to their sounds, but were utterly indis-
tinguishable to the sight from the darkness of the
sky across which they flitted in their angular traverses.
Presently the Flat-bill uttered his plaintive wail,
occasionally relieved by a note rather less mournful.

MORNING ON THE PEAKS.

155

When the advancing light began to break over the
black and frowning peaks, and Venus vraned, the
Peadove commenced, from the neighbouring woods,
her five-fold coo, hollow and moaning. Then the
Petchary cackled his three or four rapid notes ; and
from a distant wooded hill, as yet shrouded in dark-
ness, proceeded the rich, mellow, but broken song of
the Hopping Dick. Now the whole east was ruddy,
and the rugged points and trees on the summit of the
mountain-ridge, interrupting the flood of crimson
light, produced the singularly beautiful phenomenon
of a series of rose-coloured beams, diverging from the
eastern quarter, and spreading like an expanded fan
aeross the whole arch of heaven, each ray dilating as
it advanced. Then Mocking-birds all around broke
into song, pouring forth their rich gushes and powerful
bursts of melody, filling the ear, and overpowering all
the other varied voices, which now helped to swell
the morning concert of awakening birds.

PHCENIX PARK.

Many of the opulent merchants of Savanna le Mar
have pleasant country seats, a few miles out of town.
At one of these, the residence of a kind friend, I
frequently spent a few days ; though the neighbour-
hood was not peculiarly favourable to my pursuits.
As Jamaica houses are commonly built on one prin-
ciple, I will briefly describe it. The furnished part
of the house is all on the same level, forming what
we should call the first floor, the whole of the
ground-floor being devoted to store-rooms and cellars.

156

PHCENIX PARK.

An arched passage open at each end leads through
the house, beneath the dwelling apartments, from
the road in front to the yard behind.

A flight of stone steps, with iron balustrades, on
which run beautiful twining and creeping plants,
such as the lovely crimson Quamoclit, the wax-like
Hoya carnosa and others, leads the visitor up to the
front door, and he is immediately ushered into a
spacious hall, of the form of a cross, extending the
whole length and breadth of the house. This large
hall is characteristic of all Jamaica houses ; it forms
the principal sitting room ; and, from its shape, ad-
mits the cooling breeze to sweep through it, whenever
there is a breath of air. The two square areas formed
by one side of the cross are filled by bedrooms ; but
with these exceptions the whole of the sides and
ends of the hall are either occupied by windows, or
open, and furnished with jalousies, a broad sort of
transverse Venetian blinds, which freely admit the
air while they exclude the glare of light, which in
this country is scarcely less distressing than the heat.
This large and cool apartment is furnished with sofas,
ottomans, tables, chairs, &c., not differing from ours ;
hut there is no fireplace, nor any carpet. Instead of
the latter the floor is made of the most beautiful of
the native woods, in the selection of which much
taste is often displayed, as also in the arrangement,
so that the various colours of the wood may harmonise
or contrast well with each other. Mahogany, green-
heart, breadnut, and blood-heart are among the trees
whose timber is employed for floors. Great hardness
is an indispensable requisite in the wood used, and

JAMAICA HOUSES.

157

capability of receiving a high polish, which is given
and maintained with great labour. Scarcely any-
thing surprises an European more than to tread on
floors as beautifully polished as the flnest tables of
our drawing rooms.. The mode in which the gloss is
daily renewed is curious : if the visitor should peep
out of his bedroom about dawn of day, he would see
some half a dozen sable handmaids on their knees in
the middle of the floor, with a great tray full of sour
oranges cut in halves. Each maid takes a half-
orange, and rubs the floor with it until its juice is
exhausted ; it is then thrown aside, and the process
is continued with another. When the whole floor has
been thus rubbed with orange-juice, it is vigorously
scrubbed with the half of a cocoa-nut husk, the rough
fibres of which, acting as a stiff brush, soon impart
such a reflective power to the hard wood, as would
put Day and Martin into ecstacies. After the last
touch is given, it is amusing to see the precautions
taken by the waiting maids to avoid dimming its
beauty. The preparation for breakfast, and various
other duties, performed by servants with bare feet,
would seem to make it impossible that the floor
should remain untarnished, but it does ; and it is
thus managed. The girl takes two pieces of linen
cloth, and sets one foot upon each ; then with her
great toe and its next neighbour, she grasps a pinch
of the cloth (for the negroes’ toes are almost as
effective as fingers), and thus scuffles about the floor;
practice enabling them to do this with facility,
without their feet ever coming into contact with
the wood.

158

PHCENIX PAKK.

A small garden partially surrounds the house,
filled with ornamental trees and shrubs, some native
and some exotic. The beautiful Nerium, called the
South-sea rose, is prominent among the latter, as
also the gorgeous Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, and the
Spanish Jasmine, as fragant as it is elegant; and
the scarlet Belladonna ^lily, and many others add
to the gaiety of the parterre. In the garden and
around it are several curious trees. The noble
Malay apple {Eugenia malaccensis) or, as it is here
called, the Otaheite Cashew, there erects its conical
head, covered either with its beautiful flowers, like
clusters of crimson tassels, or with its close, luxuriant
richly-green foliage. The Sago Palm, likewise trans-
ported from farthest India, has found here a climate
and a soil congenial to its growth, and presents a
singular object in its stiff bristling leaves, radiating
in all directions, and its heart covered with a brown
woolly or mealy substance. Immediately before the
door is a large arborescent Euphorbia, probably
E, grandidens, a native of South Africa, with rather
inconspicuous flowers, but sure to attract the attention
of a stranger by its long angular leafless branches,
set with spines, like long Cacti growing from the
trunk of an ordinary tree. A row of Shaddock trees,
hung in the season with their golden fruits, as large
as a child’s head, combines beauty, fragrance, and
utility ; while Cashew trees. Mangoes, Custard-
Apples, Sops and Guavas, all valuable fruits, but
too common to need description, form groves around
the mansion.

Having thus introduced my friend’s dwelling to

THE CHESTNUT MASTIFF-BAT.

159

the reader, I may proceed to make him acquainted
with some of the inmates. Scores of Humming-birds
hover from day to day around the blossoms of the
trees, sucking from flower to flower upon the wing,
just as the Hawkmoths do in our English gardens
in the summer twilight, or Bees in the sunshine. A
Hawkmoth with its long sucker exserted, and plunged
into the corolla of a jasmine or a honeysuckle, and
with its wings vibrating so rapidly and powerfully as
to produce a humming noise, forms a capital repre-
sentative of a tropical Humming-bird, if the imagina-
tion of the observer will only supply the green and
gold of the plumage, and the gem-like play of flash-
ing colours on the crest and throat. I have, how-
ever, elsewhere described in detail the manoeuvres of
these elegant creatures around this very Malay Apple-
tree^, and shall therefore dismiss them for denizens
of the air of a very different character.

THE CHESTNUT MASTIFF-BAT.

Between the ceiling and the shingles of the roof
certain Bats find a lodging, emerging at nightfall
from a small hole beneath the eaves. Soon after
sunset we hear the scrambling of little claws along
the plaster, gradually tending towards the point
where the hole is situated. At length, just as the
stars begin to come out, one by one, in the sky,
one of the boldest peeps forth his sombre face, and
plunges down into the air, rising with expanding

* Vide ‘ Birds of Jamaica,’ p. 92.

160

PHOENIX PARK.

wings at the distance of a foot or two ; and sails
away to procure his insect-supper. Another im-
mediately follows the first, and at his heels is another,
and another, until perhaps half a dozen are out. Then
there is a pause for some little time, during which
more scrambling is heard, and presently another
leader emerges with a tail” of three or four more
in Indian file ; — and so on till about fifteen have
come forth, — the whole household. I judge that
they crawl along one after another in a straight line
to the outlet, in parties.

After having witnessed the exit of the party on
one or two evenings, and been assured by my friends
that the same performance was nightly repeated, I
determined to essay the capture of some specimens to
ascertain the species. The hole in the eaves was
within reach of the top of the steps, where I sta-
tioned myself with an insect net about sunset, to the
no small interest of the children. We presently
heard one slowly scuffling along upon the plaster,
making a smothered chirping sound : this enabled
us to trace his progress by the ear, and when he
seemed to be near the hole, I held up the gauze net
in front. The sight of this, however, evidently de-
terred the Bat, for he remained at the mouth chirp-
ing, but without attempting a fiight. At length I
removed the net to the distance of a foot or two,
holding it in act to strike. He now ventured forth,
thinking the coast clear, but the projecting eaves
compelled him to fly downward, and I was alert
enough to receive him into the bag of the net. It
proved a Molossus^ of chestnut-coloured fur, and

THE CHESTNUT MASTIFF-BAT.

161

rather large size ; the ikf. rufus of Geoff., as I
believe.

Several other specimens I obtained in the same
way, on the same and other evenings ; but the
residue evidently became increasingly suspicious, and
loath to leave the hole while I was watching. Wish-
ing to examine one alive more carefully, I allowed it
to remain in the bag of the gauze-net all night,
simply giving the net a twist over the rod. In the
morning, however, to my great chagrin, I found the
Bat almost entirely devoured by Rats,^which are here
very bold and voracious. However, I had other op-
portunities of studying the habits of the species in
captivity.

When handled, its impatience of confinement is
manifested by a continuous screeching, not very loud,
but excessively harsh and shrill. The ears are com-
monly so pendent as completely to cover the eyes ;
but they are occasionally contracted, so as to expose
the eyes, especially if the face be touched. The
mouth also is then opened widely and threateningly,
and a sufficiently grim armature of teeth developed.
The volar membranes are narrow in proportion to
their length. There is a gland on the throat with an
orifice capable of admitting a small straw ; it emits a
very rank odour. This orifice is manifest in the
female no less than in the male, but I could not de-
tect any odour from it in the former, even though
irritated by the insertion of the head of a pin. The
duct does not penetrate farther than the gland itself.

A female which I kept a few days was very sullen.
I offered her cockroaches, a noctua^ and a longicorn

162

PHCENIX PARK.

beetle, but she would not eat : she would seize and
bite them spitefully, but presently dropped them.
She would not drink when held in the hand, and the
muzzle presented to water ; but if it were allowed to
fall in drops upon her face, she would suck them in
with a motion of chewing, with apparent satisfaction.
There was much of mastiff-manners, as well as
physiognomy, in her ; she often bared her teeth by
contracting the sides of the lips, and watched with
open mouth to seize any object presented, which she
then held with surprising force and pertinacity.

I incline to think that some Bats at least are cre-
puscular, and not nocturnal. The family assured me
that after these Mastiff-bats had emerged a few
hours, they invariably returned into the hole again ;
aud they several times directed my attention to them
when returning. On looking out, I indeed saw that
they were flying up towards the hole in the eaves,
but, on account of the darkness, I could not be
sure W'hether they entered. One moonlit evening,
however, looking through the window, between eight
and nine o’clock, I distinctly saw one, after flying up
and hovering a minute or two, and then coursing
round again, twice or thrice in succession, — I dis-
tinctly saw it enter the hole, whence it emerged no
more, at least while I continued to look at it. I
asked Sam’s opinion, without intimating to him what
I thought. He without hesitation affirmed that they
do not fly all night, stating that when he had been
abroad through the whole night, grinding cane,’’as was
often the case, he had noticed Bats numerous a little
after the evening, and again a little before the

ampullaria’s eggs.

163

morning twilight. And when fishing on the reef, or
a short distance from the shore, he had often seen
them in company with Piramidigs {Chordeiles Vir-
ginianus) at the same hours, hut not during the
middle part of the night. Yet I have observed,
when the moon is at the full, small Bats {Phyllo-
stomeSf I suspect), flitting round the house as late as
ten o’clock, or even later.

All Bats are called by the negroes Rat-bats, pro-
bably to distinguish them from Butterflies, to which
they give the name of Bats. A little sable urchin
came to me one day, and asked me in evident sin-
cerity, ‘‘Do you want to buy any Bats, Massa?”
Then opening his hand he displayed two of our
most common butterflies, squeezed flat, rubbed clean,
and one of them deprived of two of its wings ! what
price he intended to charge, I did not ascertain.

ampullaria’s eggs.

April 5th, — In the little rapid stream called
Sweet River, I found several specimens of an Am-
pullaria alive, and many groups of the eggs of this
mollusk. They are laid, for the most part, in a
double row, attached by a glutinous substance to the
stalks and leaves of plants overhanging the water,
but not immersed. The eggs are oval, shelly, pure
white, and nearly as large as sweet peas. In many
I found the shell and operculum of the young
animal, perfectly formed; in others only a white
cream, or curdy substance.

164

SABITO.

LUCIFUGOUS INSECTS.

April — Under a stone by the roadside at
Sabito Bottom, I found a Centipede performing the
duties of a mother. It was a blue species, about
three inches in length ; it was lying in the form of
a bow, the head and the tail curved forwards toward
each other, almost on its back, the curved body em-
bracing some ten or fifteen eggs, which slightly
cohered. The eggs are oval, about as large as hemp-
seed; pale-yellowish, pellucid, and under a lens per-
fectly glossy, with a membranous integument. The
parent on being disturbed, darted away among the
stones, leaving the eggs, so that I did not capture
her. I brought home the eggs, and having taken
out a few for preservation, placed the rest carefully
on moist earth in a phial, hoping to rear them.
They soon, however, became covered with mould,
and decomposition destroyed them. The mother’s
care is perhaps indispensable, as in the case of ants,
regulating the admission of heat and moisture to
them, according to circumstances.

Scolopendridce of this size and under, are common
enough beneath stones; but the larger species are very
rarely met with. Scorpions also, of two species, one
with slender claws (perhaps Tityus griseus of Koch),
the other with these organs much thickened (probably
an Atreus), are also common under stones ; they are
inert when uncovered, and almost helpless ; and are
not at all dreaded. * In the same situations is found

Respecting a curious organ peculiar to these animals, of which

LUCIFUGOUS INSECTS.

165

a little spider with round glossy abdomen, black, with
three scarlet spots near the extremity (probably a
Theridiumi) \ this is held in great terror as highly
venomous. About this time I find them carrying
yellow membranous egg-bags, globular, thin, and
empty. When uncovered they are unwilling to run,
keeping close to the under surface of the stone that
has served them for shelter and concealment.

A much larger Spider, of the genus Lycosa, in-
habits houses and heaps of stones ; in both of these
rather dissimilar situations, it retains the same habits :
the female carries constantly about an egg-bag of
bufif-coloured silk, perfectly circular, rather more
than an inch in diameter, but flat, being about two
lines in thickness, with a narrow thin edge all
round. The spider crawls about with this nest be-
neath her body, her feet spreading around its edges ;
and nothing will induce her to part with it.

That curious flattened Arachnidan that looks like
a Scorpion without a tail {Phrynus reniformis), with
the second pair of feet so produced and attenuated
as to resemble lengthened threads, is not uncommon

the use is so little understood, Mr. Hill offers the following sugges-
tion. “ The comb-like appendage under the corslet of the Scorpion,
so little noticed by naturalists, and when noticed, never determined as
to the part it acts in the animal’s economy, seems to me very ob-
viously to relate to the deficient tactile powers of these Arachnida.
I take it to be the most sensitive part of the Scorpion ; all other parts,
as in the Articulata generally, being insensitive ; — that these parts
are used in the same manner as insects use their antennae, for tactile
purposes; and that they are necessary in this animal, that he may
acquaint himself with the character of the body into which he is to
inject his poison.”

166

BLUEFIELDS.

beneath stones in the vicinity of Bluefields. It ap-
pears inert when exposed, and perhaps hopes to
escape observation by remaining motionless ; on being
touched, however, it shuffles away rather nimbly.

In the damp woods on the summit of Bluefields
Ridge I find under stones the genera Polydesmus and
Julus. The former are difflcult to preserve, from
their excessive fragility when dead. By the time I
arrive at home, I commonly find the specimens, col-
lected an hour or two before, completely disintegrated,
the box presenting only a heap of fragments ; and
those segments that yet remain entire, separating a.t
the slightest touch. They are inert animals, of slow
motion. The living Julus when touched, gives out
at the part, a brown fiuid oozing from beneath the
segments. This is of a rank pungent odour, and
stains the fingers of a deep yellow hue.

SINGING-BIRDS, AND SWEET FLOWERS.

‘‘ In tropical countries, where brilliant and varied
colours have been granted to the birds and flowers,
song has been denied to the one, and fragrance to the
other.” This is one of those flippant generalisations
which people are fond of repeating, originally made
without investigation, and perpetuated without in-
quiry. In Jamaica it is certainly very far from truth;
and I suspect would be found as groundless every-
where else. The groves and fields of this sunny isle
ring with the melody of birds, to a degree fully equal,
in my judgment, to that of Europe. In the lone
forests of the mountain-heights the Glass-eye Merle

SINGING BIEDS.

167

{Merula Jamaicensis) pours forth a rich and continued
song; and that mysterious harmonist, the Solitaire
{Ptilogonys armillatus) utters his sweet but solemn
trills, long-drawn and slow, like broken notes of a
psalm, so perfectly in keeping with the deep solitude.
In the woods that cover, as with an ever-verdant
crown, the lower hills, the Black Shrike {Tityra leuco-
notus) and the Cotton-tree Sparrow {Pyrrliula vio-
laced) enunciate their clear musical calls, so much
alike as scarcely to he distinguished; four or five
notes running up the scale, so rapidly as to be fused
as it were together, and suddenly falling at the end.
Here, too, sits the Hopping Dick {Merula leucogenys),
and whistles by the hour together a rich and mellow
succession of wild notes, clear and fiute-like, like his
European cousin, the Blackbird. The constantly
reiterated call of the Bed-eyed Flycatcher {Vireosylva
oUvacea), “ John to whip ! John to whip ! ” heard at
different distances from all parts of the woods, makes
their green glades lively ; and the loud varied voice
of the White-eyed Flycatcher (Eireo Novehoracensis),
sometimes soft and subdued, sometimes shrill and
piercing, is always heard with pleasure.

But birds are particularly social animals ; and it is
chieffy in the neighbourhood of the presence of man,
that their melodious voices are heard, as if to cheer
him in his toil : the fields, and pastures, and meadows ;
the hedges, and hedge-row trees, that border and
map out his domains ; the orchards and groves that
surround and embosom his dwellings, affording
grateful fruit and shadow from the heat ; — these
are the situations in every inhabited country that

168

BLUEFIELDS.

most resound with the voices of feathered songsters.
The beautiful park-like estates of the southern slopes
of Jamaica present scenes peculiarly inviting and
suitable for the winged orchestra to exercise its vocal
talent ; — and the notes of melodious joy are pouring
forth in them from earliest dawn to sunset ; — aye,
long before dawn, and long after the veil of night
has been outspread. The Swallows {Hirundo pceci-
lomd) that shoot along in their arrowy traverses over
the plains, now darting across the placid stream, now
coursing far up in the thin air, almost lost in the
glaring sun-beam, twitter sweetly as they pass, and
now and then one and another sitting on the summit
of a low tree commence a stammering song by no
means deficient in music.'^ The Blue Martins

* “ Ordinarily, in our livelong sunshine, our House Martin {H.
‘pceciloma) is seen careering about his haunts, — in and out of caverns
in the solitude of cliffs and rugged hills, and in and about sheds and
galleries, in our social dwelling-places. When the vernal equinox has
blown over, and has brought fitful showers of rain, and the House
Martin has profited by the little puddles round about to collect mud to
patch and extend the stucco-work of his grotto, he chatters to his
mate between- whiles as he toils, a low muttering song, very guttural,
and just barely musical ; and he continues this twittering talk during
the unwearied hours he spends by her side, and with her nurslings, all
through the summer. When, however, the autumnal season gathers
stormy, and the overcast sky prepares us for deluging rains, he
changes his habit, and with his habit his very voice. He then quits
the cavern or the shed, and making a party of four or five, is seen
perched on the upper dry limb of some neighbouring tree, singing a
loud-voiced song, so different in tone and character from anything you
may hear from him at any other time, that you cannot recognise the
same bird in the wild and deep-toned ecstasy of what is then his
musical humour. My attention was first called to this peculiarity last
year by some friends who noticed the unusual song, in a road that

SINGING-BIRDS.

169

{Progne Dominicensis), too, sit side by side in close
rows on the dead frond of some tall palm, or on the

wound beneath some cliffy hills, and were surprised to discover that it
came from the common red-gorged Martin. Since that, — in Spanish-
town, — on the trees about the government buildings, I have observed
him constantly, at this time of the year, after careering about, perch-
ing and pouring out a loud ecstatic song, quite different in tone and
manner from his ordinary lowly twitter. His music arrests just as
much attention as a solo from the Mocking-bird does in such a place.
The singing is full of stammering cadences, continued and repeated
with vehemence. When one bird has poured out his fit, another
quits the winsr, and perching near by, delivers himself of a similar
strain of ecstasy. They sing but one at a time, the company on the
tree-top being only listeners. These vehement bursts of song continue
only during the tumultuous rains in the latter months of the year.
When these are over the rhapsodial frenzy ceases, or only very
casually occurs. After the weather is again tranquil, and the at-
mosphere assumes that unrivalled purity, which prevails during our
winter, and the air is cool, and the sky and the earth fresh and
beautiful, — the Martin is observed to resume his usual gentle habit ;
and to twitter again his lowly muttered song in his customary galleries
and sheds.” — Letter from Mr. Hill, 20th Nov. 1846.

“ On occasional mornings, lately, I have heard the House Martin,
but only a single bird at a time, singing that loud peculiar vehement
song, with some fine clear musical tones in it, which I had described
as the rhapsodial humour of Autumn. The seasonal outburst just
now is, however, not so long sustained as that of Autumn. The
ecstasy is less absorbing, and there are no congregated listeners on the
tree-top, but the singer sits as he did when he sang to the October
rains on the uppermost and outermost dry limb, and delivers himself
of his vehement soul of melody ; and then he takes to the wing, and
making three or four circles, scuds under the eaves of the neighbour
building, to join the lodgers and loiterers within doors.” — Ibid.
Feb. 20th, 1847.

In these communications, my friend has since informed me that he
has confounded the Cave Swallow with the Blue Progne. Both
species inhabit the public buildings in Spanish Town, the former ex-
clusively tenanting the lower, the latter the upper story, neither species
intruding on the domain of the other.

I

170

BLUEFIELDS.

roof-ridge of the dwelling-house, and utter a shrill
but not unmelodious chant. From the green tus-
socks of the Guinea-grass fields comes the singular
hollow cry of the Tichicro {Coturniculus tixicrus),
and now and again he runs to the summit of a stone,
or jumps upon a wall, and warbles a sweet and low
song. The clear whistle of the Banana-bird {Icterus
leucopteryx), like the tones of a clarionet, resound
from the fruit trees, among whose deep green foliage
his gay hues, rich yellow, white, and black, glance
fitfully as he shoots to and fro ; and his companions,
the little Blue Quits {Euphonia Jamaica), equally
devoted admirers of a ripe sour-sop or custard-apple,
accompany his loud notes with strains of their own,
full of soft warbling music. And the most minute
of birds, the tiny Vervain Humming-bird {Mellisuga
humilis), not larger than a school-boy’s thumb, utters
a song so sweet, but of sounds so attenuated withal,
that you wonder who the musician can be, and are
ready to think it the voice of an invisible fairy ; when
presently you see the atom of a performer perched on
the very topmost twig of a mango or orange-tree, his
slender beak open and his spangled throat quivering,
as if he would expire his little soul in the effort.

But there is one master-musician, whose varied
notes leave the efforts of his rivals at an immeasurable
distance behind him. It is he that makes our sunny
glades and shady groves eminently melodious, by
night and day, sustaining almost the whole burden
himself.

AevSpecov iy ’irerdKoia'i Kade^ofievrj TrvKivoLaiv,

H re rpcoTrucra xeet TroAuTJX^a (pwvrjv.

Ody$s. xix. 520.

SINGING-BIRDS.

171

He is the Nightingale of the Western World,
the many-voiced Mocking-bird (Mimus polyglot^
tus). Abundant in almost all situations, from
mountain-peak to sea-shore, but especially common
in the orchards and about the homesteads of the
lowlands, the voice of the Mocking-bird is heard all
through the year, even when other birds are silent ;
and all through the day ; and that not by ones, or
twos, but by dozens and scores, each straining his
melodious throat to outsing his rivals, and pouring
forth his full, expressive strains in all the rich variety
for which this inimitable songster is so famous.
Wilson has truly observed of this delightful bird,
that ‘‘ the ear can listen to his music alone, to which
that of all the others seems a mere accom_paniment.”
If all the birds of Jamaica were voiceless, except the
Mocking-bird, the woods, and groves, and gardens
would still be everywhere vocal with his profuse and
rapturous songs.

In those brilliant nights, when the full-orbed moon
shines from the depth of the clear sky with such in-
tensity that the eye cannot gaze upon the dazzling
brightness of her face, shedding down on plain and
sea a flood of soft light sufficient to enable one to
read an ordinary book with ease in the open air, —
how sweet, how rich, how thrilling, are the bursts of
melody that rise from the trees around, the serenades
of wakeful Mocking-birds. Nothing to be compared
to it have I ever heard in England ; the night-song
of a single bird, however fine may be its execution,
is no more to be put in competition with such a
chorus, than the performance of a single musician.

172

SPANISH -TOWN.

thougli a master, with that of a band. Nights so
lovely are seen only in the tropics, and the music is
worthy of the night.

The Water-Thrushes {Seiurus), one of which at
least is said by Wilson to be so exquisitely sweet a
songster, that he was never tired of listening to it,
though common in Jamaica, during a portion of the
year, I have never heard sing, perhaps because the
months that they spend in the island are those of
autumn and winter. But the Wood-Thrush [Turdus
mustelinus), or May-bird, as it is provincially called,
is recognised as a songster rivalling even the Mock-
ing-bird in the brilliant execution of its melody.
This sober-coloured, but delightful bird does not ex-
tend, so far as I am aware, to the neighbourhood of
the Bluefields, in its transient vernal sojourn ; but
confines itself to the sea-side groves and plains of the
windward end of the island. ^

* “ On the morning of the lOth [of February] I heard a Wood
Thrush singing his measured clear-voiced song from among a lofty
cluster of trees that border a ravine near by [Spanish-Town]. The
hills to which these Thrushes almost exclusively confine themselves in
this and the neighbouring parishes, are the low range of mountains
along the sea-shore. They come, however, occasionally, within the
glens at the foot of the mountains inland, passing over the plains be-
tween, with only just resting to pour out a morning song, in some
sequestered knots of trees that dot the intervening savannas. In
these excursive rambles away from the customary sea-side haunts, it
is our chance to hear them near about the town. The Wood Thrush
sings always from some lofty exposed branch, having a thick shelter of
foliage beneath his perch. His tone is clearer and louder than that of
the Mocking-bird, and when he sings, the latter is a listener ; not a
single one attempting a strain of rivalry. The Wood Thrush’s song,
taken up Immediately, is constantly trilled by the Mocking-bird for
some days afterward, and is his peculiar mimic-melody for March and

DOVES.

173

Besides all these, which, in various measure, per-
form their parts in the music of our woods, and not
to mention the multitudes of Warblers, and Fly-
catchers, and Finches, whose notes, insignificant in
themselves, help to swell and vary the general
harmony, — there is another series of voices that
must by no means be overlooked in an enumeration
of our woodland music, — the plaintive cooings of
our numerous wild Doves. In the recesses of the
mountain-forests the silence is broken by the loud
hollow calls of the Ring-tail and Blue Pigeon {Columba
Caribhea and rufind)^ and by the mournful cadences
of the lustrous Mountain Witch {Geotrygon syl-
vaticd). The woods, that densely clothe the inferior
summits, and sheet the sides of the sloping hills, re-
sound with the energetic coo of the Baldpate {Col.
leucocepJiala), the short reiterated moans of the
Partridge Dove {Geotrygon montana), the querulous
call of the Ground Dove {Chamcepelia passerina), and
the tender, melancholy, sobbing fall of the gentle
Whitebelly {Peristera Jamaicensis).

But, as it is in the lowland plains and cultivated

April. I had attempted to write down some of the very marked
ecstatic cadences of this song, long before I met with Nuttall’s
description of it; and I had, like him, resolved the sounds into
a-vree-u, and a-vilhia^ frequently repeated. My spelling, however,
differs from his, but we work out the same sounds. These are a part
of his song only ; the intermediate passages are surpassingly sweet,
and all the tones, though clear, are mellow, and flute-like, and ex-
ceedingly harmonious ; — and sustained with an agreeable flow of
melody. The bird on the morning of the 10th, sang for a full half
hour in the cluster of trees within the ravine.” — Letter from Mr. Hill,
Feb. 20th, 1847.

1 3

174

BLUEFIELDS.

estates that we most abundantly hear the melody of
singing-birds, so here do the plaintive voices of the
Doves fall most frequently upon the ear. The White-
wing {Turtur leucojpterus) and the Pea-dove {Zenaida
amahilis) are essentially lowland birds ; and these,
with the exception of the Whitebelly, are the most
incessant, and the most tender of all our cooers.
Not, however, that we hear their voices immediately
around the homestead ; when they come into the
open pastures to feed, they are usually wary and
silent; but from the surrounding woods, the tall
thick trees of the pens, and especially the impene-
trable mangrove-morasses, their loud, but sweetly
gentle, meanings fall with a mournfully pleasing
cadence upon the ear. The Pea-dove’s voice is the
more tender, and is particularly prominent in the
evening, while the blustering sea-breeze gradually
lulls itself to repose ; the longer, sharper and more
impatient call of the Whitewing is most heard in the
morning, though each season brings the notes of both
birds, from all parts of the woods around. They are
respectively characteristic of the quietude of the late
and early hours.

“ Nec tamen interea raucae . . . palumbes,

Nec gemere aeria cessabit turtur ab ulmo.”

ViRG. Ed. i. 58.

None but those who have listened to these gentle
voices can tell what an effect they produce upon the
mind. Their tender melancholy communicates itself
to the hearer ; and though reason tells him that
they are the expressions of buoyant joy and health

SWEET FLOWERS.

175

he can scarcely fail to feel a pang of sympathy for
what seems to be the complaint of gentleness in
distress.

Nor is it true that our groves and fields are
destitute of fragrance. In spring the Oranges and
Limes that are planted in such profusion upon every
estate, both on mountain and in plain, and even
border the public roads, are covered with their abun-
dant blossom, and the air all around is loaded with
the richest perfume. So it is in the upland districts,
when the Coffee plantations are in bloom, the flower
of which tree is as fragrant as it is delicately beautiful.
In the edges and borders of woods there is a common

)

nearly allied to the cultivated species botanically, as
it is both in beauty and fragrance. Butterflies,
Moths, Bees, and Flies throng around its lovely white
blossoms, the delicious and powerful odour from
which is diffused to a great distance.

I have observed that many flowers in Jamaica pos-
sess the aromatic odour so much admired in our
pinks and carnations, that of the Clove. The beauti-
ful plants called the red and the white Spanish Jas-
mine {Plumieria rubra and P. alho)^ common shrubs,
whose thick stems, leathery leaves, and noble spikes
of blossom form so striking objects in the smaller
woods, have this odour. I found it in the blossom
of a species of Pancratium, with small bulbs and
large oval leaves, growing on the St. Elizabeth’s
mountains ; the fragrance, which was very abundant,
I should not have been able to distinguish from that
of a carnation. That gorgeous flower, the Night-

I 4

176

• BLUEFIELDS.

blowing Cereus ( Cere?/5 grandijlora), is another notable
example of the same prevalent odour. The long
trailing stems of this Cactus are very commonly seen
in the lowlands, sprawling to a great length over the
stone fences, hanging in irregular festoons from the
forks and limbs of the trees, the great Cotton-tree in
particular, and intertwining its tough and prickly
vines among the shrubs, helping to give the woods
that formidable, repellent, impenetrable character
which a tropic bush ” is known to present. The
magnificent flowers are, however, rarely seen ; the
plant seems to be a shy bloomer ; and when the
blossoms do meet the eye it is in nine cases out of
ten either as unexpanded buds, or in that miserable
drenched condition, which the flowers of a Cactus
always assume when fading, looking exactly as if
they had been dragged through boiling water. In
order to see it in perfection, one must make it open
in the house, or visit it at midnight, which is in-
convenient. I have several times marked a maturing
bud, and when it appeared nearly ready to burst,
cut a few inches of the stem on each side, and brought
it within doors. Soon after dark it begins to open,
and towards midnight expands in its noble beauty,
a disk six inches in diameter, very double, the ex-
terior rows of petals of a yellowish-brown hue,
gradually paling in tint to the centre, where the
petals are of the purest wdiite. Meanwhile the de-
licious dove-like perfume is diffused in such abun-
dance, that a delicate person can scarcely sit in the
room, and the very house is filled with it from one
end to the other. In the morning beauty and

THE CHIGOE FLEA.

177

fragrance are both gone, and the blossom, lately so
gorgeous, possesses no more of either than may be
pretended to by a boiled cabbage.

THE CHIGOE FLEA.

May 2^th. — About this time the Chigoe or Jigger
{Pulex penetrans) is numerous and very annoying.
These parasitic Fleas may be seen hopping about
among the dust of sheds and similar places, and the
naked feet of the negroes suffer constantly from their
attacks. But even the stockings and shoes of Euro-
peans are not proof against the insidious assaults of
this tiny flea. On several occasions I have found
them ensconced in my feet ; to-day I discovered that
one had chosen the bend of my little toe as the scene
of its domestic economy. The negroes, from mutual
practice on each other, are quick at discovering, and
skilful in extracting them ; and, accordingly, to one
of my servant lads I entrusted the operation. Tak-
ing my foot on his knee, he began with a sharp
needle to open and widen the minute orifice in the
epidermis, between which and the cutis the swollen
body of the pregnant female had taken its place.
Slowly and cautiously the lad exposed the depre-
dator, giving no pain, and not drawing the least drop
of blood, until at length he removed the insect un-
injured. The great danger to be guarded against
is the rupture of the delicate skin of the Jigger’s
abdomen, stretched and attenuated as it is by the
great increase of its contents. If this should occur,

I 5

178

BLUEFIELDS.

the nits would escape into the wound, and produce a
dreadful ulcer; such, however, is the skill of the
sable practitioners, that it very rarely occurs. The
negroes talk of two kinds, the White and the Poison
Jigger. Mine was of the latter kind ; and therefore
a little grease was rubbed into the empty cavity,
after the operation.

The insect, when removed, on being subjected to
examination with a lens, greatly resembles a dis-
tended Tick {Ixodes) ; white and shining ; there is
this dissimilarity, however, that whereas in a Tick
the little feet are pushed apart in the process of dis-
tension, and are scattered widely around the swollen
abdomen, in the Jigger they remain close together in
the centre ; in other words, the skin of the abdomen
between the bases of the feet is expansible in the
former, and not in the latter. The feet sprawl help-
lessly after extraction.

The presence of a Jigger beneath the skin, during
the process of its gradual increase, is commonly de-
scribed as a titillation, rather pleasing than painful.
This does not at all agree with my experience. I on
no occasion felt any itching, but, as soon as I became
conscious of any sensation at all, a dull pain with
tension, somewhat like the rising of a small boil,
which increased until the cause was removed by
extraction.

THE SMOOTH SHEATH-CLAW.

June Srd, — Coming down from Bluefields Peak
about noon, my attention was attracted to two of

THE SMOOTH SHEATH-CLAW.

179

these Geckos {Thecadactylus Icevis), resting near each
other on the trunk of a tree, beside a deep cleft.
From a slight difference in their size, I supposed
them male and female. I struck at one with my
riding switch, but failed to reach it ; and they both
glided into the hollow tree. Soon, however, they
began to peep out again ; and I desired my servant
to mount the tree in order to drive them out ; which
he did by thrusting in a stick at the opposite side.
The larger darted out, and on being touched, pre-
cipitated himself to the ground, where he began to
wriggle with the usual awkward agility of the spe-
cies ; I struck him lightly with a stick, but in so
doing unfortunately severed the tail from the body.
The amputated member, however, continued for some
time to writhe in rapid contortions. I now put down
a tin canister on the ground with the open mouth just
before the animal’s head, and on being touched behind,
it darted in, according to its natural propensity to take
refuge in dark holes and crevices ; and I thus^secured it.
Its colour had been till now dark brown, handsomely
mottled with black, but on my arrival at home, I
found it of a dirty white or drab, with the mottlings
few and almost obsolete. ^ The stomach was found
on dissection to contain fragments of beetles, but in
the intestine was a leguminous seed.

The appearance and physiognomy of this Lizard
are unprepossessing ; there is a savage sullenness in

* In my little volume on “ Reptiles,” (Soc. Prom. Chr. Kn. 1850),
I have given a figure of this, as well as of some other Jamaican spe-
cies, engraved from my own drawings.

180

BLUEFIELDS.

its look very different from the meek countenance of
the Ameiva, It is very common, particularly in
out-huildings and offices, where it inhabits crevices
in the roofs and rafters, a pair commonly living
either in the same hole or near together. On the
approach of night one hears on all sides the singular#
cracked, cackling call of these animals, somewhat
like the sound produced by drawing a stick across
a comb. M. Dumeril’s suggestion, that this voice
may be produced by the tongue smacked, as it were,
in the concavity of the palate, is the less unlikely
from the fact that this organ is large, flexible, and
fleshy. The name of Croaking Lizard commonly
applied to the species in Jamaica is derived from its
peculiar voice. In the woods the voice is also heard
at night proceeding from hollow trees, and continued
through the whole of the hours of darkness. The
large prominent eye without any eyelid, whose pupil
contracts in strong light to a perpendicular line, in-
dicates their nocturnal habits ; yet they are fre-
quently seen by day, as in the case just mentioned.
In the old mill-house at Bluefields they are nume-
rous ; and two or three pairs may be seen day after
day at the same spot, peeping out of their crevices,
and remaining perfectly still for hours. Sometimes
they venture forth, and may be observed crawling
slowly along the beams and rafters ; moving with ex-
cessive deliberation, and never going far from their
holes, into which they dart on the least alarm with
swift rapidity.

The curious structure of the feet in the Geckotidce,
by which they are enabled to walk on reversed sur-

THE SMOOTH SHEATH-CLAW.

181

faces, has been often described. The toes in this
species radiate from the foot, are dilated into broad
oval disks, and have the under surface covered with
transverse laminae, the edge of each overlapping its
successor. Minute hooked claws, very acute, like
those of a cat, doubtless assist the animal in its feats
of this kind. I do not, however, remember to have
ever seen this Gecko actually back downward, but
often crawding on the vertical side of a beam.

The skin of this animal is very loosely attached to
the muscles ; and is so soft and fragile that it tears
with a mere touch, like wetted brown paper. The
head and back are covered with minute conical
tubercles very closely set, which, on the sides and
towards the tail, become morejnclined, and flattened
in a posterior direction, so as to form overlapping
scales, which are most regular and largest on the belly
and tail ; each is in contact with six other surround-
ing ones. The under side of the tail is crossed by a
series of broad plates, here and there varied, however,
by two broad scales supplying the place of one plate.
The tail has no transverse folds, but the scales are
arranged with regularity there. I have not been able
to detect any femoral pores.

The periodical casting of the skin takes place much
as in other Lizards. The head and fore parts begin
to assume a white appearance, and the next day the
skin of these parts separates from the surface of the
body, often irregularly, and lies in loose ragged folds
around it. It now looks like muslin of the most
delicate flneness : it is slit down the back and sepa-
rated, but not yet thrown off. At the same time the

182

BLUEFIELDS.

hinder parts have the same whiteness as the head on
the previous day ; for there seems always to be the
difference of a day in the sloughing of the fore and
hind parts. When the cuticle, however, is manifestly
detached, it is not thrown off at once, but hangs
'around the Lizard like a ragged garment, for several
days ; apparently to its no small annoyance.

The reproduction of the tail in Lizards, after it
has been accidentally lost, is a very curious phe-
nomenon, which seems not to have been observed
with sufficient precision. In this species it takes
place with great rapidity. The facility with which
the tail separates has been already alluded to : it is
said that the animal will frequently cast off this
member spontaneously in its contortions on being
put alive into spirits ; and that the contraction of the
tail into a globular form has given occasion to the
supposition that a distinct species existed, called the
Turnip-tailed Gecko {Thecadactylus rapicauda) ;
this, however, I have not seen.

One day, at Grand Vale, I observed, on a gate, a
Gecko with a new tail, not more than an inch and a
half in length, abruptly tapered. The animal had a
singular appearance, the tail being of a bluish grey
hue, marked with longitudinal black stripes ; it had
a silky gloss, but was closely covered with minute
transverse wrinkles. (The ordinary length of the tail
when perfect is about five inches.)

About the middle of September, I caught in a
noose one which I had deprived of its tail a few days
before in attempting to secure it. The separation
had taken place about half an inch behind the vent.

THE SMOOTH SHEATH-CLAW.

183

I put the reptile into a gauze-covered box for ob-
servation. In less than a week the new tail was
manifest in the form of a bluish tubercle projecting
from the centre of the wound, the edges of which
had, in drying, shrunk up, and so lost their sharp-
ness. The tail slowly increased ; about the end oT
October it was an inch long, the base nearly com-
mensurate in diameter with the wound. About this
time I captured one with a renewed tail, which
member was covered with tuberculous scales as the
original had been, and the inferior surface of which
displayed the ordinary transverse plates. In fact I
should not have known that it had been severed, but
for the dark grey colour, the peculiar character of the
striping, the manifest suture at the point of junction,
and the smaller size than normal of the scales and
plates. On comparing the tail of my own living one
with that of this specimen, I perceived that it differed
in the absence of scales, the surface being silky, and
covered with fine transverse wrinkles as the one ob-
served at Grand Vale. On the 10th of November
the new tail was about an inch and one-eighth long ;
when it threw off its skin, the sloughing being con-
finedUo the recent part; and I was surprised and
pleased to observe that the new surface displayed both
scales and transverse plates, but both small. The
colour was still dark grey, with pale irregular longi-
tudinal stripes or dashes. About the beginning of
December the animal escaped, the cage having been
incautiously left open: the tail was then fully an
inch and a half long, and the tip had become
compressed.

184

BLUEFIELDS.

On the 21st of October I bad found adhering to
the inside of the door of the cage, an egg of a short-
oval form, shelly in texture, and of a pure white hue.
It adhered to the wood by a flattened base, as if it
had been deposited in a soft state ; when I saw it
the top had been slightly crushed in, probably by
accident ; and this appeared to have been fatal to it,
for its contents gradually dried up. I conjectured at
the time that this egg had been deposited by the
Gecko, but I could not be quite certain, because one
or two Anoles were kept in the same cage. But on
the 21st of February, as I was riding to Savanna-
le-Mar, and passing a large Fig-tree that overhangs
the sea-shore at Cave, I observed in a little crevice in
the trunk, — or rather in one produced by the
singular anastomosing of its supra-terrestrial roots, —
several eggs. On dismounting I found they were
about eight in number, and evidently of the same
kind as the one above noticed. Their form was
irregularly oval, round, or rondo-triangular, all flat-
tened, very much resembling in size, shape, and
colour, those comfits called lemon-drops : their great-
est diameter was about half an inch. They were
shelly, but the shell was thin and very brittle ; yet
it was evident that they had been soft when laid, for
they adhered to each other, and the side of one was,
as it were, let in to that of its neighbour ; and at the
base of some was a thick mass of shelly matter, as if
a semifluid substance had run down, and then
hardened. That all had not been deposited at once
seemed apparent, from their diverse degrees of ma-
turity ; some containing only a white cream or soft

THE SMOOTH SHEATH-CLAW.

185

curd, others the Lizard fully formed, but immature ;
while one, which I broke, displayed the Smooth
Sheath-claw perfectly formed and coloured, which
presently crawled out, being quite independent of the
vitellus. The head of this new-born Gecko was
large ; the belly (of course) thin ; the toes well
formed ; the tubercles perfect ; the markings dark
and beautifully distinct; the pupil linear and per-
pendicular. The length was two inches and a quarter ;
one-third of an inch of the extremity of the tail was
pure white, abruptly defined from the darker colour.
The surface of the eggs, under a lens, was covered
with minute tubercles of lime, something like a
whitewashed wall.

The cavity in which these eggs was found was so
narrow, that I cannot understand how the Lizard had
managed to deposit them in their situation, unless
(which seems very improbable) they were first laid,
and afterwards placed with the feet. After a few
weeks, being again in that neighbourhood, I noticed
that another egg had been laid since the removal of
the former, and in the course of another month two
more, occupying the place of the first deposited. We
thus perceive that the Gecko lays her eggs at con-
siderable intervals of time, but selects the same spot
for their deposition.

The ill fame under which this genus labours in
most parts of the world where it is known, attends it
here : an indefinite dread of its being in some way
hurtful generally prevails, perhaps mainly dependent
on its repulsive aspect and stealthy motions. It is,
however, perfectly harmless ; feeding on insects and

186

SHEEWSBURY.

berries. I have already mentioned the contents of
the stomach in one specimen that I examined; in
another this viscus, a membranous sac, nearly as long
as the trunk, contained nothing of an animal nature,
but only some pulpy berries, and several stony seeds
closely like those of a grape. One which I captured
with a hair-noose, indeed, on being turned into the
lizard-box, seemed to manifest hostility to the Anoles
which were there ; these fled from it, and the Gecko
appeared to have a desire of pursuing, for it crept
towards one and another with a stealthy step, the
belly and head being on the ground, like a cat
watching a mouse. Yet these actions might be
nothing more than the manifestation of caution on
being put into unwonted circumstances. While thus
engaged, it ever and anon licked its lips with its pro-
truded tongue ; an action common to all our Gecko^
tidce. The ordinary length of the species is about
nine inches.

THE POND TURTLE.

Between Shrewsbury and Content is a pond of
about one fourth of an acre in extent, choked up
with Potamogeton, and covered with Duckweed. It
is embosomed in the high woods which rear them-
selves around it on every side ; a giant Cotton-tree
rises from the margin, and the long branches of a
vigorous Bastard-cedar reach almost quite across it.
A luxuriant gourd called the Duppy’s melon has

* Duppy is a spiritual personage of whom the negroes are terribly
afraid; it might be rendered “hobgoblin.” The habit of naming

THE POND TURTLE.

187

entwined in the limbs of the cedar, and sends down a
hundred vines which dip their tangled mazes into the
water. Cattle resort hither to drink, and hogs to roll
in the cool mud; water-insects swarm in it, and
pond-turtles are abundant ; yet this is the only water
drunk by several families in the dry season. The
negro girls of the neighbourhood come hither, each
with a large shallow basket or tray of wicker on her
head, in which stand many calabashes. She wades
into the pond, pushes aside the duckweed, and fills
her vessels, which are then again transferred to her
head, and carried home to settle. The water is
turbid and tepid of course, yet not unwholesome ; or
else custom has habituated the people to its influence.
But it is with the inhabitants of the pond that I have
to do : on the logs and branches that from time to
time have fallen from the overhanging trees, and now
project here and there from the green surface, the
Turtles {Emys decussata) may be seen sitting to enjoy
the sunshine in the heat of the day. Some are as
large as a dinner-plate ; others no bigger than a
crown-piece ; but all are watchful, though still : the
head is protruded and elevated to the utmost stretch
of the neck, and the eye maintains a sharp look-out
on the shore. Throw in but a stick, — and every
one is gone ; each has dropped from his seat into
the water without a sound, and almost without a
ripple on the surface. If we sit down for a few

things that are considered uncouth, or in some way unpleasing, as
Duppy's this or that, is analogous to the practice which prevails in
our own country, of appropriating things to the Devil ; as “ Devil’s
Squeaker ” (the Swift), “ Devil’s Coach-horse ” (the Rove-beetle), &c*

188

SHREWSBURY.

moments, remaining quiet and still, — that is, as still
as the musquitoes will permit, for they are tolerably
regnant in such a situation, — we soon see here and
there the duckweed open, and bubbles of air ascend :
presently a little black head projects, so little that
you will hardly see it if you are not intently watch-
ing; but if you watch you will observe the little
creatures crawl up on their logs again, and sit as
before.

The flesh of these animals is esteemed superior
even to that of the famed Green Turtle, by those
who have abundant opportunities for judging of
both ; hence many are caught for the table. The
pond is, however, deep and boggy ; and recourse is
had to the trap. As I entrapped two or three here
myself, I will describe the mode of procedure. A
long pole is prepared, such as the stem of a young
tree in the contiguous forest, to one end of which is at-
tached a flat piece of wood as a float. A common rat-
gin is likewise lashed to the end of the pole, and baited
with a piece of flesh. A small bird with the feathers
singed in the Are is reckoned a very successful bait, its
odour attracting the Turtles. The extremity of the
pole thus armed is carefully pushed out into the deep
water, and the other end is fastened with a line to
some object on shore. The weight of the trap sinks
the pole, but the float keeps it within a few inches of
the surface. The attraction soon becomes apparent ;
a loud snap announces that the iron jaws have
closed, and a struggle in the water tells us that a
prisoner is taken. We haul upon the line, and per-
ceive an unfortunate Turtle, caught either by the

THE POND TUKTLE.

189

foot or bj the neck. Sometimes a wicker pot or
creel, made on the same principle as a wire mouse-
trap, is set, which allows the ingress, but precludes
the return of the animal.

A young one of this species, a pretty, brightly-
marked little thing, much flatter than the adult, and
about as large as the palm of one’s hand, I brought
alive to England in a chip-box. In this its prison,
whose walls it could feel all around at the same
moment, it performed its voyage of transportation,
without food ; and arrived in good health. Through
the remainder of the summer and autumn it was
lively, and was often indulged with a swim in a tub
of water, which it evidently enjoyed. The instinctive
stratagem by which the species takes its prey was
well exemplified in the manners of this infant Turtle.
On my dropping a small earthworm, or a little piece
of meat into the water, the animal, on being aware
of its presence, would creep with the utmost slowness
and caution towards it, until within reach ; then,
quick as lightning, the head was darted out, and as
suddenly retracted, bearing the morsel in the horny,
beak-like jaws, to be swallowed at leisure.

This specimen, kept in a box in a warm corner of
the kitchen, lived through the coldest part of the
winter ; but died at last about the end of February,
after a sojourn here of nearly seven months.

Along with the above described, frequenting the
same situations, having the same habits, and nearly
equally common, another species is taken, E. rugosa,
distinguished by having the pale-yellow plates of the
sternum each edged with a broad border of dark

190

BLUEFIELDS.

brown. Cuba possesses both species in common with
Jamaica.

CURIOUS FISHES.

July 2nd, — It is very pleasant to stand upon the
rocks and admire the beautiful fishes of many kinds
and gay hues that play about at one’s feet, or explore
the crevices and tortuous channels for food. My
admiration was especially attracted this morning to
one which I had not before seen, but which, as I had
no means of capturing it, I had no opportunity of
identifying. As well as I could judge it was of a
percoid form, rather high, and about a foot in length.
The back was marked with ring-spots of black on a
pale ground, and the under parts were of a rich
crimson. He played about in a narrow passage
between the rocks for half an hour, occasionally
nibbling at the projections of the rock, and now and
then turning up his radiant belly to smell at some
weed. He was evidently seeking his breakfast. This
manner of feeding resembled the browsing of the
SyaridcF.

A lovely little Chaetodon (C. striatus) banded with
black and rich yellow, plays about in the creek at
low water ; occasionally picking something from the
surfaces of the stones, and sometimes butting at them
repeatedly, so as to rebound a few inches. This same
propensity has been noticed in another hemisphere ;
M. Freycinet, in his Voyage round the World, re-
cords, that when wading over the coral reef encircling
the island of Guam, in the Indian Archipelago, in
search of mollusca^ he was assailed by a small Chseto-

FIG-TREES.

191

don, not bigger than his hand ; it hutted at his hand,
and pertinaciously refused to be driven away. In the
case of our Jamaican species, it might, perhaps, be
presumed that the fish was collecting some object or
other, animal or vegetable, desirable to it, in these
repeated strokes ; but what could the naked hand of
the worthy naturalist yield in the way of food ? We
must be content to reckon the action among the
thousands which we observe in animals, to which
our habits, instincts, and reason, afford us no clue
whatever.

FIG-TREES.

One end of the old building formerly used as a
boiling house at Bluefields is covered with the roots
of a large Fig-tree. Its great limbs stretch out
horizontally to an enormous length, and cover a vast
space of ground with the deep shadow of their dense
foliage. Its height is not at all proportioned to its
expansion, yet the dark-green hue and shining surface
of its large oval leaves, and its immense spreading
boughs set with clumps of Tillandsice, give it a very
noble appearance. The constant shadow cast beneath
it imparts a deep gloom to the spot, and invests the
vegetation there with a rank luxuriance of character
that reminds one of the glades in the mountain forests
rather than the sunny pastures of the lowlands. But
it is of the roots that I would especially speak, for
these form quite a curious spectacle. They spread
over the wall in every direction from the roof down-
wards to the earth, all in the same plane, clinging to
the wall ; the chief roots are as thick as a man’s leg.

192

BLUEFIELDS.

but subordinate roots proceed from one to another,
anastomosing in all directions (if I may use such a
term), so as to make a most elaborate network of a
multitude of meshes of various angular forms and
sizes. These cross-roots are at each extremity united
with the larger roots, and look as if the whole net-
work had been skilfully carved out of one solid plank
of wood, by cutting out the areas or meshes, and
rounding the component bars ; the very bark that
covers the w^hole is continuous, where the roots unite,
as if they had been always integrally one.

The only mode in which I can account for this
singular phenomenon is the following hypothesis. The
seed of the tree was originally deposited on the sum-
mit of the wall, beneath the eaves. As it germinated,
the roots ran down towards the earth, some per-
pendicularly, some diagonally ; but all creeping along
the surface of the wall, no roots having shot out from
its perpendicular. As these roots increased, they
sent out side rootlets, which, still running on the face
of the wall, by and by came in contact with another
of the primary roots. Then, instead of creeping over
it, as the roots of other trees would have done, the
soft tip of the rootlet actually united with the sub-
stance of the root at the point of contact, the fibres
of the two becoming interlaced, and their united sur-
faces gradually becoming covered with a common
bark. The repetition of this process has produced
the very curious wooden net which I have attempted
to describe.

The tendency of the roots of the Fig to envelope
closely any surfaces that they meet with, produces

A TREE ON STILTS.

193

Other singular results. One of these is what the
natives delight to show to a stranger as a great cu-
riosity, facetiously calling it “ The Creole in the
embrace of the Scotchman.”

By the side of the road that leads in a zigzag line
up from Black River to the summit of the Luana
Mountains, about midway between Shrewsbury and
Content, is a Fig-tree perhaps still more remarkable
than the one above described. About thirty feet above
the ground is the base of the trunk, which thence
rears itself up pillar-like towards the heavens, and
spreads abroad its vast horizontal array of branches
across the road. From the same point there de-
scends to the earth a hollow cone of roots, inter-
woven and anastomosed, especially at the upper
parts, in the same manner as those of the boiling-
house wall, but forming towards the bottom only
three or four flattened irregular columns. Into the
area inclosed by this network of roots a person may
enter, for it is about six feet wide, and, looking up,
behold the base of the trunk eight or ten yards above
his head.

The explanation of this curious phenomenon de-
pends upon the tendency just mentioned. On this
site once stood a large tree of some other species,
probably a Cotton-tree {Eriodendron), or some other
soft-timbered kind. The little scarlet berry of a
Fig-tree was carried by some vagrant Banana-bird or
Pigeon to its boughs, and there devoured. After
the little truant had finished his morsel, he perhaps
wiped his beak against the rough bark of the trunk,
beside the branch on which he was seated. Some of

K

194

BLUEFIELDS.

the minute seeds, enveloped in mucilage, were thus
left on the tree, which the rain presently washed
down into the broad concavity of the forks, where
among moss and rotten leaves it soon germinated and
grew'. The roots gradually crept down the trunk of
the supporting tree, closely clinging to its hark, and
by their interlacement at length formed a living case,
enveloping it on every side, and penetrating the earth
around its base. The growth of these, and also of
the enclosed tree, daily induced a tighter and tighter
pressure, which at length arrived at such a degree
as to stop the circulation of the sap between the
bark and wood. Death of course was the result,
and speedy decay reduced the supporting tree to a
heap of mouldering dust ; while the parasite, now
able to maintain its own position by its hollow cone
of roots, increased in size and strength, and over-
topped its fellows of the forest ; — a tree standing
upon stilts.

THE ANT-LION.

July \Qtli. — One of the old buildings, now fast
going to decay on Bluefields estate, was, in the
time of sugar cultivation, the mill-house. The
wheel was turned by water power, a stream from the
upper part of the rivulet having been led through a
long aqueduct into the mill, and passing off through
a deep and narrow trench to the lower course of the
river. Through this winding trench, cut to a depth
of fifteen or twenty feet, but not more than a yard
wdde, and now so entirely choked up and overgrown

THE ANT-LION.

195

with rank vegetation as to be quite dark, access is
with some difficulty obtained to the basal floor of
the mill, which is covered with a layer of impalpable
sand, the residuum, no doubt, of the water that shot
upon it when the wheel was in operation. The
flooring planks of the upper level have been removed,
leaving only the rafters ; and the walls of the mill con-
sist now of scarcely more than the posts and beams, so
that sufficient light descends to the lower level not-
withstanding its depth. Here I found many little
conical pits in the fine sand, which upon examina-
tion proved to be the traps formed by the grubs of
a species of Ant-lion [Myrmeleon), and inhabited by
them. The appearance of the crafty insect, its mo-
tionless vigilance at the bottom of its den, the curved
tubular jaws expanded to their utmost stretch, and the
broad body concealed in the sand ; the alertness dis-
played when an unfortunate ant slipped over the edge,
the struggles of the prey to escape, the reiterated
showers of sand vigorously cast up from the head of the
expectant Giant Grim, and falling on the miserable
victim, and the slow but sure sliding down of the
latter, until the formidable jaws closed upon it; —
I observed with intense pleasure, not only for the
interest attached to so curious an example of insect
cunning, but also for that of repeating observations
long ago made in a distant part of the world, and, no
doubt, on another species. The manners of these
Jamaican Ant-lions agreed minutely with those of
the Myrmeleon formicarius of the South of France,
as recorded by the accurate Reaumur.

The singularity of the spot chosen in this case for

196

BLUEFIELDS.

the exhibition of the stratagem, strikes one at first
sight. But on reflection, we perceive that this very
circumstance is but a further display of unerring in-
stinct ; for the frail pits on which the insect’s success
depends, would be filled up and effaced by a breath
of wind, spoiled by a shower of rain, and destroyed,
with their ingenious architects, by a passing footstep
of man or beast. The depth of this locality was a
protection against the first contingency, its inacces-
sibility precluded the last, while rain was kept off by
the remaining roof of the building !

How inexhaustible are the resources of Divine
wisdom, when the outgoings of it in the meanest in-
sects are so wonderful !

I took two or three of the grubs into the house,
and put them into a small box partially filled with
sand, hoping to witness the construction of the pit-
fall. They soon began to work, proceeding back-
ward, and shovelling the sand exactly as described,
but only in irregular lines, leaving one after it had
proceeded for some distance, and beginning another ;
so that they did not make even one complete circle.
I was called to a distance, however, and the insects
were thrown away. The species was probably M.
Leachii, of which I have taken a single specimen
near Bluefields, the onl}' one I ever met with in a
perfect state.

* This rarity of the imago, contrasting with the abundance of the
larva, of this insect, has been noticed by Guilding in St. Vincents.
He observes that not a single perfect insect had been found by him
in a state of liberty, though the larvae swarm under every rock or
shed calculated to protect their pitfalls from the rain and wind.
(Z/i/m. Trans, xvi. 47.)

THE COTTA WOOD.

197

The late Lansdowne Guilding has described an
insect closely allied to the Ant-lions {Ascalaphus Mac-
leaya,nus)^ but readily distinguished from them by its
long thread-like antennae, terminating in an abrupt
knob. That zoologist found it at St. Vincents; it
is just now rather common around Content, in St.
Elizabeths. It rests like a Noctua, with deflexed
wings, and carries the abdomen elevated and point-
ing upwards at a high angle. The larva of this
genus, though in form much resembling the Ant-lion,
differs from it in habit, never constructing a pitfall.

THE COTTA-WOOD.

The narrow bridle-path which descends steeply
into the dense bush from the high road just below
Content leads us down a precipitous and dangerous
track to the foot of the hill. Here we emerge into
another track crossing the former at right angles,
scarcely more passable. It leads, if we turn to the
left, through the most gloomy and savage scenes, — a
valley dark at noon from the loftiness of the pillar-
like trees, whose foliage intertwines far above ; the
bed of a turbid and impetuous torrent in the rainy
season, half filled with enormous masses of limestone
embraced and overspread by the fantastic roots of
the huge Mahoganies, Broadleaves, and Santa Marias,
perhaps a thousand years old. Little underwood
grows here, from the lack of light ; so that there is
no interruption to vision, save that arising from the
gloom and from the columnar trunks of the trees.
Some of these are indeed gigantic, especially such as
send out immense spurs and buttresses, like diverging

198

CONTENT.

walls. Animal life is almost unseen : the solitude is
scarcely broken by the voices of birds, except that
now and then the Rainhird and the Hunter (large
cat-tailed cuckoos that love the shade) sound their
startling rattle, or the Mountain Partridge utters
those mournful cooings which are like the moans of
a dying man. Such a scene however is the favourite
haunt of Erehus odora, a gigantic Moth, which often,
as we pass, darts out, like a great bat, from its con-
cealment in the dark corner of two tree-spurs, or a
hollow in the rock, and dances with a perplexing
irregularity hither and thither, till it suddenly settles
again, or is lost in the maze of stems.

Returning to the foot of the hill, if we follow the
right-hand track, the scene is widely different. Here
were formerly the provision grounds of the negroes
belonging to Grand Yale; but these having been
thrown up, a dense growth of small wood has accumu-
lated, consisting chiefly of Bastard Cedar, Sweetwood,
Prickly-yellow', with a scattering of Mahogany and
Logwood. The path is narrow ; and though the
bushes are low, they meet overhead, so that we ride
in shade ; but it is the ‘‘ greenwood shade,” that the
old ballads delight to describe ; for a soft, green light
penetrates through the pellucid foliage, and the rays
of the sun, reflected from the glossy surface of the
dancing leaves, flash and sparkle like a thousand
diamonds, throwing an indescribable air of cheerful-
ness over the scene. A little way from the path
there is a natural well of considerable depth, at the
bottom of which is an unfailing spring of clear water,
always cool ; the negro children scramble down its

THE BAMBOO.

199

rugged sides and fill their gourds and calabashes ;
and birds of many kinds resort hither, particularly in
the droughts, to quench their thirst. For a long
time a frog of large size had made his dwelling in
some hole in the rocky side of the Hallow-well, as it
is named, and used often to appear, to the no small
terror of the water-children, who would scamper
back with precipitancy. In these cool glades many
birds build their nests ; the neat little cotton cup of
the Humming-bird, and the purse of the John-to-
whip, and the hollow globe of the Banana Quit may
be found around the spring : and the air resounds
with song ; multitudes of voices, some, it is true, in-
harmonious in themselves, combine to cheer the
traveller as he threads the rocky, winding path.
Among them the cooing of various Doves is promi-
nent; and ever and anon, he perceives the gentle
White-belly walking on the road before him, or
detects the wary Bald-pate watching his motions
from the summit of a tree, or is startled by the ruddy
Partridge whirring across, just before his horse’s face.
At length the woods cease, and we suddenly emerge
into the sunny canefields of Grand Yale estate.

THE BAMBOO.

Humboldt, if I mistake not, has mentioned the
Bamboo as standing pre-eminent among the features
which distinguish tropical from European scenery.
It is an object which once seen can never be for-
gotten, especially when growing in those isolated
clumps that look like tufts of ostrich plumes magni-
fied to colossal dimensions. A thousand of these

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,

THE BAMBOO.

201

that they can be recognised at a great distance,
almost as far as the surface of the mountain-side can
itself be seen. There is one on the side of the
Luana mountains above the picturesque estate of
Grand Vale, a small one about half 'svay up the
acclivity of Bluefields mountain, and a much more
extensive one near Haddo, on the road from Savanna-
le-Mar to Montego Bay, on the other side of the
Island. Some small but interesting clumps are
growing in Bluefields pasture, which wave their
plumes over the romantic little river that meanders
through it. A beautiful contrivance connected with
the growth of the Bamboo has been frequently
noticed, but I may be excused for mentioning it
again, for its interest ; especially as, in my own inde-
pendent observations, it had excited my admiration.
Any one looking at a dense Bamboo clump, the
polished rigid stems standing but a foot, or even
less, apart, and each bristling with stiff branches
shooting out horizontally in every direction, — would
ask, “ How is it possible for fresh stems to rear
themselves through such a labyrinth of crossed and
re- crossed branches ? Surely their side shoots would
catch some of these horizontal rods before the stem
was well out of the ground, and either be broken off
while young and tender, or be irreparably distorted!”
Yet we never see such distortion ; each stem bears
its whorls of horizontal branches, and each branch
finds its place among its fellows, adding to the maze,
and apparently to the impenetrability.

The contrivance, however, which obviates all diffi-
culty is most simple. The new stem shoots up from

202

BLUEFJELDS.

the root-stock and attains its lofty stature, before a
single lateral branch has budded. In this simple
form its sharp top and polished surface find no diffi-
culty in threading the crossed branches ; and when
once its elevation is gained, the lateral branches find
their horizontal course no less unresisted. I have
seen in the dense clump at Bluefields, in the middle
of July, vigorous shoots of the present year, fully
three inches in diameter, and from twenty to thirty
feet high, without the least trace of a lateral shoot.

The appearance of such a growing stem is singularly
beautiful. The delicate green hue, set off by the
smoothness and even polish of the surface, the swell-
ing joints at regular intervals, the cylindrical inter-
nodes, and the uniform thickness of the whole, strike
the mind with an emotion of pleasure, the slenderness
conveying the idea of elegance without weakness.
The basal part of every joint is partly inclosed in dark
brown triangular sheaths, having a hairy or downy
surface ; and these increase in number, and are closer
together towards the summit of the shoot, where the
joints are still extending: the contrast of colour and
of surface between the woolly brown sheath and the
polished vivid green of the reed adds to the beauty of
the whole.

The various uses to which the Bamboo is applied,
it would be quite foreign to my purpose to notice ; but
I will mention one to which I myself applied it. I
found the slender stems, well-ripened, excellent for
the handles of insect nets, combining lightness with
firmness and elasticity, and affording lengths from
twenty feet downwards.

rERIODICAL EAIN.

203

PERIODICAL RAIN.

July Content, — The regularity of the daily

rain during the season is a remarkable circumstance.
The mornings are almost invariably fine, or if there
he a few clouds at sunrise, they are soon dissipated,
and the sun burns with unmitigated rigour through
the forenoon. About midday fieecy clouds begin to
appear in the north ; — these increase and coalesce,
and begin to blacken : — thunder mutters, and waxes
louder : — by and by one or two terrific claps are
heard, and we look out, but there is a good deal of
blue sky yet. Soon, however, the mountain top
becomes enwrapped in thick misty cloud, which rolls
rapidly down ; more thunder ; vivid flashes of light-
ning gleam through the daylight. Now we hear the
rain clattering upon the leaves of the forest above us,
like shot ; but not a drop falls on us yet. Now it
comes, however, not so much in drops, as in a sheet
of water ; and in an instant the gullies and channels
of the rocky hill-side are filled with discoloured and
frothing rivulets.'^ We trace the progress of the

* The fine description of Virgil will hardly fail to recur to the
classic reader : —

“ Saspe etiam immensum coelo venit agmen aquarum,

Et foedam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris
Collectae ex alto nubes ; ruit arduus aether,

Et pluvia ingenti sata lasta boumque labores
Diluit ; implentur fossae, et cava flumina crescunt
Cum sonitu ; fervetque fretis spirantibus aequor.

Ipse Pater, media nimborum in nocte, corusca
Fulmina molitur dextra ; quo maxima motu
Terra tremit ; fugere ferae ; et mortalia corda
Per gentes humilis stravit pavor.”

Georg, i. 322.

204

CONTENT.

rain cloud onward, enveloping the immense forest
between us and the sea in one misty mass, bringing
out much more distinctly the varieties of distance
of the hill-tops beneath us, which before were undis-
tinguishable in the clear and almost equal visibility of
all. During the storm the lightning is vivid, zig-
zagged, and frequent ; the thunder instant, crashing,
and terrifically loud. In an hour or two the rain has
ceased, the sky presently resumes its clearness and
transparent azure, and the coolness of the evening
air is delightful, loaded as it often is with the per-
fume of various flowers.

After the rain has ceased the fog begins to rise,
and this is sometimes the grandest part of the whole
scene. I have said that the little cottage where I
sojourn looks from its eminence, like an eagle from
its aerie, over seven miles of almost unbroken forest :
it is irregular ground; but hill and dale looked down
upon from a mountain elevation cannot be dis-
tinguished from a plain. But on such occasions as
this we discern the form of the ground ; for from
every dell and bottom arises a dense mist of snowy
whiteness, throwing the summit of each little inter-
vening hummock into strong outline. As these local
mists arise, they unite ; and often the whole range of
country becomes overlaid with a mass of white cottony
cloud, through the openings in which, here and
there, we catch a glimpse of the dark forest below.
This has a novel and charming effect. Sometimes the
setting sun throws his horizontal rays upon the mass,
and the whole becomes suffused with a soft, trans-

FISHES AND FISHING.

205

parent, orange-coloured light, which gives the finish-
ing touch to the magnificent picture.

Nearly the same uniformity prevails in the light-
ning which almost every night at this season is wont
to play in the western sky. A dark gloomy-looking
cloud towers up from the horizon, which every two
or three seconds becomes a fiood of soft light like the
concentrated glory which we sometimes see in paint-
ings representing heaven. Sometimes the light gleams
fitfully from behind the cloud, revealing its outline in
stern detail, and gilding the edge ; at others a faint
glimmer peeps as it were round one corner, and
tremulously quivers. Then a full blaze appears
again, and a dazzling zigzag cleft in the midst of it,
darting upwards. This zigzag track is in almost every
broad flash, as if the sky, like a solid wall of light,
had split and closed again, revealing the most intense
lustre behind it. All the time, perhaps some hours,
not a sound of thunder is audible.

FISHES AND FISHING.

I accompanied an old negro one morning, when he
paddled out in his canoe to examine his fish-pots.
The canoe was, as usual, a single log of the Silk-
cotton tree, shaped and hollowed by the hands of the
fisherman himself, partly by the aid of the axe, partly
by fire. It was long and narrow, and brought to a
rounded point at each end. The owner squatted
down in the stern, and, with a single paddle held in
both hands, gave two or three short strokes on one

206

BLUEFIELDS.

quarter, then on the other, alternately ; by the force
of which the slender skiff shot rapidly out from the
shadow of the shore into deep water beyond the
reef. The clear water rippled off behind with a
whispering sound, varied by the short quick plashing
of the paddle ; but every thing else was noiseless and
motionless. The sky scarcely showed any glow in
the horizon, the land-breeze had gone to sleep, and
the sea-breeze had not yet thought of awaking ;
the woods on the slopes of Bluefields and Mount
Edgecumbe looked black and indistinct, and were
scarcely relieved from the huge mountain behind
them ; while the whole was reflected, an unbroken
mass of deep shadow, in the silver sea.

Two or three specks began to appear on the sleep-
ing surface, towards one of which the fisherman
directed his course, and presently we were close to
it. It was a billet of soft light wood, with a rope
attached, which went down into the deep water ; it
marked the position of the sunken pot. The old
negro began to haul upon the rope, and presently
drew to the surface his device for entrapping un-
wary fishes.

The Ash-pot was a four-sided box, about four feet
square and one foot deep, divided by a partition into
two compartments. It was made of strips of very
tough wood, torn off, about an inch wide, and no
thicker than card-board, interwoven much like the
cane-bottom of a chair, through the interspaces of
which the contents of the interior could be readily
discerned. In each compartment an orifice of eight
or nine inches wide was left, where the strips were in-

FISH-POTS.

207

geniously worked inwards to form a narrow tubular
entrance, extending a little way into the interior ;
and so managed that the elastic ends should meet
each other in a point, offering no obstruction to a
fish pushing his way in, but resuming their position
the moment his body had passed, so as effectually to
preclude his return. A lid, moving on a hinge of
the same material, and tied down, afforded the'
fisherman an opportunity of introducing his hand to
take out the prey captured, or of putting in the offal,
which constituted the temptation to enter.

We examined three or four in succession, and all
had taken something ; perhaps half-a-dozen fishes in
one, three or four in another, and so on. Some of
them were transferred to me, and were saved from
the ignoble destiny to which the cook would have
consigned them, to be (literally) embalmed in the
honourable service of science. One of these was
sufficiently hideous, and was no favourite with the
old negro, who gave it the name of Poison-grouper.
It was a species of Apistes, the more interesting
because belonging to a rather numerous genus,
hitherto recognized only in the Oriental seas ; a
circumstance which I would commemorate by calling
the present species Apistes exulA Another fish of

* It may be thus described. Apistes exul, mihi. Body well co-
vered with scales. Head very spinous ; sub-orbital spines short,
scarcely more than serratures ; profile gently descending ; mouth
opening diagonally upwards. Dorsal commencing above the base of
pectoral ; ending considerably short of the base of caudal ; moderately
hollowed in the middle ; pectoral with no free ray. Fin-ray for-
mula: B. 7; D. 12—10; A. 3—5; C. 18; P. 19; V. 1—5.

208

BLUEFIELDS.

rather unpleasing aspect he named Sucking-fish,
though without reason, as far as I could find. I
rather think he confounded it with the Remora, but
it was a species of Elacate ; and, as I believe, like
the former, undescribed. I shall name it, from the
form of the caudal and pectoral fins, E, falci^innis*
Besides these, there was a pair of King-mullets
{XJpeneus maculatus^ Cuv.), called also Queen-mul-
let, and, from its depending beards (which are,
however, in some specimens entirely wanting), Goat-
fish. This is a beautiful fish ; its general hue is
pink, fading to white below, with three large livid
spots on each side ; the central portion of each scale
on the upper parts is of a pale pearly azure tint. A
specimen of the beautiful Angel Chmtodon (Holo-
canthus ciliaris)^ and several Snappers and Grunts,
made up the booty ; together with a large crustacean

Length 8 to 10 inches. Body and fins marbled with red, brown,
black, and grey ; the marblings on the huge pectorals resemble the
pencilling of some moths ; the basal part of their under surface is
deep-hlack, marked with round white spots. The spots and marks
on the body are very irregular in form, sinuous, and confluent ; with
darker edges. The caudal is pale reddish, with three transverse
bands of dark brown. The irides are yellowish.

* Elacate falcipinnis, mihi. Height of body in proportion to the
total length, as 1 to : length of head to total length as 1 to 5|.
Pectorals falcate, about as long as the head ; ventrals straight,
pointed, about two-thirds as long as the pectorals : pree-dorsal spines
ten, small : dorsal and anal low ; caudal large, somewhat forked ; the
lobes falcate; the upper lobe considerably exceeding the lower.
Length eleven inches. Irides pearly white. Body blackish above,
grey beneath ; a broad band of deep black runs along each side from
muzzle to tail, bounded both above and below by a whitish band of
similar breadth. Fins black : the caudal tipped obliquely with white
on both lobes.

SNAPPERS.

209

)ScyUarus cEquinoctialis), that had found his way into
the prison among the fishes. A few shrimps, and
other creatures of smaller size, were seen in some of
the pots as they were drawn up ; but these waited
not to be lifted out of the water, darting through the
interstices of the wicker-work as it approached the
surface. The others were left disconsolate, to mourn
their imprudence, in getting in, without first inquiring
how they were to get out. Poor things ! as they
roamed round their narrow walls, and looked through
the grating at their fellows enjoying freedom, perhaps
they philosophically repeated, in piscine phrase, the
poet’s reflection : —

“ Facills descensus • . . . ;

Noctes atque dies patet atri janua corUs ;

Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad undas.
Hoc opus, hie labor est.

The most esteemed fishes for the table, and the
most common, are the Snappers, Yellow-tails, Silks,
and Hinds (various species of Serranina^ or Marine
Perches), and the Grunts and Squirrels (species of
ScicEnadee), Many of these are fishes of brilliant
colours : the Yellow-tail {Mesoprion chrysurus)^ for
example, is pale azure on the back, and pearly white
below, with a broad band along each side, of the
richest yellow, which is the hue also of the dorsal and
caudal fins. The Dog-tooth Snapper {Mesoprion
cynodon ?) is white, with six transverse dark bands ;
each scale on the belly has a border of golden lustre ;
and all the fins are rich yellow. The Spotted
Snapper {M. uninotatus) is white, traversed by longi-

210

BLUEFIELDS.

tudinal lines of yellow ; the dorsal and caudal fins
have borders of rose-pink, and there is a large oval
black spot on each flank. The Hind (a species of
Serranus) is a handsome fish ; it is studded with
scarlet spots on a greyish-white ground: the fins are
yellow, especially the caudal, with black borders
having a narrow white edge ; sometimes the pectorals
are brilliantly scarlet.

But all of these yield to the different species of
HcBmulorit which, under the name of Grunts, are well
known and highH esteemed throughout the Carib-
bean Sea. The names scientifically bestowed on
many West Indian species, such as elegans, formo-
sum, xanthopteron, &c., indicate their pretensions to
beauty. Their characteristic markings and hues are
oblique parallel lines of gold, on a silver or metallic
azure ground, with delicately tinted fins, and some-
times spots of peculiarly intense lustre : the whole
interior of their mouth is generally of the finest
scarlet.

All of these are taken with the line, and with the
seine, as well as in pots. The Snappers are per-
haps more highly esteemed than the Grunts, but
both are excellent. They chiefly affect what is
called broken ground,” where patches of white sand
alternate with masses of rough rock, and fields of
grass-like weeds. They range from deep water to the
rocky shore ; are taken abundantly with the seine,
and bite freely at a bait of Sprat {Harengula clu~
peola) ; but only fish of small and middling size
are commonly caught in pots. The Snappers occa-
sionally attain a length of two feet and a half ; but

FISHING.

211

fish of such dimensions will rarely bite at a hook
worked in the usual manner. For them the negro
fisherman takes a wire hook (No. 1. or 2.) as large
as a goose-quill, which he throws overboard, baited
with a sprat, but in a peculiar fashion. One side of
the sprat is split nearly off, remaining attached only
by the tail ; this is allowed to hang free ; and a slice
from the back and one from the belly are allowed to
hang in the same way. The hook is then passed
in at the mouth, out at the gills, and again through
the middle, and the head is tied to the top of the
hook : another slice is then put upon the hook, and
made to hang down. This is designated a full
bait.” No sinker is attached, but its own weight is
sufficient to carry it nearly to the bottom. The line
being passed with two turns round the fishermans
great toe^ he lies comfortably down in his canoe
(Blackie will always lie down wherever he can), and
awaits the bite of the first large fish that may choose
to essay the baited hook ; which it usually does by
taking in the whole at a gulp.

The seine is here, as elsewhere, the chief re-
source of the fisherman ; and many kinds of fishes
are taken by this means, that rarely enter a pot or
seize a bait; together with many species that he
calls rubbishy as being of no esteem in the market,
though often interesting to the naturalist. There
are several places in the vicinity of Bluefields, where
the peculiarities of the beach and of the shoaling
water are favourable to the hauling of the seine ;
one of these is Belmont beach, already spoken of ;
another, still more used, is the beach at Cave, a few

212

CAVE.

miles to leeward, where a lofty spur from Bluefields
ridge juts out in a bold promontory to the very edge
of the sea. The wooded mountain side descends
abruptly, almost precipitously, leaving only a narrow
beach of white coral sand curving round its foot,
along which the high road winds from the windward
parts to Savanna-le-Mar, and onward.

I have often admired the loveliness of the scene
presented by the termination of this promontory,
frowning down upon the beautiful bay beneath ;
especially in the early morning, while the sun, if
risen above the actual horizon, has yet far to climb
before a single ray can shoot over the shaggy summit
of the ridge ; and the whole mountain-side, covered
with a dense forest in every part, except when a
little white cottage is perched at mid-height, casts a
deep, black shadow, reflected as in a mirror from
the calm water below. Beyond the promontory, the
low mangrove -shore trends away to the westward,
and from the level country behind rises in majestic
elevation the steep mountain-mass known as the
Dolphin’s Head, clear and distinct, but empurpled
by distance.

The foreground of the landscape, of which I have
made a sketch, is the summit of a shelving cliff at
Lin do, overgrown with bushes and herbaceous vege-
tation in rude luxuriant wildness ; from the midst of
this tangled bed of weeds and shrubs the singular
forms of the Papaw {Carica jpap ay a) , and the Trum-
pet-tree (Cccrop^(2 erect themselves; and a

huge Silk-cotton tree (Eriodendron anfractuosum),
hoary with age, towers and spreads overhead, with

LOUDOIT; LOlTGKAir

THE GROUND-SEINE.

213

many slender lianes depending like long strings from
its branches.

In the bottom of the bight, upon the narrow beach
that looks like a thread of silver between the black
mountain and the equally black reflection, we see
several moving atoms ; and a little speck slowly glides
out into the still calm bay. Those are the fisher-
men, and this is their canoe, in which they are
carrying out their ground seine. One end of a long
rope is made fast on shore, and the seine is attached
to the other extremity ; when the canoe has got as
far as the rope will allow, the seine, loaded and
corked, is gradually dropped parallel to the shore ;
and a rope of similar length to the former, but at-
tached to the other side of the net, is brought to
land.

If we leave our post of observation, and walk
leisurely down towards the beach, we shall arrive by
the time they begin to haul. It is a pleasant road,,
and at this hour, beneath the cool shadow of the
mountain, walking is a very different thing from
what it would be in the after part of the day,

- “ sol ubi montium

Mutaret umbras,”

when the fierce beams will glare upon us with two-
fold rigour, one sun in the sky, and another in the
sea. Tall trees overhang the road on both sides, for
part of the way, many of them covered with beautiful
blossom ; fine flowering shrubs display their charms
amidst the bush, and some magnificent butterflies
hover about and flap their heavy wings over the

214

CAVE.

summits of the trees, now and then alighting on the
lofty leaves. Here and there tall cliffs of rugged
rock rise perpendicularly from the road-side, their
roughness half-concealed by the multitude of shrubs
and slender trees that jut out from the crevices, and
by the climbing and trailing plants that throw wild
graceful festoons over their sides. Among them
grows in profusion the Portlandia grandiflora, having
much the aspect of a climber, from its height and
slenderness, and from its growing close to the face
of the rock ; conspicuous above all for its magnificent
trumpet-shaped flowers of purest white, eight inches
in length, and its large glossy oval leaves of deepest
green.

We cross a streamlet, which, from some machinery
formerly erected here, passes by the name of Water-
wheel, and where a rude aqueduct carried out a few
hundred yards into the sea enables ships’ boats to fill
their water-casks without the danger of beaching.
Here a deep morass borders the road, inhabited by
myriads of Land-crabs [Gecarcinus ruricola)^ whose
burrows riddle the ground so completely that, even
by the road-side, it is dangerous for a horse to pass.
The morass is covered with trees, among which the
Cork-wood or Alligator-apple {Anona palustris), is
abundant, displaying its beautiful and fragrant, but
noxious, fruit ; which nevertheless affords food to
these Crabs, to Morass- Galli wasps {Celestus occiduus),
and, as is believed, to the formidable Crocodile.

The sound of human voices in melody falls now
upon the ear, the song of the negroes who have
begun to haul in the seine. Rude their music is.

FISHES AND FISHING.

215

and artless their tune ; yet, mellowed and softened
by distance, now swelling in chorus, now feeble and
faint, it has considerable sweetness, as the human
voice always has under such circumstances. Yonder
we see them, forming two lines in the water, ten or a
dozen men in each row, hauling upon the two ropes ;
the outmost up to the neck in the sea, and the in-
most on the beach ; all naked, regardless of the burn-
ing sun that now pours down his beams upon their
woolly heads and glossy backs. It is a slow opera-
tion ; and as they all throw their weight upon the
line together, they sway backward and forward in
time with the wild air whose notes they are singing.

In an hour or two the fishes that the seine has in-
closed are dragged on shore, and lie gasping and flut-
tering on the wet sand. Let us see what they have
taken. Here is the usual predominance of Grunts
and Snappers, Hamlets and Hinds ; — two pretty
Chgetodons, C. cajpistratus, with its eye-like spot on
the tail, and C. striatus, with its black bands; two
kinds of Doctor-fish, so called from the curious glassy .
lancets that they carry in a sheath on each side of
the tail, Acanthurus chirurgus, and A. cceruleus ;
and a Parrot-fish (^Scarus c(Bruleus\ remarkable for
its abrupt, almost vertical, profile, white eye, and
brilliant azure hue ; I observe that the two divisions
of the upper jaw, in this fish, are capable, during life,
of separate motion, up and down ; a circumstance, I
think, not before noticed. Here is a MuT(Ena, look-
ing as if it had been varnished ; another lengthened
fish, of curious form, and remarkable style of colour-
ing, rust-red with longitudinal white lines, and nu-

216

BLUEFIELDS.

nierous black dots, a species of Aulostoma*, to which
the negroes give the name of Soap-fish. Here, too,
is what they call a Flounder, hut truly a kind of
Turbot [Rhombus argus), a handsomely marked fish,
being studded all over the upper side with large blue
rings, inclosing pale yellow areas on a dusky brown
ground-colour. There are many other things, young
Sharks, Hedgehog-fishes, Trunk-fishes, et hoc genus
omne ; — but these we must leave, and make the
best of our way back to Bluefields, or we shall not
be in time for “ second breakfast.”

ANGLES.

The faculty possessed by certain small species of
the Iguaniform tribe of Lizards, of efiecting rapid
and strongly marked changes in the colours of their
bodies, is exceedingly interesting. The extent of
these changes is scarcely inferior to that to which the
same singular power is exercised by the Chameleons
of the Old World; and if the latter display pecu-
liarities of structure more curious to the naturalist,
the Anoles have the advantage of a form and motions
as graceful and elegant as the coup d'ceil of the
Chameleons is hideous. I have already alluded to
this metachrosis in the Dactyloa Edwardsii, and it no
less remarkably characterizes the smaller and more
agreeable species of the restricted genus Anolis. Two

* This is, doubtless, the A. coloratum of Muller and Troschel
(Ann. and Mag. of N. H., July, 1848) ; but the character by which
they distinguish it from A. Chinensis, — the want of brown spots on
the head, — is valueless; as I have had specimens in which the spots
were abundant in that part. The fact is, that individuals vary much
in the amount of the maculation.

ANGLES.

217

of these, to which I have given the names of the
Purple-tailed, and the Pearly-bellied Anoles*, are
the commonest Reptiles in Jamaica, at least in St.
Elizabeth’s and Westmoreland, the districts with
which I am familiar. About the walls and rafters of
out-buildings, the sides and summits of fence-walls,
and similar places, they are continually running, re-
minding one, as they dart about in their changeable
beauty, of Moore’s description, —

“ Gay Lizards glittering on the walls
Of ruin’d shrines, busy and bright,

As they were all alive with light.”

They are particularly numerous in the lieusc^ which

I have described these, with some other species of Jamaican
Sauria, in the Annals and Mag. of N. H. for Nov. 1850, under the
names of Anolis iodurus and A. opalinus. Though I feel assured
that these are distinct species, it is diflScult to establish any unvarying
mark of distinction. Colour, in creatures that are so variable, seems
an unsatisfactory foundation for comparison or contrast ; yet, except
the pale band that runs down the side of the latter, I can discover,
even by minute examination under a lens, little of difference. In
opalinus, the general form is more slender, the belly rather flatter, the
head narrower and longer, and the muzzle more pointed. The tuber-
cular plates on the head are less definitely shaped ; the large central
superciliary plates are divided from the coronal ones by not more
than one perfect row of small ones, where in iodurus two or three
rows intervene. The scaling on the goitre is coarser in opalinus ;
that is, the scales are larger and more pointed, and the naked inter-
spaces wider. Most of these diversities are, it is true, minute, and
even microscopic ; yet it is not difficult to distinguish the species
when alive, at sight, even at a considerable distance. The scales of
the inferior surface are iridescent in both, but chiefly in opalinus, the
light from the belly of which, when the angle formed by the incident
ray and the reflected ray is very wide, glows with a ruddy golden
hue, exceedingly beautiful and opaline.

L

218

BLUEFIELDS.

in Jamaica are usually at some distance from the dwell-
ing house. A very handsome fly with lustrous green
thorax and purple abdomen {Syrphus ohesus)^ breeds
in such offices very abundantly ; and it is possible
that the Anoles and Geckos may feed on it, though
I have never seen them taking such prey. Indeed
very rarely have I seen them take food at all. Some
kept in captivity in a box with a gauze front,
would occasionally seize a small butterfly {Terias or
Hesperia) that was now and then put in ; and I once
lost a butterfly by the means of one of these little
Lizards rather singularly. I was pursuing a specimen
of Calisto ZangiSf one day at the summit of the
Bluefields Ridge, and had watched it to its place of
alighting: I was about to throw the net over it,
when, on a slight rustle among the leaves, I observed
that it was fluttering as if unable to get away ; my
impression was that an invisible spider’s web was
holding it, but looking closer I found that a little
green Anolis had the butterfly in its mouth. Its
colour was so exactly that of the verdant leaves of
the bush, that I had not perceived it before, although
my eyes were fixed on the spot. On my approach it
'darted aw^ay and was seen no more. I once saw one
rob a spider’s hole-web ; and I have taken from the
stomachs of individuals, fragments of ants (both the
large rufous kind, and that much dreaded species
called the Corromantee ant), caterpillars, maggots,
flies, ichneumons, and other insects.

At Spanish-town, where, as well as at Kingston,
the Purple-tail attains a size and vividness of colour
much superior to any that I have seen to the leeward,

HABITS OF ANGLES.

219

I observed this species feeding on ants. On a gate-
post a number of scattered ants of a small kind were
running to and fro, as they very frequently are seen
to do. A beautiful male Purple-tail had stationed
himself on the post, perpendicularly, with the head
downward ; and as the ants one by one came near
him, he snapped them up. He did not run after
them, but waited till each one came within reach :
in a minute or two 1 saw him thus take a dozen or
more. Each capture was the work of an instant ; he
touched the post with his muzzle, and the ant was
gone : they were evidently seized with the lips, not
with the tongue. I afterwards observed the A. opa-
linus employed in the very same way.

These little creatures are as playful as they are
pretty. As they creep about, they often catch sight
of another of the same species ; immediately one
raises and depresses suddenly the head and fore parts,
flirts the tail from side to side, and extends the goitre
by means of the elastic arched bone in front, till its
tip reaches nearly as far as the muzzle. The brilliant
goitre is thus extended and relaxed alternately several
times ; an action, I incline to think, intended as a
provocative, or else a manifestation of sexual desire.
After having thus signalised ” for a few seconds,
one darts towards the other, who usually runs away,
apparently as if wishing to be caught.

« latebras fugitiva petebat,

Non tamen effugiens.. tota latere volens ;

Sed magis ex aliqua cupiebat parte videri ;

Laetior hoc multo, quod male tecta foret.”

Maxim. Eleg. i. 66.

220

BLUEFIELDS.

Frequently one having the advantage of a more
elevated position, will jump on the other’s hack, but
the latter manages to scuffle away. Their agility is
very great; they take long and high leaps in the
most graceful manner, always alighting with pre-
cision : as they run on trees and bushes a good deal,
and jump from twig to twig, this accuracy of eye in
measuring the distance, and of muscle in clearing it,
is important. It is quite common to see both the
species in dwelling-houses, and even leaping on the
persons of the inmates; their well known inoffen-
siveness, combined with their sprightly motions, and
gentle aspect, causing them to be viewed without any
of that horror or disgust, which so often accompanies
the sight of a reptile. When taken into the hand,
however, they bite most courageously, though with
impotent violence ; for the teeth are not long enough
even to penetrate the epidermis of the fingers, nor
are the muscles of the jaws sufflciently powerful to
enable them to pinch with any inconvenience. Their
hold, however, is tenacious.

We still find in works of scientific authority much
misunderstanding on the nature and colours of the
goitre. It is continually spoken of as being inflated
at the will of the animal : but this is quite erroneous.
I have occasionally seen the skin of the body puffed
out, and also the skin around the neck, but the goitre
never. It is a portion of the common integument
running down the mesial line of the throat, which is
capable of being stretched to a remarkable degree.
Down the centre pass the rami of the os Jiyoides, lying
side by side close under the skin, and at length be-

THE GOITRE.

221

coming cartilaginous, the extremities reaching to the
abdomen. In excitement the front portion of the os
hyoides is drawn backwards towards the abdomen ;
by which action, the cartilaginous extremities remain-
ing fixed, the slender elastic horns are forced out in
a bowed form, carrying with them the extensile skin
with its two internal surfaces in contact, forming a
thin lamina, -frequently so far projected as to consti-
tute half of a long ellipse with an oblique base. When
the bone is relaxed it resumes its straight direction
by its own elasticity, and the goitre shrinks up again
under the throat so as to be scarcely visible.

The changes of colour for which these little rep-
tiles are remarkable, are often stated to take place
with special intensity on the goitre, which is said to
present an endless succession of ever varying hues.
This also is entirely a mistake. The extensible skin,
which forms the goitre, is always of one permanent
hue, generally some rich tint of red or yellow. In
A, iodurus and opalinus, the two species before us,
the colour is a brilliant orange or red-lead, becoming
pale towards the margin, so as not at all to be per-
ceived when the skin is relaxed, the edge itself
being whitish, like the rest of the breast and belly.
This alternate appearance and disappearance of the
bright colour has no doubt been mistaken by careless
observers for changes of hue. The scales which
cover the goitre are whitish like those on the neigh-
bouring parts ; they lie close together in the relaxed
state of the skin, but when the latter is stretched,
the little white pointed scales are widely separated.

222

BLUEFIELDS.

forming longitudinal rows, with broad interspaces of
the rich ground colour, greatly increasing the effect.

What the object or peculiar function of this pro-
trusile goitre is, remains still obscure. It has been
suggested that as the Anoles prey upon butterflies
and other insects, the brilliant disk-like surface may
present an attraction to vagrant insects by its resem-
blance either to a richly coloured flower or an equally
gay butterfly. It may be so ; though in the hun-
dreds that I have observed, I never saw an insect
approach it ; nor do I think, if such were the object,
the animal would keep projecting and withdrawing
it, as it does, with considerable motion of the body,
but w'ould rather let it lie extended as motionless as
possible, which it does not do. I certainly think it
is connected with the intercourse of the sexes; and am
pretty sure that the exposure of the goitre is meant
as an expression of anger and defiance to one of the
same sex. As far as I have observed, the female
Anolis is almost, if not quite, destitute of the goitre.
I have had a Purple-tail, which when held in my
hand protruded its goitre, while the energy with
which it would now and then fiercely seize upon my
fingers, and endeavour to gnaw them, manifested its
anger and impatience at being confined.

After having been actively engaged in running and
leaping, whether in play or alarm, we occasionally
see them remain still, loll out the tongue, and pant
with open mouth very much in the manner of a dog.

Our little Anoles are not aquatic, nor have they,
as has been stated, any predilection for marshy situ-
ations. I have never seen them take the water

ANGLES IN WATER.

223

spontaneously, but in order to try tlieir natatory
powers, I caught a male Purple-tail, and placed it in
the midst of a deep pool of clear water. It floated
like a cork, as might have been expected from the
volume of the lung, and from its capability of infla-
tion. It was not more than half immersed, and as
the whole skin repelled water, the fluid stood around
it, in the form of a little heap or bank. The animal
struck out vigorously for a few seconds, moving the
feet alternately, the right fore with the left hind
foot, and vice versa, as in running ; and this motion
threw the body into lateral serpentine undulations.
It made way thus, but soon relaxed, and then inter-
mitted its exertions, and floated motionless. On my
taking it up, I found it much exhausted ; and
though, on being again put in, it struck out anew,
yet it was each time more languidly, until I Anally
rescued, it, and restored it to dry land, where, though
it lay helpless and almost motionless awhile, it soon
recovered its agility in the warm sunshine. From
this experiment I judge that this species could not
swim the distance of a yard before it would become
exhausted, and drown.

The Anoles, and I believe all the quadruped
Saurians, progress only by the alternate use of the
right and left feet ; never galloping, how swiftly
soever they may move. In rapid running, they
commonly elevate the tail above the general line of
the body. Perhaps this is what Lacepede means
when he says of Anolis hullaris, that it carries the
tail habitually raised above the back.

The green hue of the Purple-tail when enjoying

224

BLUEFIELDS.

itself in the intense beams of the vertical sun is a
beautiful tint ; and the surface being covered with
minute tuberculous scales, which reflect the light, have
a frosted appearance, which is exceedingly rich. It
is fond of leaping about the serrate leaves of the
Pinguin, and of lying in their hollows ; and in March
and April, when the interior leaves of this formidable
plant are spreading out, all glossily scarlet as they
are, the bright green form of the little Anolis,
couchant or passant, is displayed to much advantage.

The female of this species differs so much from
the male in size and colours, that if I had not had
indubitable evidence of her identity, I should have
supposed her quite distinct. She is much less com-
monly seen than the other sex.

Before I bid adieu to these little engaging rep-
tiles, I will transcribe a note of Mr. Hill’s on the
interesting subject of their changeability of colour.
‘‘ It is now pretty satisfactorily determined, that the
direct or more immediate cause of this peculiarity is
physiological, and dependent on the action of the
lungs upon the circulatory system. Their lungs are
large, dilatable, and prolonged; and the phenome-
non itself is always most remarkable among Lizards,
whose general cutaneous covering does not adhere
closely or uniformly to the muscular layer beneath.
A large portion of air enters below the skin ; and as
it is variously distributed, according to the state of
the reptile, in respect to tranquillity or disquietude,
it gives the many-coloured hues we see so instanta-
neously occurring in them. Cuvier says, that ‘ in
effect, their lungs, rendering them more or less trails-

METACHROSIS.

225

parent, urge the blood to rush more upon the skin,
and, according as the fluid fills itself or empties itself
of air, its colour becomes more or less lively.’ By
the investigations of Mr. Houston (Trans, of Roy.
Irish Acad. xv. 177.) the proximate cause of change-
ability is connected with the circulatory system. The
skin of the changeable Saurians is not only very
thin, but highly vascular; and he thinks that the
colour of the blood appearing through the semi-
transparent covering, and being variously modified by
its more permanent hues, is of itself sufficient to
account for every diversity of tint which the Chame-
leon can assume. He maintains the opinion that
these effects are produced by vascular turgescence,

‘ just as the increased redness in blushing is caused
by a rush of blood to the cheeks.’ I would seek in
addition an illustration from the changeable hues in
the caruncles of the Turkey. There, too, aeration
produces a diversity of influences on the circulatory
system. The red hlood distributed through these
parts increases and diminishes its intensity of tint
by the different aerations at the caprice of the bird,
and, being sometimes wholly deprived of its red
particles, flows colourless, as the fluids circulate in
the white of the eye.”

I have seen the Pearly-bellied Anolis only in
Westmoreland. In those parts of the coast of St.
Elizabeth which He to the eastward of Black River,
and in the district around Spanish-town and Kings-
ton, it appears to be replaced by the Zebra Anolis,
{A, maculatus), a very handsome species, of rather
larger size, with fine contrasts of pale yellow and deep

226

KINGSTON.

brown disposed in irregular transverse bands, and a
very large goitre of pale orange. This is the most
common Lizard around Kingston, but is unknown
at the leeward end of the island. The Purple-tail,
on the other hand, attains a superior development
both of form and colour in the Kingston district.
The vegetation in these parts and in the eastern
parts of St. Elizabeth {ex. gr. Starvegut Bay and
Pedro Bluif ) have a common character : species of
Inga, Acacia, and Prosopis abound, intermingled
with the beautiful Lignum vitm {Guaiacum offici--
nale), and enormous Cacti, {C. repandus, and C.
Peruvianus) known as Dildoes. This is a botanical
character widely different from that presented around
Bluefields.

The other Anoles that I have met with in Jamaica
are rare. The one, a new species of Draconura (the
Chain-marked Anolis), I know only by a single speci-
men. The other, of which three individuals have
come under my observation, is the Plate-headed
Anolis, which exhibits characters that I have thought
to demand the constitution of a new genus for its
reception.'^ It is a handsome Lizard, of a delicate
greenish-white, crossed by irregular bands of black,
particularly conspicuous on the tail ; the goitre is
large, and of a dark lake-crimson. The male is bold
and fierce in self-defence, biting with such energy as
to pierce the skin of the hand : the female, which is
less distinctly marked, is timid, making no effort to
bite when held in the hand ; is more slender, and has

* These are described in the Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist, for
November, 1850, as Draconura catenata and Placopsis ocellata.

MALE PAPAW.

227

the crimson goitre very slightly developed. The first
specimen obtained, a female, was crawling on the
stem of a herbaceous plant, by the road-side at Cave,
and was easily captured, displaying little agility.
After 1 had possessed it a little while, it gradually
changed the ground colour to a dusky umber, the
marks still being visible. Of the markings, which
vary much in different individuals, a conspicuous black
spot behind the ear seems to be constant. This
female was accidentally killed a day or two after
I had captured it, and I took the opportunity to
dissect it. I found on the left side one large egg
nearly ready for exclusion. Its form was oblong, the
diameters about by inch ; its hue a cream-
white ; its integument parchment-like. Two or
three other ova were present, but minute. The
animal had begun to slough its cuticle before it died.
I think it likely that any unwonted excitement, such
as fear or inordinate anger, may bring on the period-
ical sloughing in reptiles : in nearly every case the
capture of a Lizard has been presently followed by
the commencement of this process.

FRUIT ON A MALE PAPAW.

Aug, Qth, — On the summit of Bluefields Ridge 1
took from a male Papaw-tree {C aric a papaya) \n the
woods, two perfect fruits, an instance of accidental
hermaphrodism in a plant ordinarily dioecious. The
fruits were more elongated than usual. I determined
the sex of the tree, not only by its form and general
appearance, which cannot be mistaken, but also by

228

BLUEFIELDS.

an examination of the flowers, which were stami-
niferous only.

BEAUTIFUL COCOON.

Aug. Wth, — A friend sent me an insect production
of great beauty. It consists of an immense number
of cocoons of a small hymenopterous fly, set close to
each other in exact order, the whole arranged around
an axis, which in this case was the stalk of a Coco-
leaf {Colocasia). The material is a downy silk of the
purest white, and the congeries appears like an egg-
shaped mass of the flnest cotton-wool,

I afterwards obtained another specimen, precisely
similar, from the twig of a Cotton-tree, at the
Vineyard, near Black River.

THE BLACK SNAKE.

The most common Ophidian reptile in Jamaica
is the Black Snake.* It is frequently met with in

* This has sometimes been confounded with the Black Snake
{Coluber constrictor, Linn.) of the United States, but it is manifestly
a very distinct species. It may be thus described : —

Natrix atra, mihi. Scales hexagonal, or sub-rhomboidal on the
bQdy, becoming broader on the tail, imbricate, smooth, convex. Tail
one-third of the total length. The gape reaches to the middle of the
occipital plates, but the rictal furrow extends beyond their lips. Gape
nearly straight, slightly arching downwards, and rising behind. A
row of fine teeth in each jaw, and one in each palatal, pointing back-
wards. Labial plates eight, of which the third, fourth, and fifth form
the lower part of the orbit : they increase in size from the front to
the sixth, and then diminish. Vertical plate long-pentagonal, straight
in front, nearly rectangular behind. Superior orbitals large, projecting.
Occipitals large, sub-pentagonal, their interior-front sides very short,
posterior ends rounded. Rostral nearly erect, semilunar, with the

THE BLACK SNAKE.

229

all localities that I am familiar with, lying coiled
up among the dead leaves that the wind has accumu»
lated in the hollows of tree roots, or gliding swiftly
through the herbaceous weeds at the borders of
woods. It may often be seen hanging half out of
the loose walls so much used as fences, and thus
lying in the sunshine, watching motionless for the
lizards that likewise frequent such places. I could
never see a snake thus circumstanced, familiar as
the sight was, without being reminded of the simile
of the Prophet Amos, — ‘‘ As if a man . . . leaned
his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.” (Amos
V. 19.) It climbs with facility, mounting perpen-
dicularly the smooth trunk of a tree, and gliding
along the branches, on which it loves to lie in the
sun. If alarmed it will sometimes move along
the branch, but generally drops to the ground,
lowering its foreparts gradually, but very quickly,

concavity downward. There are 17 rows of scales, arranged in ob=
lique lines. Abdominal shields 180; caudal 137 pairs. The form
is slender, very gradually tapering ; without any ridge on the back.
Colour mentioned in the text.

The scales are sub-rhomboidal, with rounded tips; they are at-
tached to the skin by the whole under surface, so that they cannot be
separated without laceration ; they are thin and flexible. Each scale
is marked at its posterior extremity with a row of minute depressed
points, ordinarily two in number, but on the thick part of the tail,
where the scales are broader, four is the common number, though
some scales have five, and, more rarely, even six ; towards the end of
the tail, the number diminishes to two again. No trace of these is
found on the shields of either the belly or tail ; and on the lateral
ranges of scales they become evanescent. The last scale of the tail
is a minute cup or thimble.

The plates of the head in this species are figured in my “ Reptiles,”
page 191.

230

BLUEFIELDS.

and letting go with the tail last of all. The mode
in which Colubrine Snakes (and perhaps others)
mount trees is, I think, misunderstood. We see
them represented in engravings, as encircling the
trunk or branches in spiral coils, hut this, though
it may do very well for stuffed specimens in a mu-
seum, is not the way in which a living Snake mounts
a tree. It simply glides up with the whole body
extended in a straight line, doubtless clinging by
means of the tips of the expanded ribs, as we can
see that the body is perceptibly dilated and flattened.
In fact a Snake finds no more difficulty in passing
swiftly up the vertical trunk of a tree, than in
gliding over the ground. I have been astonished
to remark how slight a contact is sufficient for it to
maintain its hold. The Black Snake will allow the
greatest part of its body to hang down in the air,
and thus remain still, while little more than the tail
maintains its position by clinging (straight, not spi-
rally, and not half round it, but longitudinally along
it) to the upper surface of a branch : and it will
often pass freely and gracefully from one branch
to another at a considerable interval, projecting its
head and body with the utmost ease across the in-
terval. The motions of a Snake in a tree are beauti-
fully easy and free, and convey the impression that
the reptile feels quite at home among the branches.

This is a bold and fierce Snake, often turning
when struck and approaching its assailant, with the
head erected in a most menacing attitude ; the mouth
opened to its widest extent. I have seen one, thus
endeavouring to attack, when foiled by being struck,

THE BLACK SNAKE.

231

and thrown off by a stick, at length become quite
enraged, the neck being dilated to nearly an inch in
width, and perfectly flattened, so that the white
skin could be seen between the scales.

“ Tollentemque minas et sibila colla tumentem.”

ViRG. Georg, iii. 421.

It is this dilatation of the neck, but in a much higher
degree, which gives so remarkable an appearance to
the deadly Najas or Cobras of Africa and India. A
Black Snake which I had tied by the neck with a
string while I made a sketch of it, struck flercely
at me with gaping jaws as far as its cord would allow,
every time I looked up or down. The creoles say
that if a dog attacks it, it always strikes at his eyes,
and not infrequently produces blindness.

Though not venomous, the bite of this Coluber
is rather an unpleasant affair. In Mr. Purdie’s
botanical tour in the eastern and central parts of the
island, he has recorded a case of some interest.
“ When walking with Dr. Bromfield,” says this
gentleman, ‘‘in St. Ann’s, I pointed out a flne
Black Snake lying under a stone wall, which he in-
sisted on capturing alive with his unprotected hand,
in the belief that the reptile was innocuous, like
the common ringed serpent of England. But it
proved otherwise ; the seizure was strictl;y mutual ;
the Black Snake fastened on his hand as he laid hold
of it, and bit him severely. The wound swelled for
some days, though with little pain, and no dangerous
consequences ensued.”^

Comp, to Bot. Mag. ii. 40.

232

MOUNT EDGECUMBE.

The Black Snake is subject to considerable vari-
ation in colour. The most common variety (a) is
black, highly polished ; with the ventral plates bluish
grey, and iridescent. Var. /3 is black with a dead
lustre, like the bloom on a plum ; and has a row of
large square palish spots on each side of the back,
but not on the tail. It appears as if obscurely
banded. The chin is white, mottled with brick-red.
Var. y is polished black, like a, but has a single
scale here and there pale yellow. Var. d has the
upper parts dark brownish grey; the abdominal
shields lead grey ; the chin and sides of the face
whitish, mottled with brick-red and dark grey. This
was a remarkable deviation from the normal colouring.
It was killed in January, at Mount Edgecumbe grass-
piece, by the seaside. I took from its stomach a
common Anolis, and a young Woodslave {Mahouya)
both considerably digested. Lizards constitute the
principal food of our Snakes. The greatest length
attained by any Black Snake that I have measured
was thirty-nine inches, of which the tail occupied
exactly one-third. The irides are dark hazel, or
golden brown during life, and the pupil is circular.

NEGRO PROPER NAMES.

I learned a very curious fact from an old coloured
lady, which may probably be as interesting to others
as it was to me. The names which in anecdotes and
tales we often see applied to negroes, as Quashy,
Cudjo, &c. are not promiscuously appropriated, nor
are they meaningless. They indicate the day of the

NEGRO NAMES.

233

week on which the individual was horn, and being, as
they doubtless are, heathen and African in their
origin, they afford an interesting illustration of a
weekly division of time among Pagan nations.

An infant born on a Sunday would be named if a
male, Quashe, if a female, Quasheba, and so on, each
sex receiving a name proper and peculiar to each day
of the week according to the following table.

Male. Female.

Sunday - - Quashe (Cooa-she) - - Quasheba (Cooa-she-ba)

Monday - - Cudjo (Coo-jo) - - Joba ([Coo]-jo-ba)

Tuesday - - Cubena (Coo-bena) - B^naba ([Coo]-bena-ba)
Wednesday - Quacco (Cooa-co) - - Cooba ([Cooa]-co-ba)

Thursday - Quao (Cooa-o) - - A'bba ([Coo]-a-ba)

Friday - - Cuffee (Coo-fee) - - Feeba ([Coo]-fee-ba)

Saturday- - Quamin ( Cooa-min) - Mim'ba ([Coo]-niin-ba).

It thus appears that the affix ba ” is a mark of
the feminine gender, while the prefix Coo ” or
“ Qua ” (Cooa) is, less exclusively, a masculine
distinction. These grammatical niceties indicate a
language of considerable regularity.

In the Mandingo language, so extensively spoken
among the negroes of West Africa, we are informed
by Mr. Macbrair that no distinction of gender, in
so far as regards the termination of words, is known.
Only one distinguishing word is used, viz. muso, a
woman, or female ; thus from dingo^ a child, comes
dinke (ding-keo), a male child or a son, and ding-muso^,
a female child or a daughter.” So jatto^ a lion, makes
jattemusOi a lioness. (Macbrair’s Grammar of the
Mandingo Language.)

234

CONTENT.

EREBUS ODORA.

Tiiat fine insect, Erebus odor a, one of the largest
of Moths, frequently attaining an expanse of wing of
seven inches, is not uncommon in certain localities.
It occasionally flies into the house at night, and I
have sometimes found it resting with horizontally
expanded wings against a wall under a piazza, or in
the angle formed by a rafter, during the day. But it
is in the deep and sombre woods that we chiefly see
this flne Moth. I know several gloomy glens, where
the tall trees nearly shut out the rays of the sun, in
which I could be pretty sure to rouse one or more, on
any day in July or August. A large log or fallen
trunk lying on the ground in the woods, will often
harbour one on its under side ; in the angle formed
by the buttress-like roots of a Cotton-tree, we may
see one resting ; or even against the dark trunk of
some rough-barked tree, without any shelter or con-
cealment, except the resemblance of its own colours,
variegations of brown and grey, to the lichened and
weather-stained surface on which it rests motionless.
It is easily alarmed ; and then usually dances to and
fro, on rapid wing, without leaving the sight ; and
suddenly alights on a similar spot to that from which
it rose ; often the very same corner. These habits of
frequenting the dark woods, of suddenly alighting on
a tree without hovering, and of resting on a dark
surface with horizontal wings, so as to be with
difficulty found even though watched to the resting-
place, are almost exactly those of the Catocalce^ near

A naturalist’s work-room.

235

which I presume these Erehi[ stand, connecting the
NoctucB with the Geometrce.

Sometimes one of these large Moths is known to re-
side in a certain hole in a rock, or a hollow tree, to
which it resorts, with such uniformity, during its hours
of repose, that it may almost with certainty be dis-
lodged on any afternoon, by giving a smart rap on
the outside, when out it rushes with such a startling
suddenness, and with so irregular and zigzag a mo-
tion, as often to defy capture, even though we are
on the watch for it.

A naturalist’s work-room.

Let me describe a working naturalist’s laboratory.
Suppose the time to be 2 p.m., after a morning’s
excursion to the mountain. In the room are three
large tables, one of them against the window, at
which a negro youth is sitting. Before him lie half
a dozen hirdsy one of which he is skinning ; beside
him lie scissors, knives, nippers, forceps, a pepper-
box of pounded chalk, a jar of arsenical soap,
needles and thread, cotton-wool, and other apparatus,
with several cones of paper ready to drop each skin
into, when finished. Across the room are strung
lines in various directions, from which are suspended
some hundreds of similar paper cones, each tenanted
by a bird-skin ; they are thus placed in order that they
may dry out of the reach of rats, which nevertheless
sometimes manage ingeniously to scramble along the
slender lines and gnaw the feet and wing- tips of the
specimens. On another table is a large bowl half

236

BLUEFIELDS.

full of water, in which are thrown the land shells
collected in the morning. The animals in the dry
season withdraw themselves into the recesses of their
shells, covered either with their operculum, or, — if
this be wanting, as is the case with the numerous
tribe of Snails, — with an epiphragma of hardened
mucus that answers the same purpose. They are
thus difficult to extract ; but a few hours^ immersion
in cold water stimulates them to action, and they
crawl about freely. A boy sits at this table with
another vessel containing boiling water; into this
have been put the shells collected on the previous
day, after having been all night in the cold water.
The hot water kills them immediately, and the lad
takes out each in succession, extracts the animal with
a needle of suitable size, and separates the operculum
if there be one. He then takes a soft tooth-brush,
and well cleanses the shell from earth, mucus, and all
other defilements, rinses it in a basin of clear water,
and lays it on a cloth to drain, with its operculum in
it. When thoroughly dry, each shell is wrapped in
soft paper separately, (the operculum having been
confined in its cavity by a bit of cotton wool,) and
carefully packed with others in boxes.

In one corner of the floor a third youth is engaged
in laying out the botanical specimens brought in, or
in shifting the papers of those already drying. Aboard
three feet square, made double to prevent warping, lies
on the floor ; and sheets of coarse brown paper of the
largest size are spread open, on it, one over the other,
each with a plant (or more than one if small) between
it and the next. The whole series is then covered with

A natuealist’s wokk-eoom.

237

a board similar to the bottom one, and loaded with
large stones for weights. Every day these are
shifted ; the upper board becoming in turn the foun-
dation, fresh paper being supplied, on which the
plants are laid one by one, as before, and the damp
paper taken away. When the shifting is performed,
this paper is spread out in the sun to dry, and laid in
a heap to be used in turn to-morrow. The new
plants are taken from the large portfolio in which
they were placed when gathered, and added to those
in the press ; while such specimens as are sufficiently
dried are successively removed to the store-box.

Perchance the curious visitor might see the
naturalist himself busy with his insect-spoils ; im-
mersing the beetles in boiling water, subjecting the
Lepidoftera to the vapour of prussic acid, pinning
them in the setting-boxes, and fastening down the
wings of the butterflies with little braces of card-paper.
Or he might be recording the facts observed in the
morning’s tour, before their freshness had faded from
the memory ; or taking sketches of forms and colours
that death would destroy ; or occasionally glancing a
master’s eye over the operations of the subordinates.

But other than human tenants occupy this room.
The visitor would see hanging against the wall a
long low cage containing a dozen or so of the native
Columhadce^ among which the noble Baldpate and
gentle Peadove are conspicuous. Another large
cage is inhabited by some of the more gaily coloured
fruit-eating birds, as the Cashew-bird, the Blue Quit,
&c., and in a gauze-fronted box on one of the tables
are half a score Lizards of different species, crawling

238

BLUEFIELDS.

along the sides or roof, as it happens. Three or four
of the gorgeous Long-tailed Humming-birds are
flitting here and there snapping up the invisible
insects that dance like motes in the sunbeam, or
flinging hack the light v^ith the lustre of an emerald
from their lovely bosoms as they sit contentedly upon
the lines, or hover in front of the cup of syrup placed
for them on the table’s edge. Sometimes several of
the minuter Vervain Humming-birds are buzzing
like bees in the corners of the ceiling, hanging on
wings that are visible only like an undefined cloud
on each side. Beautiful Orchideous plants growing
on clumps of wood are hanging from pegs in -the
wall, some throwing out their fantastic spikes of
blossoms, others in a state of rest, displaying nothing
but a maze of intertwined roots and the shrivelled
pseudo-bulbs. Large sacks containing OrchidecB
newly brought in lie on the floor, and many speci-
mens of the same curious tribe of plants are heaped
up under the tables, with CactoidecE, awaiting the
time when they may be shipped for England. On
the trunks of the trees around the dwelling house,
and more especially on the top of a broad buttress of
one of the outbuildings, are placed specimens of
some twenty or thirty species of epiphyte Orchidece,
fastened in various ways, partly that I may enjoy the
beauty of a race which has always been a favourite
of mine, and partly for a more practical purpose, that
of identifying them. In exploring the woods, at all
seasons, of course one often sees clumps of Orchidece
attached to trees, but not in flower ; at these times
so great is the resemblance of the bulbs of one kind

THE BRUSH-FOOTED SPIDER.

239

to those of another, that a close personal acquaint-
ance would be hardly sufficient to determine the
species ; in such cases ray custom has been to bring
home a specimen in a growing state, and suspend it
either within doors or without until the appearance
of its blossom should enable me to identify it. The
watching of the daily development of the plants, and
the pleasant suspense and expectation of what the
flower may turn out to be, are enjoyments that will
readily be appreciated by every one who has ever
cultivated a flower-garden.

THE BRUSH-FOOTED SPIDER.

A little way beyond Sabito Bottom, on the road
to Savanna le Mar, the ground slopes upward from
the sea-level to an elevation of about forty feet, and
is covered with a dense growth of timber trees. A
group of Ebby Palms {Acrocomia sclerocarpa), for-
midable from the long pointed spines with which
their trunks and the mid ribs of their spreading fronds
are armed, — grew along the sides of the highway,
and mark the approximation to a spot known as the
resting and roosting place of Boobies, Pelicans, and
Frigate birds. The deadly Manchioneel {Hippomane
mancinilla) grows abundantly in this belt of woods,
mingled with Button-wood {Conocarpus erectus)^
Mahogany, Sweetwood {Laurus leucoxylon), the sin-
gular Prickly-yellow, or Club of Hercules {Xan~
thoxylon clava-Uerculis), horrid with bristling spines,
and many other trees. The wood bears the common
character of inpenetrability, being choked up with

240

SABITO.

lianes, spinous Sarsaparillas, tough Supplejacks, and
whip-like Cacti, in great numbers. In addition to
these obstructions this wood is particularly infested
with the great long-bodied Spider with brush-tufted
feet {Nephila clavipes), that I have already mentioned
as common at Alligator Pond. If we succeed in
pushing our way with much difficulty through the
briers, our faces are pretty sure to come into contact
with the strong threads of these Spiders, and we see
them spread over the bushes and between the trees
along the road side. The appearance of this beauti-
ful Spider I have already described : I will merely
add that its web is perpendicular ; the part on which
the Spider sits, head downward, is geometric, but
this is surrounded on all sides by a vast array of
irregular lines, the frame of which consists of com-
pound threads, stretching from the surrounding trees
and shrubs. Some of these threads are twelve feet
long, of a yellow colour, and nearly as thick as
sewing silk ; I have found them able to resist a great
pressure without breaking. But I think it utterly
improbable that the rapid and powerful flight of even
our most minute Humming-bird could be for a
moment arrested by the web of this or any other
Spider.

One of my servants informed me in September
that he had been bitten by one of these large and
handsome Spiders. Coming through the woods at
early dawn, his face came into collision with one of
the strong webs. He stopped to brush it ofi*, and
immediately felt some large insect run down his
body, which presently bit him on his great toe. The

THE NUKSE SHARK.

241

pain was less severe than that following the sting of
a wasp, or even than the puncture of a Tahanus ;
but he described it as having three distinct paroxysms
(if I may use such a term for so small a matter). The
pain was not of long duration.

THE NURSE SHARK.

About the end of September my lad Sam informed
me that the time was now arriving for striking

Nurse,” which he so described as to make me in-
terested in the observation of one. A day or two
afterwards he told me that he had just seen one
brought in at Crab-pond, about two miles from
Bluefields, and that he had left it alive, rolling and
writhing in agony on the beach ; the captors having
cruelly cut out the liver, which was all they cared
for, without taking the trouble to kill the wretched
animal. I immediately rode olf to the place, and
found the creature just dead; it was a species of
Scyllium, seven feet six inches long ; and its flesh}'^
cirri, about two inches long, depending from the
extremity of the muzzle, indicated it to be the
Sc. cirratum of Cuvier.

Having made a sketch of it as it lay, I returned,
determining to secure it on the morrow. Early in
the morning, I proceeded thither with my two ser-
vants, furnished with knives, a hammer, a bill, and
other implements for dissecting and skinning it.
The operation was laborious and unpleasant, as de-
composition had already made the odour offensive,
though twelve hours had scarcely elapsed since death ;

M

242

CEAB-POND.

and the flies were innumerable, a handsome Musca,
of a metallic green hue, with brassy reflections. No
shelter was near from the scorching sun, which was un-
mitigated by a cloud, and reflected up from the coral
sand of dazzling whiteness. We removed the skin,
however, and transferred it to Bluefields across the back
of a horse, by the afternoon ; hut the sun was dipping
in the western sea by the time the cutaneous muscles
were removed. I strewed the interior with pounded
alum, and then with wood-ashes, and the next day
stuffed it, and suspended it from a tree to dry.

This fish is sought only for the liver, which is not
a very important item, as that of such a fish as I
have described will not yield more than a gallon of
oil : it is of a fishy smell, and is used only for burn-
ing. The animal, however, sometimes occurs of much
larger size, attaining the length of twelve feet or
more. It is seen, though rarely, at all times of the
year, in deep water ; but in the month of October,
it is said to resort to the shallows ; that is to say,
the outer side of a shelving bar, which girds the coast
in some situations, a1^ a short distance from the shore.
The fishermen say the Nurse comes to sleep on the
sandy bottom, and that when one has once been seen
in a particular locality, they calculate with certainty
on finding it there again. The fish is seen lying
motionless, or as they say, asleep, on the bottom, for
many hours at a time.

It is when lying thus, heedless of what is going on
above them, that these Sharks are struck with the
harpoon, dragged to the surface, and then, the
bight of a rope having been passed around the body,

THE NUESE’S eggs.

243

behind the pectorals, towed to the beach. Since,
however, the one above described, and another lying
on the shore, not far off, were both females, full of
egg-cases far advanced to maturity, I think it not
improbable that the periodical resort to the warm
sunny shallow's is for the purpose of depositing the
ripe capsules ; and that the animal may be intent on
this process, when supposed to be sleeping. Many
animals, when once actually engaged in the operation
of ovipositing, become insensible, or at least in-
different, to all that takes place around them, and
will allow themselves to be taken or killed without
making an attempt to escape.

The egg-capsules were about five inches in length,
somew'hat pear-shaped, but flattened, destitute of
tendrils, of a clear brown hue, and horny texture, but
not of great strength : in some of them the young
Shark w^as fully formed, and about three inches long.
Many of the capsules were lying on the sand, around
the second specimen, which was more advanced in
decomposition than mine ; and some were floating on
the surface of the shallow sea, among the arching
roots of the Mangrove trees which were staining the
water of the colour of brandy.

The Nurse is of a dull brown hue on the upper
parts, without spots ; the inferior parts are whitish.
The singularly small white eye, with the horizontally
linear pupil, imparts a remarkable, and certainly not
a pleasing expression to the countenance ; but as the
eyebrow is not projecting, there is nothing of the
sinister and malignant aspect common to the true
Sharks. The skin is covered with minute round

M 2

244

BLUEFIELDS.

stony scales, of extreme hardness, and somewhat
pellucid, individually. The hide is said to be hence
used for polishing cabinet work, but it seems to me
hardly rough enough for such a purpose ; I have
been informed, also, that it makes a durable leather,
but I am not aware how it is rendered pliable. The
teeth, which are small, have a single high central
point, and three small points on each side.

THE HEDGEHOG-FISH.

Specimens of the Hedgehog-fish, or Sea Porcu-
pine {Diodon)i are frequently carried home by mari-
ners, and it is not uncommon to meet with one hung
up as a curiosity in houses in England ; where it is
sure to attract attention from its globose figure,
bristling on every side with stiff sharp spines. In
September I obtained one alive, the Diodon atinga,
I observed that the spines, which vary in length
from one-fourth of an inch to an inch, the longest
being behind the pectorals, are transparent in their
own substance, but are inclosed in a sheath of the
common integument of the body ; this sheath of skin
is either normally perHous at the tip, or made so by
the points of the spines, which for the most part
protrude a little. This specimen was caught in a
fish-pot, sunk to the bottom of the sea. It lived
some hours after it had been taken out of the water ;
but did not inflate its oblong body. Its form was
somewhat that of a low cone, the apex being in the
middle of the back ; the line of the belly nearly
straight ; the forehead high, and the profile as ver-

THE MANGEOVE.

245

tical as that of a Surmullet, with protuberant lips.
The air-bladder of this fish is very beautiful ; it is
shaped somewhat like a heart with the point split
instead of the summit ; it is of the consistence of
kid leather, and of the purest white, with a brilliant
satin lustre, but in drying it becomes stiff, semi-
transparent, and bladder-like. A playful imagina-
tion might trace in it when fresh, a resemblance to a
sporting gentleman’s wash-leather breeches, tied at
the waistband.

THE MANGROVE.

Eminently characteristic of a tropical shore is the
dense belt of Mangrove bushes with which it is in
many places lined. To an European it is a strange
sight to see a grove of trees growing actually out of
the sea, and his admiration is not diminished when
he examines more closely the structure of these
singular plants. The extensive morass at Crab-pond
Point, a flat of fetid mud over which the tide flows
daily, is closely covered with Mangroves. The trunk
of every tree springs from the union of a number of
slender arches, each forming the quadrant of a circle,
whose extremities penetrate into the mud. These
are the roots of the tree, which always shoot out in
this arched form, often taking a regular curve of six
feet in length before they dip into the mud. The
larger ones send out side shoots which take the same
curved form at right angles ; and thus by the cross-
ing of the roots of neighbouring trees, and of the
subordinate roots of each, a complex array of arches

246

CRAB-POND.

is produced, on which one may securely walk for
hundreds of yards, probably in some places for miles,
about eighteen inches above the mud or above the
surface of the water when the tide is in. The
average thickness of these natural bows is about an
inch, and if stretched straight, they would hardly
support the weight of a man ; but their vaulted form
greatly increases their strength, and though they
frequently swerve a little under the foot, I never
knew one to break.

On the branches overhead, depending from the
tips of the twigs, we see the no less curious seeds.
Each is a long club-shaped body with a bulbous base
and a slender point more or less drawn out. They
germinate and grow while attached to the parental
twig ; those which hang near the water gradually
lengthen until the tip reaches the mud, which it
penetrates, and thus it roots itself ; those which depend
from the higher branches, after growing for a while,
drop, and then sticking in the mud throw out root-
lets from one end and leaves from the other. In the
process of growth, the roots gradually assume the
arched form, and raise the common centre or base of
the trunk considerably above the soil.

The foliage of the Mangrove is dense and leathery,
and the aspect of the swamps in which it grows
sombre and dismal in the extreme. The sea-water
which flows among the roots, though clear, is fre-
quently of a dark brown colour, like strong beer ;
putrid exhalations continually arise from the daily
exposed mud, which, being prevented from dispersion
by the density of the foliage, load the air in these

M ANGKOVE-L AGOONS.

247

situations with poisonous miasmata that frequently
form the prolific source of disease and death.

There seems to he a continual encroachment of
the land upon the sea in certain parts of the coast by
the agency of this tree. The Mangrove growing
irregularly projects its sombre shrubberies into the
sea in capes and points, inclosing little bays ; which
by the gradual growth of the encircling points, by
and by become lagoons, or shallow salt-lakes. On
the sheltered expanse of these beautiful but trea-
cherous lakes, the seeds of the surrounding groves
begin to root, and presently we see rising here
and there rounded clumps of Mangroves, like little
wooded islets spotting its broad bosom. These con-
tinually increase in extent, approach each other, and
in the course of years unite into a continuous grove.

The unbroken silence and sheltered retirement of
these lagoons oflfer temptations to wading birds, of
which they are not slow to avail themselves. The
shallowness of the water, which often does not exceed
eight or ten inches in depth over a surface of many
acres, the abundance of marine animals that inhabit
the mud, and the facilities for roosting and incubation
tion presented by the arching roots and spreading
branches everywhere around, enable these semi-
aquatic fowl to pass their lives here in security and
content. The timid Water-rail, which from its
size, its form and colour, and its habits, so much
resembling those of a pullet, has received the appella-
tion of the Mangrove Hen {Rallus longirostris) , may
frequently be seen slowly running over the vaulted
roots, or hurrying through the shallow water from

M 4

248

CRAB-POND.

the shelter of one clump to another, or wading about,
picking up the small crabs on which it habitually
feeds. Many of the little Gambets and Sand-pipers
{TringcR and Totani) also run about here, and oc-
casionally that very curious bird the Rosy Stilt
{Himantopus nigricollis), whose enormous length of
leg so eminently fits it for such situations. The
Scarlet Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill are said some-
times to exhibit their brilliant plumage in these dark
recesses, though I never met with either : and many
of the ArdeadcBi from the little Yellow Bittern, and
the elegant Egrets, both blue and white, to the
Great White Heron with its sweeping plumes of
snowy whiteness, and the still larger Herodias,
rivalling the stature of man, are commonly to be
found here. One of these, the Crab-catcher,
Night-raven, or Qua-bird {Nycticorax Amerieanus),
is peculiarly characteristic of these sombre solitudes ;
for though its jealous wariness precludes it from being
often seen, its hoarse voice, loud, sudden and start-
ling, not infrequently surprises the benighted travel-
ler as he passes near their obscure depths.

THE VIOLET FLAT-CRAB.

There is another inhabitant of these localities,
which I would describe a little more in detail. It is
the Violet Flat-crab {Goniopsis ruricola, De Geer),
perhaps the most beautiful of all our Crustacea, its
colours being bright without being gaudy, and its
markings striking and elegant. It is abundant in
those dismal morasses which border the shore, and

THE VIOLET FLAT-CRAB.

249

which communicate with the sea by means of creeks,
the tide running in and flooding the morass, or run-
ning out with as rapid a stream and draining it. On
the roots and up the trunks of the Mangroves, the
Flat-crabs may be seen crawling by thousands, mov-
ing with exceeding deliberation if unexcited, but if
need be, darting up, or down, or round the tree, as
swiftly as a lizard. This at once attracts notice ;
for we are apt to think a crab’s feet not the most
adapted for climbing, and perhaps have wondered
at the accounts given of the Tree-lobsters {Birgus),
of the South Sea Islands, which are said to rob the
cocoa-nut trees. With our Flat-crab, however, it is
a matter of constant occurrence ; he runs up any
perpendicular surface, not hy grasping, but on tiptoe,
as he runs on a level, not making much use of the
claws, though these occasionally aid the progression.
Sometimes when watching for birds, seated on one
arching root, with my feet on another, remaining
quite still, with my fowling-piece across my knees,
I have been entertained by observing the manners of
these pretty Crabs. When the tide is out, the water
collects in little pools, particularly near the margins
of the morass ; and in and about these pools the
Crabs are crawling, seeking for food. The manner
in which they pursue their search is curious, and
seems to indicate a sensibility of touch in the hard
and stony points of the claws, which we should not
expect to exist there.

The Crab crawls slowly along, in no defined di-
rection, while the two claws are held, points down-
ward, in front of the face, and lightly feel the surface
M 5

250

CRAB-POND.

of the mud, as we should by using the finger and
thumb. At very short intervals, one or the other
claw picks up some little morsel, — often so small
that the spectator can only guess its presence by
the action, — and carries it to the mouth with so easy,
so hicman-like a motion, that I have been greatly
pleased with it; exactly like a person feeding him-
self with his fingers. That the eyes are not the
guides to the situation of the morsels, I feel assured,
for they are placed high up on the forehead, and
point upwards ; and moreover, I have repeatedly seen
the claws feel, and even pick up, from under the body,
I have watched the progress of the Crab, too, to
some morsel that I had thrown in ; no notice was
taken of it, until the claw touched it, as it were,
accidentally, in feeling round and round ; but the
instant it was touched it was conveyed to the mouth.

That the eyes do occasionally aid in the search is
apparent ; but then the proceeding is different. The
Crab leaps suddenly upon the object, and huddles, so
to speak, over it, as if afraid of its getting away. In
this, and in other actions, there is much resemblance
to Spiders. I have sometimes thrown down to the
Crabs crumbs of bread, or little bits of meat, to ob-
serve their actions : if the piece be too large to be at
once transferred to the mouth, it is held with one
claw, while the other detaches morsels from it, and
conveys them to the mouth ; just as I have seen a
little pelagic Swimming-crab {Lupa) dismember a
shrimp that he had caught, holding it in one claw,
and picking it to pieces and feeding himself with the
other. The Flat-crabs eat slowly : a fragment as

DEAGON-FLIES.

251

large as a pea will occupy a minute and a half or
more before it has all disappeared. But a morsel of
such a size is not held with one claw, but with the
jaws, and nibbled away, I think it likely that they
catch and devour small animals, as fishes or reptiles.
I disabled a small Anolis to prevent its escape, and
threw it near to a Flat-crab : the latter leaped
fiercely upon it, and seized it with both claws, one
holding it by the head, and the other by the loins.
It then began to munch the fore-foot with a per-
ceptible crackling of the bones, eating up towards
the shoulder. As if fearful of losing its prey, how-
ever, it presently retired with it under the root of a
tree, and I unfortunately lost sight of it. When two
Flat-crabs approach each other, they usually mani-
fest distrust and timidity, retreating or turning aside :
but sometimes they cautiously feel each other by
stretching out the feet, not the claws. In this action,
again, they strongly remind one of Spiders.

A SWARM OF DRAGON-FLIES.

October Sth, — What appeared to me an unusual
trait in the economy of Dragon-flies occurred to my
notice. In the afternoon, I observed, over the stream
that runs through Bluefields, and near the point
where it plunges over the limestone rock in a little
cascade, a swarm of these insects in [the air, about
twenty feet from the level of the ground. They
floated and danced much in the manner of gnats,
which they resembled also in the immense numbers
which were associated ; a most unusual circumstance,
for I conjectured that there were not fewer than

252

BLUEFIELDS.

from three to five hundred, assembled within the
space of ten yards square. They seemed to be all
of one kind, true Lihelluladce, not Agrions, I had
never before seen any association, except the pairing
of the sexes, in this predaceous family of insects :
conformably to the usual habits of animals that live
by violence, each Dragon-fly generally quarters his
own hunting-ground, hawking to and fro in his rapid
traverses in grim indifference to his fellows around,
whose courses cross and re-cross his own: but these
were acting in concert, as was evident not only
because they herded close together, but by the unity
of their motions. The lower stratum was uniformly
moving in one direction, while the upper moved in
the opposite ; yet the integrity of the mass was,
somehow or other, still maintained. They were
close to me ; but my surprise and interest were so
much excited by the unwonted spectacle, that I did
not think of disturbing, or attempting to capture
any of them.

A DRIVE TO MONTEGO BAY.

October %2nd. — A friend drove me across the
island to Montego Bay. The road, which is excellent,
leads through a cultivated country almost the whole
distance, and offers comparatively little of interest
to the naturalist. A magnificent Bamboo walk at
Haddo, the most extensive I have seen, is worthy
of mention. On the broad undulations of the in-
terior little forest is left standing, and the country
has a very open appearance. I saw a single speci-

GUINEA-GRASS.

253

inen of that curious slender Palm called the Prickly-
pole {Cocos Guineensis), and a pond was covered
with the leaves and flowers of the beautiful Water-
lily {Nymphcea ampla). My companion pointed out
the estate called Shuttlewood, where the few bird-
seeds w^ere thrown out, the fruit of which has proved
an inestimable beneflt to the island. The owner of
this estate had received a cage of Finches from
Africa, and a bag of grass-seed had been put on
board for their food. Soon after their arrival, how-
ever, they died, and the few seeds that remained in
the bag were thrown away. After a while it was
noticed that the horses and cattle eagerly seized
every opportunity of devouring the verdure that
covered the bank where the bag had been shaken
out. The grass was protected, and allowed to go to
seed ; when it proved to be what is now known as
Guinea-grass {Panicum jumentorum) ; it is now cul-
tivated all over the island, especially on the lowland
plains of the south side, where it covers even the
most rocky soil with its dense tussocks of juicy,
nutritive, and ever-verdant pasturage.

Near Mount Carey, one of the stations of the
Baptist Missionary Society, there is a singular little
grotto close by the road side, half concealed by the
climbing plants and slender creepers that hang and
trail over it, like that of the Mantuan swain, —

« — antrum

Silvestris raris sparsit labrusca racemis.”

ViRG. Ed. V. 6.

The contrast between its refreshing coolness and the
burning heat of the dazzling white road I found

254

MONTEGO BAY.

most delightful, as I stood for a few minutes within
its fern-embowered shelter, and drank of the rivulet
of clear, cold water, that runs along its bottom.

The approach to Montego Bay is striking and
beautiful : the high road is in some parts cut through
the marly soil to a considerable depth, leaving high
perpendicular banks on each side, crowned with
forest trees, and fringed and festooned with ferns
and flowering plants difiering much from those of the
north side. Through the narrow avenue before us,
noble views of the coast, of the bay and town, and
of the sea beyond, are obtained. I even persuaded
myself, more than once, that I saw high land in the
horizon, which if real, could be none other than the
mountains of Cuba, though about ninety miles dis-
tant. But the power of observation was ^unhappily
almost quenched by a violent headache, brought pn
doubtless by eight hours’ exposure to a nearly vertical
sun, combined with the glare that was reflected from
the white chalky road.

THE RINGTAIL PALLETTE-TIP.

This brief visit to the north side made me ac-
quainted with a little Saurian of great beauty, the
Ringtail Pallette-tip {SjpJiceriodactylus Richardsonii),
Its ground colour is pale red ; the head is marked
with irregular bands and stripes of brilliant yellow,
and the body and tail are crossed by transverse broad
bands, those on the body reddish-lilac, becoming
brown on the tail ; and at length towards the ex-

THE EINGTAIL PALLETTE-TIP.

255

tremity of that organ, when the ground colour pales
to pure white, the transverse hands or rings become
deep black. The yellow stripes and the lilac bands
are all margined with a narrow line of black, which
greatly increases the effect of the rich colours. The
scales are large, and form a netted pattern over the
body.

This most lovely little reptile was taken in the
parlour of my hospitable friend, J. Lewin, Esq., at
Montego Bay. On disturbing some papers on the
table, it darted out and I secured it. As I kept it
in captivity, I noticed the fleshy tongue used to lick
the lips, just in the manner of the little Sphcsrio-
dactylus argus. It could not walk on the under
surface of glass, and slipped slowly down a perpen-
dicular pane. On a painted board it could maintain
its hold back-downwards, if the board were turned
slowly, to allow it time for preparation ; but if it
were turned suddenly, or if the reptile attempted
to w^alk, it fell. On rough surfaces it succeeded
better. The skin repelled water ; and it swam,
rather on the surface, than immersed. I put flies
into its box, but it disregarded them, manifesting
impatience only, when they crawled over its face.
No change of hue was exhibited; I believe this
genus of Geckos have all their colours permanent.
The pupil was ordinarily almost circular, but con-
tracted to a perpendicular ellipse in the sun. The
claw is sheathed, or protruded at will, on the inner
side of the pallette, wEerewith each toe is tipped,
supposing the foot to be directed forwards.

I never met with another example of this pretty

256

BLUEFIELDS.

little creature in the island ; but Mr. Lewin informed
me some months afterwards, that a second individual
had been found in his house. There is a specimen
in the British Museum, marked as Brazilian ; it is
curious that so feeble a reptile should be so widely
spread. It may, however, have been accidentally
introduced into one of these localities, with goods or
passengers’ baggage ; the more readily, as like its
congeners, it is an inhabitant of houses.

BEAUTY OF NEGRO VILLAGES.

One cannot look on a little negro hamlet without
being struck with its extreme picturesqueness. The
peasants who commonly labour on the same estate
usually have their huts congregated together, not by
the side of a high road, but retired into some secluded
nook, approachable through a narrow winding path.
You might pass within a stone’s throw of the village,
and hardly be aware of its existence, except by the
hogs which scamper away on the sight of a stranger
into the bush, or the poultry that strut and pick
about the vicinity. This love of seclusion is almost
invariable, and is no doubt a habit inherited from
slavery- time,” when it was an object to keep the
domestic economy as much out of the way of
Buckra as possible. If you purposely seek the
collection of cabins, you will probably have some
difficulty in threading the maze of Pinguins into
which the original fence has spread. This plant
{Bromelia 'pinguin) is very commonly cultivated as a

NEGKO VILLAGES.

257

fence, being absolutely impenetrable ; when not in
flower or fruit it can hardly be distinguished from
the Pine-apple, but is more vigorous and formidable,
the recurved spines with which the edges of the long
leaves are set being exceedingly sharp, and inflicting
terrible scratches. When flowering in March it is a
beautiful object ; the central leaves being of the most
brilliant glossy vermilion, and the thick spike of
blossom of a delicate pink-white. This is replaced
by a dense head of hard woody capsules, not united
into a compound succulent fruit as in the Pine-apple,
but separate, though closely packed. They contain
an acid juice, which is pleasant to moisten the lips or
tongue, but is found to be acrid and caustic if used in
any quantity.

The picturesque beauty of which I have spoken as
characterizing the peasants’ hamlets does not depend
on the habitations themselves ; these are small huts,
generally made of wattle, or hurdle-work, and
thatched with the fronds of some of the Palms. But
it is in the variety and grandeur of the various trees
in which they are embowered. It so happens that
the tropical trees most valued for their fruit are also
eminently conspicuous for beauty. The Papaw^,
whose large fruit has the singular property of render-
ing tender the toughest meat with a few drops of its
juice, and the Cocoa-nut which supplies meat and
drink, are fine examples of tall and slender grace.
The glossy evergreen of all the Citron tribe, from the
great Shaddock to the little Lime, — how beautifully
it throws out into relief the noble golden fruit, or
serves as a ground for the delicately white blossoms,

258

BLUEFIELDS.

studding the dark trees like stars on a winter night’s
sky, as fragrant too as lovely ! The Star-apple with its
parti-coloured leaves, shining green on one surface, and
on the other a bright golden hay, has an indescribable
effect, as its mass of foliage, all quivering and dancing
in the breeze, changes momentarily in a thousand
points from the one hue to the other. But there are
two other trees which help more than all the rest to
produce the admired result. Both are of stately form
and noble dimensions. The one is the Mango, which,
though introduced at no very distant period, now
grows almost everywhere, at least around every
homestead, gentle or simple. It forms a towering
compact conical head of foliage peculiarly dense and
dark, through which no ray of the sun penetrates.
He who has once seen the Mango growing in its own
ample dimensions, will never mistake it for another
tree, nor ever forget the impression produced by its
magnificent form and massive proportions. The other
is the Bread fruit ; like the Mango, a foreigner made
to feel himself at home. The negroes cultivate it
more than the higher classes: I was myself disap-
pointed in the fruit ; it has a sort of woolliness not
agreeable ; but I bear willing testimony to the fine
appearance presented by it when hanging by scores
from the thick many-jointed twigs. The enormous
leaves, eighteen inches in length and breadth, elegantly
cut into fingers,^ and of a beautiful green, well set off
the large depending fruit, and seem to suit its colossal
dimensions.

These are the grander features of the scene, which,
mingled with other trees, form groves of many tinted

BEAUTIFUL GROVES.

259

foliage, and much variety of light and shadow. The
under growth, however, is no less pleasing. The
lively tender green of the Plantains and Bananas
planted in regular avenues, the light tracery of the
Yams, the Cho-chos, the Melons and Gourds, the
numerous sorts of Peas, and other climbers, among
which several species of Passion-flower throw their
elegant foliage, magnificent blossoms, and grateful
acid fruits over the branches of the trees, — the
delicate forms of the Castor-oil tree and the Cassavas ;
the noble flower of the esculent Hibiscus or Okra —
these are the ordinary, almost I might say universal,
features of a Jamaican negro-garden ; and when I add
to these fine Convolvuli and Ipomeae of rainbow hues,
the pride of our conservatories, and large white and
yellow species of Echites, that, altogether unsought,
trail in wild luxuriance about the fences, — I shall
be justified in pronouncing the scene one of more
than common loveliness, even in the grandeur and
beauty of a tropical land.

THE COCOA-NUT PALM.

A grove of Cocoa-nut Palms is a very interesting
scene to an European. The radiating tuft of fronds
which surmounts the tall stem like a crown, is so un-
like any other object, that even a single Cocoa-nut
tree stands out conspicuously from the surrounding
vegetation, (on a hill side for example, where it is
backed by the common forest,) so as to catch the
eye at a great distance. There is such a grove behind
Bluefields, halfway up the dark mountain. It is

260

SAVANNA LE MAE.

always a pleasant sight, for it tells of cultivation and
human habitation in the midst of the wilderness.

In walking through an extensive plantation of
Cocoa-palms, such as that one which borders the
beach to the west of Savanna le Mar, we are strongly
reminded that we are in a land remote from home.
It is strange to see on every side the tall straight
stems, like slender columns, unvaried by any other
vegetation, and to be canopied by the rigid pinnated
fronds rustling and rattling against each other as they
are swayed by the breeze. In common engravings
of tropical scenery, the Cocoa-palm has frequently a
flexuose character given to the stem which is not
natural. A double sigmoid curve is figured, very
graceful and pretty, to be sure, but not consistent
with truth ; while at other times a hanging curve is
given to it more like that of a fern springing out of
a wall than the habit of a palm. One would sup-
pose from these representations that the character of
the stem was extreme flexibility, bowed and curved
with every breath of wind.* Such, however, is far
from the case. The Cocoa-nut frequently springs
from the earth in a very oblique direction, but as it
grows it soon bends into a perpendicular, and then
shoots up like an arrow towards the sky. Its cha-
racter is rather a rigid straightness, very little subject
to be bent even before the strongest breeze. I have
seen the huge fronds toss and flutter like flags, in a

* Thus too Southey makes Madoc describe, more elegantly than
correctly, the Cocoa-nut Palms of Mexico : —

“ Their tresses nodding like a crested helm.”

THE COCOA-NUT PALM.

261

furious gale, so that it seemed as if they would be
torn from their strong bases and carried away ; yet
even in such circumstances, the bending and rocking
of the stem was much less than that of an ordinary
tree of correspondent dimensions. The iron-like
firmness of the outer wood of a tall palm, the necessary
result of its endogenous growth, doubtless is the cause
of this rigidity.

The Palms have no proper bark, nor is their surface
scored with longitudinal furrows ; but they are fre-
quently roughened with transverse projections, the
bases of the fronds that have been successively thrown
off. In the Cocoa-nut these are strongly marked,
and form a sort of rude steps which afford great
facility for climbing the tree. Around these bases a
curious substance lies in large sheathing irregular
pieces. At first sight one would pronounce it a
coarse loose cloth, so like a textile fabric are the
strong but slender fibres which are interwoven at
right angles to each other. It is however a natural
tissue, which spontaneously separates from the base
of the huge leafstalk.

Another thing that strikes one forcibly in a grove
of Palms is to see in the trunk the same thickness
associated with all gradations of stature. Nor is
the novelty of the appearance much diminished by
the knowledge that such a phenomenon is also an in-
variable accompaniment of the endogenous structure
already alluded to. We are so accustomed to see
the size of a tree-head, the height, and the thick-
ness of the trunk, always bearing (at least approxi-
mately) the same proportions, that when we see the

262

BLUEFIELDS.

diverging crown of fronds here set on the summit of
a stem sixty feet high, and there one of the same ex-
tent three feet from the ground, and close by another
set of fronds equally expansive, springing from a cen-
tral spot of earth, and radiating, without any visible
stem at all, we cannot help an emotion somewhat akin
to surprise. The fact is, however, that the stem of a
Palm has acquired its full diameter, before it begins
to rise from the earth, and its subsequent increase is
merely in height, by the progressive development of
one great terminal bud. It is this bud, which in the
Cabbage Palm is eaten as a delicacy, either boiled, or
raw as a salad : the young unexpanded leaves are
wrapped over each other so closely, as to acquire a
crispness and a tenderness, which with the delicate
whiteness produced by the exclusion of light, some-
what resemble those of the heart of a large cabbage.

It may be worth remarking that the frond of the
Cocoa-nut is entire when first expanded, though
plaited. It is the growth of the mid rib which splits
each side of the leaf into sword-shaped pinnae, that
by and by are widely separated from each other.
The pinnae and fronds of all our Palms are used by
the negroes for thatching, and, being split, for the
making of hats and baskets, resembling those of
straw.

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE.

In digging the ground or removing stones that
have lain long half-imbedded in the soil, a little Ser-
pent is often found by the negroes, which from the

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE.

263

uniform thickness of both extremities, and its power
of moving backward or forward with equal facility,
they designate as the Two-headed Snake. Natu-
ralists distinguish it as the Typhlops lumhricalis^
the former term alluding to its apparent want of
eyes, the latter intended to mark its resemblance, a
rather slight one, to an earthworm.

It is a pretty little animal, and perfectly harmless,
though, with the common prejudice against serpenti-
form reptiles, viewed with dread by the uneducated.
It reaches to about thirteen inches in length, with
an average thickness of one-fourth of an inch, the
fore parts, however, being rather more slender than
the middle of the body. The whole form is slightly
depressed, the head especially ; the head is length-
ened and covered with plates ; the tail is one-third
of an inch long, terminating in a very minute horny
nipple, on a shining round plate. When we hold
the living animal in the hand, this terminal point of
the tail is pressed with some force against the fingers,
as if it were a weapon of ofience ; a slight pricking
is produced, but it cannot pierce the human skin.
The colour of the upper parts is a chaste bluish grey,
that of the belly yellowish white ; the two colours
abruptly divided, not, however, by a straight line,
but by one of that form which in heraldry is techni-
cally called embattled, but somewhat irregular. The
whole surface is beautifully even and polished while
alive, but after having been kept awhile in spirits,
the edges of the minute scales become raised, and this
smoothness is quite lost, the surface being rough
both to the eye and the touch. The colours also

264

BLUEFIELDS.

become dingy, and scarcely a vestige of the elegance
and beauty of the animal is left. Unhappily this is
the case with a great proportion of the reptiles of
foreign countries ; they are known to European na-
turalists only by specimens sent home in spirits, or
by still more hideous skins : they are described in
this condition, which admits, it is true, of a recogni-
tion of their technical characters ; but the beauty of
their varied hues, and often the grace of their living
forms remain as unknown as ever. Hence reptiles,
more than any other animals, are indebted to de-
scriptive observations and carefully coloured figures
made from them, while in the enjoyment of life and
health.

Several specimens of this little animal, one of the
forms that connect the true Serpents with the Sau-
rian tribes, have occurred to me. The first I took
myself, when some men were digging out and re-
moving some stones from Bluefields pasture. It was
not without difficulty that I secured it, as its agility
and power of burrowing were very great. Another
was brought me alive, inclosed in a long bottle,
otherwise empty ; whence on my removing the cork,
it poked up its head, and glided out repeatedly, with
perfect ease, and was near escaping several times, it
was so slippery and so agile. While crawling, it
frequently protruded and retracted quickly the little
white forked tongue. I perceived no vestige of eyes,
nor did it appear to have the power of vision ; for on
any object being presented to the head, no notice
was taken until it came into actual contact, when
the creature shrank back in sudden alarm.

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE.

265

As nothing has as yet been recorded, that I am
aware of, concerning the early stages of this reptile’s
existence, the discovery of its egg and of the pro-
duction of the young possesses some interest. On
the 3rd of September, I found in the secluded woods
of Auld Ayr, behind Bluefields, an egg to which I
was a stranger. I was out shooting with my negro
servants, when we heard in these lonely woods what
we supposed to be the voice of the Ringtail Pigeon.
As this fine and rare bird is said to resort to the
smoke that ascends from any fire that may be kindled
within its haunts, for the relief which is thus afforded
to it from the incessant torment of the musquitoes,
we determined to make a fire, in order to get a shot.
The lads had collected some deserted nests of Ter-
mites for fuel, and on breaking them up, I discovered
in one of the cavities an egg of a long-oval form, and
of a clear buff hue, with a stiffly membranous integu-
ment. The breaking of the surrounding mass had
ruptured also the egg, and disclosed a young Ty-
phlops, which writhed nimbly about, and soon crawled
from its prison, to which it remained attached, how-
ever, by the vitellus. It was very active, fully formed,
similar in colour and appearance to the adult, except
that the inferior surface was tinged with a delicate
rosy hue. The eyes were very plainly discernible,
though in the adult I had searched for these organs
in vain. The frequent protrusion of its forked
tongue gave it a snake-like character, which its
general aspect did not possess. It was four and a
half inches in length, and one eighth of an inch in
diameter ; depressed in form as the adult. The tail

266

BLUEFIELDS.

was one sixth of an inch in length ; and the umbilicus
was exactly one inch distant from the caudal point.
The egg measured an inch and one eighth in length,
and five twelfths in diameter : and this size struck
me as surprisingly great, seeing that the greatest
thickness of the body in the adult animal is consi-
derably less than that of this egg ! ^ The appear-
ance of a female Typhlops with such an egg contained
in the abdomen, must he singular, even if but one is
developed at a time ; but if many are synchronously
matured, her dimensions must be immensely enlarged
during pregnancy.

In another, of about the same size as this prema-
turely born young one, or rather less, which was
taken on the 1st of November, wriggling quickly
along on the ground near Bluefields house, the um-
bilicus was not perceptible, except by an exceedingly
slight depression.

I am not aware that this reptile, or any of the
allied species, is aquatic in the slightest degree ; but
its natatory powers are considerable. One, which I
put into a vessel of water for observation, swam
rapidly and gracefully, throwing the body into ele-
gant vertical undulations like a Leech. Snakes, I
think, swim in this way. The fmcal discharges I
found to have the white creamy appearance common
to Serpents.

Mr. Hill informs me that, in course of the cuttings
for the laying down of the railway between Spanish-
town and Kingston, the labourers laid open the sub-

* This young specimen, still attached to the egg, is now in the
magnificent collection of the British Museum.

THE NASEBEKRY BAT.

267

terranean habitations of several of these reptiles ; a
circumstance which afforded subject of wondering
comment to the vulgar, who suppose that they are
truly monsters, with a head at each extremity. The
depth of the burrow, which would be interesting
to know, my friend has not mentioned.

THE NASEBERRY BAT.

It was at the Vineyard, near Black River, the
residence of Sandford Forrest, Esq., that I first saw
this little quaint Bat. I was spending a few days
with him in the latter part of December, when it
was struck down by one of the children in the house
after sunset. The sultriness of a tropical climate
obliges the inhabitants to dispense with the closeness
of windows, at least to a great degree, and to sub-
stitute for them the large Venetian blinds called
jalousies. One inconvenience arising from this ar-
rangement is, that no sooner are candles brought,
than insects of all orders, particularly minute moths,
Pyralidce, Tinece, &c., swarm around the lights, and
spread themselves over the table* The entomologist
regrets the annoyance less than others, as he thereby
occasionally obtains specimens of great beauty and
rarity. Those industrious insect-collectors, the Bats,
resort thither also on such occasions, to pursue the
same game, and perhaps, too, impelled by the pro-
pensity which they have to enter narrow orifices.
Hence we frequently see these sombre visitants,
flitting on swift but silent wing around the room,
usually retiring after taking two or three turns.

268

CONTENT.

With an insect-net, however, I have repeatedly cap-
tured specimens, having first closed the doors and
jalousies. On the evening referred to, more Bats
than usual resorted to the house, one and another
flying in until the family retired to bed ; yet from
the openness of the rooms, I obtained only the
present specimen, a little species of Artiheus.

On my return to Content, however, my attention
was directed to some Bats, which every evening
swarmed around a large and fruitful Naseherry tree,
that overshadowed one corner of the yard. The
Naseherry, or neesberry, the nispero of the Spanish
colonists, and, I believe, of the native Indians
(^Achras sapota), is one of the richest and most agree-
able of West Indian fruits. In size and appearance
it resembles a very rough russet apple, firm and
fleshy, of a rich sugary sweetness ; when young, the
fruit contains eight or nine cells, diverging from
the axis, most of which become abortive, from one
to three being usually found when ripe, each con-
taining a large flat oval black seed. When green
the fruit yields by incision, as does also the bark of
the tree, a viscid milk, which soon acquires, by ex-
posure to the air, a strong tenacity, and makes an
effective birdlime. It is much used for the capture
of the frugivorous birds, such as the Blue Quit, the
Cashew-bird, the Banana-bird, and others, by the
negro youths, who call the substance naseherry gum.
The tree is large, spreading, and handsome, with
glossy green leaves, having a tendency to crowd
together in rosettes ; the flowers form bunches, each
being a deep narrow cup, with white fleshy petals,
nearly hidden by the calyx.

THE NASEBERRY BAT.

269

Around this tree I watched night after night in
the fading twilight, in the desire of obtaining one
of the Bats that I could see around it ; hut owing to
the rapidity of their movements, and the imperfect
light, it was not until I had fruitlessly expended
much powder and shot, that I succeeded in procuring
a specimen, which I found to be a little Yampyre,
and specifically identical with the individual captured
at the Vineyard. I thus obtained, however, some
interesting acquaintance with the manners of the
frugivorous Bats.

About a quarter of an hour after the sun has
disappeared, and while the western horizon is yet
glowing with those effulgent peak-like clouds, which
only a tropical sunset displays — we discover by
attentively watching the tree the Bats begin to visit
it. First one comes, takes a rapid flight around the
tree, darts once or twice through the dense foliage,
and winging away is lost in the light of the sky.
Another and another comes immediately, and performs
the same evolutions ; and as the glory of the west
fades away to a warm ruddy brown, like the blush of
a mulatto girl, many dusky forms are discerned flit-
ting round and round. By carefully following the
flight of an individual with the eye, we perceive that
now and then he alights for a moment on some
object at the extremity of a bunch of leaves; but
no sooner has the eye rested on the spot than the
sooty wings are again spread, and he is pursuing his
giddy course with his fellows. The object of his
attention is a ripe naseberry, nestled in the midst
of that rosette of leaves. Occasionally the weight

270

CONTENT.

of the suspended Bat dislodges the ripe fruit, and it
falls to the ground, splitting with the shock. On
picking it up we see that it has been just bitten, not
gnawed as by the rodent incisors of a mouse, but
nibbled in a ragged manner. Though the Yampyres
often eat the fruit on the tree in this manner, de-
taching minute morsels, and again and again returning
for more, it appears that not seldom they succeed
in tearing out a large piece, which they carry away :
for fragments of naseberry of considerable size,
partly eaten by a Bat, are frequently found at the
distance of half a mile from the nearest naseberry
tree, dropped on the high road. The delicate scented
Rose-apple {Eugenia jamhos) is also a favourite
fruit with these winged quadrupeds ; and fragments
of this are dropped about in the same way. ^

* As well as I can determine by comparison of specimens with the
published description of Dr. Horsfield ( Ann. & Mag. N. H. iii. 238.)
this seems to be Artibeus Jamaicensis of Leach. The description of
the latter zoologist is far too vague for the discrimination of species.
I will however subjoin admeasurements and descriptions of this, and
of three other species of the same genus, all of which have similar
habits.

The Small Naseberry Bat. Artibeus Jamaicensis, Leach. Central
lobe of nose-leaf (see PI. VI. fig. 3.) lanceolate, broadest near the
bottom, thence tapering to a point ; furnished at the base with an in-
distinct footstalk: lobe surrounding the nostril slightly sigmoid in
outline : external lobe free, scolloped with about 5 regular crenations.
Edge of upper lip nearly smooth ; that of lower lip minutely notched.
Tragus three-toothed. Forehead round, prominent.

Upper parts ashy-brown, slightly inclined to purplish ; head paler,
having a hoary appearance ; a short dash of white on each shoulder.
Wings black; fingers pale. Under parts hoary grey, darkening a
little posteriorly. Nose-leaf dusky or reddish brown. Ears yellow-
ish olive. Irides pale brown. Inner edge of interfemoral membrane
fringed with free hair. A few fine bristles among the downy fur on
the cheeks. Toes of hind feet about equal in length.

THE SILK-COTTON TREE.

27L

THE SILK-COTTON TREE.

Of all the trees that adorn this region of enduring
summer, many of which are giants of vegetation,
none is more imposing in stature and magnitude com-
bined than the Silk-Cotton tree {Eriodendron anfrac-

The Dusky Naseberry Bat. Artibeus achradophilus, mihi. {’Axpas,
the wild-pear, the botanical name of the naseberry, and (^iAew, to love.)
Central lobe of nose-leaf (PI. VI. fig. 4.) lanceolate, but less tapering ;
furnished at the base with a distinct projecting ridge, like a foot-
stalk: lobe of the nostril quite round; external lobe hardly free, with
a thickened, slightly-waved edge. Edges of both lips minutely
notched. Forehead less prominent ; muzzle broad : Warts of the
mouth more obvious.

General hue a dark dusky brown, nearly uniform, but a little paler
on the under parts. Wings black ; fingers pale. Toes about equal*

The Great Naseberry Bat. Artibeus carpolegus, mihi. (Kapirhs^ fruit’
and Xiyw, to pluck.) Central lobe of nose-leaf (PI. VI. fig. 5.) oblong,
with parallel sides, abruptly pointed ; a rounded lobe in place of the
footstalk : lobe of the nostril much sinuated, with a deep indent near
its summit : external lobe obsolescent, reduced to four low but broad
warts, with depressed centres. Edge of upper lip notched all round ;
that of lower lip notched between the incisors, distinctly ; elsewhere
indistinctly. Head more brutal in form ; muzzle large and pro-
minent ; forehead low and receding. Toes regularly diminishing in
length from the hallux.

Colour a dark bistre-brown, above and below : wings black. Both
of these species were taken at Content; they have the same pre-
dilection for the luscious naseberry as the first named, a predilection
which I have recorded in the trivial names assigned to them.

The Brimstone Naseberry Bat. Artibeus sulphureus, mihi. General
form that of Jamaicensis ; the forehead equally round and high.
Upper parts a dusky yellow ; head, shoulders, sides, and belly gam-
boge yellow, dingy ; the face and breast tinged with blue : wings
black ; fingers pale yellow. The nose-leaf, the tragus, and the volar
membrane of the only specimen that I met with, had been so much
damaged by ants, before it was examined, that no characters could be

272

BLUEFIELDS.

tuosum). When young, it is covered with a green
hark ; the trunk commonly swells out in the middle,
and is studded as well as the branches with great tri-
angular spines, some of them an inch in diameter.
But by the time the tree has attained adult age its
appearance is very different : the bark is of a hoary
grey hue, sometimes almost white ; the triangular
spines disappear from the bole, and are found only
on the upper surfaces of the limbs ; the ventricose
form of the trunk is generally lost, and, what gives
this tree a very remarkable aspect, the basal part of
the stem sends out vast spurs radiating in all direc-
tions and extending to a great distance. Their out-
line is very irregular, but their usual form is that of
perpendicular walls of timber, often not more than
six inches thick, and not commonly exceeding a foot,
retaining an even thickness in all parts, but frequently

deduced from those organs : the colour, however, is very marked and
peculiar. This specimen also was obtained at Content, in January.

Admeasurements of the above Four Species.

Jam. Achr. Carp. Sulp.

Expanse of wings
Length from crown to fork

inches

„ muzzle to tip of calcareum

Ear from hinder base of tragus to tip

front base

Tragus, longest side - _ _ _

„ shortest side . _ _ _

Nose-leaf, from base to tip -
Length of fore-arm _ _ _ _

„ leg from knee to calcareum
„ foot from calcareum to tip of claws
„ calcareum _ _ - .

THE SILK-COTTON TKEE.

273

twelve or fifteen feet high at their origin in the
trunk. I have often thought that very commodious
temporary dwellings might be made of the broad
areas inclosed by two spurs, with a very little trim-
ming with the axe, covering the top with a sloping
roof of palm-leaves on two or three cross-poles. The
projection of a dozen or more of these wide, and high,
but thin, expansions gives a monstrous hulk to a tree
which without them would he of vast dimensions. I
have seen the stump of one recently cut down, the
solid timber of which, exclusive of the root-spurs, I
judged to be not less than forty feet in circumference ;
though I did not measure it. Its altitude and ex-
panse are equally gigantic ; its enormous crown is
frequently elevated far above the general level of the
forest, and hence particular trees are often specified
in nautical guidebooks as land-marks, being conspi-
cuous objects at sea. It is by no means uncommon
for the colossal trunk to reach to eighty or a hundred
feet in naked majesty, before a single branch is sent
forth ; and I should think its total height not in-
frequently reaches a hundred and fifty feet. The
limbs are of the bulk of ordinary forest-trees ; they
commonly break out from the bole three or four upon
the same plane, and radiate nearly horizontally to a
vast distance. They are often much contorted, and
full of sudden angular inflections. Long ragged-
looking Cacti {Cereus triangularis and other more
whip-like species) creep and hang loosely from these
limbs ; immense numbers of Wild Pines, from the
rough hairy tufts of “Old Man’s beard” {Tillandsia
usneoides) to the noble jdEclimece and Vriesice^ are

274

BLUEFIELDS.

never wanting, and slender flexible Lianes of great
length dangle in the air from the lofty branches.

In general a tropical forest knows no such phe-
nomenon as the fall of the leaf ; that is, the decay of
some and the unfolding of other leaves proceed simul-
taneously and constantly, so that the foliage is ever
full, and ever verdant. There are however a few ex-
ceptions of trees, which are periodically denuded, and
stretch out their naked arms, as if they had ex-
perienced the chill blasts of a northern November.
The Tropic Birch {Bursera) is one of these, and the
Cotton- tree is another. The latter I have seen almost
wholly stripped of its full foliage in the course of an
hour, during a tempestuous gust of wind in July. It
remains bare for several months, the young leaves
appearing about the end of May. The green pods
in the meantime have formed, ripened, and burst,
liberating a quantity of flne silky fllamentous down
of a pale brown colour. At first sight one is ready to
say. What a pity that a material so cotton-like and so
abundant should be suffered to fly about upon the
breeze, instead of being collected for manufacturing
purposes ! But in reality it is incapable of being so
used, the fibres being found to possess no power of
mutual cohesion. Under the microscope they are
seen to be simple cylindrical transparent tubes, some-
times flattened, but having neither the twisted form
of true cotton, nor the jointed appearance of linen,
nor the imbricated surface of wool. They are some-
times used to stuff pillows and mattrasses ; and the
Palm Swift and the different species of Humming-
birds And in them a material sufficiently soft and
warm for the reception of their tender young. The

THE SILK-COTTON TREE.

275

latter may often be seen pursuing on the wing the
tufts of down as they float along on the wind, and
collecting the filaments in their beaks, for employ-
ment in their domestic economy.

The negroes regard this magnificent tree with
superstitious reverence. They believe that if a per-
son throw a stone at the trunk, he will surely be
visited by sickness or some other misfortune. When
they intend to cut one down, they first pour rum
at the root as a propitiatory offering. In Demerara,
I have been told, the African negroes will not lift the
axe agaiust a Cotton-tree on any consideration, but
in Jamaica the suitability of the wood for canoes
overcomes their scruples. The immense trunk is
shaped and hollowed, and thus even canoes of large
size are made out of a single piece. The softness of
the timber facilitates the operation.

These superstitions are doubtless of African origin ;
their genuine object we may suppose to be the great
Bomhax pentandrum, which is common to that con-
tinent and equinoctial Asia; an immense tree so
closely allied, as well in appearance as in botanical
characters, to our Eriodendron^ as to be readily mis-
taken for it.

Since the above was prepared for the press I have
been favoured with some details of great interest
respecting this noble tree, from Mr. Hill ; elicited
by an allusion in one of my letters to what appeared
to me so singular a circumstance as a tropical tree
remaining defoliated ten months in the year. I shall
quote my friend’s remarks at length.

276

SPANISH-TOWN.

‘‘ I am glad you have asked me to explain the
occurrence of the unleafed Eriodendron in the month
of July, because it enables me to detail some
peculiarities in the economy of that magnificent
tree, not usually noticed by naturalists.

“ The Eriodendron, or Silk-Cotton tree, is charac-
terised by the remarkable property of producing
leaves and flowers in alternate years. When seen
with its seed pods at the terminal twigs, dotting its
immense mass of stems and branches all over, it has
not yet expanded into leaf ; the foliage is still
enclosed in the leaf-hud. At this time it is much
more an emblem of Hope, than Moore’s Almond-
tree in Lalla Rookh ; it not alone blossoms, hut
matures fruit upon a leafless stem.

“ The Eriodendron, or Ceiba, as the Indians called
the tree, exhibits a growth by concentric layers of
wood, of more or less regulated thickness, only in
the early period of its life. It is observed soon to
become ventricose at a short height in the trunk,
being thicker about the middle than lower down
towards the root. Up to this time the bark is armed
with strong spines, which are obliterated when the
ventricose character disappears. After this state of
progression, it commences throwing out buttresses
from the trunk to the large radiated roots, which now
show themselves on the surface of the soil. When
the growth has advanced to this condition, the wood
is no longer deposited in the lower part of the tree
in concentric lines of regulated thickness, for the
sap, both in ascending and descending, instead of
being equally distributed under the bark, is now

THE SILK-COTTON TREE.

277

running in streams from the main branches, and
forming those projecting spurs that obliterate the
angles from the main roots ; and the result is a
ligneous deposition, of greatest density where the
streams strike off from the trunk. With this un-
equal deposit of wood, is accomplished those flattened
buttresses which become so remarkable a feature in
this gigantic tree.

‘‘ The Eriodendron is one of our few deciduous
trees. By deciduous trees I mean trees exhibiting
that suspension of vegetative energy for a determi-
nate period of time, which not alone is an exhibition
of hybernation, but of a state in which the leaves are
entirely shed, and the tree stands bare and verdure-
less, — an economy very unusual in tropical trees.
Now this hybernation is annual ; but the succession
of leaves, though annual too, is biennial as foliage
only, or as flowers and seed-pods, and eventually
as leaves.

In every third year, the foliage comes out early
after the latter rains, and continues thickening and
darkening, and Anally becomes sere before the au-
tumn. It is, perhaps, as early as July in these years,
w’hen no further sap flows from the roots to the leaf-
buds, that it ‘ declines into the sere and yellow leaf.’
The leaves having by that tim.e ceased to perform
their office of vegetative lungs, and to give out
oxygen to the atmosphere under the action of the
sun’s rays, the sap is descending as pulp to the roots.
The twigs are beginning to harden and shrink, and
if not emptied, are now so drained by the terminal
buds, which are elaborating flowers for the year to

278

SPANISH-TOWK.

come, that the leaves, of what I will call the foliage
year, as distinguished from the alternate flower and
seed year, become soon detached and fall, particularly
if the season has been such as to thicken the juices
by rapid exhaustion. The frail-bound vegetation
withering or not adhering firmly in such a season,
would be shaken ofi* in a shower of leaves under any
one of those fitful tornadoes, that sweep by so often
and so gustily after the sun has a second time reached
the zenith of our island, and is hastening with its
train of storm-clouds to recross the equator and to
enter the southern hemisphere.

It frequently happens that one half of a Silk-
Cotton tree, or some particular cluster of stems and
branches, has an alternation of leaves and fiowers
in a different sequence of years from other parts of
the tree. This deviation from what we have laid
down as the economy of the whole tree is very in-
telligible as a new condition of parts of the tree.
It must have been seen that in the long run an
Eriodendron or Ceiba, in distributing its sap in
streams and lines from the main roots to the main
stems, must change from an united to a divided
economy of vegetation : — that instead of regulating
its functions as one tree, it would set up an order
as a bundle of trees clustered together in one column.
Now it happens from some factitious circumstance,
that one side of the tree, or one set of branches, have
suffered some interruption, or have been forced into
some acceleration of function as great evaporating
organs. This may have been a diminished growing
property in the terminal twigs, or an increased nu-

THE BED HAIRY-TAIL.

279

tritive power in a part of the roots ; and nourishment
may have been retarded, or oversupplied, in the
portions of the tree which have gone out of equi-
librium. Be it whichever it may of these causes,
the alternation of foliage and flowers has been
changed ; and a half, or less or more than a half, of a
Silk-Cotton tree may be seen in luxuriant summer
foliage, and the other parts bearing flowers and fruit
on a leafless stem, or suffering hybernation, and shed-
ding its leaves partially, while the other portions
of the vegetable giant stand up a marvellous pile
of verdure.

“ I do not wonder that you were not acquainted
with this characteristic economy of the Eriodendron,
for it requires a residence of five years in the colony,
or observations during two successive alternations of
flowers and foliage, and the commencement of a third,
to gain a knowledge of it.”

THE RED HAIRY-TAILED BAT.

Immediately behind Bluefields, the road leading
to the mountain is crossed by the little river, which
spreads itself out in a brawling, rippling sheet of
considerable width, but scarcely more than mid-leg
high at the deepest. Here the black women and
girls assemble to wash their linen, choosing to come
several together, that gossip and jocularity may
lighten their labour. The berries of the Soap-tree
(^Sapindus saponaria?) supply the place of soap, and
make with water a lather in no respect inferior to
that (to us) indispensable article of household econo-

280

BLUEFIELDS.

my. The Y\i\\.Q ’piccaninnies play about on the banks,
exhibiting their plump oily faces to the sun, or lie
on the grass beneath the fruit-trees that are so nu-
merous, sucking the oranges and mangoes that grow
in profuse abundance.

One evening in the beginning of December my lad
Sam, having gone out to chat with the young women
before they left for home, and to assist to place the
immense baskets of wet clothes upon their heads,
where the negro carries everything, heavy or light —
had his notice attracted by a great number of Bats
flying a little before sunset under the Avocada Pear-
trees. With an insect-net, which he hastened to
procure, he captured one, and on the next evening
another, both of which were of one species, the Red
Hairy-tail of the United States {Lasiurus rufus').

One of them had its wing broken by the net, and
soon died ; the other was uninjured. Its bright
rufous colour, round head, short ears, prominent
nose, and small eyes, gave it a remarkable aspect,
especially since it usually kept these last closed;
when their position could with difiiculty be recog-
nised. When held in the hand, the long tail and
ample interfemoral membrane, (which is clothed on
its upper surface with rufous hair like the body,)
were continually bent up towards the belly. In its
impatience of restraint it was perpetually clawing
with the hind feet at anything within reach, by
which it tore several holes in the membrane of its
own wings ; for the same reason it strove to bite,
seizing its hind feet or tail with its jaws, or snapping
at my fingers ; but I found that though the little

THE BED HAIRY-TAIL.

281

teeth were very sharp, they were not moved with
sufficient muscular power to penetrate the cuticle of
my hand. The ear altered very little ; sometimes it
was slightly wrinkled posteriorly.

In order to discover whether it possessed cheek-
pouches, I caught a small flesh-fly, smaller than our
house-fly, and presented it to the Bat. He bit at it
instantly, and thus maimed it, but it appeared much
too large for his mouth. The fly being viviparous,
the little maggots were escaping from the body, and
these the Bat picked up one by one from my hand,
and ate. At several attempts he at last got the fly
itself dismembered, and thus devoured it piecemeal.
He drank eagerly, on my holding him by the wings,
and putting his nose to the water ; his mode of
drinking was curious, he just touched the surface
with his muzzle, and then brought up his head with
a jerk. A drop of water would adhere to it, some-
times projecting in a little globule as large as a pea ;
this he sucked in by a motion of the mouth as if
masticating very rapidly; he repeated this process
half a dozen times before he was satisfled. We may
infer from hence that in a state of freedom, this, and
perhaps other Bats, drink on the wing, like swallows,
sweeping down, and just touching the surface with
the mouth.

There was no appearance of cheek-pouches either
in eating or drinking. While held, it frequently
emitted a harsh hissing sound, with the mouth open,
and occasionally a little peculiar “ click.” Both
specimens were infested with numbers of a parasite
(Nycterihius) rather large for the size of the Bat,

282

BLUEFIELDS.

which ran in and out among the fur with great
agility ; it appeared as if the hair actually separated
and opened spontaneously for their admission.

MUSQUITOES.

These troublesome insects seem nearly equally
annoying throughout the New World. I do not think
them at all worse in Jamaica, than in Canada or
Newfoundland, perhaps not so bad. In marshy
places, even in England, the punctures of these minute
tormentors (for Musquitoes are merely Gnats)* are
as painful, and perhaps as numerous, as in many parts
of Jamaica. Some situations are of course more
subject to their presence than others. Bluefields,
situated on a rising ground, open and exposed to the
invigorating sea-breeze, enjoys a remarkable immu-
nity from them. The humid forest harbours them,
especially in the mountains ; and in many cases the
roads are almost quite free from them, where if you
step into the wood on either side though only a few
paces, you would presently be surrounded by their
shrill trumpets, and covered with their bites. There
is a good deal of difference in the character of the
wounds inflicted by different species : those that
frequent the lowlands {Culex pungens for example)
are of larger size, sing with a graver sound, and insert
the proboscis often without any present pain, but a

* Humboldt’s remark that the term Musquito is not given to the
Culex, but to the Simulium, though it may be true of South America,
certainly does not apply to Jamaica, or to the Northern Continent,
where both these genera are but too well known.

MUSQUITOES.

283

hard white tumour presently rises on the spot as
large as a silver threepence, which itches intolerably,
and remains attended with dull pain and tension, for
many hours. The mountain Musquitoes are gene-
rally very much smaller, C. fasciatus, for instance, a
minute species ; they are more pertinacious, associate
in more numerous swarms, emit a sharp shrill hum,
and produce a sudden twinge as they pierce the flesh,
as if a spark of Are had fallen on it. A violent itch-
ing is the immediate result, hut it soon goes off,
leaves scarcely any perceptible tumour, and is soon
forgotten. These, however, are more intolerable
than the former, the recurrence of the spark-like
prick at every moment, or rather all over the exposed
parts of the person at the same moment, is too
maddening to be endured ; and it is almost impos-
sible to face a phalanx of these tiny adversaries,
where they are numerous, without some device for
keeping them off. A fragment of the earthy nest
of the Duck-ants {Termites) answers well for this
purpose ; being ignited, it continues to smoulder a
considerable time, sending forth a large volume of
smoke; this carried in the hand, and waved to and fro,
is the most efiective weapon against these winged
warriors.

A young friend, on whose powers of observation
and veracity I have full reliance, has assured me that
he once saw a swarm of Musquitoes clinging to each
other, in the manner of Bees when secreting wax,
till the mass was about as big as a man’s fist. He
was not at first aware of the nature of the assemblage,
till on touching it the whole multitude took to flight
in an instant, singing around him, leaving nothing

284

BLUEFIELDS.

but the point of the twig to which the first Mus-
quito had been adhering.

I found on one or two occasions a little fly, much
resembling a Musquito, but belonging to a widely re-
moved genus, of rather singular manners. It is a little
Crane-fly (Limnobia) ^ with the mouth produced in
an extraordinary degree, so as to form a tube half as
long as the insect. It hovers in the air, with the legs
(which are of great length and slenderness) hanging
down, a few inches from a wall, without altering its
position, and almost without perceptible motion, ex-
cept a slight vibration. It continues to do this for a
long time, now and then passing a little to the right or
left, quickly, but not so rapidly as a Syrphus. It is
always solitary ; the specimen captured was a male.
On putting my hand towards it, it slowly moved
away, but I easily took it by surrounding it with
both hands. All the individuals that I have seen
occurred in the same place, an outhouse at Blue-
fields ; and had exactly the same manners.

THE EYED PALLETTE-TIP,

A very little species of Gecko {Sphceriodactylus
argus), the smallest Lizard that I am acquainted with,
is not uncommonly seen in the dwelling-houses and
out-buildings of Jamaica. We see it running along
with a wriggling agility in the corners of the floor,
creeping out from beneath the doors, hiding in
crevices and joints of boards, &c., and often, on open-
ing a window, we perceive lying in the bed of the

* Mr. F. Walker has named the species L. intermedia.

THE EYED PALLETTE-TIP.

285

frame, one or two of these little harmless creatures,
beneath the sash we have lifted ; their minute dimen-
sions enabling them to insinuate themselves into
situations where we should suppose they would
inevitably be crushed to death. The frequency of
its occurrence has made the species familiar to the
sight of the inhabitants, and it is viewed with no
more dread or dislike than we feel for the flies that
alight on our window-panes and buzz in the corners.
Though it bustles about with much contortion, its
speed is small, so that it is very readily caught. Yet
on being held in the hand, it writhes so perti-
naciously as frequently to slip through the Angers :
and so violent are its actions, that though held by
the middle or fore parts of the body, I have known it
twist its tail absolutely off, spontaneously, in these
contortions. Such a circumstance strikingly proves
how slight is the tenacity both of hone and muscle in
the tail of Saurian reptiles, and in that of the Geek-
otida in particular. This member, so readily sepa-
rated, turns and twists about, of its own accord, and
continues to roll over and over, for some minutes
after its dissolution of partnership with its body.

The tongue in the Geckos is large and fleshy ; and
all our species have the habit of protruding it to lick
the lips and face, just as a cow does : in the present
little species this is an action very frequently per-
formed, and the tongue is thrust out to such a degree,
that even the eyes are wiped by it.

Another of its actions reminds one of a cat ; an
animal to which the Geckos have been compared,
on account of their retractile claws, and the pupil

286

BLUEFIELDS.

of their eyes contracting to a line in daylight. As
this little creature runs about, it frequently stops,
and creeps stealthily, with its chin and belly brought
into contact with the ground, while it whisks its tail
from side to side very briskly and repeatedly, exactly
as a cat will often do.

Between the middle and end of February a good
many little eggs were brought to me, covered with
a white calcareous shell, of regularly oval form,
and exactly resembling a bird’s eggs in miniature,
measuring inch by y^^. Some of these were found
in old thatch, and other rubbish, others in crevices
of boards, slightly concealed. After a week or two
they began to become discoloured, and at length black-
ish. About the middle of March I opened one, and
found the young of this Pallette-tip alive, and per-
fectly ready for exclusion, so as to run actively
about when freed. In form, colour, and markings it
precisely agreed with the adult, but was particularly
bright. On the 2nd of April I found in the box
another, very active, and the egg-shell empty with
one extremity thrown off, but not otherwise shat-
tered. Between that time and the middle of April,
several more were born. I have also found at the
end of May, several eggs with the young perfectly
formed, in the cavities of dried Termites’ nest.

In the gizzard of a Whitebelly Dove {Peristera
Jamaicensis), which my servant was skinning, he
discovered a small egg, which he brought to me. On
opening it I found a perfectly formed Gecko of this
same species ; yet, strange to say, the integument
was not shelly but tough and membranous, of a dirty

THE SAND-GOOTOO.

287

yellowish hue. Could the action of the gizzard
have dissolved the lime of the shell, so as to alter its
texture thus ? The time when this occurred was
about the middle of summer.

THE SAND-GOOTOO.

In walking along the smooth sandy beach between
Bluefields and the Creek, our attention is attracted
by some little Fishes, the largest not exceeding four
inches in length, which shoot hither and thither in
the shallows close to the water’s edge. They are
somewhat fearless, and if alarmed do not flee far, and
never into the deep water, but frequently seek to
hide among the sea-grass, or attempt to bury them-
selves in the sand. The negroes call them Sand-
Gootoo, to distinguish them from a kind of Scarus,
which they designate as Eatable Gootoo ; the former
belong to the genus Tetraodon. They have little
beauty of form or colour, the upper parts of the body
being marked with large sinuous spots of olive on a
white ground: the eyes however are brilliant, the
irides being golden, tinged with orange, the pupils
lustrous green or blue.^'

* Tetraodon ammocryptus, mihi. (^Ay/xos, sand, KpvTrru}, to hide.)
The upper jaw most advanced ; the body not compressed ; pectorals
rounded ; caudal truncate. There are minute points scattered over
the belly, scarcely projecting beyond the surface of the skin ; and
during life so concealed by the loose, mucous integument as to
present not the slightest roughness to the feel : they become obvious,
however, after a long immersion in spirit. Lateral line invisible. A
minute, erect, horn-like wart in front of each eye. The colours are
described in the text.

288

BLUEFIELDS.

In endeavouring to capture some of these little
fishes, a curious habit came to my knowledge.
Having in my hand a gauze insect-net, I clapped
it over a Gootoo beginning to hide itself in
the sand. I felt sure that I had it, but my servant
could not feel it with his hand, through the gauze, as
I held the ring tightly down upon the bottom of the
shallow water. Presently I saw, emerging from
under the edge of the ring, an object, that, in size,
form, and colour, looked exactly like a hen’s egg.
The lad instantly seized it, telling me that it was the
fish ; and as he held it up, I saw with surprise the abdo-
men tightly inflated to the dimensions described, and
the fish still inspiring more air with a sucking noise,
and motion of the mouth. To the touch it was as
tense as a blown bladder, and it was with difficulty
that I could force it into a wide-mouthed pickle-
bottle of sea-water, for it filled the neck like a cork.
The instant, however, it touched the water in the
bottle, it resumed its ordinary appearance, and the
change of form was like the effect of magic.

THE PIPER.

A little further off from the beach may be seen
that species of Belone*, called indiscriminately Piper

* Perhaps B. truncata of Lesueur, or B, gerania of Cuvier and
Valenciennes ; but the colours do not agree with those of any one of
the twenty-five species described by the latter zoologists. I regret
that the specimen preserved for comparison is lost, but the following
note of the colouring was made from the recent fish. Irides golden
(sometimes silvery) ; the iris depends in a short pointed curtain over
the top of the pupil. Back dark green, mottled ; edges of the jaws.

BEAUTY OF FISHES.

289

or Long-jaw. They are fond of congregating in little
parties, containing from two or three to a dozen,
skimming leisurely along near the surface, or darting
so swiftly as to shoot out of water. The hinder
part of the body and the tail maintain a constant
wriggling, or uniform lateral serpentine motion. I
have procured specimens of these fishes by the aid of
,my fowling-piece, killing two or three at one dis-
charge of small shot.

THE SPRAT.

Another fish common in shallow water is the
beautiful little Sprat, a small species of Clupea ; it
congregates in large shoals over the sandy bottom,
or, as caprice may dictate, resorts in smaller numbers
to the fissures and caverns of rocks. A great many
are taken with the casting-net to be used as bait,
and the Pelican makes these shoals his standard
food. But their most terrific enemies are the difierent
kinds of Jack (CamTZic), which attack and “beat”
them with such ferocity, that, in their frantic en-
deavours to escape, the whole shoal of Sprats will
often rush high and dry upon the sand. The species
appears to be the Harengula clupeola of M. Valen-
ciennes.

BEAUTY OF FISHES.

The beauty and gorgeousness of Fishes in the
tropical seas have often been admired. These

crown, and lateral line, brilliant emerald green, iridescent. Lower
parts silvery, with a most brilliant opalescence on tbe sides. Fins
hyaline, bluish when in the water. Length eighteen inches.

O

290

BLUEFIELDS.

charms are not confined to mere richness and variety
of colour. In this little Clupea a singular effect is
produced by the sides being marked with narrow lon-
gitudinal bands, not of colour, but produced by a
slight difference in the mode in which the pearly
light is reffected. In the “ Herring ” a species of
the same Family, but belonging to a genus [Chat-
oessus) marked by the last ray of the dorsal being,
prolonged into a whip-like filament, the back is steel-
blue, the sides and belly silvery, with longitudinal
lines highly polished ; the whole fish appearing as if
made in metal.*

The Jacks, too, just named, are remarkable for the
brilliant opaline reflections, which their bodies pre-
sent, quite distinct from their permanent colours.
The reflected hues are principally flushes of purple on
the back, and of flame-colour on the sides. These
bold and voracious fishes are members of the great
Mackarel family : they are distinguished as Buntung
Jack, Round-headed, or Ground Jack, and Cavally

* This seems to be new. Chatoessus eumorphus, mihi. The Elegant
Bristle-herring. Form very gracefully spindle-shaped; outlines of
back and belly uniformly arched from muzzle to caudal ; belly-line
more curved than that of the back. Height barely one-fourth of total
length (reckoned to the fork of caudal) : head (from muzzle to gill
aperture), to total length, as 1 to 5\. Mouth very small, sub-vertical.
Dorsal triangular, pointed, hollowed ; filament reaching to base of
caudal : pectorals small, pointed : ventrals minute ; anal very low, of
equal height all along ; caudal deeply forked, with the lobes acutely
pointed. Belly scarcely serrate. Length seven and a half inches.
The colour is described in the text. Irides silvery.

This species differs considerably in form from Ch. cepedianus, the
oi^y occidental one mentioned by Cuv. and Val. ; it approaches C.
nasus of the Indian Ocean, but is distinguished from it by the longi-
tudinal lines, and also by its proportions.

FEY.

291

Jack. This last term is probably a corruption of
cavalho, and may find an analogy in our Horse
Mackarel,” an epithet by which a British species of
the same genus is familiarly distinguished.

Some very little fishes are common in the same
situations as those above described, which go by the
name of Fry, but consisting of two species, so much
alike, on a cursory examination, as to be readily con-
founded. They are all of about the same size, two
inches and three-fourths in length, of a greyish, pel-
lucid appearance, with the cheeks and gill-covers, and
a broad band running down each side, silvery. Some,
which have the mouth and gilFopening enormously
wide, are a small kind of Anchovy {Engraulis Brownii).
The others belong to another genus, and constitute,
I believe, a new species of Clupea, remarkable for
the great length of the head in proportion to the
body.* It is a curious circumstance that fishes of
different genera should associate together in shoals ; is
it on account of their close resemblance in form, size,
general appearance, and colour ?

* The Silver-banded Herring. Clupea lamprotasnia, mihi. (Aapwphs,
resplendent, Taivia, a ribbon or band.) Head one-fourth of total
length, and nearly twice the vertical diameter of the body ; back
nearly straight : belly very slightly arched : body but slightly com-
pressed : belly not serrated. Fin-rays, D. 13; A. 13; C. 24;
P. 13 ; V. 8. Length two inches and three fourths. Irides silvery.
Body pellucid, greyish ; a broad band of rich silver runs along each
side from the operculum to the base of caudal : cheeks and gill covers
silvery: fins grey, transparent. (Plate I. fig. 2.)

I find teeth certainly on the intermaxillaries, and, I think, in a band
on the vomer ; hence I consider it a Clupea, as restricted by Cuv. and
Val. ; but from the minuteness of the specimens it is difficult to
ascertain this point with accuracy.

o 2

292

BLUEFIELDS.

In the shallows along the beach, and in the inter-
stices of the rugged coral rocks, these tiny fishes swim
in immense shoals, huddling so close together, that
to a person looking down upon a shoal at his feet,
not a speck, literally, of the white sandy bottom is
visible beneath them ; the group looking like an
uniform brownish patch. These, like the Sprats,
form a considerable portion of the regular supply of
the Rufous-necked Pelican, as well as of the Jack ; to
avoid whose impetuous attacks it is, no doubt, that
they swim so near the shore. When Jack are
“ beating (as the phrase is) a shoal of Fry, the
latter seem quite stupefied, and pressing together, may
be taken with a bucket, or even with the hand :
whereas, at other times, if ever so crowded, the
pointing of a stick towards the water, in an instant
clears a space beneath, so that they cannot be cap-
tured with a dip-net, with ever so much caution.
They are too small to be put on a hook, but they are
much used as ground-bait, and for this purpose are
caught by the negro fishermen, who use a cast-net of
very fine mesh.

THE MONK BAT.

At first sight I was disposed to think this identical
with the Chestnut Mastiff Bat of Phoenix Park,
notwithstanding its inferiority of size. Careful ad-
measurement and examination, however, soon proved
it to be distinct, revealing essential differences in
the external anatomy : especially in the form and
proportions of the ear, its tragus, and the frontal
membrane. The lips, in this species, are less pendent.

THE MONK BAT.

293

and consequently the mastiff-like physiognomy is
less conspicuous ; the orifice of the gular gland is
larger. The species is the Molossus fumarius of Spix,
hut this designation is not very felicitous, as the
general hue is not at all smoky-brown, but a deep
umber, rather lighter on the under side. The ears and
all the membranes, as well as the face, are black, the
last-named tinged with purple, as are the muscles of
the limbs. It is remarkable that the volar mem-
branes on both their surfaces have their basal part
covered with the common brown fur as far as a line
reaching from the elbow to the middle of the thigh ;
rather narrower, however, above than below.

This little species differs from the Chestnut Mastiff
Bat, formerly described, in its manners too. The speci-
men which first came into my possession was more
active on the ground than any that I had seen. On
the least touch it ran, or rather crawled, about with
such agility, that it was not easy to seize it; and
that forward, by means of the wing-thumbs, or back-
ward by means of the hinder feet. It would also
strive to jump out of the hand, or would leap off the
table ; but in falling, it never opened the wings. I
did not see it attempt to fly.

It differed from other Bats, also, in being silent ;
all the time I had it, though it was much handled and
incommoded in various ways, it never uttered the
slightest click, nor any sound at all. It was fierce,
attempting to bite, but could not pierce the callous
skin of the end of my thumb, though it drew blood
from one of my fingers.

^ It was at Mount Edgecumbe that this Bat was

294

MOUNT EDGECUMBE.

discovered. Some labourers, felling a decayed Thatch-
Palm {Thrinax)i found the hollow trunk to be
tenanted by Bats, in such aggregated numbers, that
my informant, who brought me the specimen, de-
clared that he could have filled a large basket with
them. He took five, but all escaped, except the
present individual, which he brought to me. Many
of them, he said, were larger than this, but he de-
scribed them all as being “ like ” it. This was about
the end of January.

A month afterwards, I had proof that these state-
ments were worthy of more credit than I had at
first assigned to them. On knocking down another
Thatch-palm, there was found in the hollow of the
trunk another immense assemblage of Bats. A large
cuttacoo, or negroes basket, was presented to me,
which, on being uncovered, displayed a pretty scene
of dusky life. The “ pie ” of our infant days, that
contained “four and twenty blackbirds” all ready
to sing, was nothing to it. Pifty bats, all alive and
kicking, were huddled into the narrow space ; an
arrangement which, considering their natural pro-
pensities, was probably not very disagreeable to
them. I examined forty- three, a few escaping from
the crowd ; and if I was surprised before at the ex-
tent of their gregarious habits, I was still more as-
tonished to find that of this number, every one was
of the male sex, as had been the one formerly ex-
amined. The habit so strongly reminded me of a
herd of monks, shutting themselves up in a convent,
that I thought the species might well be designated
as the Monk Bat.

THE GREAT-EAKED LEAF-BAT.

295

All the host were of the same species, and there
was no perceptible variation in size, but some in
colour. Many were of a very intense brown, others
paler and brighter, while one might almost be de-
scribed as fulvous. One of them had irregular
patches of white on the breast. As they huddled
and crawled over each other, they emitted quivering
squeaks. They all displayed the extraordinary ac-
tivity mentioned above, preferring to run rather than
fly, though a few took to wing. In climbing to sus-
pend themselves they used the thumbs or the hind
feet indiscriminately. In running along the floor,
an action which they performed very swiftly, they
rested on the wrists, elevating the fore parts of the
body considerably.

The tongue is large and thick, with the posterior
half elevated ; the papilim on this portion are large
and mammillary ; those on the anterior part are
small.

In May 1846, my servant caught, in the evening,
at Belmont House, two of this species, both of which
were females, and one was pregnant. This was the
only occasion on which the female came under my
notice ; its size, form, and colour do not differ from
those of the male.

I found this little Molossus infested with a curious
parasitic insect, a species of Trichodectes,

THE GREAT-EARED LEAF-BAT.

One of the most common of the Jamaican Cheiro-
ptera is the Great-eared Leaf-bat {Macrotus Water-

296

BLUEFIELDS.

housei). All the specimens of the species that have
come into my possession were taken by their flying
into lighted rooms at night, a practice to which it
seems more addicted than any other. It is remark-
able for the large volume, and for the erect position
of its ears, which, however, are occasionally thrown
into curves posteriorly, with fine plic(B ; and also for
the great breadth of its wings, in contradistinction
to their length or expanse, which gives it in flight
an appearance of much greater magnitude than it
possesses. (Plate VI. fig. 2.)

The Great-eared Bat is active in confinement, but
in a very different manner from the little Monk Bat
{Molossus fumarius)f for on the slightest cause it
leaps up into flight, and that even during the day,
when it flies about the room with ease and celerity,
now and then hanging head downward against any
little projection, or even from the bare plastered
wall. One, which I had captured, I put within a
glass candle-shade to secure it ; and though the area
inclosed by the bottom of this was little more than
sufficient to allow it to turn its body, it kept con-
tinually leaping up perpendicularly to the height of
six inches, expanding the wings at the same time as
well as the confined space would permit.

Its flight has not the noiseless character common
to the Order ; the impulse of its great volar mem-
branes producing an audible rushing sound. When
placed on the floor it makes no awkward scrambling
attempts to crawl, but leaps up at once into the air,
and flies as readily as any bird. My specimens
uttered no clicking, or other oral sound, when held ;

no/

, CHILONYCTLRIS GR!SEA,i^.y. 3 ,4. 5. NASAL LEAVES OF ARTI BEI . 2, MACROTUS WATERHOUSEI jvj.

MOONLIGHT.

297

but yet were fierce, turning on the hand and drawing
blood with their acute little canines. The eyes were
rather larger and fuller than usual, and at evening
shone brightly ; but by day they were, for the most
part, nearly or wholly covered by the eyelids. I
found this Bat infested with a few winged insect-
parasites of small size and buff colour {Strehla ves-
pertilionis) which flew away from among its fur even
while it was alive.

MOONLIGHT.

There is something exceedingly romantic in the
nights of the tropics. It is pleasant to sit on the
landing-place at the top of the flight of steps in
front of Bluefields House, after night has spread her
“ purple wings ” over the sky, or even to lie at full
length on the smooth stones ; it is a hard bed, but
not a cold one, for the thick flags, exposed to the
burning sun through the day, become thoroughly
heated, and retain a considerable degree of warmth
till morning nearly comes again. The warmth of the
flat stones is particularly pleasant, as the cool night
breezes play over the face. The scene is favourable
for meditation ; the moon, “ walking in brightness,”
gradually climbing up to the very centre of the deep
blue sky, sheds on the grassy sward, the beasts, lying
down here and there, the fruit-trees, the surrounding
forest, and the glistening sea spread out in front,
a soft but brilliant radiance unknown to the duller
regions of the north. The babbling of the little
rivulet, winning its seaward way over the rocks and
pebbles, comes like distant music upon the ear, of

298

BLUEFIELDS.

which the bass is supplied by the roll of the surf
falling on the sea-beach at measured intervals, — a low
hollow roar, protracted until it dies away along the
sinuous shore, the memorial of a fierce hut transitory
sea-breeze. But there are sweeter sounds than
these : the Mocking Bird takes his seat on the highest
twig of the orange tree at my feet, and pours forth
his rich and solemn gushes of melody, with such an
earnestness as if his soul were in his song. A rival
from a neighbouring tree commences a similar strain,
and now the two birds exert all their powers, each
striving his utmost to outsing the other, until the
silence of the lonely night rings with bursts, and
swells, and tender cadences of melodious song. Here
and there, over the pasture, the intermittent green
spark of the Firefly flits along, and at the edges of
the bounding woods scores of twinkling lights are
seen, appearing and disappearing in the most puzzling
manner. Three or four Bats are silently winging
along through the air, now passing over the face of
the vertical moon like tiny black specks, now dart-
ing through the narrow arch beneath the steps, and
now flitting so close over head that one is tempted
to essay their capture with an insect-net. The light
of the moon, however, though clearly revealing their
course, is not powerful or precise enough for this,
and the little nimble Leatherwings pursue their giddy
play in security.

OLD HARBOUR.

299

THE LIGUANEA MOUNTAINS.

Early in March, a day’s pleasant sailing along the
south shore of the island, in a little coasting steamer,
carried me to Kingston. The aspect of the country
generally, from the sea, is forbidding : very few
traces of cultivation are seen ; the harbours are few,
and an almost interminable range of dark forest
meets the eye, frequently degenerating to low,
scrubby bushes, giving the impression of a very
barren soil. This is especially the character of the
scenery between the bold abrupt promontory called
Pedro Bluff, whose broad front of chalk stands up
almost perpendicularly from the sea, and the long
peninsula of Portland, on which not a single planta-
tion breaks the dismal uniformity of the stunted
olive-brown bushes.

Once past this rugged point, the scene becomes
more fair and interesting. We open a broad and
deep bay, known as Old Harbour, dotted with beau-
tiful islands ; its shores rising up in an amphitheatre
of verdant hills, bearing the marks of cultivation and
residence. The wide mouth of the bay, about four-
teen miles from point to point, is studded thick with
little low kays, or rocky islets, breaking the waste of
water with their refreshing greenness. This noble
bay, when Columbus discovered it, was inhabited by
thousands of Indians, the most intelligent and the
most civilised of all the aborigines of the Antilles
that he had seen. On the largest of these islets,
embosomed in the sheltered lake-like harbour, dwelt

300

OLD HARBOUK.

the noble-minded Cacique who proposed to leave his
country and to visit, in the protection of Columbus,
the distant land of the wondrous strangers, of which
he had heard such reports. No carved and painted
canoes now steer out upon the glassy bay, from the
bowery coves and verdant islets ; but the mind de-
lights to recal the picture so vividly, yet so simply,
drawn by the illustrious World-finder, of the spon-
taneous homage paid by the confiding Lord of the
Isles to the power and genius of the white men.
The barbaric pomp of the stately procession ; the
richly ornamented canoes paddling in slow time and
perfect order ; the Cacique himself, in naked majesty,
yet decorated with a coronet, a necklace, and a girdle
of gold and gems ; his sons and brothers supporting
his dignity in loyal fealty ; his lovely daughters, in
native modesty, grace, and beauty,

“ when unadorned, adorned the most ; ”

musicians in curious helmets of feathers, playing on
tabors and trumpets of ebony; and the standard-
bearer in the prow of the royal barge, clad in his
mantle of variegated feathers, with a tuft of gay
plumes on his head, and bearing in his hand a white
banner that fluttered in the breeze ; — all come up
before the imagination, and combine with the lovely
scene, the brilliant sun and sky, the sparkling sea,
and the soft landscape, to make one almost wish that
these fine and fertile lands could be put back again
into their primitive simplicity and wildness, and the
pristine inhabitants restored in their happy thought-
less independence.

GKAND PROSPECT.

301

While remaining at Spanish-town, enjoying the hos-
pitality and society of my valued friend, Richard Hill,
Esq., I made an excursion with him to the summit of
the Liguanea mountains, an elevation of about 3000
feet. Little of interest occurred on the way up, until
we arrived at the top, when a magnificent view of the
interior to the Santa Cruz mountains, of the sinuous
coast from Kingston to near Alligator Pond, and of
the broad plain of Liguanea, spread out as in a map,
with Spanish-town in its centre, — repaid the toil of
ascent. This prospect has been sketched by Sir
Henry De la Beche, in the Geological Transactions,
(vol. ii. 2nd ser.) from which an idea of its grandeur
and vast expanse may be obtained. Turning north-
ward, the sea was visible between the peaks on the
opposite side of the island, near Annotto Bay ; but
on the east the view was shut in by a dark and
frowning mountain, of greater elevation than that on
which we stood, concealing the whole windward end
of the island.

Six hours spent in ascending left but little of day-
light remaining ; and after the beasts were cared for,
and our own weariness a little recruited by rest and
refreshment, it was almost evening. I spent an hour,
however, searching for shells and insects, though with
little success ; a specimen or two of a Cyclostoma
hitherto new to me [C, fascia) ^ and many of some of
the kinds abundant around Bluefields, with the very
common Cylindrella cylindrus^ were all I could find ;
and insects there were none. Very few birds occurred,
and none that were not familiar to me ; the Hopping
Dick {Merula leucogenys) was most numerous; but

302

LEGUANEA MOUNTAINS.'

we heard once or twice in the evening, the long-drawn,
clear, mellow note of the Solitaire {Ptilogonys armil-
latus\ from the depth of the darkening woods.

The night was delightfully cold and quiet; the
coldness made the unfamiliar appendage of a blanket
quite agreeable ; the stillness was peculiar, such a
total absence of sounds as one never finds anywhere
in the lowlands, nowhere, I think, except in very lone
situations at a lofty elevation ; as if the silence could
he felt. In the morning we again looked with ad-
miration on the extended prospect ; there was some-
thing exceedingly interesting in the effect of the misty
clouds that hung about the face of the towering
mountain to the east.^ Sometimes it would be quite
hidden, overspread with a mass of grey cloud that
joined its fellows in the sky ; then it would appear
dimly, as if covered with a veil of thin muslin ; then
openings here and there would break, revealing the
dark green, almost black, surface of the mountain-
side ; these openings, rents in the cloudy veil, would
flit along, borne by the breeze, now closing up, now
enlarging, now coalescing with others ; the towering
mass at one time almost distinct and uncovered, then
gradually dimming, and again brightening ; — so that
the changes seemed almost magical. The eastern sky
was concealed by this vast mass, far up towards the
zenith, so that we had no opportunity of seeing the
sun rise, but we could witness the sudden irradiation
of the plains and distant hills below,

* This must have been St. Catherine’s Peak, or one of its mighty
spurs.

THE BOCIgUA.

303

Soon after sunrise we began to return, but not
before I had taken many bulbs of a Pancratium with
ovate leaves growing near the house where we had
slept. It was not in flower; but the blossom was
said to be fragrant. We returned by a different route,
skirting the summits of the Liguanea mountains, and
passing through smiling plantations, in order to de-
scend into the romantic parish of St. Thomas in the
Vale. After a while, we crossed and recrossed, many
times, the winding Rio D’Oro, and at length entered
the magnificent gorge called the Bog-walk (i. e.
Eocagua, a sluice), through which runs the Cobre,
formed by the union of the Negro and the D’Oro.
The road lay for four miles through this deep gorge^
by the side of the river, and afforded at every turn
fresh scenes of surpassing wildness, grandeur, and
beauty. The rock often rose to a great height on
each side, leaving only room for the rushing stream,
which seemed to have cleft its course, and the narrow
pathway at its side. Sometimes, across the river, the
side of the ravine receded in the form of a very steep
but sloping mountain, covered with a forest of large
timber, and so clear of underwood, that the eye could
peer far up into its gloomy recesses. Here and there
the course of the river was dammed up by islets ;
some of them mere masses of dark rock, others
adorned with the elegant waving plumes of the grace-
ful Bamboo. But the most remarkable object was
the immense rock called Gibraltar, which rises on the
opposite bank of the river, from the water’s edge,
absolutely perpendicular, to the height of five or six
hundred feet; a broad mass of limestone, twice as

304

THE BOCIgUA.

high as St. Paul’s, in the crevices of which grow many
small and slender Fan-palms {Thrinax), the plaited
fronds of one waving against the roots of its next
neighbour. It was now dry weather, but it is said that
when the seasonal rains have been particularly heavy,
a cataract pours down from the very summit of this
lofty rock, breaking into a cloud of mist and spray
before it reaches the distant river below. Surely this
must be a spectacle of wonderful sublimity 1

The rocky sides of the ravine were profusely
fringed with the grass-like tufts of a Bromeliaceous
plant {Pitcairnia\ displaying spikes of long scarlet
blossoms ; and as we approached the termination of
the gorge, a Bletia arrested my eye, agreeing in habit
with that of Bluefields mountain, but with blossoms
of a most rich and gorgeous purple hue. I secured
as many bulbs of this fine terrestrial OrcMdeous plant
as I could find, as well as roots of the Pitcairnia.
Near Spanish-town, a small shrub growing by the
road-side, displayed spikes of Verbena-like blossom
of bright violet, which afforded me some ripe seeds.
Thus terminated our very pleasant, and not unprofit-
able excursion.

This romantic ravine received additional interest a
few days after our visit, by the occurrence there of a
bird of singular brilliancy of plumage, the Scarlet
Tanager {Pyranga ruhra)^ which had never before
been noticed as an inhabitant of Jamaica. The fact
was communicated to me by Mr. Hill, after my re-
turn to Bluefields, in the following words.

‘‘You will learn with much interest, that on the
Thursday after we made our traverse from St. Thomas

THE SCARLET TANAGER.

305

in the Vale, by the wild and embellished gorge of the
river, called the Bocdguas, — in some garden grounds
near the Flat Bridge where a fortress in ruins, with a
block-house above, commands a sweep of the waters, —
and where the waters themseves are rendered more pic-
turesque by occasional placid spots, blended with the
broken stream, in which detached tufts of Bamboos
and Cocoa-nut trees stand reflected in the deep, dark
and tranquil intervals, — a Scarlet Tanager in the most
brilliant summer plumage attracted attention amid
the verdure of the scenery. His sizeable figure, so
bright and glaring, as he glanced from one group of
trees to another, with his doubled image in the placid
parts of the stream, made him ‘ the observed of all
observers.’ The knots of travellers along the gorge
coming to the turnpike, spoke of the strange and
beautiful bird they had remarked in the river-
side garden above the bridge, and the turnpike-
keeper’s attention being, in consequence, drawn to a
thing so curious, he went out and shot it. The
specimen has been brought to me, after it has been
preserved unskinned, and though the plumage has
been a good deal deranged by the unskilful manage-
ment of the person who has preserved it, it has
sufficient of the true figure to enable me to make a
very faithful drawing of it, and to add it to the list
of our migratory visitors.”

The female was with her mate, but her sober-
coloured plumage possessing no attractiveness, she
was allowed to escape unharmed, when the ‘‘ leaden
shower ” fell upon her gaudy companion.

306

NEGRIL BAY.

THE TRUNK TURTLE.

The following communication to the ‘ Morning
Journal’ of April SOth, 1846, relating to the cap-
ture of a Trunk Turtle {Sphargis coriacea), though
drawn up with somewhat of that vulgar wonder that
is common to newspaper science, yet seems sufficiently
accurate to merit preservation, while the measure-
ments are valuable, so far as they go. The scene of
the capture was at no great distance from Bluefields,
being at the extreme west end of the island.

“ The anxiety of the fishermen in this little vil-
lage was aroused on the 30th of last month, by the
track of a huge Sea-monster called a Trunk-turtle,
which came on the sea-beach for the purpose of
laying her eggs. A search was made, when a hole
in the sand was discovered, about four feet in depth,
and as wide as the mouth of a half-barrel, whence
five or six dozen white eggs were taken out; the
eggs were of different sizes, the largest the size of a
duck’s egg. On the morning of the 10th of this
month, at half-past 5 o’clock, she was discovered by
Mr. Crow, on the beach near the spot where she
first came up ; he gave the alarm, when all the neigh-
bours assembled, and got her turned on her back.
She took twelve men to haul her about two hundred
yards. I went and measured her, and found her
dimensions as follows, — from head to tail, 6ft. 6in. ;
from the outer part of her fore fin to the other end
[to the tip of the other ?] 9ft. 2in. ; the circumference
round her back and chest, 7ft. 9in. ; circumference

THE PEDRO SEAL.

307

of her neck, 3ft. Sin. ; the widest part of her fore
fins, 18in. ; her hind fins 2ft. 4in. in length. Her
back is formed like a round top of a trunk, with
small white bumps in straight lines resembling the
nails on a trunk ; her colour is variegated like the
rainbow [probably the living skin displayed opaline
reflections] ; there is no shell on her back, but a
thick skin like pump-leather: ” &c., &:c.

‘^Negril Bay, 13th April, 1846.”

THE PEDRO SEAL.

In the Jamaica Almanack for 1843, Mr. Hill
published a Memoir on a Seal inhabiting the Pedro
Kays, a reef of rocks, lying off the south coast of
Jamaica. As it appears to be a species unknown to
naturalists, and as the publication in which it was
described had only a transient and local interest, I
transcribe the Memoir at length, adding to it such
particulars of the natural history of the animal, as
have since been communicated to me by my friend.

“ The differences which exist in the crania of the
Phocidcs^ and other discrepancies of structure which
have been remarked as distinguishing the several
genera into which the family is divided, would appear
to make the Seal from the Pedro Shoal more allied
to the Ph. vitulina of Linn. {Calocephalus, Fr. Cuv.)
than to any of which we have detailed accounts,
although very different from all. The shoulders.

* From Mr. Hill’s description it appears to have the incisors and
nail-less hind feet of Stenorhynchus, with the molars of Calocephalus.
The data are perhaps not sufficient to warrant the formation of a new

308

THE PEDRO SHOAL.

legs, and thighs, are concealed within the body, and
the hand is extremely flattened and fln-like. The
cranium is large, high, and convex : — there are ten
molar teeth, and two canines in the upper jaw, and
the same number in the lower ; these, with four
incisors, above and below, make in all thirty two
teeth. The molars are five~lohed, and conical ; and
they terminate in a base of extremely rough enamel.
The teeth are so disposed, that when the mouth is
closed, there is no interspace above or below them,
the points of the upper teeth Ailing the depressed
intervals of the lower ones. Having no external
auricles, and ears with foramina so small as to be
hardly perceptible, the species belongs to the Inau-
riculata of Peron, or the earless division of Seals.
The nostrils are narrow Assures, which appear like
two slits in the nose, and are frequently and rapidly
opened. The small orifices of the ears are in a
similar manner rapidly opened and shut. The lips
are full and fleshy, and covered with numerous strong
bristles, very flexible, of a black hue with transverse
bars of grey. The colour of the body is an intense
and uniform black. The hair is short and stifi*, and
extremely and curiously close. This close bristly
covering prevails every where except on the palms
of the flippers, which are bare. The fore paw has
much more the form of a foot than of a hand, the
first finger, answering to the thumb, being the longest.

genus, but I may be permitted to propose the trivial name of Wil-
kianus for the species, in honour of George Wilkie, Esq., to whose
courtesy I am indebted for the skin of an adult specimen probably of
the same kind, shot by himself.

THE PEDRO SEAL.

309

There are nails only on the fore paws, those of the
hinder being rudimentary. The eyes are large, black,
and full, and the irides crimson.

When the specimen from which these notes were
made first arrived, it was very lively, and so sensible
to the slightest touch, that however lightly the hand
might be placed on the fur, it felt the contact, and
moved rapidly away, jerking the whole body forwards.
When left unmolested it was playful. It ploughed
the w’ater with the nose, and snorted as it drew the
head out. It grunted like a pig, and barked, growled,
and snarled, like a dog. It was fond of turning upon
the back and lying dozing. In this posture it slept
and basked in the sun. It refused all food, and lived
four months without eating. Symptoms of dulness
only appeared in the last month, when it was found
to be labouring under some disease of the head ; and
when it died it was discovered to have become totally
blind, the dark pupil of the eye having disappeared,
together with the crimson colour of the iris. It was
surprisingly fat, notwithstanding its long fast. The
fat was four inches thick, and yielded four gallons
of oil. It was a male, but the organs of generation
were not externally perceptible. This organisation
is accordant with the peculiarities of the Seal tribe :
in the female the teats are concealed in the skin, and
the lacteal fulness swells with the rotundity of the
body, so that the animal does not suffer pain or
inconvenience when crawling on land ; and the bifid
termination of the tongue, another peculiarity, is an
adaptation which enables the young of the Pliocidce
to seize the nipple under comparatively difficult cir-

310

THE PEDRO SHOAL.

cunistances, attendant on lactation. The occipital
aperture, which remains for a long time unossified
in this tribe of animals, being still open, though
reduced to a very small orifice, — this Seal may be
considered to have been only just full grown. The
unworn sharpness of the teeth indicated the same
fact.

The measurements of this specimen were as
follows : —

ft. in.

Total length, along the back, from snout to tip of tail - 4 2

From snout to insertion of fore paw - - - 1 6

From insertion of fore paw to hind paw - - 2 10

Circumference of body near fore paws - - - 3 2

Circumference at hind paws - - - - 1 6

Breadth of back at fore paws - - - - 1 0

From one fore paw to the other, extended - - 2 6

Length of fore paw 10 in. Of hind paw 1 1 in.

Breadth of head across ears, measured horizontally - 0 7

Length of head 9 in. Breadth of nose 4^ in.

Length of tall 3 in.

The Kays frequented by these Seals are situated
at about a degree south from this Island, and form
portions of an extensive and dangerous line of rocks
on a shoal about 100 miles long, the two extremities
of soundings touching nearly the 77th and 79th
meridians of W. longitude. These banks rise pre-
cipitously from the deep ocean, with reefs formed,
like the usual rocks in these seas, of coral, with
an accumulation of shells and calcareous sand. The
depth of water varies from 7 to 17 fathoms. A scan-
ty vegetation covers the principal group of islands,
which are what are properly called the Pedro Kays.

SEAL KAY.

311

The detached islets about 90 miles apart, known as
the Portland and Rattlesnake Rocks, are nearly the
eastern and western extremities of the bank. This
shoal has always been visited as an excellent and
inexhaustible fishing ground ; and, probably from the
variety and abundance of its aquatic animals and
marine productions, it received from the Spaniards
the name of Yivero, a word equally designating
a warren or a fish-pond. The principal supply of
turtle for the Kingston Market is derived from these
shoals, and the rocks are numerously tenanted by
sea-birds.”

%

In the spring of 1846 George Wilkie, Esq., paid
a visit to these Kays, and succeeded in obtaining a
larger specimen of the Seal. Some notes with which
he kindly furnished me, through the medium of Mr.
Hill, of the peculiarites of the different islets, depict
natural difficulties in the access to Seal Kay, suffi-
cient to account for the meagreness of the informa-
tion about Seals, possessed by the host of egg-
gatherers, who annually resort to those rocks and
shoals. Seal Kay lies about three miles to leeward
of the principal group. It is about two acres in ex-
tent, and rises to twenty feet in height, but is en-
tirely destitute of all terrestrial vegetation. Address,
in landing, requires to be combined with strength,
hardihood, and perseverance ; and frequently before
a footing can be obtained, the Seals, the objects of
attraction, have escaped to the waters, and continue
to avoid the shore as long as intruders remain upon
the island. “ When Mr. Wilkie’s party first landed
in their late visit, they surprised some five Seals on

312

THE PEDRO SHOAL.

shore. They immediately succeeded in heading a
‘ Bull/ or Male Seal, both big and burly, and killed
him. He proved to be an aged patriarch, with teeth
nearly worn to the stumps, and a hide gashed and
seamed with scars, got in many a fierce fight ; — and
about ten feet in length.

‘‘ In the scramble which the Seal makes to regain
the water, nothing is to be remarked but the violence
and impatience with which he jerks his body for-
w'ard ; but when he plunges from the shore into the
sea, it is no small treat to see the suddenness with
which the uncouth animal, so unwieldy and helpless
on land, becomes gracefully alert in the ocean. The
command with which he strikes through the water,
the velocity with which he cleaves the flood, the ease
with which he winds the mazes of the rocks, and
dashes forward into the hidden recesses of the deep,
are beautifully interesting in a creature looking so
essentially a quadruped. When the boat is afloat
again, the Seals come trooping out to reconnoitre.
At a depth of about three feet they paddle about,
gazing up through the clear liquid with an expression
of countenance beaming with curiosity and intelli-
gence. They dodge around the boat, occasionally
ascending to the surface, to renew their inspirations
of air, and to look upon their island home, to as-
certain whether they may return thither and be at
rest.

“ A grown-up cub about four feet long had been
taken by the people. One Seal was observed more
persevering in her watchfulness and assiduity to re-
gain the shore, than the rest. This was conjectured

MOTION OF SEALS.

313

to be tbe dam of the slaughtered young one. The ma-
ternal instinct did not exhibit any stronger emotion
than this anxious vigilance. The young one ^vas
sufficiently grown to be no longer dependent on the
mother. Had it been still sucking, there was enough
to show that the parental passion would have merged
fearlessness into fury, and inquietude for the safety
of its young, into unsparing vengeance for its fate.

‘^Without doing more than referring to Weddell’s
observation, that the jaw of the Seals he describes
was so powerful in the agonies of death as to grind
stones into powder, it seemed, from the condition of
the teeth of some eight that were taken during the
time Mr. Wilkie’s party were on the Pedros, that
their strength is exercised in more laborious work
than crushing the bones of fishes. The opinion that
the more experienced fishermen expressed was, that
they fed as generally on molluscous animals as on fish,
and that their teeth suffered much wear and tear in
the work of breaking shells. Yet it is remarkable
that the contents of the stomachs of those killed
gave them no insight into the nature of their food : —
they were invariably empty.

I must not omit to mention that our friends had
one opportunity of closely observing the progression
of the Seal when ascending the beach. The advance
was by a succession of zigzag movements. It was
evident that the ground was first gripped by one
fore flipper, then by the other, that the body ad-
vanced first to the right, then to the left, as one
or the other flipper took its hold of the earth, and
helped they body onward. The seemed to delight

P

314

BLUEFIELDS.

in basking in the sun, and to huddle together, and
grunt out their pleasure in each other’s company.”

The skin of one of the specimens obtained in this
expedition Mr. Wilkie kindly presented to me ; a
courtesy the value of Avhich was enhanced by the
fact of its being one of the chief of the opima spolia,
a sort of trophy of his own exploits. It is now in
the British Museum. As the skull was not pre-
served, the actual identity of the species with the
smaller specimen described by Mr. Hill, cannot with
certainty be established ; and there seems a little dis-
crepancy in the proportions, as will be seen by com-
paring the admeasurements of Mr. Hill’s, already
given, with the following, which were taken from

Mr. Wilkie’s specimen : —

ft. in.

Length from nose to tip of tail - - - -66

Circumference at fore paws - - - - 3 4

Length of fore paw - - - - -01 1^

„ hind paw - - - - - 0 lOf

„ tail - - - - - -02

The fur is of a nearly uniform dirty ash-grey,
black at the base, and grey at the tips of the hairs ;
it is slightly mottled on the belly ; it is very close
and stiff, and not more than one-fourth of an inch
long. The vihrissce or whiskers are from an inch to
an inch and three quarters long ; white, with one on
each side dark brown.

THE YELLOW BOA.

A serpent of the Boa kind ( Chilahothrus inornatus)
is commonly found around Bluefields, and I believe
in most parts of the Island, and is distinguished by

THE YELLOW SNAKE.

315

the appellation of Yellow Snake. It commonly at-
tains a length of eight or ten feet, and a diameter of
two inches and a half in the thickest part of the body.
The ground colour is yellow, varying from bright
golden to a clay-colour, marked with black in irregu-
lar spots and confluent bands. These are very few
and remote at the fore-parts, but increase posteriorly,
the yellow at length disappearing except as scattered
spots on an uniform black ground. In the female
there is comparatively little black colour ; and the
tail is very obtuse. The trivial name inornatus,
which MM. Dumeril and Bibron have selected to
designate the species, must be considered as compara-
tive ; for this Boa, when seen alive, in its black and
yellow livery, is, I think, far from unadorned, the con-
trast of colours being flne, and the purple iridescent
glow that is reflected in the playing light from the
dark parts of its polished armour is very rich and
brilliant. (See Plate IV.)

From its size and aspect the Yellow Snake is
looked on with considerable terror by the inhabitants,
though no one pretends to have known of a fatal
result from its bite. The worst evils that I hear of
as consequent upon its attacks are flesh wounds
attended with local inflammation, and rendered difii-
cult to heal by the teeth sometimes breaking off in
the flesh: terror, however, will occasionally induce
fever in the patient. Instances are rare of even these
results ; the reptile usually retreating with precipita-
tion if attacked. It is not infrequently found in
houses and even in beds. I have been told of a
gentleman, who on awaking in the morning felt a

316

TRELAWNY.

pressure on his head, which on turning his eyes he
found to proceed from a huge Boa coiled up on his
pillow : terror-struck, he neither dared to stir nor to
cry ; and thus he lay till his domestics, anxious at
his non-appearance, looked through the window of
his bedroom ; and discovered the spell. They soon
rushed in, and killing the dreaded intruder, released
their master. A serpent of this species was dis-
covered in my own bedroom one night at Content, as
I was preparing to retire for rest. Though certainly
not within the bed, it was but a few inches from my
pillow ; but the motive of its intrusion, which proved
fatal to it, and afforded me the original of a drawing
and description, was probably the pursuit of the rats
that scampered along the rafters over the bed. A male
which I dissected in February had a large mass of
rat’s hair in the stomach and rectum, consolidated by
pressure like the pellets disgorged by owls.

Mr. Hill has recently communicated to me an
anecdote illustrative of this Serpent’s voracity*

Mr. Kelly of Tophill, Trelawny, showed me a fine
skin of a Yellow Snake, — that most powerful of our
ophidians. It measured, as I should guess by the
eye, nine feet. The Snake was taken in a rat-trap.
The pen-keeper, suspecting that the depredation
committed in the fowl-house was the act of a Yellow
Snake, set a rat-trap to catch him ; and succeeded in
fixing him by the neck. In his death-struggles he
had nearly twisted his body from his head. When
opened, he was found to have gulped down, whole
and unbroken, seven hen’s eggs. I forgot to inquire
with what bait he had been enticed to the trap. If it
was a recently-killed rat it would no doubt attract him ;

SNAKE SEIZING PKEY.

317

but be it what it may, it was a manifestation of con-
siderable voracity to take to the bait, after having
swallowed seven eggs.”

My negro lad Sam describes to me with much
graphic force a scene which he once saw at Mount
Airy. A Boa had just seized a hen by the head, and
had enfolded her in its mortal coilings : then it pro-
ceeded gradually to suck in the whole until only the
feet were exposed. Just then a fearless negro
woman began to lay on lusty blows with a stout
stick, which caused the reptile to disgorge its prey ;
but so slimy was its surface now, so lengthened and
drawn out its form, while much diminished in diame
ter, — that it could scarcely be recognised. Not the
least interesting part of the incident was, that during
the whole transaction, the unfortunate hen’s brood of
young chickens, now orphans, surrounded the serpent,
crying as they beheld the tragic fate of their mother.
In this case the act of seizure was not witnessed ;
but Sam has seen a Boa ascend a mango-tree, on
one of whose branches a fowl was perching, and when
at some distance from the prey begin to dart out and
vibrate its tongue, its eyes fixed on the fowl while it
slowly and uniformly drew near ; the poor hen all
the time intently watching the foe, but without stir-
ring or crying. Help came fortuitously, just as the
Snake was about to strike, and the fowl was rescued.
How strange it is that in widely remote parts of the
world we should hear the same statements. Sam has
never read what other observers have described about
fascination ; but he and others affirm from their own
observation that some such power is exercised.

318

BLUEFIELDS.

When a Boa is irritated by stones being thrown at
it, it will sometimes rear up its body perpendicularly,
until it appears to rest only on its tail ; and then
watching a stone, it will suddenly leap after it, dart-
ing to an incredible distance through the air, and drop
upon it. Sam assures me he has seen a leap of
this kind to a distance of full twenty yards, but it
was down a declivity. The Black and the Grey
Colubers will do the same, and will sometimes attempt
even to leap on their human assailants in the same
manner. I have been assured of these facts by both
my servants, who aver that they have witnessed them,
and on whose truthfulness I can entirely rely.

Dr. Palmer of Spanish-town has informed me that
in 1829 a Boa of enormous dimensions was killed on
land belonging to Sheldon, in St. David’s, by Mr.
M^Laughlan, the overseer. The people, to insure
the death of so terrible an animal, had cut its body
into pieces wdth their machettes or hangers ; but
the fragments were collected, and having been placed
in contact, measured within a very few inches of
twenty feet, and were as thick as a man’s leg.

One about six feet in length which I kept alive for
a short time, was very inert, lying coiled in the
bottom of his box, and apparently as unwilling to be
disturbed as those Pythons which we see wrapped up
in blankets in zoological menageries. It was very
offensive, the white creamy matter which it discharged
from the cloaca, and which was probably the urine,
being of a most overpowering fetor. For the same
reason the skinning of one of these Snakes is a very
unpleasant operation, as I have abundantly proved.

CONVOLUTED SERPENTS.

319

It is in addition a very tedious one ; the skin adhe-
ring to the muscles with great tenacity, and needing
to be detached with a knife or scalpel, the operator
working round and round.

It is currently reported that when the Yellow Boa
pairs, which is in spring, others of the same species
approach, and twist themselves with and over the
pair, until an immense knot or entwined mass is
formed. Knots composed of many individuals are
certainly often found, and killed without difficulty,
as they are then very inert. Mr. Hill, of Spanish-
town, once saw five Boas lying together dead on the
road, which he was informed had been killed when
entwined under such circumstances. This knotting
is called by the negroes cooting,” perhaps from the
Spanish coiio. A black man, near Bluefields, going
to his daily labour, found a large number thus con-
torted, and went on killing one after another, until
the fetor proceeding from them made him quite faint,
and compelled him to turn back homeward.

It is possible that the vast convoluted host of Ser-
pents seen by Humboldt in the Savannahs of Izacubo
in Guiana may have had a similar origin : the motive
which he suggests seems scarcely consistent with the
known habits of those reptiles.*

* Dr. Bancroft mentions this habit of congregating in twisted
heaps, with some variation. “ I shall also mention on the authority
of some planters of credit, that a number of Yellow Snakes, as ten or
twelve, are not unfrequently met with in the woody parts of the
island with their tails twisted together, but the rest of their bodies
free. This chiefly occurs about April and May, at their breeding
season as is supposed. When thus surprised, they will raise their
tails, and hiss, and it takes them some time before they can unwind

320

BELMONT.

Sam observed, one day near the end of April, two'
young ones — not, however, very yo\mg — apparently
caressing each other. The one was on a low wall,
with its head hanging down ; the other on the ground,
with its head a little reared ; so that their muzzles
were in contact. The forked tongues of both were
protruded, much vibrated, and seemingly engaged in
licking each other’s face. A large Boa was at a little
distance, looking on.

April SOth. — A lad brought me, from Belmont, six
eggs of the Boa. He had observed a Snake crawl
out of a narrow hole in the side of a yam-hill, a low^
but wide heap of pulverised earth, in which the yam-
tuber is planted. On examination, he found that the
hole was the mouth of a narrow passage, just wide
enough to admit the body of the reptile, and leading
to a large chamber in the centre of the heap, where
lay these six eggs. They were long-oval, IJ inch
by inch; plump when first discovered, but now,
through exposure to the air, shrunken in at the sides ;
adhering to each other by small portions of their
surfaces, so as to form an agglutinated mass. Their
surface was dull white, the integument thin, but
tough, and resembling white kid leather. On snipping
the skin of one, a clear glaire exuded, in which was
a large whitish vitellus, stained with blood-vessels,
and containing a young Snake about seven inches
long, of which the tail was two and a half. The
head was large ; the two lobes of the brain promi-

themselves and separate ; so that any active person armed might then
easily decapitate or destroy them.” ( On the Fishes, §’c. of Jamaica.
Zool, Journ. v. 419.)

NEST or BOA.

321

nent, and protected only by a soft skin ; the eyes
enormous, black, ill-defined; the scutation pretty
well marked. It was of a pale flesh colour, but
pellucid. One foetus which I took out writhed.

At the mouth of the hole, the lad informed me,
lay a heap of earth, excavated in forming the bur-
row. But how was it brought out ? The boy sug-
gested, ‘‘with its mouth.” The chamber was well
lined with trash, the soft strips of half-dried plantain
leaves ; these, I suppose, must have been carried in
in its mouth.

On my communicating this circumstance to my
friend Mr. Hill, he favoured me with the following
note : “ I should conclude that the Yellow Snake
excavates the hole in which it deposits its eggs by
loosening the earth with its head, and delivering, at
the entrance, the crumbled dirt by the muscular
movements of the trunk ; the vertebrae and the ribs
doing that for the transference of the detached earth
from the snout to the tail, which they unitedly per-
form for the movement of the body forward in pro-
gression. The mechanical power is not that of the
Archimedean screw, because the motion is not spiral ;
but it is a similar movement, alternating right and
left, and left and right upon a plane ; and it equally
urges onward anything for delivery along the whole
extent of the moving body within the perforated
hole. The coil of the body at the extremity of this
excavation would form the terminating chamber,
where, in the midst of a bed of trash, it deposits its
eggs. The spurs of the fig and the buttresses of the
cotton-tree are favourite dormitories of the Yellow

322

ST. Ann’s.

Snakes. It is in such places alone that I have met
with them in a state of repose.”

A few days after this, Sam found a Boa lying in a
nest of trash, made between the spurs of a fig-tree
on Bluefields Mountain ; the nest partly covered by
some wood. The Serpent was coiled up, but there
were no eggs.

The interesting circumstance of the Python bivit-
tatus incubating its eggs, which took place in the
menagerie of the Museum of Paris *, is thus shown
to be characteristic of the family ; the habit being
common to the American and Indian species of the
Boad(R. For the fact that the foetus, in the case
which I have recorded above, was fully formed, and
capable of motion when extracted, sufficiently proves
that some time had elapsed since the deposition of
the eggs, while the exit of the Boa from the nest,
which led to the discovery, shows that the parent was
still fulfilling the duties of incubation.

Other persons have assured me that often, on killing
a female Yellow Snake, they find the young in her
belly. And this is curiously confirmed by a note from
Mr. Hill, who thus writes me : “ The Honourable
Thomas James Bernard, Member of the Council, has
related to me a very curious fact of the Yellow
Snake. Lately, his labourers in the Pedro Mountain
district, St. Ann’s, killed a Yellow Snake containing
some ten or twelve grown young ones, varying from
eight to ten inches in length. The negroes ex-
pressed their surprise at this circumstance, because

* Ann. des Sci. Nat (2nd ser.) xvi. 65.

GENEKATION OF BOA.

323

they knew that this Boa produced its young from
eggs.

Is this to be received as a case of Snakes that
retire upon alarm into the mouth and stomach of the
parent ? It is stated of the Rattlesnake in Hunter’s
‘ Memoirs of a Captivity among the North American
Indians,’ that ‘ when alarmed, the young ones, which
are generally eight or ten in number, retreat into
the mouth of the parent, and reappear on its giving
a contractile muscular token that the danger is
past.’ Credible eye-witnesses say the same of the
European Viper. (See Charlesworth’s Mag. Nat.
Hist. vol. i. new series, 1837. p. 441.)”

In a recent communication to me, Mr. Hill de-
scribes the Yellow Snake as viviparous, on the au-
thority of a young friend studious of natural history.
A gravid female of this species, taken by him, brought
forth, after some days, eleven young Yellow Snakes.
If there was no error in the observation of this case,
it must be considered as an aberration of habit. The
generation of the BoadcB is well known to be ovi-
parous, and the fact above mentioned as having fallen
under my own notice, proves that, sometimes at least,
our Chilahothrus produces eggs. Is it possible that
a Serpent, normally oviparous, might retain the eggs
within the oviduct until the birth of the young,
when circumstances were not propitious for their
deposition ?

The scaly armour of this Serpent does not protect
it from the attacks of parasitic insects. I found one
infested by a flat Tick (Ixodes) ^ in some numbers.

324

SPANISH-TOWN.

the rostrum of the insect inserted beneath the scales
of the body, by which they were nearly concealed.
The form assumed by the pupil of the eye, a narrow
perpendicular line, which gives so very sinister an
expression to the physiognomy, indicates a nocturnal
activity. The pupil is round in the Coluhridce,

Our Yellow Snake is replaced in Cuba by another
form of the same family, very similar in appearance,
Epicrates angulifer.

Probably other Ophidians remain to be described.
Mr. Purdie, in his Botanical Tour (Lond. Journ. Bot.
iv. 18.), thus speaks of a Serpent which he saw near
Agley Gap, in the eastern part of the Island : “ On
a loose rock I observed a large and remarkable Snake,
striped like a zebra; but on my attempting to cap-
ture the creature, it disappeared among the rocks.

THE PARDALINE SNAKE.

To the kindness of my friend Mr. Hill I am
indebted for the knowledge of a pretty little Snake,
placed by naturalists in the family of the Boas, yet
possessing so many of the characters of the Colubers,
that it must be considered as one of the connecting
forms of the two groups. It was described under
the name of Leionotus maculatus, by M. Bibron,
in 1840, in the History of Cuba, by M. Ramon de la
Sagra, a new genus being instituted for it. In the
same year, M. Gundlacher, in the Archiv. natur-
gesch. von Wiegmann, described it as Boa pardalis,
Mr. J. E. Gray has given it the generic appellation
of Ungalia*

THE PARDALINE SNAKE,

325

Two individuals were presented to me by my
friend, of which one was adult, the other about half-
grown. The former is grey-brown above, pale-yellow
or white beneath ; marbled here and there with red-
dish-brown; and marked, with irregular round spots
of black. The young one is much more beautiful,
being of a pale clay-colour above, becoming cream-
yellow on the belly. Four bands of reddish-brown
run along each side of the back, and ten rows of
round black spots, of which the two dorsal and the
two ventral rows contain the largest. The tail is
very short, and abruptly narrowed at half its length,
where it becomes pale red, unspotted. On the hind
head, there is a V-mark of brown, pointing forwards ;
and a brown band passes from the muzzle through
each eye, and on to the sides of the neck.

If we except the Chelonia and the Crocodile, this
is the only reptile recognised as common to the
islands of Jamaica and Cuba. Mr. Hill informs me
that it is rather common about Greenwich, in Kings-
ton Harbour, and that it never exceeds sixteen or
eighteen inches in length. The younger specimen
mentioned above was taken at Mr. Wilkie’s, near
Spanish-town, in February, 1846. An excellent
figure of this beautiful little Serpent is given in
Sagra’s Cuba ; together with an elaborate description ;
but not a word of information about its habits or
economy.

326

PHOENIX PARK.

THE OWL-FACED BAT.

May 1846. — A pretty and interesting little
Bat came into my hands, a species of the curious
genus Chilonycteris* It flew in at an open window
at Phoenix Park in the evening, hut was not captured
until after a very tedious pursuit, manifesting great
agility on the wing. It looked much larger in flight

* This closely resembles Ch. Madeayii (Gray), sent from Cuba by
the zoologist whose name it bears. It differs, however, from that
species in some of its admeasurements, and remarkably in colour. I
therefore consider it distinct, and would thus describe it.

Chilonycteris grisea, Mini. Expanse 1 11 inches. Length from nose
to insertion of tail, 2 in. ; tail 1 in., of which ^ were free, above the
membrane. Length of first finger, S^^gin. Ear, measured up the
longer side, up the shorter, tragus (front side), 55 Muzzle
to inner angle of eye, ; muzzle to ear, thigh, fg; leg, foot f*g
nearly ; calcareum, ^in. Dental formula, M. ^ ; C. JEh ; I. | ; = 32.
Molars very jagged, with sharp points ; upper canines large ; upper
incisors, middle pair, large, wedge-shaped, like the human incisors,
with one notch ; lateral pair very small, pointed, leaning towards the
middle pair ; lower incisors small, with two notches, the points equal
in height. Muzzle dilated and truncated, in the manner of a hog’s,
ending in four points, one above each nostril, and one on each side.
Lower lip large, warty : below this there is, as it were, another lip,
a thin projecting lamina. The skin at the sides of the head is a con-
tinuation of the ear, reaching almost to the muzzle, inclosing, with
the ear, a deep hollow, at the bottom of which is placed the eye, the
fur diverging in front and below, like the facial feathers in Owls;
the eyes are hidden in a front view : probably this structure is to
converge the sound, not the r9,ys of light. The head is round, and
prettily formed. The reproductive organs were inconspicuous, but
it was a male.

Colour of the upper parts brownish-grey ; of the under parts pale
grey, silky ; the whole fur very soft, shorthand mole-like. The volar
membranes black, much wrinkled. (Plate VI. fig. 1.)

THE OWL-FACED BAT.

327

than* in the hand, probably from the great extension
of the interfemoral membrane.

Ill captivity it uttered once or twice, very slightly,
the peculiar short sound resembling the clicking of
some delicate piece of machinery, which every one
who is familiar with living Bats will remember as
common to most of these animals.^ It was very
active, leaping up to flight from the table, and ex-
panding the wings in a moment, though confined
within a candle-shade. It bit fiercely at the hand
that held it, but could not draw blood from the
fingers. It usually carried the apical half of the
interfemoral bent upward at the point where it ceases
to embrace the tail, so that the tail seems to extend
beyond the membrane. It is held thus by the cal-
carea, the tips of which, curving downward, carry
down again the tip of the membrane, puckered into
minute plicae. This was usually (not invariably) the
case, when held in the hand ; how it might be in
flight, I did not observe ; but I suspect that the
interfemoral would then be wholly expanded. It
died sooner than I expected, and thus precluded my
further observations of its living manners.

I never saw that very curious form, Mormoops
Blainvillii, alive ; but Mr. Hill was so kind as to
present me with a specimen in fine preservation in
spirits. It had been captured at Spanish Town

* I have heard the Marmozette Monkey (Jacchus) produce the
very same sound; a curious little collateral evidence, if any were
wanting, of the correctness of the principles, which impelled the
sagacious Linnaeus to place the Bats among his Primates.

328

SPANISH-TOWN.

in 1843. The development of membrane on the
face of this species, especially in the involved and
foliated expansions of the lower lip, exceeds any
thing of the kind that I am acquainted with, and
forms a very singular spectacle. The colour of the
fur is not mentioned in the published descriptions ;
it is of a delicate light rufous hue ; and its texture is
particularly fine, soft, and silky.

In a letter dated February 27th, 1847, Mr. Hill
mentions a Bat apparently of a well-marked, but new
species ; certainly very dissimilar to any that occurred
to me. He thus writes : — “ Among the specimens
of Bats that you carried home, did you observe
any with the membrane forming the wing in part
transparent and in part opaque ? I had a Bat given
me a day or two ago, which I took to be a Mo-
nophyllus ; — the ears being rounded and the nose-
leaf sharp ; but the membranes of whose wings were
not brown, as is said of the Monophyllus assigned to
Jamaica. (Pen. Cycl. ; Cheiroptera.) Between
the outer phalanges, answering to the first and second
finger, the wings were of a transparent dirty white ;
and between the remaining membranes of the fingers
and body of an opaque black. The Bat when fiying
looked like some birds with white-marked quills and
secondaries. This specimen, I regret to say, escaped
from me when I attempted to get him out of the
handkerchief in which I had wrapped him ; but I
shall endeavour to recover a similar specimen from
the place whence this one was procured.”

My friend, however, had afterwards reason to think

THE ALCO.

329

that this diaphanous peculiarity was not a specific
character, but a mere adventitious deviation from
normal condition.

THE ALCO.

When I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Hill at
Spanish-town I made the acquaintance of a beautiful
little inmate in his family, a white silky Lap-dog, with
large melting black eyes. The interest which attached
to this Dog was greatly enhanced, when I was in-
formed that it was a specimen of the Mexican Mopsy,
the white woolly variety of the Alco, or native Dog,
found both in the islands and on the continent at the
time of the discovery. To gratify my wishes for all
the details that he could give me of the history of
this interesting breed of dogs, my friend kindly drew
up the following memoir, which he afterwards com-
municated to me.'^

In an accompanying note my friend thus alludes to the intro-
duction of his illustrative reminiscences : I doubt not my readers will
agree with me in thinking that they greatly embellish the subject by
their graphic pictorial power, and need no apology.

“ You will perceive that I have introduced an extract from my
MS. notes of travels in Haiti. The Alco was so much a part of the
domestic life of the aboriginal Indians, and this passage was so much
an illustration of that life, that I thought it not inappropriate to the
subject. In mentioning the fruits, I have set down the Indian and
Spanish names generally. The Aguacate is the Persea gratissima ;
Avogada Pear is a corruption. The Guanabana is the Anona muri-
cata, our Sour Sop. The Maranon I have indicated by Ariacardium,
the Cashew. The Ciruclas are the Spondias, our Plums. The
Maimon, as well as I can remember, is the largest of the MammeasP

330

SPANISH-TOWN.

The aboriginal inhabitants of these islands are
represented as possessing at the time of the discovery
a small domesticated Dog, which they called an Alco,
This little inmate of their homes was remarkable for
a gentle quietness of temper, and for an attachment
that made it the constant companion of its master.
When the indolent and pleasant life of the island was
terminated by the servitude imposed by the Spaniards,
and the dream in the shade, and the noontide slumber
by the fountain, which had been exchanged for no
ruder exercise than the choral song, and the evening
dance, were succeeded by the labour by day, and the
weariness by night ; — and life became an endless
repetition of the same toil and suffering, the hopeless
despondency in which the Indian perished swept away
also the attached inmate of his home.

‘‘ The domesticated Dog is everywhere the counter-
part of his master. His instincts and appetites as-
sume the passions and pursuits of the being he serves,
and mould him into races as varied as the condition
of mankind. From an animal of pursuit with the
huntsman ; of vigilant guardianship with the keeper
of flocks and herds ; and of sleepless watchfulness
with the confiding household ; — he becomes an in-
dulged menial or a pampered favourite at the family
board. Preserved and perpetuated in the several
accidents of breed, to administer to the wants and
pleasures of man, we may estimate the social con-
dition of a people by the developed character of their
Dogs.

‘‘ All writers agree in representing the Alco as a

ABORIGINAL DOGS.

331

small animal kept as a familiar pet by the Indian
women.* It had yet so much aptitude for out-of-
door purposes, as occasionally to return to a state
of independence. The Goschis of Charlevoix, and
the Gasques of Garcilasso and Peres, described as
small dogs absolutely mute, with downy or silky hair
of different and often of bright colours, possessed by
the natives of St. Domingo, and the neighbouring
islands, and used in the chase of their almost only
quadruped the Agouti, before the arrival of the
Spaniards, was a dog of the Alco race. The specimen
which Mr. Bullock brought from Mexico and ex-
hibited with his collection of Mexican curiosities at
the Egyptian Hall, he described as an animal of the
wild breed. Colonel Hamilton Smith represents it
as having the appearance of a Newfoundland Puppy. i-
‘ It was small, with rather a large head ; elongated
occiput ; full muzzle ; pendulous ears ; having long
soft hair on the body. In colour, it was entirely
white, excepting a large black spot covering each ear,
and part of the forehead and cheek, with a fulvous
mark above each eye, and another black spot on the
rump ; the tail was rather long, well fringed, and
white.’ The island breed of this Dog is extinct. We

* Bryan Edwards, in his History of the West Indies (vol. i. p. 11 6.),
when speaking of the Alco, quotes an author named Acosto, who says
that “ the dogs among the Indians of St. Domingo were a small mute
creature, with a nose like that of a fox, which the natives called Alco.
The Indians were so fond of these little animals that they carried them
on their shoulders wherever they went, and nourished them in their
bosoms.”

f Naturalist’s Library, Mammalia, vol. x. Dogs.

332

HAITI.

see occasionally specimens whicli come to us from the
neighbouring continent, with the silky flow of hair
common in the Spaniel, and the Maltese Dog, those
caressed household favourites of Europe, but the best
known variety of the Indian Alco is the woolly
breed, so much sought after under the appellation of
the Mexican Mopsy. It assumes the lanigerous cha-
racter, we may suppose, in the colder atmosphere
of the mountains of Mexico, — or it may be that it
has been mixed with a breed remarkable for a woolly
coating found beyond the Rocky Mountains. The
Indians are said to spin and work the hair of a dog,
along with other woollen materials, into garments.

‘‘When these Islands first greeted the eyes of their
European discoverers, the simple manner of life of
the natives, free from toil and disquietude, strangely
fascinated them. Existence in these Western Edens
seemed like a delicious dream. Their holiday life
was a reiteration of luxurious indolence. Under a
serene sky and a voluptuous climate, they enjoyed
the quietude of home, in which their little dog bore
them company and shared their affection with their
children. In Yasica, in Eastern Haiti, I found un-
changed memorials of the ancient Indians. Peculiar
slopes, cut like terraces along the hills of the vale,
decidedly artificial, were gardens of the aboriginal
inhabitants. The little stockade cottages upon these
terraces, surrounded by groves of palms, and trees
laden with fruit, and with fences enclosing a court-
yard filled with flowering shrubs, had, to my eyes,
a character so primitive, and so identical with the
life of the Indians, that I could not fail to recur

INDIAN GARDENS.

333

to their former owners. ‘ When, ten years after the
discovery of the island, the intolerable tyranny of
the Spaniards had driven the inhabitants from what
Columbus had described as ‘‘ the painted gardens of
the plain,” the homes of the Vega Real, and de-
populated them, the natives fled in numbers to the
glens and fastnesses of this adjoining district. The
limestone rocks, which pierce the summits of the
mountains, abound with caverns in which the bones
of the unfortunate fugitives who preferred death to
servitude, are still found accompanied by the remains
of their domestic dog. It was in the hottest month
of the year (July, 1831) that I visited this delightful
valley. The rains which come with the vertical sun,
and prevail all through the solstitial season, had that
year been unusually late. They had as yet fallen
only in gentle showers, and the constant sea wind
that blows refreshingly between the mountains had
scarcely heaped on the summits those white accumu-
lations which were to fertilise the fields with season-
able moisture. But the air was agreeably cool, and
all through the unprecedented drought of the year,
the grass in these sheltered vales was fresh, and the
ground overspread with flowers, and the crops of
corn and pulse were affected by none of those heated
blasts which had destroyed the hopes of the husband-
man elsewhere. We found the nights beautiful :
the stars shone with exceeding brilliance. Nothing
could surpass the magnificence of the green parks
of palm and heavy-laden fruit-trees of curious foliage
in the villages. There were vestiges, — fragments
of earthen vessels, stone hatchets, and chased or-

334

HAITI.

naments, — that involuntarily led the remembrance
to the household life of the meek and innocent race
that once peopled them. The peculiar trees that
shadowed their dwellings, — the calabash that supplied
them with drinking bowls ; the starry caymite ; the
russet nispero ; the golden marahon, the anacardium ;
the guanabana ; theanona; the rose-apple ; the guava;
the aguacate ; the mammea ; the orange ; the cirucla;
the maimon ; the tamarind ; the pine-apple, fruits
that made part of their simple repast, were all grow-
ing, blossoming, and bearing, amid groves of palm.
The nightingale * sings there, and the colibri visits
the bowers at noonday, — but the people that sat
beneath their shadows, where are they ? Their cot-
tages are in the village — the upright boards of the
palma real, braced with the unhewn hardwood and
tied with stems of bejuco, and covered with sheaths
of jagua, are the same sort of huts they inhabited.
The very hamac that swings there is theirs, but
another race are dwellers within them. The glitter-
ing palaces of the Spaniard are crumbled to dust —
earthquakes have buried them, and revolutions des-
troyed them. The golden dreams have faded. The
anticipated future has deceived the avarice of kings
and the venality of nobles. The empire conferred
by the high-styled vicegerent of God is passed away.
All has been cheated, — the cupidity of ambition,
and the eagerness of power. Nothing remains but
the sheltered hut and the shadowy garden, — the

* The Mocking-bird {Mimus polyglottus) is so called in the An-
tilles.

ABORIGINAL DOGS.

335

unambitious home of which they dispossessed the
simple Indian. “ There are no vicissitudes for the
eternal beauties of nature,” says Madame de Genlis :

while, amid blood-stained revolutions, palaces, mar-
ble columns, statues of bronze, and even cities them-
selves disappear, the simple flower of the field,
regardless of the storm, grows into beauty and mul-
tiplies for ever.”

‘‘ The wild race of Dogs of the Southern Continent
which the Indians have reclaimed, and which, six and
eight together in company, hunt agoutis, pacas, and
wild gallinacea, with a solitary cry heard in the dense
forest, — middling in size, light in colour, and close-
haired, is the Aguara dog of Surinam. The species
is not numerous. Among the aboriginal natives of
the Northern Continent, there occurs a small dog
of slender make, with broad pointed ears, covered
with long white straight hair, and having the body
clouded with blackish grey and brown intermingled
spots, and the feet well clothed with fur. It is gentle
and confiding in disposition, but mute ; at least in its
native land it is never known to bark. These and
the lanigerous dog beyond the Rocky Mountains,
are the only races of the native breeds of either
continent, in which we trace any of the peculiarities
assigned to the Alco, in the two races distinguished
by that name.

“ Of the three different species of Dog, included
by Fernandez in his History of the Animals of New
Spain, under the generic name of Alco, Buffon,

My MS. Notes of Travels in Haiti in 1830 and 1831. (R. H.)

336

SPANISH-TOWN.

rejecting at once the Hairless Dog, identical with the
Bald Turk of the old continent, admits readily the
species called Ytzcuinte Potzotli, a dog, short-necked
in an unusual degree, and humped in shape, with
silky hair; and the Techichi, wild and melancholy
in aspect ; as true aboriginal dogs. The first of these
two species he recognises as the same with the Lap-
dog of Peru, — the little plump fondling of the
Indian women ; and the other as a larger and lighter-
made species, but dull and spiritless, which the In-
dians make use of in the chase, — in which he sees
the Forest Dog of Guiana. It seems exceedingly
probable that there were two breeds of indigenous
CanidcR in these Islands at the time of the discovery,
and that their common name Alco was a generic
appellation ; — that one breed, the silky-haired Alco,
came hither from Yucatan and Mexico, the seat of
Indian civilisation ; and that the other, the short-
haired, was brought in from the Southern Main by
the predatory Caribs. The variety now known as
the Mexican Mopsy differs only in the woolly in-
stead of the silky hair, from the detailed description of
Bufibn. Pendent ears, the sign of domestication ; the
forepart of the head white, save round the eyes and on
the ears, which are tinged with rufous ; the back,
sometimes, inclined to yellow ; the tail white and
short, and flowing but half way down the thighs ;
the body marked occasionally with black spots ; the
legs white and toes long. These details are minutely
descriptive of our little Mexican favourites, — the
yellow-rufous prevailing on the face and ears, inside
and out, but more especially on the inside ; while

prince’s faithfulness.

337

the yellow on the back and the black spots on the
body are often enough seen in the specimens about
the streets.*

‘‘ Some four years and a half ago, a friend sent
me a grown up pup, then about seven months old,
a creole product of a stock originally procured from
the Indian main. As this dog, which we still possess,
exhibits marked traits of character which are said to
prevail always in the breed, I shall set down some
few of its peculiarities.

‘‘ The first act of Prince when brought to us, was to
attach himself to a little niece of mine, twelve years
old, — to whom, rather than to my sister or myself,
he was a present, and he became so exclusively hers,
as to disregard, and even receive with displeasure,
the caresses of everybody beside. He did not long
enjoy the beneficent eye of this mistress ; — she was
seized with a mortal fever which carried her off in a
few days after his arrival in our house. Prince’s
place was, however, always by her pillow, — and he
would rise from the soundest sleep at midnight to
kiss her fevered cheek and be fondled by her, if he
heard her voice. When she was in her cofiin, Prince’s
place was under the head of it, where he sat silent
and sullen, and seemed as much a mourner as any
of the family.

Prince’s affection continues to maintain this marked

* “ The passage in Edwards, quoted from Acosto {see note on
p. 331.), represents the Alco as fox-nosed. Very many of the Mexi-
can Mopsies are so fashioned ; though Prince has not that feature
sharp. A pointed, fox-nosed Mopsy is, however, more common than
one with a short nose.”

Q

338

SPANISH-TOWN.

undivided character. His attachment has been trans-
ferred to the mother of his first favourite, since the
child’s death. No other object is permitted to par-
ticipate in his regards. His whole heart is with his
mistress. He sleeps at night by her bedside, — and
he selects for his place of repose the spot where her
shoes are put down. By day he lies at her feet. —
No other living being is allowed to share in her ca-
resses. If a child be taken into her lap, Prince
leaps up immediately, and strives to thrust the object
of his jealousy away. If he be checked or scolded
for his presumption, his countenance assumes a cha-
racter of unmistakeable displeasure, and he withdraws
himself into some retired part of the room, and re-
jects every endeavour to reconcile him to his disap-
pointment. His eyes being a deep unmingled black,
his countenance expresses with distinctness all his
varying emotions. We have felt some surprise that
he should so passionately have taken to my deceased
niece, child as she was, for his first love ; because we
have observed that he has an unconquerable repug-
nance to the notice of all other children whatever : —
he not alone refuses their caresses, but whenever they
attempt to pat him, he snarls and endeavours to con-
vince them of his dislike by trying to bite them. We
have another dog in the house, but he refuses all
companionship with him. He tolerates the cat, and
will sleep on the same sofa with that fellow-servant,
but we have never seen him familiar with any other
canine, save a little dog of the same mopsy breed
with himself which had been brought to us by some
of the neighbours from the street on a supposition

pkince’s selfishness.

339

that it was our own little pet that had wandered
away, and had been lost. This predilection was not
induced by any sexual instinct, because this dog was
also a male. This is a remarkable evidence of the
disposition among animals, when they have become
divided into races, to form companionship only with
their own allied breeds, and to propagate with them.
— ‘ The wild animal, preserving the same habits,
nourished by the same food, sometimes in scarcity,
and sometimes in abundance, and exposed to the
vicissitudes of the seasons, assumes little variety
which may not easily be traced to the operation* of
these causes ; the same soil, climate, and subsistence
continue to produce a similar race.’* Domestication,
when it has established a peculiar character, main-
tains a preference for it, and by conformity to this
preference removes a tendency to new varieties, until
altered circumstances give rise to other qualities and
modifications, when a new breed arises, and maintains
its own uniformity by an adherence to the same pre-
ferences, and consimilarities.

Prince’s jealousy and selfishness leads him to eat
up greedily anything he is disposed to refuse, if our
other dog, Spot^ be called to take it. This begrudg-
ing temper is very amusingly turned to account when
we wish to force upon him medicine. If he is dis-
posed to reject the food with which it is mixed, a
call made for the other dog to come and take it, im-
mediately induces him to swallow it hastily, to gratify
his splenetic temper; but if anything be given to the
other dog first, when he has been waiting or begging

* Dr. J. Bird Sumner on the Records of Creation. Appendix, No. ii.

340

SPANISH-TOWN.

for a share of it, he withdraws himself in a pet, and
refuses to take it when afterwards offered to him.
This jealousy, which allows of no rival in favouritism,
induced a friend, when he first saw its humours, to
observe how distinctly this pet of ours bore traces of
the common failings of flesh and blood. The motives
that influenced the dog-mind were as perceptible as
if they had been declared in the words of some human
sentiment.

Prince’s manner of expressing his marked regard
is by rubbing his head into the bosom of the object
of his affection, much in the way that a cat rubs
itself upon a person when particularly disposed to
fondness. He is very select in his food. He rejects
all vegetables, and eats only cooked flesh ; yet he is
passionately fond of cakes, particularly those that
are spiced, and is perfectly greedy of sugar. He
rejects fresh fish, but is insatiably disposed for that
which is salt. His sight is not quick, nor his
vision distinct ; — this is said to be the failing of the
breed. He is usually disposed to silence and re-
serve ; but he barks, and that vehemently, when he
is roused so to express his emotions. But the
temper, and the unsociable and passionate regard for
a single person in a household, here described, to the
exclusion of every one else, is the characteristic of
every individual of this particular race.

“ I should not forget to mention that there is a wild
Dog in Eastern Haiti, very different from the Feral
Hound of St. Domingo, delineated by Colonel
Hamilton Smith. This wild dog is called a Xibaro
{Hibaro), and at all points resembles the Aguara dog

THE XIBARO.

341

of Surinam. When I was journeying up to the
mountains of Maimon beyond the Yuna river, our
path in the pine forests was crossed by a solitary Dog
of peculiar make. As it lurched past us, I heard for
the first time the Xibaro spoken of. When we
came to the spot at which the dog had skulked into
sight, we found, a little way off our track, deforest hog^
which had been run down, and just slaughtered.
The entrails were torn open, and the Xibaro had
been gloating on the reeking blood and steaming
viscera. My inquiries led to some precise informa-
tion about this race of wild dogs. Tradition makes
them Indian. They maintain a uniform character in
every district in which they are known. They are
prick-eared, middle-sized, and light-coloured. A
sketch supplied me by a Spanish friend, I find still
preserved among my St. Domingo notes, and I close
this account of the Alco with a copy of it, as the re-
presentation of a remanent aboriginal hunting dog.”^

THE MANATEE.

June \Sth, — A Manatee (Manatus Americanus)
fortunately fell under my observation at Savanna-le-
Mar ; having been just captured by getting itself en-

* “ I met somewhere in my reading a short time ago with the word
‘ Xibaro,’ applied, as a South American term, to the Wild Dog of the
Savannas. The animal spoken of by Col. Hamilton Smith at the
conclusion of his notice of the Feral Hound of St. Domingo, as the
Wild Dog of Mexico, and the ‘ Cimarron ’ of the Pampas, answers in
all respects the description of the Xibaro ; — small sized, with erect
ears ; bold and sagacious ; not hostile to man, but destructive to the
calves and foals of the wild herds ; hunting singly and in troops ; and
burrowing in the open country.”

342

SAVANNA-LE-MAK.

tangled in a seine. It was still alive, and apparently
uninjured, but lay with a dull inertness, manifesting
little sign of vitality, except now and then a lazy
flap of the broad tail, and the periodical opening of
the nostrils. Its pachydermatous character struck me
at once : the skin, rough and coarse, presented no
resemblance to the smooth integument of a Dolphin
of similar size, which is like the softest and smooth-
est kid leather, whereas this greatly resembled the
hide of a huge pig. The form of the muzzle, also,
though peculiar, has much analogy with that of a hog,
and the remarkable character of its surface, semi-
cartilaginous, plump, and lubricated, is the same in
both animals. The development of muzzle, again,
strongly marks the typical Pachydermata, as it does
the Manatee. A few short hairs stand up perpen-
dicularly from the head, especially on the 1‘ront of
the muzzle, on the lower part of which they become
stout white tubes, about a line in diameter, and three
lines in length. The nostrils are placed on the top
of the muzzle, and consist of two tubular orifices
about an inch in diameter, when open ; but ordi-
narily closed by a sort of valve of semi-lunar form,
so that their position is indicated only by a depres-
sion of that form, the horns of which point forwards.
The action of breathing is periodical and sudden : I
did not measure the intervals of respiration, but it
might be several minutes. Suddenly the crescentic
depressions become circular openings, and the warm
breath is expired ; in about half a minute they are
closed as suddenly. The valve or stopper has a
singular appearance: when its action is carefully

THE MANATEE.

343

watched, it seems to be the front side of the tube
itself elevated by muscular action to close, and de-
pressed to open, the nostril.*

The small eyes are deeply sunk, and hidden be-
neath projecting eyebrows : I could not see any
eyelids or lashes. The region around and beneath
these organs was maintained in a constant state of
wetness, by the exudation of tears.

A slight depression down the mesial line of the
back marks the course of the spine. The swimming-
paws are little indeed like hands, and the nails could
not have been detected, if they had not been looked
for : they are broad, rough, and black, and are
distinguished from the skin of the foot only by a
depression around their bases : that is, as in the
human nails, the base is lower than the surrounding
flesh. I could find only three on each paw. I
should much doubt the derivation of Manatee,” or
as the negroes call it, Manantee, from manatus,
handed. If these were indeed the mermaids” seen
by Columbus off the mouth of the Yaqui in Haiti,
he might well say that they were by no means the
beautiful beings that they had been represented,
even though viewed under the influence of that
couleur de rose, which his excited imagination was
then casting upon every thing he saw.

The animal allowed itself to be dragged about.

* Looking at the Hippopotamus in the Zoological Gardens, I was
lately struck with its mode of breathing, while in the water. The
periodical and sudden opening of the valvular nostrils, and the ex-
plosive emission of the air, forcibly recalled to my memory the
Manatee of Jamaica.

344

SAVANNA-LE-MAE.

and even its muzzle to be handled, without the
slightest attempt to bite, or any manifestation of im-
patience.*

After taking the foregoing notes, I made some
careful sketches of it as it lay ; no representation
that I have seen conveying anything more than a
rude approximation to its general appearance.'}' The
great size and muscularity of the expanded tail, con-
trasted with the diminutive paws, at once strike the
observer, and show how subordinate the latter are
as instruments of progression.

* The following notes of the dimensions, and colours of this indi-
vidual were taken from it while alive : —

ft. in.

Total length ------

From muzzle to base of tail - _ - -

Length of tail - - - - -

Transverse diameter of tail - - - -

Girth of middle of the body - - - -

From muzzle to eye - - - - -

Girth of the head - - - - -

Breadth of body measured in the curve, from insertion of
one paw to the other _ _ _ -

Length of paw - - - . -

Breadth of paw - - - . . -

7 8
5 10
1 10
1 111
5 1
0 6
1 10

1 111
1 2
0 51

Colour, an uniform bluish black, rough-grained, with the cuticle
peeling in several places, showing the colour brighter and cleaner
beneath. Under parts slightly paler ; front of muzzle dull grey. The
eye was very small, not nearly so large as a man’s ; the iris very narrow,
scarcely a line wide; the pupil comparatively large, circular, blue.
The iris of a dull greyish white.

f The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge have just pub-
lished a figure in their Large Series of Natural History Engravings,
the accuracy of which I can vouch for, as it was made from my own
drawings above alluded to.

THE MANATEE.

345

The next morning I rose long before day and
proceeded to the place, intending to procure the skin
for preservation. But when I arrived, the negro
butcher had already killed the animal, and partly cut
it up, so that my purpose was frustrated. I had the
pleasure, however, of breakfasting on steaks of its
flesh, which was of delicious flavour, without any
oiliness: its taste was something between veal and
pork, rather approaching the latter. The carcase
was eagerly bought up in joints, as a delicacy for the
table.

I am well pleased to be able to add some further
notes of this little known but very interesting aquatic
Pachyderm. My excellent friend, Mr. Hill, WTiting
under date of the 8th December, 1848, from Spanish
Town, gives me the following account.

In the month of August last some fishermen
from Old Harbour brought up hither a Manati, which
they succeeded in keeping alive several days by
taking it early every morning to the river. I saw
it immediately after they brought it into town.
Its periodically long intervals of expiration and in-
spiration, in which it opened out its otherwise closely-
compressed nostrils, and snorted ; and its convulsive
flappings of the tail, broad, stiff, and horizontal,
like the spasmodic jerkings of a lobster, were all very
marked incidents in its economy. The snout, long
and cylindrical, with a very decided turgescence, so
as to make the diameter of the root less than that
of the middle ; — the exceedingly discal character
of the extremity, with the remarkably shorn-like
bristles about it, were very curious features, and

346

HAITI.

never properly represented but in your exquisite
little sketches of the Westmoreland specimen.

“ This Manati was a female about ten feet long.
It had become sufficiently familiar to grunt in answer
to its name, Bessy. After exhausting curiosity here,
the fishermen took it on to Kingston by railway ;
but its exposure to the midday sun in its journey so
exhausted it, that if it did not die of fatigue, they
found themselves necessitated, for fear it would, —
at once to slaughter it, that they might keep it
marketable at the shambles. It was readily bought
up, and spoken of, as deliciously tasted meat.”

In a previous letter my friend had communicated
some notes of a Manatee that had fallen under his
observation, during a sojourn in Eastern Haiti. “ On
the sands, which throw back the waters of the Yasica
at its embouchure, and spread them out into a wind-
ing lakelet, a Manati that had been wounded up the
river, had come and died. That was the first animal
of the kind I had seen. In body it is shaped like
the Seal ; — but its face has a character decidedly
cow-like. It is very obviously the ultimate link of
the fluviatile pachydermata with the cetacea. Its
fore legs are shapeless, being neither claws nor fins.
Placed near the head so as very inefficiently to assist
the motion of its great bulk on land, it was rather
surprising to see that it had crept so completely out
of the water as to lie dry upon the beach. Its eyes
are small, and the orifices which form its ear-holes
are narrow slits, scarcely perceptible. It has breasts
like those of a woman, placed forward between the
paws, and projecting with the swelling rotundity of a

A TAME MANATEE.

347

bosom. A mass of thick flesh forms its lips. It has
molar teeth with square crowns and transverse pro-
jections, but no incisors, those of the jaw sufficing
to crush the aquatic grasses, and the shore herbs on
which it feeds.

‘‘ With locomotive powers little suited to enable it
to seek the land, as the Seal does, the Manati is
almost exclusively an inhabitant of the water. It
seldom does more to relieve itself from this element,
than raising its head above the stream. It coasts
the green banks, and crops the bordering herbage as
it swims along. The friend, at whose home on the
Yasica I was staying, when I saw this specimen of
the Manati, informed me that some time previous
to my coming on this visit, he had surprised some
six of these tenants of the river in an inlet which he
used as a timber dock. He confined them there
until they had cropped all the long aquatic weeds
that lined the bottom of the inlet ; and they grazed
harmlessly and seemed to suffer no apprehension
from their state of restraint. I tasted the flesh some
years ago ; — it was like beef : the fat was crisp and
delicate. Its vegetable food might reasonably be ex-
pected to give it this similarity to the flesh of animals
that graze the field. Purchas, in his ‘ Pilgrims,’
gives an interesting account of a Manati, which one
of the Caciques of Hispaniola had tamed ‘ in a lake,’
as he expresses it, ‘ of standing water,’ giving this
narrative of the ‘River Cow’ on the authority of
Peter Martyr.”*

* This anecdote, though not resting on scientific authority, is worth
transcribing. The picture was probably drawn from the life ; and

348

BLACK RIVEE.

A few months before the capture of the specimen
which fell under my own notice, a pair were seen in
the harbour of Black River. My informant, who
saw them, assured me that they were playing at the
surface of the water over the bar at the river’s mouth,
hardly a gun-shot from the bridge ; and that they
continued their gambols for a considerable time ; yet
no one cared to pursue them : a fair specimen of
Jamaican apathy. These were about twelve feet
long.

In Dr. Robinson’s MS. volumes there are some
occasional notices of this animal, and of the manner
in which it was captured, about the middle of the
last century. He states that a large Manatee would
sell at Kingston for 30^. currency {— 18/. sterling).

even the docility, which would submit to the office of ferrying favourite
attendants across the lake, I should by no means reject as impossible,
nor as less likely than tlie same quality in the Elephant and the
Horse. After a description of the animal sufficiently exact, the
historian proceeds ; — “ There was a king of Hispaniola which put
one of these animals (being presented him by his fisherman) into a
lake of standing water, where it lived five and twenty years. When
any of the servants came to the lake and called Matto-matto, she would
come and receive meat at their hands ; and if any would be ferried
over the lake, she willingly yielded her back, and performed the office
faithfully : yea, she hath carried ten men at once, singing and playing.
A Spaniard had once wronged her, by casting a dart at her ; and
therefore after that, when she was called, she would plunge down
again ; — otherwise to the Indians she remained officious. She would
be as full of play as a monkey, and would wrestle with them, especially
she was addicted to one young man, which used to feed her. This
proceeded, partly from her docile nature, partly being taken young ;
she was kept up awhile at home, in the king’s house, with bread. The
river swelling over his banks into the lake, it followed the stream,
and was seen no more.” (Pilgrims, B. viii. c. 14.)

J

THE CACHELOT WHALE.

349

and that at Port Royal it fetched 15c?. currency
(= 9c?. sterling), per lb. In St. Elizabeth’s at
the same time it was worth little or nothing. He
describes, on the information of a scientific friend,
the legs (or swimming-paws) of this animal as re-
sembling those of a negro that has the elephantiasis ;
and affirms that they are of no service to the creature
in swimming, but only to ‘‘ gravel ” up the roots of
some river-plants that it feeds on, and for the female
to secure her calves when apprehensive of any danger.
From the great silence and caution mentioned as
necessary in order to approach it, it would appear
that the Manatee is as timid as it is gentle. These
qualities, added to its playfulness and docility, its
love of society and care of its young, are amiable
traits in its character.

CETACEA.

Mr. Hill has favoured me with some notes on the
Cetacea which inhabit or visit the waters that lave
the coasts of these islands. The species which I have
already mentioned as occurring between Porto Rico
and Haiti was probably distinct from the Dolphin
alluded to in the following notes.

THE CACHELOT WHALE.

“ The sea within this chain of islands is visited by
the Cachelot Whale {Physeter macrocephalus). I
cannot say whether they come hither yearly to sound-
ings, as they are observed to do on the intertropical

350

HAITI.

shores of the Pacific, — for there they annually
congregate in the open bays and harbours ; hut here
they are not unfrequently found upon the coast in
pairs, and sometimes by three and four together. If
my own experience would warrant me in fixing the
period of their appearance with us, I should say that
usually they come hither in spring.

‘‘ The muzzle of the Cachelot is so remarkably
shaped, and its spouting is so distinguishable from
that of the Arctic Whales, that there is no mistaking it
for any other of the Cetacea, whether it be seen near
or far. I was in a small coasting vessel in May, 183^,
in the Bight of Leogan, going from Jeremie to Port
au Prince, when at about some five miles from the
Island of Gonave, with light winds just pleasantly
stirring the sea into ripples, we observed about two
miles from us a Cachelot Whale slowly sinking and
rising, and spouting as he went along. All of a
sudden to our great surprise we saw him ^ hreacTi'
He leaped clear out of the water, showing his huge
hulk in the air, and seemed half as long as the dark
wooded cliffs of the island against which his form
was relieved.* He rose upward, — and descended
splashing the water to a great height. The white
foam, where his broad length struck the surface,
mantled like a cloud and gave out a sound like that
from a distant gun. He then immediately fluked, as
the whalers say, showing his tail uppermost, and sunk

■ ■ ■■ ■ - “Leviathan,

Hugest of living creatures, on the deep
Stretch’d like a promontory.” Milton.

CACHELOT BKEACHING.

351

and was seen no more. * I learnt that Whales were
not unusual visitors in these in-shore waters, and
though rarely taken, a then recent instance of a mis-
adventure which threw a Cachelot into one of the
harbours on the north coast of Haiti was related to me.

“ The bay of Fort Dauphin is a very remarkable
one. The entry into it is by a narrow gullet, about
three thousand yards in length, comparatively nar-
row, hut having a depth of from fourteen to
twenty-five fathoms. The water then expands into
a land-locked space two leagues in length by a good

* In another communication my friend transcribed from his journal
some accompaniments of this scene, which will be read with interest.
“We had set sail on the 30th April at night, and the next morning
found ourselves to the eastward of the Caimite island, with the low

shores of Barraderes just before us We lay becalmed

nearly the whole day, May 1 st, off the low peninsula, having the little
town of Trou before us, beneath dark forest-clad steeps. Within the
peninsula of Barraderes, the sea forms an estuary, seemingly very
secure against the prevalent north winds, the worst weather on this
coast. A little breeze towards the afternoon set us on to the Point
of Tapion, which we reached at sun-down. There is little variety in
the chain of hills forming the coast of L’Anse a Veau, but between
Miragoane and Petit Goave, the scenery to one coasting near the shore,
as we were, is sufl5ciently interesting. Here and there cliffs — an occa-
sional border of sandy beach — a forest margin — green slopes — dark
stream-enlivened dells — and, above all, a fine line of broken summits,
presented an interesting coast view, rendered still more pleasing by the
bluff of the Tapion in the distance. The wind came in flaws and
spurts, so we passed on sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly enough.
It was altogether an agreeable evening’s trip. A parcel of Dolphins
and Bonito-fish gambolled around us ; and to the north, against the
blue hazy line of the Gonave, for we were in the passage between that
island and the main shore, the whitened spray was dashed up in
sudden splashes by the leaps of the Cachelot, escaping the attacks of
either the Espadron (^Xiphias) or the Sawfish (Pm^^s).”

352

rOKT DAUPHIN.

half league in breadth ; of variable depth ; with five
islets dotted about it. This fine harbour was in old
times the stronghold of the Buccaneers, who fortified
one of these islands, and used the neighbouring
plains for a hunting ground. In the year 1828 or
1829, a Cachelot Whale entered it, pursued by an
Espadron or Sword-fish. The reefs outside the nar-
row throat-like entrance I have described, have only
a single channel for ships ; the other openings in
them admit of nothing much bigger than canoes to
pass. Having got within these rocks, the Whale was
driven to an extremity and had no alternative but
to take the narrow channel into Fort Dauphin to
escape his active pursuer. As the bay is so sheltered
that the waters are as gentle as a mill-pond under
the usual easterly breezes from the sea, it was soon
perceived that the huge monster as he came rolling
and blowing and spouting in, was wounded and
bleeding. A host of canoes immediately pushed off
to him, not to pursue him with harpoons, for they
were not provided with the necessary weapons, nor
with the requisite tackle ; but to follow him and
harass him until he should entangle himself in the
shoal-grounds about the harbour. After he had
been hunted about some time, he was driven aground
in the south-east arm of the Bay, and when measured
was found to exceed sixty feet in length. As the
harbour of Fort Dauphin divaricates, and spreads
into a form like the letter Y, the Whale first took
one arm and then the other, swimming at a rapid
rate, with his enormous head raised into the air, and
taking breath. The water was lashed into foam in

CACHELOT EMBAYED.

353

his course, and the shores reverberated the sound
made by the dilated blows he struck upon the sur-
face with his tail. He coasted the shore as if he
looked for some outlet he had remembered, but
which he could not find again ; and some hours elapsed
before he took ground in that circular convulsive
sweep, which is described as being made by these
animals when exhausted, and which whalers call the
‘ flurry.’ This laid him fast stranded on the shal-
lows, and rolled upon his side. This capture was
related to me by General Kayer la Rivierre, the
Commandant of a neighbouring arrondisement, who
witnessed it. The Sword-fish was not taken, but
the body of the stranded animal bore wounds, evi-
dently inflicted by some such ocean enemy.

Moreau de St. Meri, in his History and de-
scription of the old French Colony of St. Domingo,
relates that in his time (1785), in the months of
March, April, and May, as many as five and twenty
vessels from the North American States could be
seen on the coast off Sale Trou near Jacmel, fishing
for Cachelot Whales, and, he adds, for Souffleurs
{Balcenoptera), and that this fishery was with equal
spirit and success pursued within the gulf to the
west of the colony ; — that is, within the Bight,
in which I saw the Cachelot breach. The whale
fishers resorted to Turk’s-island to boil their oil.

“ I must not omit to mention that that rejecta-
mentum of the Spermaceti Whale, ‘ odoriferous
Ambergris J has been occasionally found on the coasts
of these and the Bahama Islands, of very considerable
size and weight.

354

KINGSTON HARBOUR.

THE DOLPHIN.

Herds of a species of Delphinus have been often
observed in Kingston harbour. The first and the
last time they came under my attention was at Pas-
sage Fort; the last time was in the month of March,
184^. Regularly about an hour before sun-down
for a succession of days, a company of some eight or
ten would be seen scudding from sea-ward close in-
shore, and taking up a station at the mouth of the
Rio Cobre, within the river current, where it rip-
pled out, half salt and half fresh. The ground, to
some distance off, rose into dry sand-bars, and no
portion of the water thereabouts was more than just
deep enough to permit the Dolphins to toss and
tumble in. From the perfect revelry with which
they sported up and down, it was obvious that some
particular food attracted them to these waters. They
coursed about like terriers hunting rats. I inquired
of Mr. Kirkpatrick, who was thoroughly acquainted
with all the wild nature hereabouts, both on land
and in the water, and who was an excellent observer
of the habits and instincts of animals, what he con-
cluded drew these Dolphins to this strange locality ;
he stated that the little fry at these freshets, were
preyed upon by young Sharks from eight to eighteen
inches in length, and that these young sharks had
been found to he a favourite food with the Dolphin.
The fishermen, he said, were so firmly fixed in this
conviction, that, believing in their usefulness in thin-
ning the number of sharks, they were extremely
unwilling to molest them ; the consequence was that

DOLPHINS.

355

they played about in these shoal-waters close in-shore
in confidence and security, and had done so for the
occasional years that he had observed them ; hence
it was, that although so common and so much within
the power of any one curious enough to shoot them,
they had never been disturbed, and no one knew
anything more of them, than that they were Dol-
phins. The mingled river and sea-water that at-
tracted them was a favourite fishing-ground of the
Osprey. That bird would be seen at the same sun-
set hours hovering within the river mouth, while the
Dolphins were busy with their chase on the outside.
The young Sharks were prodigiously numerous on
this coast. I once took the pains to calculate their
numbers. At the rate at which the fishing-canoes
brought them in with other fish taken in the seines
daily, not less than ten thousand of them must
be annually destroyed upon this beach alone. As
far as a hasty glance at the Dolphins, when sporting,
could be obtained with the spy-glass, they seemed
to me to resemble the Delphinus superciliosus of
Lesson in shape and size. The colour was decidedly
of that hue called lead-colour : blackish-blue above
and grey beneath.

September y 1846. In my notes of a visit to
Passage Fort, in 1842, 1 noticed the Lagoon between
Fort Augusta and the Salinas. I spoke of it as the
great stock-pond of the Kingston Fish-market for
certain kinds of fish, and represented it as being a
fine lakelet, interestingly varied with mangrove islets,
and with clustered trees upon its borders. It is a
spacious piece of water of two divisions, of very

35G

KINGSTON HARBOUR.

equal depth, ’and with a hard bottom of sandy loam.
Mr. Robert Wilkie informs me that, in the month of
April last year, he was spending some few weeks at
Passage Fort for a change after a fever, and being
induced to vary his boat-excursions by a row within
these ponds, as the divisions are called, he was sur-
prised by finding a couple of Dolphins sporting
about them. The water being smooth and clear,
never rising to anything more than ripples, and the
ponds, though spacious, only filling the vision in any
direction in which you look upon them, the Dolphins
gambolling and rolling and tumbling from one end
to the other, were always in sight, and their entire
shape and magnitude visible in the water. Mr. Wilkie
represents them to have been seven or eight feet long ;
lead-coloured, long-snouted, and gracefully propor-
tioned. The fishermen said that they had been then
occasionally visiting, in and out, for some time. The
waters teemed with Mullets and Callepivas, Snooks
and Snappers. It was just then a mullet-season. The
fishermen represented the Dolphins as making their
visits on a particular day in the week. I fancy they
mistook their own ‘ particular-day-in-the-week ’ visit,
on which occasion they found them already there,
— for the Dolphins’. Mr. Wilkie repeated his ex-
cursion twice or thrice, and always saw the Dolphins.
On the last occasion he made an effort to shoot them,
but, though he had several shots, he did not succeed
in their capture.”

“ December, 1848. When I was in the last week
of my late sojourn at Ray’s-town, that upper part
of Kingston Harbour was regularly, • for some sue-

DOLPHINS.

357

cessive days, traversed by a company of Dolphins,
or, as the fishermen called them, Porpesses, They
went rolling on, one after the other, very leisurely ;
keeping, when I observed them, which was at about
sun-rise, in a line with a stretch of ripples that gave
their thread-like motion to the surface from the
upper to the lower end of the harbour, along the
otherwise smooth-glazed waters. The fishermen de-
scribed them as going to the upper end of the har-
bour to feed on the Mullet fry, just now very abun-
dant there, and as not quitting them till they had
stored their stomachs for the day. I thought their
taking the wind was a very noticeable incident, and
determined to set it down as something characteristic
that had come under my own observation. I should
have liked, however, to have ascertained, by repeti-
tion, whether it can be considered a trait of instinct
or not. The fishermen of Ray’s- town were hawling
in a seine of prodigious dimensions at the time.
This part of the harbour is shoal, and the nets are
laid out far from the shore, being drawn in to land
with a full mile of outward rope. The Porpesses
crossed the lines of the seine, and, though they did
not seem to regard the nets or the congregated
swimmers within their sweep, their traverse had so
frightened away the fish, that the hawl was altogether
unproductive. The fishermen say they have occa-
sionally caught them entangled, but are best con-
tented when they never come near them, as they are
altogether unmarketable prizes.”

358

CONTENT.

NOCTURNAL FOREST SOUNDS.

Various and strange are the sounds which strike
the ear of one benighted in the forests of Jamaica.
Some of these are the voices of night-birds, the rapid
articulations of the Piramidig, the monotonous call
or startling scream of the White Owl, the shrill wail
of the Dusky Owl, the hoot of the Potoo, or the
loud and reiterated cries of the Clucking-hen ; and
some are insect sounds. But, besides these, there
are some which are certainly produced by Reptiles,
though it is difficult to identify them. Nearly every
night, at certain seasons, there ascends from the
woods around Content a continual snoring of various
tones, the voices of numberless Tree-frogs, or, as
they are here called. Toads. They are said to reside
in the large ventricose leaves of the greater Wild-
pines, especially that fine one, Tillandsia lingulata,
which, about the end of July, sends up a magnificent
flower, somewhat like a huge carnation, with broad
outer petals of a rich crimson hue and polished sur-
face, and a cluster of smaller interior ones of pale
yellow. In the coolness and moisture of these na-
tural reservoirs, always half full of water collected
from rains and dews, the Tree-frogs delight to lie,
finding in them circumstances eminently congenial
for the maintenance of cutaneous humidity, so essen-
tial in these reptiles to respiration. They are very
rarely seen, and, but for their vocal powers by night,
we should scarcely be aware of their existence ; the
number and universality of these sounds, however,
in the mountain-woods, during the hours of darkness.

NOCTURNAL SOUNDS.

359

prove that they are very abundant. Even when seen
by day, their agility in leaping renders it a difficult
matter to lay hands on them. The sounds in ques-
tion bear a strong resemblance to the objurgations of
an inveterate snorer, but are much louder ; or some-
times remind one of the groaning and working of a
ship’s timbers in a heavy gale at sea.

These are probably the voices of some of the
greater Hyladae, But there are other and different
noises still. While I am writing this note at Con-
tent, — it is a lovely night in June, — all around
I am saluted with strange sounds. Now and then
comes the singularly harsh and cracked voice of the
Gecko, like the notes of a child’s penny trumpet,
or like a stick drawn across the teeth of a comb : —
this I am familiar with. But I hear another voice,
far more abundant, but quite unknown to me. It is
now (about midnight) coming up from every part of
the moonlitforest below me, with incessant pertinacity.
It is a clear shrill note, so like the voice of a bird,
and in particular so like that of the Solitaire, that it
might easily be mistaken for it, but for tbe inappro-
priate hour, and the locality. Like that, it is beau-
tifully trilled or shaken, and, like it, the individual
voices are not in the same key. As I now listen to
the mingling sounds, I distinguish two particularly
prominent, which seem to answer each other in
quick but regular alternation ; and between their
notes there is the difference of exactly a musical
tone. I have little doubt that this is the sexual call
of some Tree-frog. The groanings and snorings,
which are sometimes so incessant, I do not now hear,

360

SAVANNA-LE-MAR.

except one such sound now and then in the course
of an evening.

Some three or four species of Anourous Reptiles
are all that Jamaica has produced to my researches,
and all of these are of the family Hyladce, whose
dilated sucking-disks at the tips of their toes, enable
them to cling about the foliage of trees and plants,
and to leap from leaf to leaf with security and pre-
cision.

One of these was taken in a bedroom at Savanna-
le-Mar, one night in October, having probably
hopped in at the open window from the branches
of a mango-tree only a few feet distant. I was sur-
prised at its changes of colour, in this respect re-
sembling the Chameleons and Anoles, or, still nearer,
the Geckos. When I obtained it, the whole upper
parts were of a rich deep umber-brown, with indis-
tinct black bands. On looking at it at night, to my
surprise I saw a great alteration of hue : it was paler
on the head and back, though least altered there ;
on the rump, and on the fore and hind legs, it was
become a sort of semi-pellucid drab, marked with
minute close-set dark specks. When disturbed, it
presently became slightly paler still, but in a few
minutes it had recovered its original depth of tint.
In the course of half an hour it displayed again the
speckled drab hue, and now uniformly so, save a
black irregular patch or two on the back, and a dark
patch between the mouth and each eye. The belly,
which was very regularly shagreened, was of a dull
buff, not susceptible of change, The eyes retained
their proverbial beauty, for the irides were of a

BROWN TREE-FROG.

361

golden brown tint, like sun-rays shining through
tortoiseshell. This specimen was about as large as
a middling English Frog, being two inches and a
quarter in length.*

While in captivity, if unmolested, it spent a good
deal of time motionless, squatting flat and close, with
shut eyes, as if sleeping ; but sometimes it was active.
I kept it in a basin covered with a pane of glass, for
facility of observation. It would keep its face op-
posite the window, altering its position pertinaciously
if the basin was turned, though ever so gently. It
took no notice of cockroaches, nor of a large flesh-
fly, which buzzed about it, and even crawled over its
nose. If taken in the hand, it struggled vigorously,
so as to be with difficulty held : once or twice, while
thus struggling, it uttered a feeble squeak ; but if still
retained, it would at length inflate the abdomen with
air, apparently a sign of anger. It leaped, but not far.

* This seems to be an undescribed species, agreeing with Hyla
xerophylla (Dum. and Bibr. ) in many points, but differing from it in
others. It may be thus described.

Hyla hrunnea, mihi. The Brown Tree-frog. Length of head | in. ;
breadth of head ; trunk, length, 11; breadth ; fore limb 11;
hind limb 3^; (thigh and shank, each 1^; foot 1|;) pallettes cir-
cular, those of middle finger and toe ^ in. in diameter. Head broad,
flat, semi-oval, rough with minute granulations ; eyes large and very
prominent ; canihus rostralis forming rather more than a right angle ;
frenal regions not so high as the cheeks. Tongue very large, heart-
shaped, notched behind ; a longitudinal depression extends about half
way from the notch to the front ; another longitudinal depression is on
each side near the margin ; scarcely at all free behind. Vomerine
teeth in two small semi-circular ranges, between the internal nostrils.
Tympanum nearly circular, its diameter about half that of the eye.
The palmation and other particulars as in H. xerophylla. Colours
described in the text.

R

362

BLUEFIELDS,

A mucli finer species, as to form, colour, and size,
was brought me, in May, from the summit of Blue-
fields Mountain. It was of that curious genus named
by MM. Dumeril and Bibron TrachycepJialus, having
a distinct neck, a triangular trunk terminating in a
point, and an enormous flat head studded with irre-
gular sharp bony ridges. The three species designated
by those learned herpetologists are assigned respect-
ively to Brazil, Hayti, and Cuba ; the present is
manifestly distinct from either, marked by superior
size, a peculiar style of coloration, greater develop-
ment of the bony ridges of the head, and the pro-
minent projection of the sacrum. It is a far finer,
though more uncouth, species than any yet described.
I therefore propose to call it, from its resemblance to
the moss-grown bark of a tree, the Lichened Tree-
toad {Trachycephalus licJienatus)* (See Plate YII.)

* Length from muzzle to cloaca 4-8 inches; breadth of head at
rictus 1*7; breadth of inflated body 2-25 ; rictus from the muzzle
along the curve, 1 *5 ; horizontal diameter of eye *4 ; arm from axilla to
elbow 1 ; fore-arm from elbow to wrist 1 ; hand from wrist to tip of
middle toe 1 '7 ; breadth of middle pallette *3 ; thigh along front
margin 2*1 ; tibia 2*1 ; tarsus "8; largest toe 1*8.

Head, upper surface broad and flat, marked with bony ridges, the
principal of which are the following : one from the front of each orbit
passing to the nostril ; one from the back of each orbit passing above
the tympanum ; and a sinuous one crossing the occiput transversely.
Under surface of head very flat ; neck constricted suddenly behind
the rictus. Outline of face, from ear to ear, a semi-oval ; posterior
edge of occiput forming two salient curves, convex backwards, between
which is a deep and sharp depressed notch ; the extremity of the
muzzle forming two vertical ridges with a deep pit between. Canthus
rostralis forming a sharp and narrow ridge, running nearly straight
rrom nostril to eye. Height of muzzle equal to half the interorbital
space. Vomerine teeth set on the margins of two small projecting

LITORIA LUTEOLA. iTj-. TR AC H YC EP H ALUS LICHENATUS

♦

LICHENED TREE-TOAD.

363

During the short period that this fine reptile re-
mained under my observation, it was impatient of
confinement, leaping vigorously. Now and then it
infiated its body to a considerable degree, which, as
in the former species, was probably an expression of
anger, or an attempt to intimidate. A moisture
exuded from its skin, which took the form of a very
fine froth, even while on the body, and when touched
appeared of a gummy nature, adhering to the fingers,
and stiffening them as it dried. It left shining marks
on the table, too, like the trail of a snail,

I was unfortunately called away after having made
the description below, and remained from home two
days. I had placed the Tree-toad under a bell-glass,
knowing that it would not suffer from fasting, but
forgetting that it would need moisture. When I
returned it was just dead. Decomposition, however,
had not commenced, so that I was enabled to add to
my verbal description a carefully coloured drawing,
which I had commenced while it was yet alive.

ridges of semicircular form, very distinct from each other, and sepa-
rated by about half the diameter of each. Web between all the fore toes
short, but quite distinct.

Upper parts irregularly patched and mottled with dark brown and
black upon a pale reddish ground ; the dark hues chiefly aggregated
in a large triangular mark between the shoulders. Muzzle and
sides pale green, with spots of liver-brown running into each other.
Under parts flesh-white ; the chin speckled with liver-brown ; the
abdomen and thighs granulated like shagreen. The limbs answer to
the body on their respective surfaces. Pallettes of toes pale dull
green. Iris of eye golden, beautifully pencilled v/ith reddish-brown ;
pupil sub-rhomboidal : the lower eyelid has the superior half as
transparent as the purest glass ; except that a narrow border at the
edge is opaque and yellow, as is the lower half. Tympanum buff-
coloured, pencilled with brown.

364

BLUEFIELDS.

The peculiarity, mentioned in the note, of the
glass-like transparency of the lower eyelid (which, in
these animals, is the larger, and performs the office
of closing the eye) is well worthy of notice. I have
elsewhere* remarked a structure exactly similar in the
Woodslave {Mabouya agilis), a pretty little Scincoid
lizard that plays about walls in Jamaica. In both
cases, we may consider it a beautiful and effective
provision, for the protection of the eye during the
rapid movements of the animals, where sight would
be indispensable. The Tree-toad dwells habitually
among the sheathing leaves of the Wild-pines, always
stiff and leathery, and often armed with sharp ser-
rated spines at every edge. Among these it moves
to and fro by violent headlong leaps, in which it
needs to be guided by the sharpest sight. How in-
teresting, then, is it to see that its gracious Creator
has furnished it with a glassy window, which it may
in a moment draw before its eye, for shelter from
danger, without in the least hindering the clearness
of its vision ! This structure has not, I believe, been
noticed by any naturalist ; and, indeed, it is scarcely
perceptible when the delicate membrane has become
opaque by immersion in spirits. All thy works
shall praise thee, O Lordl”

That there is a second species of TracJiycephalus
found in the western districts of Jamaica, I infer
from the following description of one in Dr. Anthony
Robinson’s MSS. ‘‘ Ran a palmis tetradactylis se-
mipalmatis; plantis hexadactylis palmatis; pollice
breviore. Weight, 2 oz. Troy. From the tip of
the longest digit to that of the longest toe, 13

* See Proceedings of the Zool. Soc. for 1 848, p. 60.

GKEEN-BACKED TREE-TOAD.

365

inches. All the toes joined by a membrane ; the
fore feet rather semipalmated ; all the toes, except
that answering to the great toe, which in this animal
is very short, having broad, round, soft, and spongy
extremities. Most of the joints on the inside of the
feet had lesser sponges, which, being clammy, enable
these creatures to ascend the loftiest trees with the
greatest ease and facility. The toe corresponding to
the thumb in man, answered much the same purpose
in this creature, which by this member arrested one
of my fingers. The head is of a cordate form ; the
eyes large and prominent ; the irides speckled in a
manner so elegant as to exceed description. The
space beyond the eyes is hollowed, and rough like a
file. Ears covered with a purplish membrane. The
body, when infiated, taper and triangular. Body,
above, dull green, as were the anterior parts of the
thighs. Sides near the groin, shy^blue spotted with
purple. Abdomen beneath the thighs covered with
small tubercles of a dull flesh-colour. Feet, both
fore and hind, purple, and clouded with the same as
the hind part of the thighs. Mouth extremely wide ;
tongue fixed. Under the jaw' whitish red, or incar-
nate, with purple spots''

From a carefully coloured drawing which accom-
panies the above description, it is evident that this is
congenerous with my Lichened Tree-toad ; but the
colours are so different as to warrant the conclusion
that it forms another species. The green hue of the
upper parts, destitute, apparently, of the marbled
intermingling of other colours, which is so character-
istic of all the described Trachycephali, the sky-blue

366

HANOVER.

of the flanks, where mine is delicate green, and the
prevalence of purple, are all strongly marked differ-
ences in coloration. I would therefore distinguish
this as the Green-hacked Tree-toad {TracJiycephalus
anochloros).

All that Robinson has recorded of its manners is
contained in the following brief note : It was given
me by Dr. Anderson, of Hanover parish, who in-
formed me that he held it in his hand almost half an
hour, after which, having occasion to rub his eyes
with the fingers of that hand, which was besmeared
with a mucus left by the animal, he was seized with
a violent pain and smarting that lasted nearly half
an hour, but subsided on washing his hands
eyes?] in a little spring water.” The learned Doctor
compares this quality to the stinging of the Nettle-
fish, by which he probably means the Physalia ; but
it seems to me much more analog^ous to the acrid
secretion which exists in the cutaneous follicles of
the true Toads; if so, it justifies the application of
the term Tiee-toads to these animals, by which they
are provincially distinguished, rather than Tree-frogs.

A very little species of the same family, which the
minuteness of the pallettes requires to be assigned
to the genus Litoria of MM. Dum. and Bibr., is
known to me by a single specimen which was taken
in a tub of water, at Content, in February, Of its
peculiar habits I can give no information.*

* Litoria luteola, mihi. The Little Yellow Tree-frog. Length
1 inch ; fore limb ; hind limb 1 A Pallettes of all the feet very
small. Hind toes very unequal, the fourth being extremely long ;
palmation scarcely perceptible. Head somewhat pointed ; vomerine

NOCTURNAL SOUNDS.

367

Before I leave this subject I will extract from one
of Mr. HilFs letters to me an interesting note on
nocturnal forest sounds, heard in a very different part
of the island. Tlie remarks with which it is prefaced
are in themselves interesting, as referring to a species
of Owl hitherto unrecorded. ‘‘The Eared Owl,”
observes my friend, “ which I had sent to me from
Manchester, was taken on the wooded mountain-
skirts forming the back-country of that and the ad-
joining parish of Trelawny. These back-mountains
are opened in detached clearings, and planted with
coffee, Indian corn, and esculent arums, and are
usually exceedingly infested with rats ; the cellular
limestone which protrudes through their rich vege-
table deposits being prodigious harbouring places for
those rodents. I find among my loose memoranda,
that a Mr. Walker, an overseer of a plantation situ-
ated among the furthest of the sugar settlements in
St. James’s, mentioned to me that he had observed
narrowly the Brown Owl, and that he had acquainted
himself with its great diligence as a destroyer of
Rats. He had remarked a roost to which one of
them resorted ; and the extraordinary heaps of casts,
deposited at the root of the tree on which this Owl
usually devoured his prey, made piles of undigested
bones, among which Rats’ teeth were conspicuously

teeth arranged in two curved lines, whose convexity is forward,
scarcely interrupted at their meeting angle. Tongue small ; posterior
half (or rather more) round and free ; anterior portion oblong, and
attached. Colour pale buff, studded with minute dark specks, irregu-
larly scattered ; accumulated in the form of bands across the legs and
thighs. A band of deep brown passes from the muzzle, through the
eye, and is lost about the middle of the side. (See Plate VII.)

368

TRELAWNY MOUNTAINS.

prevalent. My memorandum sets these facts down
as traits of the ^ Brown Owl,’ this name being used
to distinguish it from every other Owl.

A friend gave me a very interesting narrative of a
benighted traverse that he made of the mountains be-
tween Manchester and Trelawny, in which the ^ ohoo’
moan of an Owl made a part of the night watches.
He had gained the last and loftiest ridge of the
intervening highlands, when a moonless but starry
night, closing in upon him, compelled him to look
for a convenient tree upon which to settle himself to
repose. The first sound that saluted him was the
dismal croak of the Tree-toad at long intervals ; the
croak near to him being answered by successive and
repeated croaks more distant. Occasionally was heard
the vehement hiss of some prowling snake ; he con-
cluded, our sizeable Boa, the Yellow Snake ; then
came every now and then the ‘ ohoo ’ moan of some
Owl, whose voice was quite unknown to him. It was
replied to by a similar moan afar off. I suspect that
this was either the Eared or the Brown Owl.”

As these syllables, however, convey the note of the
Potoo {Nyctihius Jamaicensis), uttered in the darkness
of the night as it sits on its lone watchpost, it is
probable, as my friend afterwards suggested, that
the voice heard was rather that of this great Nightjar
than of an Owl.

GREGARIOUS TREES.

The overrunning of large tracts of land by some
particular species of shrub or tree almost to the ex-
clusion of every thing else is an interesting and

GREGARIOUS TREES.

369

curious phenomenon. In some cases it is doubtless
the congeniality of the soil or circumstances that is
the cause, the plant being in some way or other
adapted to the place ; but it would be difficult so to
account for the fact in every case of its occurrence.
In some districts at the eastern extremity of the
island, and around Black River, the Opoponax, a
species of Acacia {A, tortuosa, I believe), is said to
have extended itself over such tracts as to be quite a
pest. On the banks of the Cobre, just behind Spanish-
town, species of Inga are particularly abundant.
Between Kingston and the city just named the
traveller sees nothing for long distances but Lignum
vitce trees, lovely indeed as they are with their com-
pact dark-green forms, and splendid azure blossoms.
To come nearer Bluefields, at Crabpond Point, there
is a considerable tract along the sea-shore densely
covered with a species of fan-leafed Palm (I believe a
Thrinax) of small size, not more than twelve or
fifteen feet high ; and the open slopes of Culloden
and the eastern part of Mount Edgecumbe are
studded with multitudes of a similar Palm, but grow-
ing to loftier proportions. Near Belmont dense and
perfectly unapproachable thickets run along the
margin of the sea, formed of the Nickar {Guilandina
honduc), of which the long stems, the leaf-ribs, and
the flattened valves of the seed-pods are alike covered
with the most terrific hooked spines. I do not think
so much of the beautiful and aromatic Pimento, that
clothes these park-like estates, because its growth is
cherished for the sake of its spicy fruit; though
there is reason to believe it would naturally grow in

370

BLL'EFIELDS.

the same extensive groves ; nor of the mangroves
and morass-withes that are dependent on the presence
of water. But one cannot help noticing the Sea-side
Grape {Coccoloha uvifera) with its round, leathery,
crimson-veined leaves, and its hunches of red acid
berries, that fringes the sea-beach in many places ;
not so much in groups or clumps, however, as forming
a narrow belt or range of single trees, as close as they
can conveniently grow together, along the line of
high-water mark. Other species might be enumerated
as having the same gregarious character, in the in-
terior, as the Jointwood (a species of Piper) that
thickly and exclusively covers large tracts on the
summits of Bluefields Ridge. I shall however men-
tion but one more, the Logwood {Hcematoxylon Cam-
pecliianum)i originally introduced from the Spanish
Main, but which now covers immense districts of the
western portion of the island, and is fast extending
its dominion on every hand, maintaining a too suc-
cessful struggle with the feeble agriculture that cha-
racterizes the Antilles. The likeness of this tree to
the Hawthorn of Europe is very striking, and has
been noticed by many. Either growing singly, or in
clumps, the resemblance is so exact that at a very
little distance the stranger, if not corrected by his
reason, would infallibly mistake it for that familiar
tree. For hedges, it is equally adapted, and is much
used ; and in this form the similitude to the thorn is
still perfect. I have admired scenes, such for exam-
ple, as on the estate called Paradise, near Savanna-
le-Mar, where, from the absence of characteristic
tropical features, from the broad open fields, divided

GEEY SNAKE.

371

by logwood-hedges, and the green slopes studded with
clumps of logwood trees, and crowned with neat-
looking white buildings, I could have readily imagined
that my eye was roving over English ground.

THE GREY SNAKE.

For what reason this little Coluber is distinguished
above its fellows by a name expressive of peculiar
venom, I know not, as it is perfectly inoffensive ;
but Poison Snake” is its creole title. I find from
Robinson’s MSS. that it was so called in Clarendon
parish, also, nearly a hundred years ago ; though, he
says, he has had it alive in his hands, and believes it to
be a very harmless inoffensive creature. Though not
rare, it can scarcely be called abundant, being much
less frequently seen than either the Black Snake or
the Boa. I have found it scattered in distant and
varying localities, in the lowlands and on the moun-
tain-tops. It does not affect walls so much as the
other OpJiidia^ but is oftener seen in rocky places,
upon the ground, or gliding through dead leaves
and dry rubbish by the sides of roads. It sometimes
takes up its abode in outhouses, where, lying on one
of the beams within, or securing a narrow resting-
place on the edge of a board beneath the shingles
without, it waits patiently with its head hanging
down, but its bright eyes wide awake, for passing
prey. That this prey principally consists of the
little Anoles and Geckos which always resort to such
situations, I have no doubt ; and indeed, I once
saw this Snake taking such prey, though in a very
different situation.

372

HAMPSTEAD ROAD.

One day in June, being engaged on the Hamp-
stead R/oad, above Content, in capturing the insects
that were then so abundant about the blossoming
trees, — I observed on a shrub two little Anoles
playing ; one had seized the other’s tail in his mouth,
and they were thus gamboling about the twigs in
innocent sport, altogether unsuspicious of the lurk-
ing foe that was near. While I was looking at their
gamesome tricks, all at once I became aware of a so-
called Poison Snake, not a large one, silently and
stilly watching them also. Suddenly he caught one,
and throwing his head off the branch along which he
had been lying, held the victim suspended in the
air. It had been seized just behind the fore legs,
but by an almost imperceptible motion of the jaws,
the hold was gradually shifted forward until the
Lizard’s head was in the mouth of the Snake, and
was rapidly sucked in by the alternate motion of the
two sides of the jaws. There was no boggling about
the fore legs ; they were out of sight almost before
I was aware ; but one of the victim’s hind feet had
taken hold of a twig, and resisted the sucking in.
The Snake had now drawn up his head again upon
the branch ; giving a sudden jerk, he made the
Lizard relinquish its hold of the twig, and in the
same instant the leg was engulfed. Of course, no
impediment now was left ; but when the last vestige
of the tail was disappearing, I tapped the neck of the
Snake smartly with a switch, and it fell to the
ground disabled and dying. I transferred it to a
bottle of spirit, and it is now in the British Museum ;

GREY SNAKE.

373

the position of the Lizard sufficiently marked by the
swollen and lumpy neck.

Robinson in his MSS. mentions his having found
in the belly of one of these Snakes about fifteen
inches long, ‘‘three inches of a Jack Lizard’s^ tail,”
and, by the dissolved substance, concluded that the
Lizard had been swallowed whole, expressing won-
der, when he refiected that the Lizard was twice the
thickness of the Snake at least. This, however, is
now well known to be nothing uncommon in the
serpent tribes.f

* 1 believe he designates the Purple-tailed Anolis by this appel-
lation.

f I would describe the Grey Snake as follows : — Natrix capi-
strata, mihi. Scales sub-rhomboidal, imbricate, convex, and perfectly
smooth, without any depressed points. Tail in young specimens,
about one fifth of the total length ; in adults about two fifths. Head
long-oval, somewhat tapering in front. Body nearly cylindrical, not
elevated in the mesial line ; gently swelling to about the middle of
the total length. Seventeen rows of scales, running very obliquely.
Labial plates eight, of which the fourth and fifth form the lower wall
of the orbit ; they increase in size to the sixth, thence diminish. In
the form of the crown-plates, in the form and situation of the teeth,
and in the dimensions and direction of the gape, this species agrees
with the Black Snake {Natrix atra'). Abdominal shields from 170
to 176; caudal (according to my own observations) from 127 to 159
pairs ; the higher numbers the more common.

This species is less than the Black Snake, and more elegant. The
largest I have measured was twenty-six inches in length, of which the
tail was ten. Colour of the upper parts uniform yellowish grey ;
the belly shields rather yellower ; the whole marked with minute
black specks. Each scale and shield has a pale border, scarcely ob-
servable, except with a lens. A black line runs from the muzzle
through the eye as far as the gape, below which line the face is cream-
white. Another black line passes between the two occipital plates.
The skin between the scales seems mottled with black and white ; so

374

BLUE MOUNTAINS.

THE CRESTED SNAKE.

Mr. Hill writes me thus: — ‘^December, 1845.
There are two living attractions in the Blue Moun-
tains, a Crested Snake,, and a sweetly mysterious

singing bird called the Solitaire The

Snake is identical with one I was told of in Spanish
Haiti, having a red crest and wattles, very much
resembling the head of a cock. Strange fictions were
invented of its crowing like the cock, and stealing
into hen-roosts, and by this deception, when it was
coiled up, and nothing but its crested head seen,
surprising the poultry on the perch, and devouring
them. The Spaniards narrated to me these parti-
culars, wdth the words, ^ II canta como un Gallop —
and our people speak of it as crowing like a cock.
Certainly it is the most wonderful serpent since the
days that Eve was deceived in Paradise *, if it has
a voice so much approaching to distinct if not arti-
culate sounds.

‘‘ I believe there is a Crested Snake known here,
I only reject the cock-crow story.”

that the motion of the scales brings to view minute evanescent spots
on the body, chiefly on the neck. The eyes are very beautiful, like
some gems of a pale lustre, clouded, Robinson found each of the
two rows of caudal scuta to contain 173, = 346 in all, more than
double the number assigned by Linneeus to any of his species.

* “ On his rear.

Circular base of rising folds, that tower’d
Fold above fold, a surging maze ! his head
Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes ;

With burnish’d neck of verdant gold, erect

Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass

Floated redundant.” Par. Lost, ix. 497.

CRESTED SNAKE.

375

In a subsequent communication my friend fur-
nishes me with more tangible information respecting
this mysterious reptile. — Feb. 5th, 1846. I have
conversed with Dr. Palmer, who, I remembered, had
informed me, he had seen one of the Crested Snakes
about which your curiosity has been particularly ex-
cited. He tells me that in the neighbourhood of a
plantation called Drummond Castle, in St David’s
parish, without being more than rare, he has known
specimens to have been found. He was present on
a medical visit there some years ago, when the plant-
ation people brought to the house one that they had
just killed. Besides its remarkable crest, he says, he
was particularly struck with its shape. It is the
thickest Snake of its size he had seen. Although
its length did not exceed four feet, it had the bulk of
a Yellow Snake {ChilahotJirus inornatus) of seven feet.
It had a sort of galeated head, with a crest like that
of the guinea-fowl. Its colour was that of dull ashy
ochre, having large well-defined spots along the back.
He states that the negroes, in speaking of its habits,
represented it as making a noise, not unlike the
crowing of a cock, and as being addicted to preying
on poultry.

Drummond Castle is about eight miles from
Kingston, in the immediate vicinity of some interest-
ing waterfall scenery ; remarkable as the hiding-
place of the freebooter. Three-fingered Jack, so
familiarly known as a melo-dramatic hero. The
scenery of The Falls, as this cascade district is called,
is very romantic. The imagination of no painter of
theatrical spectacles can surpass the wild wonders of

376

DRUMMOND CASTLE.

the mountain hold of the real Three-fingered Jack.
Part of the road by which you ascend the Falls is
a subterranean passage ; and caverns are entered by
simple crevices which seem mere chinks in the irre-
gular surface of the rock, all which natural peculi'
arities account for the mysterious disappearances,
which the mountain Hero was enabled to enact from
his pursuers. In this neighbourhood are the Mount
Vernon Copper-mines. The whole district is inte-
resting to the naturalist.

“ I should not wonder if the mysterious Crested
Snake prove to be an Acontias ; a lizard without
limbs, and with truncated tail, a species allied to A.
meleagris of South Africa. The possession of what
may be called a voice, and the un serpent-like form,
strongly point this way.”

Soon after this communication I had the pleasure
myself of conversing with Dr. Palmer, who gave me
a few particulars in addition to those contained in the
above note. It was about the year 18^9 ; he saw
the animal lying by the road-side near Drummond
Castle ; decomposition had commenced, but the body
was still entire and firm. Its thickness first struck
him, and he then discovered its crest ; he described
it to me as a sort of a pyramidal helmet, of a pale
red colour, somewhat entire at the edge, but with a
kind of lobe or knob at the summit.

The suggestion of Mr. Hill, that the animal in
question may be a Saurian, is felicitous, and removes
much of the primd-facie improbability of the received
account. For though none of the limbless Lizards
known to us possess appendages to the head, but are

CRESTED SNAKE.

377

remarkable for the smoothness of their contour,
many such are familiar to us in the Saurian Order.
The inflatable hood on the occiput of Basiliscus^ the
serrated crest of Iguana, Cyclura, and Anolis, might
present analogies to the coronal appendage of this
mountain reptile of the Antilles ; while the dewlap of
Iguana and Draco, the protrusile bright-hued goitre
of Anolis, Dactyloa, and their allies, and especially
the cheek-frills of Chlamydosaurus, would aflbrd some
precedent for the lateral “ wattles” with which it
is said to be furnished.

So great was my curiosity to obtain all the inform-
ation possible about this creature, that, some time
before I left the island, I published in one of the
periodicals an 'appeal to the well-wishers of science,
intimating my desire to possess this interesting rep-
tile in particular. I heard, however, nothing further
on the subject at that time.

But since my return to England, my kind scien-
tiflc correspondent, Mr. Hill, again alludes to this
matter in the following words : — ‘‘ Mr. Jasper Car-
gill informs me, that when visiting Skibo in St.
George’s, an estate of his father’s, in descending the
mountain-road, his attention was drawn to a snake
of a dark hue, that erected itself from amid some
fragments of limestone-rock that lay about. It was
about four feet long, and unusually ihich-bodied.
His surprise was greatly increased on perceiving that
it was crested, and that from the side of the cheeks
depended some red-coloured flaps, like gills or wat-
tles. After gazing at him intently some time, with
its head well erect, it drew itself in, and disappeared

378

BATH.

among the fragmentary rocks. He inquired, and
found that this, to him, very extraordinary Snake
was well enough known thereabouts. He afterwards
learned that it was occasionally encountered in the
woods about Bath, in St. Thomas in the East. When
your application to the public was published in the
‘ Agricultural Reporter,’ he felt so anxious to meet
your call for this particular reptile, that he offered a
pound for a specimen ; hut although he had several
promises from persons who professed to he acquainted
with the Snake, he was not fortunate enough to ob-
tain one. He has promised to be mindful still of the
subject for you. 5th January, 1847.”

While engaged in preparing these pages for the
press, I looked over the magnificent volumes of Seba,
‘‘ Thesaurus Rerum Naturalium,” hoping that in the
vast number of Serpents delineated by him, I might
discover some parallel to the structure of this extra-
ordinary animal. Nor was I wholly disappointed.
In his second volume, plate 103, is the representation
of a large Serpent, assigned to both Arabia and
Brazil, about which, it is true, some rather apo-
cryphal legends are narrated, but which seems to have
been drawn from a real subject. It has the occiput
enlarged into a bifid prominence, forming two
rounded lobes. In the same volume, pi. 18, fig. 3,
there is a Serpent from Amboyna, which is furnished
with a lengthened process curving downward from
the base of the inferior jaw on each side, the lower
edge of which appendage is pectinated, or beset with
a row of short bristles. But more to the purpose
are the figures of two species of rather small size, in
plate 40 of the same volume. Of the former, the

seba’s figures.

379

text says ; — ‘‘ This was sent to us from St. Domingo
with other animals. It is a beast truly extraordinary.
It has a muzzle hard as horn, pointed like a bird’s
beak, with two fins under the lower jaw, that serve
for swimming. The head is covered ivith great
scales; all the upper part of the body is pale yellow,
marked with oval reddish-yellow spots, like a tiger.
The fins are coral-red, as those of a Perch. The
ventral scales are yellowish grey, of irregular size,
and set without order. This Eel is in almost every
thing like a Serpent, and perhaps is a species of that
tribe.”

Of the second species, the author observes that it is

Like the former in all respects, except the colour-
ing, which exhibits, instead of spots, a series of five
sea-green bands, extending along the reddish scales
of the back. The fins are coral-red as before. The
eyes are minute, and placed near the anterior part of
the muzzle. The scales of the belly are large, and
placed symmetrically, as in serpents.’’^

It is evident from the expressions of wonder used
by Seba, one of which I have quoted, that these
were no ordinary forms. He is dubious, it is true,
whether to assign them to the Eels or to the Serpents ;
and he calls them “ marine,” but whether on any other
evidence than the fin-like appendages of the cheeks,
does not appear. He calls these appendages “ fins,”
and compares them (when speaking of their colour) to
those of a Perch. The round pointed head suggests
a Murana, but Murcena possesses no pectoral fins,
while in these fishes a long dorsal and anal meet
around the extremity of the body ; and the posterior
parts are vertically flattened. The scales, too, in

380

ST. DOMINGO.

the Muraenoid fishes are minute and inconspicuous.
On the other hand, the scaling of these figures is de-
cidedly serpentine ; the belly of No. 2. is expressly
said to have distinct large symmetrical scales, like
those of Serpents, and the head in both is repre-
sented as shielded with the broad plates of a Coluber,
The tail is drawn out to a long point, apparently
in the form of a taper cone, without any compression
or bordering fins. In No. 1. there is a little pro-
jecting point at the edge of the lower belly, which
at first sight suggests the idea of the anal hook of
a Boa, but which, from comparison with other figures,
appears intended to represent the projection of the
pre-anal scale ; this, though a small matter, is yet an
important mark of distinction between a Serpent and
a Fish.

These confirmatory evidences, I of course commu-
nicated to my friend, whose observations in reply I
subjoin.

Dec, 24. 1850 You have dipped into

the right Treasury in Seba’s Thesaurus. His Ser-
pent with the red gular appendages and mouth ter-
minating like a bird’s bill is certainly the curious
Snake described to me as an inhabitant of St. Do-
mingo, and mentioned in so many narratives of the
people as sometimes met with here. Your minute
notices of the delineation in Seba, the scaling of the
back, the scuta of the belly, the plates of the head,
the anal hook, and the absence of every thing that
might represent flattening in the extremity, are all
so many decisive evidences of its ophidian character.
But be it what it may, it is indisputably the gilled
and wattled serpent of St. Domingo, so amusingly

HAYTIAN SNAKE.

381

described to me as a frequenter of hen-roosts, into
which it thrust its head, and deceived the young
chickens by doing its best to crow, since it looked
so much like their own chanticleer. The Spanish
friend who first mentioned to me this anomalous
snake, and begged me to note it among my remark-
able things of the country, told me that he had seen
it when visiting in that far east of Hayti, known as
the ancient Caciquedom of Higuey. The mountains
there rise ‘ in terraces from ten to fifteen leagues in
length and breadth, rough and rocky, interspersed
wdth glens,’ — remarkably fertile, and resembling our
Red Hills, as much in their produce of Cassava-bread,
as in their red soil. Las Casas, who supplies Wash-
ington Irving with his account of the physical aspect
of this Indian territory*, in mentioning the moun-
tain ascents, and their graduated rise, from ‘ terrace
to terrace,’ — ‘ steep and precipitous,’ • — faced by
‘ rocks that resemble walls wrought with tools into
rough diamond points,’ — is describing mountain
scenery very familiar to you, — the honeycomb
limestone whose cellular surface is so remarkably
rugged with cavities and angular spiculse. I have
been particular in making this reference to Higuey,
because I did not visit that part of Saint Domingo,
but was informed that the Serpent with mandibles
like a bird, and with scarlet lobes or wattles, and
voice that made what might possibly be a cluck like
that of the clucking Lizard an imitation of the
crowing of the cock, was commonly known there ; so
that if Seba should mention Higuey, or indicate the
east end of Hayti as the locality from which he re-
* Life and Voyages of Columbus, book xvii. ch. iii.

382

SPANISH TOWN.

ceived his specimens, you may the better apply your
information to your conclusions, particularly when
you shall take into account the Jamaica facts I am
now about to relate to you.

‘‘ It was, I think, on Easter- eve, the 30th of
March last, that some youngsters of the town came
running to me to tell me of a curious Snake, unlike
any snake they had ever before seen, which young
Cargill had shot, when out for a day’s sport among
the woodlands of a neighbouring penn. They de-
scribed it as in all respects a serpent, but with a very
curious shaped head, and with wattles hanging on
each side of its jaws. After taking it in hand and
looking at it, they placed it in a hollow tree intend-
ing to return for it, when they should be coming
home, but they had strolled from the place so far
that it was inconvenient to retrace their steps, when
wearied with rambling; but they had lost no time
in relating the adventure to me, knowing it would
interest me much, particularly as young Cargill’s
father had thought it a snake similar to the one he
had seen at Skibo in St. George’s, or to the crested
serpent, for a specimen of which, when in St. Thomas’s
in the East, he had offered the sum of twenty shil-
lings. The youth that shot the snake fell ill on the
following morning with fever, and could not go back
to the w'oodlands to seek it, but he sent his younger
brother who had been with him ; but although
he thought he rediscovered the tree in which his
brother had placed it, he could not find the Snake.
He conjectured the rats had devoured it in the night.
When this adventure was related to me, another
youth, Ulick Ramsay, a godson of mine, who came

CRESTED SNAKE.

383

with the young Cargills to tell me of their discovery,
informed me, that not long previously he had seen
in the hand of the barrack-master sergeant, at the
barracks in Spanish Town, a curious snake which he
too had shot among the rocks of a little line of emi-
nences near the railway, about two miles out, called
Craigallechie. It was a serpent with a curious-
shaped head, and projections on each side which he
likened to the fins of an eel, but said they were close
up to the jaws. Here are unquestionably two of
the same snakes with those of Seba’s Thesaurus, taken
near Spanish Town, and both about the honeycomb
rocks that protrude through the plain of St. Cathe-
rine’s in detached ridges, and cones, and hummocks,
being points of the greater lines of limestone, which
have been covered by the detritus of the plains, leav-
ing masses of the under rocks here and there un-
covered. These are the spots frequented too by the
Cyclura ; and are continuations of our Red Hills, —
a country that so much resembles the terraced cliffs
and red-soil glens of Higuey.

“ Must we not take the horny coverings of the
mouth of this Snake, which so much resemble the bill
of a bird, as an affinity of the serpent with the tor-
toise, and the cutaneous appendages as indicating
some relation to the Mata-mata, or CJielys Jimhriata
of Spix ? It will be not much of a guess to suppose,
that, like the Mata-mata, it conceals all but its head,
and leaving that out, waits in ambush for young birds,
and seizes them as they approach. I cannot con-
sider the habits of this serpent fluviatile at all ; for
the gular appendage is no fin.”

^^Jan. 1851. — I showed young Cargill your

384

SPANISH TOWN.

drawing [copied from Seba] of the eared serpent as
he calls it. He says it is exactly that which he shot ;
the shape of the head angular in the same way, but
not apparently so pointed in the beak. It was spotted
all over, and had the lobes purple-tinted.

I have just seen Ulick Ramsay, and shown him
the drawing from Seba’s Thesaurus. The head of
the snake, which he saw in the hands of the Artillery
Sergeant from the Arsenal^ not the Barracks, was
similar. The ears, as he calls the lobe-like organs,
appeared higher up to the crown ; the head was
angular in contour, and the body without spots.”

These comparisons, made merely from memory, and
without the attention having been particularly directed
to the points in question at the time of observation,
are, of course, of little value. The accumulation of
evidence, however, for the existence of this curious
form, is, I think, irresistible.

THE SPOTTED-CHINNED SNAKE.

A pretty little Snake, hitherto unnoticed by zoo-
logists, has occurred to my researches in the neigh-
bourhood of Bluefields. It is much too rare to have
allowed any opportunity for observation on its man-
ners, but two specimens having fallen into my hands ;
and the common people are not acquainted with
it, or perhaps confound it with the common Grey
Snake. I describe it below.*

* Natrix callilcBma, mihi. {KaXhs, pretty, and Xaijjibs, the throat. )
Head oval ; snout obtuse, rounded ; neck slightly constricted : body
and tail slender ; tail two fifths (in the young specimen one third) of
the whole length : snout projecting ; mouth curved, rising poste-
riorly : gape reaching as far as the rear of the occipitals. Labial

THE WILD HOG.

385

THE WILD HOG.

I have never met with feral Swine in the woods of
Westmoreland : in the sombre, high-timbered forests
around Shrewsbury, in St. Elizabeth’s, they are oc-
casionally shot ; but it is in the remote lands near
the centre of the island, and especially in the wild
lofty districts of the windward end, full of mountain
peaks and ridges, that they have chiefly multiplied ;
and it is to the experience and inquiries of my friend
Mr. Hill, that I am indebted for all that I know of
these animals.

The character of the Indian wild Hog, which
ours very much resembles, is ‘ a broad flat forehead ;
short pricked ears, rather round at their tips, and
lying very close to the neck ; the eyes very full, with

plates six, the third and fourth forming the lower wall of the orbit ;
the fifth large and long ; the sixth small. Vertical plate large, five-
sided, nearly as broad as long. Occipitals very large. Scales
smooth, convex, hexagonal. Abdominal shields in adult 144 ; caudal
104 pairs; in the young, abdominal 135 ; caudal, 115 pairs. Length
of the larger twelve inches.

Colour reddish-brown above, softening to white below. An ob-
long mark of deep brown passes along the summit of the head, some-
what dilated before and behind : from this a brown stripe extends
all along the middle of the back, having a tendency on the nape to
form confluent rhomboids, like our own Viper. On each side of this
a line of regular black dots passes down, and below these a narrow
band of brown on each side. The dotted line, as well as the dorsal
stripe, become indistinct towards the tail, but the lateral lines con-
tinue well marked. The latter pass through the eyes to the muzzle,
and are succeeded on each cheek by two indistinct parallel lines.
Chin and throat prettily spotted and marbled with dark brown on
the white ground, the marks small and confluent. The body, and
especially the belly shields, opaline. In age the ground-colour be-
comes much darker, and the characteristic markings less distinct.

S

386

SPANISH-TOWN.

much display of the white, when in action ; the head
short, thickly furnished with hair, inclining to curl ;
a very muscular neck ; a high shoulder ; the back
very nearly straight ; the loins broad ; the bristles
thick on the neck and shoulder ; the tail rather
short, and near the tip covered with lateral bristles,
resembling the wings of an arrow.’ *

“ Our breed of Hogs was derived from the Canary
Isles — a genuine African variety. We were stocked
from the ships of the Spanish discoverers. The
species has the prick-ears of the Indian, but not what
may at all be spoken of as a short head, — the head
being elongated, and the extremities having a corre-
spondent peculiarity, — a proportional extension of
leg and limb. Mr. Johnston, of Portland, tells me
that all our hogs are prick-eared ; and he has seen
many with the feathered tail. They are generally
black ; but red swine, that is, foxy-coloured, have
been caught in our forests. A lop-eared hog is very
rarely seen, even in our streets.

“ Buffon’s description of tracking the wild hogs in
the West Indian forest, and the caution against over-
fast pursuit, is represented to me as exceedingly cor-
rect. Their turning about, however, to face the dogs,
is not so striking a fact with us, as their directly run-
ning for large trees with deep salient roots, into
which they thrust themselves backward, and stand
steadfastly the assault made upon them. Many a
time when the novitiate huntsman has supposed that
in starting a hog in the open grounds, he would
make a long run of it, he has found his pursuit ter-
minated by his game ensconcing himself within the

* Col. Williamson’s Oriental Field Sports.

ADVENTURE WITH A BOAR.

387

buttresses of a Silk-cotton tree, and putting the dogs
fairly at defiance. He has here set his back against the
wall, and he fights in desperation and dies in his hold.

‘‘ I will relate a little adventure of my own with
forest Hogs in Spanish Haiti. I was in the way,
with the friend I have mentioned in some of my
former notes, to visit a curious chambered rock in
the savanna of Copey, near Puerta-plata. It was
situated at the foot of a still more curious mountain,
that gave out strange musical sounds ; the warbling
wind, struggling through the fissures and crannies,
had conferred upon it a voice of enchantment. The
Hatero’s wealth in these parts consists in his wood-
land swine. A peon had been provided for us, to
conduct us to these mountain wonders ; and though
we had to clear our way, as we advanced, through
occasional underwood, the forest, which was of mag-
nificent growth, was generally exceedingly open.
The chambered rock was an immense mass, of 300
feet high, of detached stratified limestone, with its
strata standing vertical. The obstructed waters of a
small stream, over which it had been rolled, had
cleared a way through its fissures, and formed
curious galleries, whose roof, walls, and floors, were
fretted with stalactitic incrustations. It was a grotto
of crystal work, at once beautiful and strange.

To ascend to the entrance it became necessary to
pass along a narrow cliff-raised pathway, from which
successive steps led to a labyrinth of galleries. The
peon before, drawing his legs hastily up on a ledge
above us, sounded out, ‘Look out for the Boar!’
In an instant up rose from a niche three forest Hogs,

388

HAITI.

the central one of which was a well-tusked Boar;
the other two being Sows. The peon and the
friend with me were safe on some ascending ledges
of limestone. I was on the edge of the cliffy path-
way. In a moment the Boar, champing his mouth
with rage, and rising to make one rush upon me,
took some three steps in advance of his mates*;
when, at the same instant, the two large blood-hounds
we had with us, both together leaping in over some
low bushes beside me, and the terrier in company
smuicing it under the brushwood, with his short
yap of a bark, stood between me and the assault of
the excited Boar. It was all the work of a mere frac-
tion of a minute. The Boar stopped short from his
attack to defend his mates from the dogs, who now
were covering me. They had run round the Boar
and turned him, cutting him off from his two mates.
It was immediately a chase, for the Sows scudded
off, and the Boar followed ; and quick as magic, I
found myself in the midst of peril, and delivered
from the onslaught of an irritated Boar in the forest.
How intensely did my heart beat ! for the danger, I
was assured, was imminent. Many a time I have
remembered the occurrence, and wondered at my
deliverance.

“ The original Hog of the Canary Isles, the parent
of our wild animal, is said by Eyton to have the
specific peculiarity of fewer dorsal vertebrae than the
typical species.

Though our woodland breed never attain a

* o d* avriog Ik ^vXSxoio

^pi^ag tv Xo(pirjv, Trvp d’ ocpOaXfiolai dtSopKcjgf

^rrj p avToiv (7%£^60£v. Odyss, xix. 520,

THE boar’s defence.

389

greater height than twenty inches at the shoulder,
their thorough forest habits render the full-grown
Boar a powerful and artful combatant. As long as
he runs, and seeks his safety in flight, pursuit both to
the hound and the hunter has little hazard attending
it ; but the moment he has reached some vantage
spot, — an angular rock, or the buttress roots of
some large tree, sufficient to cover him in the rear, —
and he faces round, and stands, he is a dangerous
enemy to encounter. His ability to cut with his
tusks on the right hand and on the left, and his habit
of striking a short upward blow in front by taking
one step forward, render him in such a fastness un-
approachable. As long as he maintains this position,
he absolutely defies the assailant dogs to touch him.
No animal can be conceived cooler, none more bold,
nor more thoroughly intent on keeping himself un-
wearied in the labour of defence, by little exertion
in the means of defending himself, than a well-
toothed Boar, in such a hold. Let his back be in
a corner, and there are but eighteen inches between
him and death to any ordinary dog that will face
him in the forest.

‘‘The best developed domesticated Hog of the
original African breed that I have seen, was a boar
of the blue variety; and the best display of wood-
land instinct that I have witnessed was recently
exhibited in some young pigs of this blue breed,
brought from the commons and forest runs of a
mountain farm, and domiciled in town. Three
of these country pigs, a boar and two sows, had
taken up with a black pig and some four young fol-

390

SPANISH-TOWN.

lowers, evidently town born and bred. In tramping
home, after feeding out for the night, some of the
town dogs, of a good enough quality of the hound
and terrier breed, set upon them. Instantly the
country hogs turned round, and coolly taking up
their position in the angle of a wall, put the black
pig and four young ones within the corner in their
rear, and threw themselves before them. They
then commenced that peculiar short hasty grunt,
with which the hog kind announce danger, or pre-
pare for a resolute resistance. The dogs that came
upon them being reinforced by a troop from the
several yards round about, became a pack of twelve
or fourteen in an instant. Among these were some
five small curs. The three blue pigs were undaunted.
They stood their ground with their faces to their
enemies, and though the dogs beset them with a de-
termination to fight in earnest, they successfully kept
off their assailants. The curs barked and grabbed at
them between the legs of the larger dogs ; — the
larger dogs rushed at them six in a line together.
The young boar, with well developed tusks, stood in
the centre, and stepping every now and then one
pace forward, made his upward rips at the dogs,
and effectively struck them without receiving a single
touch himself. The assault continued some time,
but the pigs were not to be moved from their posi-
tion. The dogs received several severe cuts and
grips. I never saw a better managed defence. No
exertion or perseverance could force the pigs from
their vantage ground. The conflict drew the neigh-
bours out; and it was not until they had drawn
away the dogs one by one to their homes, that the

HOG-HUNTING.

391

pigs could be enticed from their hold. On another
menace from the dogs, they took up a second similar
position, and firmly maintained a second onset of
their assailants with the same successful resistance.
No badger in his tub could have been more stout-
hearted, resolute, and courageous, than these three
mountain hogs in their corner.

“ My father used to relate an encounter he once
had with a full-grown wild boar. He had entered a
forest where occasional rocks bounding the right
hand and the left gave the character of a defile to a
mountain pass. A hog traversing the glen, no sooner
found himself, when on the road, encountering an
enemy than he faced round, and assumed an attitude
of opposition to all further attempts to approach
him. There being no dread of anything in the rear,
and all that he apprehended of danger being before
him, he stood ready to strike with his tusks ; and he
continued this sort of threat, whenever any endeavour
was made to advance upon him, for a full half hour.
No menace could move him from this stand till he
heard footsteps from behind, when his position being
no longer secure, he crossed the road into the woods
at full speed, and left an undisputed pathway to the
travellers upward and downward.”

In a recent communication, my friend thus returns
to the subject. — Sth February , 1851. I have
learned some new facts respecting hog-hunting. The
present letter, you will perceive, covers some addi-
tional notes to those already sent you on that subject.
They may be said to embrace the commercial details
of our Forest Swine, with some notices of Maroon

392

MONTEGO BAY.

hunters. I find, in addition to these, that a very
common mode of taking the wild animal is by snares.
A sapling, in its place of growth among the dense
and lofty trees of the woodlands, is bent down after
having been stripped of its leaves and small branches.
A noose, made of a withe, is securely attached to
the end of the bent tree, and so adjusted with stakes
slightly fixed, that, on a Hog thrusting its body or
only a foot through the snare to seize the roots and
fruits strewed about to attract it, the sapling rises
up by the force of its own elasticity, and carries the
Hog into the air, sometimes strangled by the neck,
but as often caught round the body, or held by one
of its legs. Your acquaintance with our forests will
enable you to understand this species of trap, and to
form a pretty correct conception of the kind of pic-
ture which might be made to represent it success-
fully, applied to Hog-snaring. . . .

“ I mentioned to you that in Sloane’s History of
Jamaica, you would find some account of the Forest
Swine. His graphic picture of the herds in the
^ Crawles'^f as the rude and extensive farms of the
time were called, would form an interesting illustra-
tion of your notices of the Wild Hog. My birth-
place, Montego Bay, formerly written Manteca, and
Mantiga Bay, derived its name from the supplies of
lard which were shipped from a district known in the
old maps as Spanish Quarters. The historian Long,
who mentions the wild hogs formerly abounding in
this part, says, that the traffic of the Island at its
conquest by the English in 1655, although small,
consisted of supplies of fresh provisions to Spanish

* A corruption of the Spanish word Corral.

JERKED PORK.

393

homeward-bound ships ; that it was considered as
the granary and victualling place of the traders ; and
that 80,000 hogs were every year killed for their
lard alone, for which a constant market was found at
Carthagena, on the South American, main. When
Sloane journeyed to the ^ north side^ of the island,
the cattle which the settlers had reclaimed in tlie
southern plains, stored so abundantly with neat-kine
the Savanna pens, that a single settlement possessed
forty thousand head. The north side was the ex-
clusive field for wild cattle and horses ; and wild
swine were plentiful in the same remote districts.
Sloane, describing the two sorts of Hogs, one run-
ning wild in the woods, the other fed in crawles,
says, ‘ the wild swine are brought out by hunters
with gangs of dogs, and chiefly found in the most
unfrequented, woody inland parts of the island.
After pursuit, and they are wearied by the dogs,
when they come to a bay, they are shot or pierced
through with lances, cut open, the bones taken out,
the flesh is gashed on the inside into the skin,
filled with salt, and exposed to the sun, which is
called jerking. It is so brought home to their
masters by the hunters, and eats much as bacon if
broiled on coals.’ The hunters were both whites
and blacks. The Indians, of whom there were then
some in the colony, chiefly imported from the Indian
coast, were S exquisite at this game.’ They pursued
their business of hog-hunting far remote from the
settlements, building huts ‘in the places where swine
came to feed on the fruits,’ and where they re-
mained marooning for several days, and preparing

394

NORTH SIDE.

the flesh for market, smoked and packed in aromatic
leaves. ‘ The swine fed at crawles were in very
great plenty.’ The crawles had clusters of sties
built expressly for feeding and breeding them, and
were committed to the care of the same class of men
described as hunters, — white servants, Indian peons,
and negro slaves. ‘ The swine came home every
night in several hundreds from feeding on the wild
fruits in the neighbouring woods, on the third sound
of a conch-shell, when they were fed with some
Indian corn thrown in amongst them ; and let out
the next morning, not to return till night, or that
they heard the sound of the shell.’ These remote
plantations were very profitable. They afforded a
constant and numerous supply for the market, which
at this time must have still continued considerable,
‘ It was not a small diversion to me,’ says Sloane,
‘ to see these swine in the woods, on the first sound
of the shell, which is like a trumpet, to lift up their
heads from the ground where they were feeding, and
prick up their ears to hearken for the second, which,
so soon as they heard, they would begin to make
some movements homewards ; and, on the third
sound, they w’ould run wdth all their speed to the
place where the overseer used to throw their corn.
They are called home every night, and also when
such of them as are fit for market are wanted, and
seem to be as much, if not more, under command
and discipline than any troops I ever saw.’^

‘‘ Though cattle were so numerous in the savannas,
and were running unreclaimed in the forests, and

* Introd. ; xvi. and xvii.

BARBECUED PIC.

395

the farms were well supplied with the several va-
rieties of poultry — turkeys, hens, and mallards, and
Muscovy ducks, with occasional geese — Swine’s flesh
was the ‘ most frequent dish at the table of the best
inhabitants.’ The ‘ barbecued pig,’ which neces-
sity had taught the huntsman to prepare in the
forest, roasted in a rude oven of heated stones, and
flavoured with native spices, — a more refined taste
had transferred from the herdsman’s hut to the plant-
ation hall. Monk Lewis, whose taste was luxu-
rious and fastidious, declares it to be one of the most
delicious of viands. ‘ Several gentlemen of the
country,’ he relates in that very agreeable gossip-
ing Diary, his ‘ Journal,’ ‘ dined with me to-day ’
(January 26. 1816). ^ We had at dinner a land

tortoise and a barbecued pig, — two of the best and
richest dishes that I had ever tasted, the latter in par-
ticular. It was dressed in the true Maroon fashion,
being placed on a barbecue, or frame of wicker work,
through whose interstices the steam can ascend,
— filled with peppers and spices of the highest fla-
vour, wrapped in plantain leaves, and then buried
in a hole filled with hot stones, by whose vapour it
is baked ; no particle of the juice being thus suf-
fered to evaporate. I have eaten several other good
Jamaica dishes, but none so excellent as this.’

When the Spaniards with their slaves retired to
the north side of the Island on the conquest by the
English in 1655, they left their negroes to hold the
mountain fastnesses, and harass the conquerors and
new settlers. These became the body of independ-

396

NORTH SIDE.

ent occupants of the interior, known as Maroons^,
and afterwards recognised by specific treaties as a
free people, governed by their own officers, and only
in so much a part of the colony as that they received
their appointments from the governors, and lived in
villages under the superintendence of an European
officer, commissioned and stipended by the govern-
ment. In this state of freedom and independence,
their characteristic habit, as mountain rangers, was
made by express laws subservient to a sort of police
of the forest. Their most stirring pastime was the
hunting of the wild hog. This pursuit served the
purpose of chevies for negro runaways, till traffick-
ing in jerked pork and in rewards for apprehended
runaways became a systematised business with them.
In the days of slavery, the Maroon huntsman was a
fine specimen of the athletic negro, on whom was
stamped the impress of the Freeman. He was
generally seen in the towns armed with a fowling-
piece and cutlass, and belts that suspended on one side
a large plaited bag, known as a cuttacoo^ and on the
other a calabash, guarded with a netted covering, in
which he carried his supply of water. On his back,
braced round his shoulders, and suspended by a
bandage over the forehead, was generally seen the
wicker cradle, that held inclosed a side of jerked
hog, which he sold passing along, in measured slices,
to ready customers, as an especial delicacy for the
breakfast table. The accoutred Maroon, with this
vendible commodity, was altogether a striking and
characteristic figure in our streets. The abolition of

* From Cimarron (Spanish), wild.

MAROON HOG-HUNTERS.

397

slavery having absorbed him in the general mass
of liberated negroes, he has abandoned the hunts-
man’s life for that of the husbandman. The pursuit
of wild hogs has terminated with the rewards for
runaway slaves ; and in this age of railways and
steam navigation, the flitches of American bacon in
the provision shops have driven out of the market
the jerked hog of the Maroon.

“ When I applied to our agreeable noter of his-
torical facts, Mr. Gregory Johnston, and asked him
for characteristic accounts of hog-hunting and hog-
hunters in the glens of Portland, where the Maroons
still had settlements, I inquired of him whether the
lairs of our forest breed exhibited what is a com-
mon habit of the wild hog in Europe, — the female
covering her companion with litter, and after com-
fortably putting him to bed, slipping under the cover
herself, and lying with him entirely concealed. I
thought if this pretty trait of forest housewifery
existed, the Maroons must have surprised them fre-
quently in their connubial coziness. He promised
me a graphic account of what he had learnt from a
veteran hunter, but he did not live to write it out
for me, though he had certainly jotted it down. His
intelligent son, who was as enthusiastic a lover of
woodland sports as his father, and to whom we are
indebted for traits of the Gowries^, hardly outlived
him. He perished accidentally : his gun went off
and wounded him while shooting in the woods. I
might otherwise have got his father’s notes from
him.

See ‘ The Birds of Jamaica,’ p. 58.

398

SPANISH-TOWN.

THE CROCODILE.

In some parts of Jamaica, Crocodiles (or, as they
are usually called, Alligators) are sufficiently nume-
rous ; but in the neighbourhood of Bluefields they
are so rare that, though I occasionally heard reports
of one and another having been seen in the creeks
and morasses around, I was never so fortunate as to
fall in with a living specimen.

To atone for my lack of personal observation on
these animals, I have pleasure in extracting from my
correspondence with Mr. Hill, many valuable notes,
containing much that is new and interesting, and
tending to explain some things that have hitherto
appeared discrepant and contradictory. There is no
evidence, I believe, that any species of Alligator,
properly so called, inhabits the Antilles : the Cro-
codile of Jamaica is C. acutus, the Slender-muzzled,
possessed by this island in common with Martinique
and Hayti, and represented in Cuba by the Lozenge-
scaled Crocodile {C. rhomhifer).

The first extract that I shall make refers to the
mode of feeding ; and though my friend used the
term Alligator, he subsequently ascertained, on the
authority of Descourtiltz, that the species is C.
acutus.

Mr. Waterton, I perceive, in his second series
of Essays, contradicts Swainson’s statement respect-
ing the habit of the Cayman, Ho convey its food
to some hole at the edge of the water, where it
is suffered to putrefy before it is devoured.’ He
says, this statement must be rejected, because ‘ the

A TAME CROCODILE.

399

mouth of this reptile is completely formed for
snatch and swallow.’ My experience and observation
accord with Swainson’s statement. I had so set
down the habit of this reptile, on the authority of
the Spaniards of Hispaniola, in the notes I made
when in that part of Haiti ; but when I returned to
Cape Haitien, I had an opportunity of proving it.
The French consul, M. Barbot, had an Alligator,
which he kept in a cistern, fed by a mountain spring,
in a pretty garden of his residence. The Alligator
would be found in the water all day, but at night he
rambled over the garden, which was walled in ; and
was then a diligent catcher of frogs and toads.
Usually in the morning, some half dozen hatrachians
would be found mangled and torn, and stuffed into
all the crannies and corners of the cistern convenient
for that purpose ; their long disentangled entrails
streaming out into the water. The Alligator would
rise to the surface, take portions of the limbs and en-
trails into its mouth, and holding them with its teeth
pressed close, with part of the entrails on one and
the other side of its mouth, would gently squeeze
the whole of the food, and swallow it most leisurely.
Its action in eating most resembled a person chew-
ing a ‘ quid ’ of tobacco. In this way it always fed,
at least hy day. This just agrees with the common
account. The British consul, Mr. Heneiken, of Puerta
Plata, an excellent observer in natural history, told
me that in numerous Alligators he had killed and
opened, he found nothing solid within them, ex-
cept sticks and stones. The swallowing of these
substances is an instinct they have in common with

400

WESTERN HAITI.

the Phocidcs, Mr. Heneiken conjectured that by
this instinct they regulated the buoyancy and gravi-
tation of their bodies with relation to the water.”

The verdant marshes of the Ester in Western
Haiti, where I first saw the Cayman, is the feeding
ground of numerous cattle. Clumps of acacia and
tufts of bamboos festooned with lianas, and embel-
lished with blooming nymphaeas floating on the
waters, contribute to vary the aspect of these swamps.
Egrets and gallinules inhabit them in numbers, and
ducks frequent them in vast flocks. Large Caymans
are to be seen there floating in the clear stream and
prowling in the thickets ; yet I saw naked herdsmen
and fishermen navigating the waters in narrow canoes
from six to nine feet long, and not more than eighteen
inches or two feet broad. They had tied their cami-
settes of blue and pink and white check around their
heads like turbans, having only the tanga or waist-
cloth round the naked body, that they might wade
the waters when necessary. Their singularly wild
appearance, in these mere logs of boats, pushed along
by poles, — the numerous cattle, and the multi-
tudinous birds, with the frequent Alligators, in the
midst of which man, bird, and beast were moving
about, was altogether one of the strangest wild sights
I had ever witnessed.

In the calm long-enduring quality of its nature,
the Alligator is really a timid animal. With the
advantage of an impervious armour, impenetrable
covering of scales, strength of limb, commanding
shelter of the water, and jaws whose clasp is an
inextricable hold, it fears to attack an animal it is

CANINE STKATAGEM.

401

unused to devour. The inhabitants, aware of its
timidity, fearlessly cross streams even when num-
bers are swimming around ; but this is not done
without some ruse. The Alligator, they say, is
greedily partial to dogs, and surprises them often
when they come to drink at the river. The voice
of the dog will always draw them away from an
object when prowling. Those who would cross a
a river without any risk from their attacks, send a
scout down the stream to imitate the canine bark,
yelp, or howl, when away swim the Alligators for
their prey, leaving an unmolested ford for the tra-
veller higher up. Instinct has taught the dog to
secure himself by a similar expedient. When it has
to traverse a stretch of water, it boldly goes some
distance down the stream, and howls and barks. On
perceiving the Alligators congregating in eager cu-
pidity to the spot, it creeps gently along the banks
higher up, and swims over the w^ater without much
fear of being pursued.

This fact is universally asserted, and is unques-
tionably true, but I doubt the conclusion. The
well known habit of the Alligator, never to eat its
food until in a state of putridity ^ negatives the sup-
position that it has any particular choice in the flesh
of its victim. The Ashes on which it preys, it probably
devours immediately after it has caught them ; but
all other things else, as soon as they are slain, are
torn and mangled, limb by limb, and left to putrefy
in the river, or in the sedge about its lurking place.
It can have no particular preference, therefore, for
the dog as food. I am disposed to ascribe this sus-

402

HAITI.

ceptibility to be roused at the canine yelp to the
similarity of that sound to its own peculiar cry^
under any species of excitement ; — to the fact that
it is the impassioned voice of its young — to the
maternal solicitude of the female for its progeny
when it hears that voice — and to the ravenous ap-
petite of the male on the same occasion ; for, like
many of the rapacious animals, the male of this tribe
preys upon its own offspring.*

It is not very clear whether the male parent,
after it has sought the attachment of the female, in
which its passion is fierce and violent, assists her in
the office of disposing the eggs in the earth. It is
much more likely, from the necessity of her after
watchfulness to guard against his reprisals, that he
does not. After burying the eggs in the soil, to he
there matured by the sun, the female visits from
time^ to time the place in which they are secreted,
and, just as the period of hatching is completed, ex-
hibits her eagerness for her offspring in the anxiety
with which she comes and goes, walks around the
nest of her hopes, scratches the fractured shell,
and by sounds which resemble the hark of a dog, ex-
cites the half-extricated young to struggle forth into
life. When she has beheld, with this sort of joy,
fear, and anxiety, the last of her offspring quit its
broken casement, she leads them forth into the
plashy pools, away from the river, and among the

* Professor Buckland has discovered in the excrementitious fossils
of the Plesiosaurus or Fish Lizard evidences of a similar rapacious
appetite in those extinct animals. The bones of the young Plesio-
saurus were found in the petrified dung of the older ones.

crocodile’s maternal care.

403

thick underwood, to avoid the predatory visits of the
father. In this season of care and of watchfulness
over them, she is ferocious, daring, and morose,
guarding with inquietude her young wherever they
wander. She turns when they turn, and by whining
and grunting, shows a particular solicitude to keep
them in such pools only as are much too shallow for
the resort of the full-grown reptile. When I was in
Yasica, a river district of that name, as many as forty
had been discovered in one of these secret resorts ;
but in half an hour, when the boys who had found
them out returned to visit their hiding-place, they saw
only the traces of the coming and going of the watch-
ful parent who had led them away to some further
and safer retreat. In this period of their helplessness,
the mother feeds them with her masticated food, dis-
gorging it out to them as the dog does to its pups.
In general it is rarely seen otherwise than crouch-
ing with its belly to the earth, and crawling with a
curvilinear motion ; but at this time it may be ob-
served firmly standing on its feet. This is the atti-
tude of anger and attack ; and its spring is quick,
a sort of agile leap, by no means short in distance.
During all this time of protection and dependence,
is heard the voice, by which the young makes its
wants known, and the parent assures its offspring of
its superintendence. It is the yelping hark of the
dog, and the whining of the puppy,

“ From all these facts I take it that when the
sound of the dog’s bark is heard, the Caymans press
to the spot from which it issues, agitated by two
several passions, — t\\e females to protect their young,

404

SPANISH HAITI.

and the males to devour them; and to this, and not
to their predilection for the flesh of dogs, are we to
ascribe the eagerness with which they scud away,
agitated by that voice which in the one case is the
thrilling cry of danger, and in the other, the exciting
announcement of food.

This susceptibility to he excited by hearing a
cry associated with peculiar instincts and appetites,
has other parallels in other animals. A very strik-
ing analogy is to be found in Wilson’s anecdote of
the Cat-bird.

The Alligator’s motion when prowling is lite-
rally a crawl ; and in their posture of attack they
stand with their bodies off the ground, and make their
onsets by successive leaps, the arched back mentioned
by Humboldt being then a peculiar and distin-
guishing trait of their anger.

An occurrence related to me, that happened to
a Spanish priest on the banks of the Guayabino,
will best illustrate at once the predaceous vehe-
mence and lurking patience of the Alligator. The
large savanna rivers in Spanish Haiti flow through
wdde but gently descending borders, carpeted with
grass, and interspersed with thickets and clumps of
flowering shrubs and forest trees. The grass has all
the clean verdure of a lawn, and the clumps the
variety and arrangement of ornamental shrubberies,
and the earth is deep and loamy. These are favourite
sporting grounds. Beside being verdant and beau-
tiful, they are notoriously the game country. My
friend and his companions, who counted some four
in number, had divided themselves, trusting to the

PEEILOUS ADVENTURE.

405

crack of their fowling-pieces to ascertain each other’s
whereabout. When they had finished their day’s
sport, the descending sun was already struggling
through the lengthening shadows on the river. The
friends assembled where they had parted in the
morning, but the Spanish priest had not yet come
in. No one had heard his gun from the time they
had separated. They sought him through the dark-
ening thickets, and along the stream, and found him
at last, fast seated in a tree, into which he had been
obliged to betake himself to escape an Alligator
that had pursued him by a succession of leaps.
It had run in pursuit of him, as he said, jumping
rapidly after him, with its back crooked, like a
frightened cat. He had sprung to the branches, and
gained their security out of the reach of the reptile,
who for a long time after he had got into the tree,
crouched in a thicket close by, where it quietly
watched and waited his descent from his retreat. I
was not aware, until after I had heard this relation,
that Humboldt had similarly described the attack of
the crocodile when pursuing its victim on land.

When Moreau de St. Mery, about 1790, col-
lected materials for his work on St. Domingo, he
noticed a Cayman that had been kept for ten years
on a plantation at Gonaives, not far from the Ester,
called Cockerel. When it was first taken, it was
only eighteen inches long ; but at the time he wrote
it had grown to the dimensions of seven feet. This
may serve to give one some idea of the progressive
growth of this reptile. He mentions that it was
kept in a sort of inclosure into which no other water

406

GONAIVES.

than that which the rain supplied was received ; and
rain does not commonly fall out of the season at
Gonaives. It was fed on the dead animals of the
plantation, and on sheep’s entrails, but the people
frequently neglected it; and it did not seem that
in these intervals it got any food whatever, yet it
steadily continued its growth. This notice of the
penned-up reptile of Cocherel is most interesting for
the fact of its living deprived of water. This is
a circumstance, however, less remarkable of the Alii'
gator than of the Crocodile.”

The rapidity of growth in this reptile is mentioned
also in a note which I find in Robinson’s MSS., and
which contains other interesting particulars. The
species alluded to we have no means of knowing ;
but the writer evidently supposed it identical with
the animal he was familiar with in Jamaica. ‘‘ At a
place in Oxford Road, London, I saw a vigorous
young Alligator : I visited it several distinct times
after, and each time observed it surprisingly grown.
At first it might have been about ft. ; the last
time it was about 5 ft. long. It was kept in an open
wash-tub just covered with water: the mistress of
the house I saw feed it, which she did by opening
its jaws with her hands, and chucking in sprats,
which it swallowed instantly. It bore stroking or
any kind of handling most gently and patiently :
’twas as tame as any of her domestic animals. The
water, in the cold months, she informed me, she
made milk-warm for him to lie in ; yet, notwith-
standing, she assured me, this familiar creature would
several times in the day quit the tub, crawl to the

Humboldt’s notes.

407

hearth, and there bask himself till sufficiently wanned
by the fire, and then return to his proper element in
the tub.”

To return to the communications of Mr. Hill : —
After alluding to the specimens of Loricata preserved
in the Jamaica Society’s Museum, and to the various
living individuals which had fallen under his own ob-
servation, — as all exhibiting the characteristics of
true Crocodiles, not Alligators, — he thus proceeds :

The Saurians of this genus in the Rio Apure
noticed by Humboldt as exceedingly numerous,
being seen by five and six at a time, he describes as
‘real Crocodiles, not Alligators or Caymans, with
feet dentelated on the outer edge like those of the
Nile.’ As he measured two dead individuals, one
17 ft. 9 in. long, and the other 23 ft., with their
swimming powers so remarkably indicated, they must
be formidable monsters. It is on the occasion of
noticing the animals of the Rio Apure, that he de-
scribes what may be considered the characteristic
movement of these reptiles. ‘ The motions of these
animals,’ he says, ‘ are abrupt and rapid when they
attack an object, although they move very slowly
when not excited. In running, they make a rust-
ling noise, which seems to proceed from their scales,
and appear higher on their legs than when at rest,
at the same time bending the back. They generally
advance in a straight line, but can easily turn when
they please. They swim with great facility, even
against the most rapid current.’ On another occa-
sion, when the same traveller mentions that even in
the streets of Angostura, when the Orinoco inundates

408

VENEZUELA.

the quays, persons fall a prey to these reptiles, and
relates the story of an Indian of Margarita, whom,
when he had gone to anchor his canoe in a cove
where there were not three feet of water, a very
fierce Crocodile seized by the leg and carried off,
and who, though he had the astonishing presence
of mind to search for a pocket knife, and thrust his
fingers into the animal’s eyes, was yet so firmly held,
that the reptile plunged to the bottom, and drowned
him, — he describes it distinctly as a Crocodile. The
fact mentioned of the animal plunging to the bottom
of the river with his victim and swimming up again
to devour him, is quite in accordance with the re-
markable organisation of the Crocodile for diving
and swimming ; and I now suspect that the contra-
dictions relative to the daring and ferocity, and the
timidity and wariness of these monsters of the river
and the lagoon, are the distinctive characters of the
Crocodile and the Cayman. The protuberances which
protect the eyes of the Cayman, with the feebler
natatorial and diving powers of the feet, seem all
to have reference to the prowling instincts of the
crawler among morasses, rather than to the dashing
fierceness of the bold swimmer in rivers and rapids.
Humboldt says that the intrepid ‘ natives in con-
tending with the Crocodile observe its manners as the
torero studies those of the bull ; and quietly calcu-
late the motions of the enemy, its means of attack
and the degree of its audacity while the animals of
the Rio Neveri, and of the little river of Narigual,
which he mentions as exceedingly infesting the fords,
and speaks of both as Crocodiles and Caymans, he

A CROCODILE KILLED.

409

especially states were less ferocious than those of
the Orinoco, for that “ the people of New Barcelona
convey wood to market by floating the logs on the
river, while the proprietors swim here and there to
set them loose when they are stopped by the banks,
which he says they could not have done in most of
the South American rivers infested by these animals.”
When he makes reference to the same animals in
the marshes of Cuba, he distinctly speaks of them as
two species of Crocodile, one of which he describes as
having an elongated snout, and as being very fero-
cious. Daring and power in the water seem there-
fore to be the distinction of the Crocodile, and
timidity and stealthiness that of the Cayman; a dif-
ference which we might infer from the difference in
the feet of the two reptiles.”

February \9th, 1849. — A Crocodile (the animal
we usually speak of as an alligator) had been taken
in the fish-nets at Hanson’s pond by a fishing party,
and brought into the King’s House yard alive. It
had just been killed by a pistol bullet discharged into
its hrain when I saw it. I attended whilst the ne-
' groes skinned it, and had an opportunity afforded me
of observing the several peculiarities which are men-
tioned as characteristic in the structure of Crocodiles.

I' I shall set them down as they successively came
' under my notice.

j ‘‘ On opening the jaws, the attention is taken by the

I sight of a conspicuous cartilaginous plate before the
gullet, forming a ridge from one side of the fauces
I to the other, and expanding upward to meet a similar
I elastic fold depending from the back of the palate.

410

SPANISH -TOWN.

These are valves that shut in the throat. We are led
to conclude on first seeing these valves that we
are examining an animal that has no tongue, and
that the underfold of what we are inspecting is the
rudimentary trace of that member cut out. This,
however, with the corresponding curtain above it in
the roof of the mouth, forms an apparatus that closes
the distending aperture of the throat, and permits
the reptile to hold its prey and drown it, without
being itself liable to be drowned.

“ Between the branches of the lower jaw, a certain
degree of muscularity is perceived in the yellow floor-
ing of the mouth. This is the representative of the
tongue. The thickened membrane shows its lingual
analogue, though destitute of all approach to a red
colour, by its rough glands and pores giving out
saliva.

The nostrils, placed at the extremity of the snout,
terminate in a post-oral cavity, by passages that com-
municate with the throat behind the valvular appa-
ratus we have been describing. This is a provision
for respiration when the valves are closed, which at
once renders intelligible and necessary a remarkable
structure of the fauces by which the upper jaw seems
to move upward, whilst the under one retains its
horizontal position. The lower is prolonged behind
the skull to a great depth. On raising the head at
an angle, the upper jaw appears to move upward, and
the under jaw to remain immovable. The upper
jaw does indeed move upward, but not independently.
On casting back the head, an acetabulum of the
united skull and jaw acts on a condyle of the lower

M. bakbot’s ckocodile.

411

maxillary bone, and lifts the whole head like the
coved lid of a caddy : by this mechanism the Croco-
dile, on elevating its nostrils just barely out of the
water, is able to breathe. With the body and head
sunk below the surface, it keeps the under jaw
pressed upward, and holds fast its drowning victim,
its own breathing all the while being carried on at
ease. The mouth is open, but the throat is shut,
the gular valve being closed against all access of
either air or water.

In some previous observations set down by me
on the Cayman of St. Domingo, identical with our
Crocodile, I had mentioned that, beside the habit
constantly maintained by a young one kept in the
garden of the French consul at Cape Haitien, of
stuffing its mangled prey into the pond banks till it
was putrid, it used to lie for hours together, with
nostrils barely elevated above the water, keeping in
its mouth junkets of frogs it had killed, without
eating them. I now see that this habit was the young
Cayman practising the art of drowning living prey.
It did not eat what it had in its mouth while within
the water, because its structure was as unsuited for
feeding as it was for breathing open-mouthed in
that element; and its feeble palatal organisation
could scarcely do more towards gratifying its taste
with the portion of frog it held, than keeping con-
stantly present a sort of sensual consciousness of
food. I have a lively and pleasurable recollection of
the garden of Consul Barbot at Cape Haitien. A
small plateau at the foot of the Haut du Cap Moun-
tain, filled with clumps of shrubberies and scattered

412

NICARAGUA.

palms festooned and clustered with gaily-coloured
bind-weeds, shadowed a little basin which collected
the current of a spring that ran dashing and spark-
ling from the rocks. The fountain was always cool,
for it was constantly refreshed from the mountain.
The sun’s rays played within the foliage ; and the
Cayman lay on the sunny waters, indulging his soli-
tary passion in dreamy quietness. The nightly dews
dripping from the herbage, and the oozy rivulet
winding among the shrubs, tempted the frogs at
nightfall within his prowl ; for every morning saw
the putrid food of the previous day devoured, and
fresh carcases mangled and torn and stuffed into the
crevices of the pond, and fresh pieces of meat in the
Cayman’s mouth, to afford him the imaginative en-
joyment of holding a struggling victim between his
teeth while he quietly rested afloat and killed it.

When I was looking on at the skinning of the
Crocodile, I related the foregoing among other
traits of instinct to the Mosquitan Consul, General
M‘Chrysty, who was at this time a guest at the
King’s House. He mentioned to me that this ex-
plained what he had frequently seen on the Lake
of Nicaragua. There he had observed the Caymans
throw up into the air fresh-captured fish, which
they afterwards caught in their mouth, and then
threw up again. This they continued to do several
times. This was another way of killing prey. It
would be labour in vain to endeavour to drown a
fish ; the Cayman therefore killed it by keeping it in
the air. This incident had been mentioned to me
before, but the object of it was not clearly made out.
I now see that it was another application of instinct

ANATOMY OF THE CROCODILE.

413

to the one purpose of slaughtering prey. The victim
that could not be destroyed by being kept under
water was killed by being thrown out of it.

In consequence of the manner in which the negro
butchers detached the heart and other viscera, we
lost the traces of the provision which exists in this
reptile for circulating, by a trilocular heart, pure ar-
terial blood in the anterior parts of the body, and
mixed venous and arterial blood in the hinder mem-
bers, by a junction of the pulmonary artery with the
aorta descendens, low down in the back. The dif-
ference of the two qualities of the blood in the cir-
culatory systems of the two extremities was, however,
very perceptible, by the absence of all red blood in
the hind limbs and tail, and by the presence of bril-
liant arterial blood in the fore parts and the head.

‘‘ The stomach of the Crocodile bears considerable
resemblance to the gizzard of a bird. Several stones
swallowed to assist digestion, render the similarity
perhaps more obvious than even the form and struc-
ture. The Crocodile we were skinning and cutting
up had evidently prowled along the coast before he
had entered the pond in which he had been caught ;
for his stomach was filled with marine crabs half
digested ; and the stones found in it, if necessary on
ordinary occasions to triturate its food, were es-
sentially requisite now to crush the hard cases of
Crustacea.

“ The dilatations and contractions of the thorax
when sensitiveness was excited by the pain attendant
on the first removal of the skin, showed the degree in
which the ribs by their mobility assisted respiration.

414

SPANISH-TOWN.

“ The absence of clavicular bones was evident ; and
the removal of the integument of the neck was at-
tended by a perceptible odour of musk. The pro-
bable use of this odour is to entice prey, for it is
well known that a paste perfumed with oil of Rho-
dium is a great attraction to fish.

I should describe the tegumentary covering of the
Crocodile to be, on the under parts, square tesserae of
horn set as close as they can be together ; on the
sides oval scales, with rather wide interspaces of tough
skin ; on the back oblong plates, some ridgy, others
dentelated, and others bossy, with central tubercles.

“ When stealthily swimming, the Crocodile nips its
prey with its front lower teeth, two of which close
up and sheath into sockets of the snout. The in-
stinctive tenacity with which he holds whatever he
has nipped and caught, was amusingly manifested in
a Crocodile drawn out of a hole at Windsor Park pen
near this town. He lay wounded ; but by presenting
to him a rope knotted at the end, with a small cross-
bar driven through the knot-hole, he was enticed to
nip it. The Crocodile held the rope closer as he felt
the efibrt at resistance greater ; and in this way he was
drawn out readily, though measuring fourteen feet in
length.

“ The orifice of the Crocodile’s ear is guarded by
a plate firmly hinged, forming a moveable lid, rising
and shutting at the pleasure of the reptile. This is
a coincident provision with that for breathing by
the nostrils, when all the head save the snout is
under water. If the closing of the auricular valve
be accordant with the act of shutting up the valvular

ANIMAL SYMPATHIES.

415

apparatus of the throat, — as it must necessarily be,
since both are provisions against the access of water
under one and the same submersion, — then the
lifting of the ear-lid must be simultaneous with the
act of relaxing the gular cartilages. This seems to
explain a well-known habit of the Crocodile in lying
out of the water with his mouth open, — the opened
throat is an accompaniment of the open ear-valve.
The Crocodile is in the act of listening for an ap-
proaching prey. It is similar to that act in our-
selves. The lips apart increase distinct hearing, —
sound producing an aural influence as well inter-
nally as externally.

The nostrils, like the ears, have moveable valves,
shutting and opening according to the total or par-
tial immersion of the snout. The power of the
Crocodile of remaining under water without breath-
ing is not considered to exceed ten minutes.

All these provisions, with the linear contracting
and dilating pupil to regulate vision according to the
quantity of light, and the nictitating membrane of
the eye with the two external eye-lids, demonstrate
a nature most providently arranged for predacious
life in the water.

close my present notes of the Crocodile by mak-
ing reference again to its sympathy when apprehensive
of danger to any of its species. This reptile is
known to hasten eagerly to a spot where a dog may
be yelping. I have mentioned elsewhere that the
whine and bark of the dog closely resemble the cry of
the Crocodile. As the maternal instincts are strong,
we may expect that the arterial circulation in the

416

SPANISH-TOWN.

fore parts is associated with endowments of a higher
animal nature than that of a mere reptile. I men-
tioned, by way of analogy, the excitement of the Cat-
bird, in Wilson’s vivid description of alarm and sym-
pathy in the forest when the cries of young birds are
imitated. A very characteristic scene of emotion
occurred the other day in the farm of a friend near
this place. The calves had been penned up for the
night, and the mother-kine were gathered about the
adjoining common to be driven up for the morning
milking. My young relative Peter, accompanied by
another young friend, had gone to the pen-fold con-
taining the calves, and had there indulged his musical
predilections by carrying with him an accordion, from
wdiich at times he sounded those musical cadences,
sometimes in an ascending, sometimes in a descending
series of notes, at all times solemn and exciting.
The cows, alarmed at the unusual sound from the
pen-fold in which were fastened up their impa-
tient and expectant young ones, ran eagerly from
all parts of the field — so true was nature to her sym-
pathies— to what they considered the cry of the calves
in danger, as if one mind actuated them. The poor
boys, alarmed at the menaces they saw on all sides,
without divining the cause, ran away, sounding occa-
sionally, as they ran, the still exciting accordion.
The cows pressed in pursuit to ascertain the mys-
tery of the clamour and cry of distress now turned
from the cattle-pen to the field. The boys scudded
on in great fright, and escaped the anxious curiosity of
the kine with considerable difficulty. A friend related
to me a still more remarkable instance of sympathetic
emotion, in the simultaneous gathering together of the

MORNING MOONLIGHT SCENE.

417

horses, asses, mules, and cows of an extensive moun-
tain farm, attracted by a march played on a cornu-
piston. The retinue of animals quietly yet eagerly
followed the new Orpheus, charmed by the martial
music that so enchanted them.”

I shall close these memoirs of the mailed Levi-
athan by two or three anecdotes. The first, illus-
trative of his mischievousness, is introduced by a
description of the scene, portrayed by my coadjutor
in his peculiarly vivid manner.

A friend and I had arranged to rise at four o’clock
from our place of stay, to visit the sources of a
stream in the neighbourhood, and to trace its course
to the sea, in order to ascertain the extent to which it
might be rendered available for irrigating the adjacent
plain. It was one of those intensely bright moon-
lights, which you know to be so exceedingly beautiful
in these climates, under a calm and cloudless sky.
Nothing stirred ; not a voice sounded ; not a watch-
dog was moving in the slumbering villages ; nor a
cow lowing, nor a sheep bleating in the contiguous
fields. The guinea-corn was in the full milky ear,
but no flocks poached it ; nothing w^as heard till we
reached the green commons about the river, when
here and there rose up, near and far, at distant in-
tervals of time, the shrill wail of the plover, and
the solitary call of the snipe from the dewy grass.
The crozier stars, standing erect, were twinkling in
the far south ; and the silence of the world on which
they shone, broken only by these brief intermittent
voices, had a character of melancholy solemnity that
I never remember to have remarked before.

418

lyson’s estate.

There was so much disparity between the tem-
perature of the springs we visited, as they welled out
and jetted up at the foot of great-grown and em-
bowering Ceiba Cotton-trees, and that of the chill
morning air (a difference of some dozen or fourteen
degrees), that the surface of the stream reeked again.
Folds of vapour rising through the sedges, and curl-
ing away in thin fleeces of clouds, prepared us to
hear that the numerous Caymans which inhabit this
river found its banks a very successful lurking-place
for prey. We were shown a weir across the water-
course, just within reach of the sea, which a large
Cayman a day or two previously had been seen
deliberately battering to pieces, by laying himself
broadside against it, and lashing his tail at the
stakes. The stockade fell slanting, making a sort of
chevaux-de-frise. The Cayman was unable to get
over in this position ; so he bethought himself, in his
new difficulty, of regaining the land, and passing the
weir by the bank, re-entering the stream, and taking
the river upward, after all his toilsome mischief.”

The following is the repetition of a well-known
and deservedly celebrated exploit : —

‘‘ Some time in the spring of 29 or 30 (most pro-
bably in March, 1830), a Cayman from the neigh-
bouring Lagoons of Lyson’s Estate in St. Thomas’s
in the East, that used occasionally to poach the ducks
and ducklings, having free warren about the Water-
mill, was taken in his prowl, and killed. All sorts of
suspicion was entertained about the depredator among
the ducks, till the Crocodile w^as surprised lounging
in one of the ponds after a night’s plunder. Downie,

CROCODILE-RIDING.

419

the engineer of the plantation, shot at him and
wounded him ; and though it did not seem that he
was much hurt, he was hit with such sensitive effect
that he immediately rose out of the pond to regain
the morass. It was now that David Brown, an
African wainman, came up ; and before the reptile
could make a dodge to get away, he threw himself
astride over his back, snatched up his fore paws in
a moment, and held them doubled up. The beast
was immediately thrown upon his snout ; and though
able to move freely his hind feet, and slap his tail
about, he could not budge half a yard, his power
being altogether spent in a fruitless endeavour to
grub himself onward. As he was necessarily confined
to move in a circle, he was pretty nearly held to one
spot. The African kept his seat. His place across
the beast being at the shoulders, he was exposed
only to severe jerks as a chance of being thrown off.
In this way a huge reptile eighteen feet long, for so he
measured when killed, was held manu forti by one
man, till Downie reloaded his fowling-piece, and shot
him quietly through the brain.

“You will perceive that this is precisely the feat
performed by Mr. Waterton. He says his Cayman
plunged furiously, and lashed the sand with his tail,
but that, being near the head, he was out of the reach
of the strokes of it, and that his plunging and striking
only made his seat uncomfortable. This seemed
really almost all the difficulty in David Brown’s
horsemanship ; but as every plunge with him only
Mrove the Crocodile’s nose into the ground, whereas
IVIr. Waterton’s Cayman was kept head-up by the

420

BLACK KIVEE.

people tugging at the hook in his throat, that
would make his chivalry a more desperate adventure
than David Brown’s, for his beast’s efforts to get
forward only more effectually set him fast where he
was.”

The last narrative is of a more tragic character, and
bears out the statements of Mr. Water ton as to the
ferocity of these powerful reptiles. The scene of the
incident was Black River in St. Elizabeth’s, where
Crocodiles abound.

\^th July, 1849. — On the eastern bank of the
river, just above the bridge, and right within a quay
and jutting cranehouse attached to a long line of
stores, a Crocodile, some twelve months ago, snatched
off from the beach a young girl thirteen or fourteen
years of age, who was washing a towel at the river, in
company with an elder companion, at nightfall. " She
had been warned that it was dangerous to stand at all
within the water after dark, for Alligators, as these
Crocodiles of ours are erroneously called, would be
then prowling, and fatal casualties had occurred.
Just as the little braggart boasted that she heeded no
such danger, a scream for help, and a cry, ‘ Lord,
have mercy upon me ! Alligator has caught me ! ’
apprised her companion, intent on her own washing,
that the girl was carried off. She was instantly
snatched under water and drowned. The body was
found some days after half-devoured, and two Croco-
diles, one nine feet long and the other seventeen,
were hunted down, and taken with portions of the
flesh undigested within them. The bowels had been
eaten away ; — the lower limbs torn off ; half of one
thigh only remaining. The body had been carried

LAND TORTOISE.

421

away considerably up the stream ; and the strange as-
sertion, that the Manati, a cetaceous inhabitant of the
Black River with the Crocodile, will remain watching
a dead body, if brought within its haunts, — was
witnessed in the case of this girl, by the body being
found under the guardianship of a Manati, up at a
place called Salt-spring, a tributary of the Black
River, where Manatis abound.”

LAND TORTOISES.

Some of the old writers mention, among the ani-
mals of Jamaica, a Tortoise, to which they assign the
name of Hicatee. As they distinguish it from the
Marsh Turtles, we may consider it to have been a
true terrestrial species, one of the Testudinid(B ; but
whether actually indigenous or imported, is doubtful.
Animals existing in a country in an independent feral
state, have aright to a place in the local Fauna, even
though the race has been originally introduced ; but
it was the custom of some of the earlier naturalists,
as Browne for example, to enumerate and describe
such animals as they saw in the country, though con-
fessedly imported and preserved in confinement ; on
which principle the whole contents of Wombwell’s
menagerie ought to be described in a History of Bri-
tish Quadrupeds. The author just named mentions
in his Natural History of Jamaica, The Hicatee or
Land Turtle,” with the following remark : ‘‘ This
species is a native of the mainland, but frequently
imported to Jamaica, where it is common.” Long,
in his enumeration of the animals of the island, also
mentions it, without indicating whether he considers

422

GKEENWICH.

it indigenous or introduced, merely adding a note on
its longevity. Some of these have been known to
live [in Jamaica ?] thirty years.’’

Mr. Hill has favoured me with a note or two on
the subject of a Jamaican Testudo, ^pril 2nd,
1 846. — I have learned that some time ago a Land
Tortoise, — indubitably such, the limbs being short
and stumpy, the carapace very convex, and covered
with pyramidal angular plates, — was taken out of a
pinguin hedge near this town. I must mention that
Land Tortoises, brought from South America and
elsewhere, frequently get away, and are in this
manner found solitary. Some fifty of a prodigious
size, brought by a Spaniard for sale, broke away
near Kingston, and several, for months after, were
found round about. One used to range the wood-
lands near the sea at Greenwich, where, in conse-
quence of some injury it received after it had been a
year out, it was found dead. I saw its remains
under one of the trees there a little while ago.”

May \9th, 1846. — I have heard of two more
instances of Laud Tortoises being taken under such
circumstances as would lead to the supposition that
they were indigenous. In both instances they ap-
peared to have quitted their usual haunts in search
of water. They were taken in the midst of pre-
vailing droughts ; and one, which was captured after
it had reached the stream where it had been drink-
ing, bore the evidence of having travelled from far ;
the interstices of the scales on the legs being charged
with a fine red dust ; and red earth not being found
any where in the plain in which it was taken. They

ANTIGUA TORTOISE.

423

were both of good size, being described as about
thirteen or fourteen inches in length, measured over
the carapace.”

No clue to the specific identity of these specimens
now remains, but the following note on a species
certainly indigenous to the West Indies will be read
with interest. I am indebted for it to my indefati-
gable (Tvvspyo$. ‘‘ The other day, on my showing
Mr. Millar my Marsh Turtle, he related to me some
curious anecdotes of a Land Tortoise that he has
now possessed for several years. His animal is a
native of Antigua, where the species is indigenous.
As the Kinixys Homeana is assigned to the neigh-
bouring island of Guadaloupe, I should conjecture
that his will prove to be that species also. A garden
and grass lands, with thickets here and there covering
a space of some three acres, are attached to the resi-
dence of Mr. Millar in Antigua; and over this in-
closure his Tortoise is at liberty to pursue without
restraint the impulses of his instinct. He shelters
himself in the sultry hours of the day by sauntering
among the shadows of the trees, or creeping within
the covert of the house. He is extremely sen-
sible of all the changes in the air that have a
relation to rain. When a shower threatens, he
shows more activity than ordinary ; he then walks
with stiffened limbs, — that is, he assumes then what
may be characterised as his erect attitude, and moves
nimbly, if we may so speak of the motions of a Tor-
toise. He disappears during the rainy seasons for a
space of three months. It is not known where he
conceals himself; but he reappears regularly, and,

424

ANTIGUA.

after these seasonal absences, resumes his customary
walks, and comes and takes his food as formerly, and
seeks those whom he affects, that he may be fed, and
fondled, and petted as heretofore. He seems sensitive
to the successive strokes of the hand upon the shell ;
for on every succeeding passage of the hand over his
back, he extends more and more his head, until
he stretches it at full, when he remains with it
lengthened out, and eyes the person who caresses
him with evident pleasure and satisfaction. The
sensation in this instance is most probably electric,
and must be referred to the delicacy of feeling which
renders him so restless and stirring whenever rain
threatens. His food is altogether vegetable, — pieces
of potatoe {batatas), and yam, the peelings of fruit,
and succulent leaves. He is as frequently the rough
playmate of the children as the fondled pet of
gentler hands ; but he is alike reconciled to either
notice, and never seems inclined for any other so-
ciety, at least during his seasonal reappearance in the
house, than the inmates of his accustomed home.
He has been in the possession of Mr. Millar now
twelve years.”

If the species naturalized in Jamaica was intro-
duced from South America, it is quite possible that
it may be this same Kinixys Homeana, since this is
common to the continent and the Caribbean chain.
There are specimens in the British Museum, which
were sent from Demcrara.

MM. Dumeril and Bibron refer the “ Hicatee”
of Browne to Testudo tahulata, which they attribute
to tropical America and the Greater Antilles, citing

THE AGUA TOAD.

425

specimens, in particular, from Cayenne and Guada-
loupe. Spix and the Prince Maximilian found this
species in Brazil, in the forests bordering the
Amazon.

Testudo carhonaria, a species closely allied to ta-
hulata, is assigned by the learned French herpeto-
logists (I know not on what authority) to Jamaica,
as well as to Brazil, Cayenne, and Chili.

In Dr. Robinson’s MSS. I found the following
brief notes of Tortoises (Hicatees) which he pro-
cured in Jamaica, but whether he considered the
species indigenous or not, does not appear. — One
of these Land Turtles laid two eggs, an egg each
day successively, on board the ‘ Friendship,’ on my
passage to England. The second-laid egg had an
indenture, which makes me conjecture they are soft
immediately after expulsion.^ They are elliptical,
and about one inch long.”

A Land Turtle had ten full-formed eggs, and ten
small [in the ovary] when it died; and had laid two
some days before, each of the eggs being indented.”

THE AGUA TOAD.

About the latter part of the year 1846, Mr. Hill’s
attention was directed to some hitherto unrecognized
tenants of the lowland ponds in the vicinity of
Spanish Town. No native species of Frog or Toad
had been discovered in Jamaica, with the exception
of the Tree-frogs {Hyladce), which have been al-
ready noticed, when a Batrachian was brought to

* I would beg the reader’s reference to my own observations on
the eggs of Thecadactylus Icevis, in page 184. of this volume.

426

SPANISH-TOWX.

my friend possessing no slight claims to distinction.
He thus describes it to me, under date of Jan. 5, 1847.

It is distinctively a Toad, but of prodigious size,
being six and a half inches from the muzzle to the
coccygeal extremity, and as broad as it is long. It was
taken by some negro labourers while clearing land,
in the neighbourhood of the Rio Cobre, at Passage
Fort; and we are indebted to Mr. Robert Wilkie, our
clerk of the peace, who had been seeking a sea-side
change of air in that vicinity, for this interesting
addition to the Jamaican Fauna. I can say little about
any peculiarity it may have. Twice when taken out
from the moist corner of the out-room in which I keep
it, and brought into the house, it has discharged a
large quantity of liquid from its vent, quite colour-
less ; — and when I have had it by me in a reclined
glass shade (one of the glass cylinders we use over
candles), while making a drawing of it, I have smelt
an odour, not very strong, but sufficiently offensive, —
a compound of garlic and exploded gunpowder, — which
I suspected came from it, but which I could not trace
to it. The whole cuticle is tuberculous. The tu-
bercles on the back, arms, and thighs are very large ;
hut the surface of each is smooth, except those of the
expanded eye-brows, which are rough and warty.”

A few days afterwards another specimen came into
Mr. Hill’s possession, dead. — “ Its hinder legs are
longer, and its hinder feet are more deeply webbed
than those of the former Toad ; the connecting mem-
brane in my living one being very little more than
rudimentary. Though this last specimen is not so
large as the first, it is still monstrously big, and in

UNWELCOME VISITOES.

427

very many respects similar to the preceding, I now
learn that they have been observed about several of the
savanna ponds, and that they first attracted notice by
the loud sort of modulated snoring noise which they
made when the horses and cattle were led to the
evening watering. None of the persons at present
residingfin the plains ever knew or ever heard of these
reptiles ; they were therefore unable to account for
the noise when it first drew their attention. As they
traced it to the pond, they were surprised to find it
proceeding from the very water; and when they
caught the creature that made it, and found what it
was, they discovered that there were several others
about the margin of the pond, which leaped in, and
concealed themselves by diving as soon as they ap-
proached. We can only account for the present dis-
covery of these fulh grown reptiles in these places
by the late inundations. Several gullies intersect the
plains from the hills to the sea; and we may suppose
that they had been swept down through these drains,
and carried by the fiooding waters into the savannas.
If it be with these, as with frogs and toads in general,
that the male alone is vocal, and that the voice is
the call of courtship, we may expect, as long as rains
keep our ponds unexhausted, that these reptiles will
maintain their possession of the savannas. They bid
fair to perpetuate their tenancy. ‘ Limosoque nov(B
saliunt in gurgite ranae.’

‘‘ Just after I had set down the preceding remarks,
a living specimen of the second Batrachian was
brought me from a pond at the foot of the hills on
the opposite banks of the river Cobre. The pond

428

SPANISH-TOWN.

is of very considerable size, of full an acre and a
half in extent, and not very distant from the river,
but elevated as much as thirty or forty feet above
it. The oldest inhabitant thereabout never knew
of such an occurrence as frogs of this size or cha-
racter in that district. The Hylce or tree-frogs from
time immemorial had mingled their loud croaks with
the shrill tones of the Gryllidce in the surrounding
trees at nightfall; but hoarse bellowings from the
ponds and pastures had never before saluted their
ears. I know nothing of the specific peculiarities of
the Cystignathus ocellatus of Wagler, or of the Rana
gigas and pachypus of Spix, or of the mugiens of
Catesby ; but from the large size and sonorous voice
of this unknown visitor, our people have called it
the Bull-frog. Some of the American settlers in this
vicinity have confirmed the propriety of this appella-
tion, by recognizing a similarity between it and the
great hoarse-voiced croaker of Carolina. I shall
describe the appearance of our frog.

I mentioned that the Passage Fort reptile had
toad-characteristics, and that the skin was tubercu-
lous. I would distinguish that of the present speci-
men as granular. Linear divisions, more permanently
marked than wrinkles, pervade the whole cuticle as
well below as above, and both upon the legs and toes.
Each intersection swells into a distinct bump. Those
on the upper surface are much larger than those on
the lower, and are further distinguished by being
minutely spotted with a little congeries of spicular
dots, like the seed spots on a strawberry, only dark
coloured instead of light. The tint of the upper parts

TOAD CROAKING.

429

of the body is a bright olive, yellowest in the hollow
of the back, and greenest about the head. The belly
is parchment white. The measure from muzzle to
extremity of the vertebrae is five inches and a half.
When this Anoura was brought me its throat was
still infiated. It was puffed out like that of a pouter
pigeon, and immediately on being set down on the
floor it recommenced croaking. The sound was very
greatly reduced from the reputed bull bellow it sends
up from the marshes and meadows. It sounded to
me not unlike the partridge call that I have heard
country-boys imitate in Lincolnshire. I laid my hand
upon it, when it filled its vocal sac, and croaked ; and
the convulsion, contraction, and jerk of the whole
internal parts were as if every organ was pressed up
to the back-bone. There were some then in the
same meadow croaking to each other, and their voices
were said to have been heard at half a league distant.

I was told that some frogs I used to hear croaking
at night in the boggy grounds about Port au Prince
in Haiti, were not known there till a shower of rain
brought them into the Island. The precise period of
this occurrence was mentioned to me, and I have a
note of it somewhere. If I could be satisfied that
what the historian Moreau de St. Mery likened to
‘ tetards ’ (bull-heads) were tadpoles, I should say it
was the same shower as the one he commemorates, of
May, 1786. He mentions these tetard-like animals
as exhibiting the same voracious savageness as that
recorded by Professor Bill of the Tadpole. ^ They
killed and devoured each other.’ He records no more
than this prevailing ferocity. Had he carried on his

430

SPANISH-TOWN.

observations to the surviving last one, he would have
decided what their forms were, after he perceived they
had tails terminating like slender oars, and great big
eyes reflecting rays of silver green, and would have
written grenouillettes for tetards. I have referred to
this occurrence, from Moreau de St. Mery, because
it possibly explains the source from whence we de-
rived our strangers.” ^

Feh, 6. 1847. — I have fathomed the mystery of
the unknown toads and frogs, mentioned in my last
two letters as recently and suddenly appearing among
us. Mr. Anthony Davis, a proprietor in St. An-
drew’s, some two years ago (viz. in Nov. 1844) im-
ported two dozen anurous Batrachians from Barba-
does, and established them in the ponds of Molina’s
estate. The great sandy gully that drains the up-
lands of Liguanea swept them, in the late rains, into
the swamps between this place and Kingston, and
from thence dispersed them through the savannas.
These reptiles were imported for the purpose of

* “ I quote the words of Moreau de St. Mery. — ‘ On eprouva
depuis le mois de Novembre, 1785 jusqu’au 5 Mai, 1786, une se-
cheresse desolante. — Le meme jour 5 Mai, 1786, il tomba, durant
une forte brise d’Est, dans plusieurs endroits de la ville (Port au
Prince) et de la plaine (cul de sac) une grande quantite d’oeufs noirs,
qu’on vit eclore le lendemain. M. Mozard, qui guarda une cinquen'
taine de ces petits animaux dans un fla5on a demi rempli d’eau, les
vit changer de peau plusieurs fois. Ils ressemblaient a des tetards, et
devinrent trois fois plus gros que ne le sont des cousins ou tnarin-
gouins dans I’etat de vers. Leur queue etait terminee comme un
aviron effile vers I’extremit^, et leurs yeux etaient grands, vifs, et
r^fl^chissant plusieurs rayons d’un vert argentin. Ils dtaient formes
d’une maniere visqueuse, et le 2 Juin ils s’entredevouerent.’ — Descrip.
de Saint Dominique, ii. 413.

MIDNIGHT TERROES.

431

destroying rats in the lowlands. They had been
considered in Barbadoes very important auxiliaries
to the planter in this work^ by their pursuit and
destruction of the young rodents. I doubt the
power of any cold-blooded reptile to do much in this
way. Barbadoes, however, only availed herself of
the experience of Martinique, from whence she de-
rived her original stock of toads and frogs, Mar-
tinique herself having imported them from Cayenne.
When you receive the specimens put up in spirits
for you, you will be able to ascertain whether they
are Batrachians of the southern continent. Some
amusing stories are told of the terror they excited
when their first outburst of bellowing was heard.
Families sat up all night, believing their houses
beset by persons who played upon their fears by
these horrible noises only to pillage their premises
successfully. They are now ineradicably established
among us, and are to be added to the miscalculating
delusions which gave us hig rats ” to devour “ little
ratSf' and the Formica omnirora^ the native ant of
Cuba, to rid us of the accumulated pest of rats and
vermin, and to become a more intolerable scourge
than all the other plagues put together. The For-
mica omnivora is set down in our chronology of
memorable things as an importation, by Thomas
Raffles, of the year 1762. The big rats tradition
gives to Sir Charles Price, as your inquiries informed
you when here.”

Feh. %*^th, 1847. — What with their noise and
what with their depredations on the ducklings in the
ponds, the imported frogs are found already to be a

432

SPANISH-TOWN.

great nuisance. I suggest to our savanna farmers,
who have convenient duck-ponds, like my young
friend Mr. Thompson, of Tredegar Park, who com-
plained to me of their depredations, that Marsh
Tortoises should he kept where these plaguy Anouras
resort. As they are carnivorous, and, in countries
where frogs are common, prey specially upon frogs,
as well as small fishes, and as their address in swim-
ming and their prompt movement enable them to
pursue their prey with avidity, the Emys or Marsh
Tortoise seems the best counterpoise to their in-
crease. Even if these should prove equally annoying
to the ducklings, their voiceless existence renders
them a more endurable nuisance. The frogs attack
the feet of the ducklings, and lacerate them, and
bite olf their toes while swimming. Our farmers will
be obliged to reduce to captivity some of our large
Herons, to preserve their natatorial poultry from
this pest.”

The two specimens alluded to in these notes Mr. Hill
kindly transmitted to me. They proved to be that
enormous South American Toad described and figured
under so many titles, the Rana marina of Seba and
Linn., the Bufo agua of Latreille, Daudin, and Du-
meril. It varies exceedingly in form, proportions,
and colours : Spix, in his great work on Brazil,
has described and figured no fewer than eight forms,
to each of which he assigns specific names, but all of
which MM. Hum. and Bibr. consider as belonging
to the present species. In its greatest development
it is the most gigantic of all the Anourous Batrachia.
The whole coasts of intertropical America produce it.

PEEK.

433

and, according to the zoologists just cited, confirnaed
by Mr. Hill’s researches, the Antilles ; they mention
Martinique in particular as the native country of
some of their specimens. Jamaica will, for the fu-
ture, be added to the geographical range ; for, once
established, they will, doubtless, fulfil my friend’s
forebodings, and maintain their ground,

DEER.

In the upland forests above the Caymanas, not far
from Spanish-Town, there are occasionally seen small
herds of Deer in a feral state, the descendents of
some that had been imported and escaped. Tradition
imputes their introduction partly to Mr. Dawkins,
who possessed the Caymanas property about fifty years
ago, and who at the same time naturalised the Ame-
rican Quail {Ortyx Virginiana) in the colony, and
partly to Sir Charles Price, the owner of Worthy Park
in St. Mary’s, some thirty years earlier, who is said
to have had several deer running at the Farm, now
the property of Lord Carrington, within the Cay-
manas plain. These Deer are reported to have been
obtained from the Spanish Main, and are considered
to belong to the species known as the Cervus Mexi~
canus, which Humboldt describes as very abundant
in the small uninhabited islet of Cuhagua ; a small
Deer, of a brownish red hue, spotted with white, and
of the latter colour beneath.

Mr. Hill, to whom I am indebted for all I know
on the subject, tells me that about the year 1841, a
buck was obtained in the forests referred to, which
was slaughtered and sold in the Spanish-Town

u

434

SPANISH-TOWN.

market. In one of his letters, dated 19th May, 1846,
I find the following note. ‘‘ Mr. Russell, barrister at
Law, informs me that Mr. Townshend, a bordering
proprietor on the uplands in which the Guazu-pita
were turned out to establish themselves, has the
antlers of the Deer killed some five years ago. Mr.
Townshend himself ran down this buck with his
dogs, having started it in a morning’s stroll through
his woodlands. The last batch of Deer were intro-
duced thirty years ago by a Colonel Harrison at the
Farm. Mr. Russell recollects as many as eight
quarters of venison in the market at one time. There
seems every reason to conclude that a colony still in-
habits the impervious mountain-forests above the
Caymanas Plain.”

A few days after the above was written, Mr. Hill
favoured me with the following note on the subject.

bill June, 1846. When your letter came to hand,
announcing your arrangements for an immediate
departure for Europe, knowing how important it was
that you should early complete your notes of the
Mammalian Vertehrata, I walked as far as Mr.
Townshend’s pen, and made the accompanying
sketches of the Horn of the Guazu-pita Deer. I
learnt from him a number of interesting particulars
respecting the existence of these animals in the ad-
joining woodlands. I find that their number, if not
considerable, are not a few ; — that they are frequently
seen in herds of several together, and that fifteen
were surprised in the forest not more than two years
ago, at which time a negro labourer of Waterloo pen,
close by, a property of the Townshend family, brought

WILD DEER.

435

down a young Fawn. The animals exactly agree
with Humboldt’s description of the Cervus Mexicanus
brownish-red spotted with white, and were no doubt
imported at the same time with a cargo of mules,
sheep, and oxen from Cumana. Mr. Townshend says
that the herds now in the forest are an importation
of Sir Charles Price’s eighty years ago ; — Sir Charles
at that time being the proprietor of the Farm pen
close by. Mr. Townshend’s father used to relate the
occurrence of their getting from the Farm and taking
to the Forest, as an incident that happened when he
was a young man. He was familiarly acquainted
with Sir Charles, who was a great lover of Natural
History, and possessed many curious Mammalia and
birds. An account of his pen in St. Mary’s, called
the Decoy, will be found in Long’s History of
Jamaica. It was there he kept his curious Ducks.
Colonel Harrison, mentioned by me in one of my
preceding letters as agent for the Farm, was an uncle
of Mr. Townshend’s, — the name of one of his
brothers, the Father of the House of Assembly, an
I octogenarian, being George Harrison Townshend.

‘‘ The places in which our negro woodmen occa-
sionally meet these Forest- deer is in some ravine
' track, or wooded pathway by which the herds descend

to the springs to drink. They feed at night, resting
still within the woodlands in the day -light hours.
They have sometimes been surprised in moonlight
nights crossing the highway to the Rio Cobre, by an
j offshoot of their mountain-hold ; — a line of broken

i hills which gradually lower towards the stream, called

: the White Marl. It is only by accident that a herd

436

WHITE MARL HILLS.

can be detected : their acute instincts ; — their power
of smelling ; — their quick eye and sensitive ear
rendering it absolutely impossible, by any expedient,
to take them by surprise, or, in the steep and cliff-
bound hills in which they are located, to approach
them by any precautions whatever. Under ordi-
nary circumstances they are inaccessible to dogs.
Though they have been tracked with the bloodhound,
they have gained steep after steep with such facility
that no untiring perseverance could circumvent them.
Some short time ago, a negro searching after strayed
cattle in the forest, in one of our recent droughts,
crossed a herd marching in file along a path that they
had been accustomed to take without molestation for
a long period. Making sure of finding them in a
locality so confidingly made their own, and so much
frequented by them ; — with a believing simplicity,
very much in contrast with the doubting caution and
careful strategy of deer-stalking, he gathered a host
of adventurers with dogs to waylay them in their
coming and going. The party lay out all night,
expecting the herd to return from their accustomed
feeding ground by the well-trodden trackway, but
they had scented the footsteps of the human intruders
and their hounds, and not only avoided that path for
that morning, but quitting it for ever afterwards,
shifted their haunts to other mountain fastnesses. The
last locality in which they were encountered w'as in
the upland forests of a friend of mine overlooking the
Caymanas plain, — a place called Mount Gotham.
As I am acquainted with this and the neighbouring
holds, I should say that the wild-deer are destined

deer’s noRN.

437

never to be dislodged now they are numerously
established in fastnesses so peculiarly difficult, and so
congenial to their habits and instincts.”

The antler in question at length came, through the
kind offices of my friend, into my possession ; but
the result of a careful examination of published de-
scriptions, and a rigid collation of the specimen with
the extensive collection of Deer’s horns in the British
Museum, proved indubitably that it had belonged to
no native American form of Cervidce, but to our own
familiar Fallow-deer {Dama vulgaris). Of course I
immediately communicated to my esteemed coadjutor
this unexpected conclusion, and I annex his note in
reply.

‘‘Dec 24, 1850. — I am quite satisfied you have
got the right clue to Sir Charles Price’s escaped
Cerfs in the mountains of St. Catherine’s. The
information without doubt is quite correct that he
got specimens of the Mexican Deer ; — but, as he
introduced at once a park, that is, about 8 or 10
pair, it is evident he drew his colony from Europe.
The Mexican Deer he could scarcely obtain more
numerously than buck and doe, — for the Indians
have never so far advanced in the habits of a pastoral
people as to herd their native animals. The Guazuti
are very frequently brought to this island. A pair
belonging to the 2nd W. Ind. Regiment have been
for the last two years inhabitants of the barrack-
yard in this town. They are frolicksome and mis-
chievous ; — their tint a dun-ash ; — their ears large ;
their hair coarse and wavy ; their body long and full-
barrelled, so that the shape does not give one an

438

SPANISH-TOWN.

impression so much of speed as of strength and
endurance. When I examined these Guazuti, my
mind quite misgave me about the history of the feral
Deer of our near-by mountains. The spotless coat
did not influence me in this uncertainty, for Humboldt
had described the C. Mexicanus, without restriction
to fawn-hood, as white-spotted. ... I can ac-
count for Sir C. Price’s preference of the Fallow-
deer of Europe, supposing you are right in your
conjecture. Their flesh is known to be good, whereas
that of the American stock is coarse and not usually
well-flavoured. Those who have tasted our Deer say
they are delicious venison. If you can ascertain
what description of Cerf Sir Bethel Codrington has
in the island of Barbuda, you will probably learn
that Sir Charles Price and he drew their colonies
from the same herds. . . .”

In these notes my friend seems to speak of the
Guazu-pita, the Guazuti, and the Cervus Mexicanus,
as if these names were synonymous; they indicate, how-
ever, three species. The Guazu-pita is the Suhulo
rufus of Col. H. Smith, which inhabits the deep forests
of South America from Brazil to Honduras. The
Guazuti is the Mazama campestris, extending through
the whole of the Southern Continent as far as Pata-
gonia, and chiefly affecting open plains. Of the third,
the Mazama Mexicana of Col. Smith, and, according
to Pennant, the Teutla Ma9ame of Hernandez, very
little is known, and we believe no specimens exist in
European Museums. The term Guazu, in the native
dialects of Brazil, is applied to any of the slender
limbed Ruminantia^ with an adjectival afiix for dis-
crimination of species.

FALLOW -DEEK.

439

That the Fallow-deer of Europe and some of the
native species from America have been introduced
into Jamaica, there is indubitable evidence ; and it is
highly probable that both have naturalised themselves,
and are now existing in the forests in a wild state.
We must probably look for the first importation of
both races, to an earlier period than the time of Sir
Charles Price. Long, in his History of Jamaica,
published in 1774, includes in his enumeration of the
animals, both the Red-deer and Fallow-deer : on the
latter he makes no remark, but on the former he
makes the following note. These were originally
imported from the continent, and are now grown
scarce. They rarely grow fat here in their wild state,
but their flesh has a good flavour.” The terms of this
note certainly imply that the race then in a wild state,
had been introduced at a period of considerable re-
moteness from his own experience ; and he was
familiarly acquainted with the colony. Browne,
writing some twenty years earlier, speaks in nearly
the same language. He says, “ The Red-deer are
frequently carried to Jamaica from North America,
and kept by many gentlemen in convenient inclosures,
but they do not thrive well in the Island.” The
Fallow-deer he does not mention.

What particular American species has been intro-
duced, or whether there are more than one, we can-
not say. From Browne’s note just quoted we should
conjecture that he meant the common Deer of the
United States {Mazama Virginiand), which is of a
reddish hue in summer, and could be obtained with
ease in any numbers. Col. H. Smith, the highest

440

SPANISn-TOWN.

authority, speaks of having seen a female specimen of
the Cariacou [Mazama nemoralis) at Spanish-Town,
in Jamaica, He was in the habit of observing it
daily for a long time in a domestic state ; it would
steal bread from the table of Sir George Nugent, the
Governor. This individual was brought from Hon-
duras ; but the species is widely spread over the
wooded regions of tropical America, and extends even
into the United States.

We may venture to hope that this discussion of
the subject, though imperfect, will awaken curiosity
in the Island, and that investigations and examina-
tions may be instituted by those who have the power,
which will lead to the identification of the existing
species of Deer in Jamaica.

WILD GOATS.

I must remind you,” observes Mr. Hill, that
on the Healthshire Hills there are Wild Goats, and
that our Goat is a very beautiful variety of this
animal. I have always understood that we obtained
it, with our Hogs, from Africa, and that it was an
early established stock from the Canary Isles. When,
in my first ramble through the Salt Island marshes,
I reached the crags where the sea separates the
Healthshire Hills from the large island that shelters
Old Harbour, called Goat Island, numerous Goats
of the wild breed were seen sporting on the cliffs.
It was very interesting to observe them ranging side
by side, like a mustering regiment of horse at drill,
on the edge of the uppermost rocks, and then, on a

WILD BABBITS.

441

signal, — a significant bleat from one of the out-
standing herd, — scampering off with a leap, along
the ridge, inland.”

THE RABBIT.

“Are you acquainted,” my friend adds, “ with the
fact that Rabbits have long existed in the neigh-
bourhood of Spanish-Town in a wild state ? The
furthest date back at which I have traced distinct
notices of them is in Lady Nugent’s Journal. As it
is a work printed for private circulation only, and
not likely to be accessible to you, I point out the
date at which she mentions them. In an entry under
the 29th May, 1803 (vol. i., p. 410), she relates the
incidents of a fire which broke out in the pinguin
fences of the Government pen, a country residence
of the Governors, about three miles out in the Salt-
pond plains. The fire occurring in the droughts that
preceded the May rains of that year, she sets it
down as an effect of the sun’s rays. ‘ The grass and
every thing were so dry that they seemed to burn
like touchwood. The poor Rabbits ran out of the
fence by dozens, and many of them were half-roasted.’
We have the Rabbit mentioned in earlier writings,
but so indistinctly that I could not venture to say
whether the notice under that name does not rather
relate to the Indian Cony, than the European Rab-
bit. It still inhabits the Government pen district,
but, with all its known fecundity, is not common, yet
not unfrequently met with. The pinguins are to
these denizens of our fields what the furze covers are
to the wild animal in England ; but it is remarkable

442

SALT-PONDS.

that while the prevailing colour of those of the Eu-
ropean warren is what Buffon calls the grey, and
which he defines to be a mixture of tawny, black,
and ash-colour, these of our savannas are silver-
sable, — the variety which he describes under the
name of ‘ Le Riche,’ — the slate-coloured rabbit,
deeply tinted, with sprinklings of white on the neck,
on the shoulders, and on the back, softening off to
blue-white under the breast and belly.

‘‘ Our savannas in the rainy seasons are generally
an inch or two under water, but the pinguins, being
banked, form, through the most drenching weather,
a secure asylum from inundation. Here they burrow
and breed, and find more than usual supplies of food
in the fields of Guinea-corn, the Holcus sorghum,
which is a staple article of cultivation in salt-ponds,
and in the customary roots and vegetables, par-
ticularly the Convolvulus batatas, or Sweet potato,
which are grown in the negro grounds.

“ ‘ Our Rabbit,’ says the Pere du Tertre in his
General History of the Antilles, ‘ was early intro-
duced into the American Islands, and succeeded
well.’ ‘ Y ont tres-bien reussi,’ are words that im-
ply they were established successfully, but whether
in a state of domestication, or as inhabitants of the
wilderness, I am not able to determine. I have not
heard that they are common in any of the Antilles,
great or small, but as Leo Africanus and Bosman
represent them to be natural to Africa and Asia, and
delighting in excessive heat, one wonders why so little
progress has been made in stocking our fields with an
animal supplying a delicate dish wherever it has

EATS.

443

been an object of home economy. The Guinea-fowl,
though common as a wild bird in the southern plains
of Jamaica, is only known on the north side in a state
of domestication. I cannot find what is the prevail-
ing colour of the Rabbit of the hot regions of Asia
and Africa. If it be silver-sable, it yields to the in-
fluence which gives black as the predominant colour
of our hogs, and brindle as that of our cows ; while
dark mingled tints more or less characterise the
dappled and speckled covering of our goats and
sheep.* In the moonlight nights our Rabbits are
seen strolling abroad, and resorting to the open
savannas ; in the day they confine themselves to the
shelter of the pinguin hedges, or to the thickets
about their haunts.”

RATS.

Rats and Mice are numerous in all parts of the
island that I am acquainted with. The former pre-
sent much diversity in size, colour, and proportions,
and appear to constitute several species. They are
bold and voracious ; inhabit houses, hollow trees,
holes beneath roots, and fences; and are common
from the shore to the summits of the mountain
ridges. I think I have identified the common Brown
and Black Rats of Europe, and another species,
among those which are abundant, f

* The wild Rabbit of Africa is of a russet hue like the European
breed. The species is confined to the Mediterranean shores of that
continent.

f My esteemed friend, G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., the highest au-
thority on all that concerns the Rodentia, has kindly favoured me

u 6

444

BLUEFIELDS.

But besides these, there is a species much talked
of as infesting sugar estates, and doing much damage
by devouring the growing cane ; it is hence called
the Cane-piece Bat. A single specimen has fallen
under my observation, a male, which was brought
me in February, from a plot of cane near Bluefields.
It was manifestly a distinct species, as the descrip*-
tion below will show*, easily distinguished by its

with his opinion on some twenty or more skins of the Jamaican
Muridce, brought home by me. The distribution of this ubiquitous
group, whose members so closely resemble each other, and are yet so
subject to individual variation, is peculiarly difficult ; but he thinks
that the specimens may be distributed into four species, all of Old
World origin : Mus rattus, decumanus, Jndicus (?) 'and musculus.
The third of these is, perhaps, the most numerous ; it is very closely
allied to M. rattus in form and proportions, with the brown, brin-
dled hue of Indicus ; the belly is frequently, not invariably, of a de-
licate pale yellow tint. Its long tail and slender feet distinguish it
from decumanus. The Mouse is of a warmer hue than common spe-
cimens of our musculus, being of an umber-brown above, and delicate
pale bay beneath ; but Mr. Waterhouse sees no reason to distinguish
it specifically. It is a house-mouse in Jamaica, as in Europe.

I may mention a curious fact connected with the species supposed
to be Indicus. A specimen, taken in a guinea-grass piece, was a
male, but had been emasculated ; the wound was not quite healed,
when it came into my possession. The Squirrels have been affirmed
to perform this operation upon each other in their combats, but the
statement has been explained away. There was, however, no mistake
in the present case.

All these four species are now distributed over the whole known
world.

* Mus saccharivorus, mihi. The Cane-piece Rat. Length from
muzzle to base of tail, 9^ inches ; tail, 8 in. ; from nose to inner angle
of eye, 1 in. ; from nose to orifice of ear, 2 in. : length of ear, ^ in. ;
fore foot, hind foot, ; angle of muzzle, about 75°. Upper

parts brindled umber-brown ; face, throat, breast, and belly, ash-
colour, the tints separated sub -abruptly. Feet white ; tail thick,
little hairy, greyish above, whitish beneath. Incisors ferruginous.

CANE-PIECE EAT.

445

size, by its rufous colour, and by the smallness of its
ears, which gives it a peculiar physiognomy. Robin-
son was acquainted with the species, and has given
an elaborate description of it in his MS. volumes
(iv. 13.), as well as a coloured drawing. His spe-
cimen was considerably larger than mine, for he
describes its length as 20 inches, of which the tail
measured half.

I had heard also of a Rat said to have been in-
troduced into the colony about a century ago, by Sir
Charles Price, with the object of keeping down the
smaller vermin ; it is commonly spoken of as the
Charley Price Rat ; but whether it is distinct from,
or identical with, the Cane-piece Rat, I could get
no very certain information. Mr. Hill, as usual,
endeavoured to aid my researches.

In a communication dated May 19th, 1846, he
had remarked as follows : — “ My inquiries about
Rats have terminated in making out three species as
distinctively known in the colony ; — the Black Rat,
the Brown Rat, and the Cane-piece Rat.

Tradition relates that the Black Rat is the old-
est of the family ; that it was introduced by the
Spaniards, and that it is the Rat of the South of
Europe. It is now comparatively scarce, but is said
to be sufficiently common in St. Mary’s. The Brown

The skin of this specimen was unfortunately lost as soon as it was
taken from the carcase, and I never obtained another ; so that I have
no opportunity, by examination of the skull, of determining whether
the species belongs to that group peculiar to the New World, which
Mr. Waterhouse has named Hesperomys. The probability is that it
does.

446

SPANISH-TOWN.

Rat has a good deal of fulvous intermingled 'with
grey in its coat, and though it is at this time by far
the most numerous of these vermin, it is of com-
paratively recent importation. The negroes are said
to distinguish it by the name of the George Rat.
This name is a curious coincidence -with the historic
scandal that, under the name of the Hanoverian
Rat, assigns a similar introduction to the ship that
brought the Bruns'wick family to the British shores.
It is larger than the Black Rat, and has a fur harsh
and short. This is the common House Rat ; out of
doors it is the pest of the corn-field and the cane-
piece ; it inhabits the pinguin fences. A gentleman
informs me that on a plantation of "which he was
overseer, the annual number taken, from accounts
minutely kept in paying premiums for their destruc-
tion, was 12,000 of these Rats, through a succession
of years. ^

Of the Cane-piece Rat I can learn nothing, ex-
cept that it is supposed to be the animal commonly
spoken of as the Charles Price Rat. It is unusually
large.”

Further inquiries gave reason to believe that no
connexion existed between Sir Charles Price’s im-
portation and the Rat of the cane-fields, or any Rat
at all, beyond vulgar rumour. My friend remarks
in a letter of April 22nd, 1847; — ‘‘ You remind
me that no satisfactory history has been given of the
animal Sir C. Price introduced into the colony, out
of which grew the story of the Charley Price Rat.
I had a conversation some short time ago with his
great-grandson Mr. George Price, of Worthy Park,

CHAELES PEICE EAT.

447

Luidas Vale, in St. John’s, and he informed me
that, according to the family tradition, the animal
introduced by his ancestor was a substitute for the
Ferret. It had been found that the European Fer-
rets were rendered useless by their inability to over-
come the Chigoe infestment of the colony. Sir
Charles Price bethought him that if he could find an
animal in the country of the Chigoe, corresponding
to the Weasel of Europe, he would accomplish the
naturalisation of a Rat-destroyer with instincts ca-
pable of counteracting the plague of the parasitical
insect. He accordingly procured something from
South America, that in the eyes of the negroes had
strong rat characteristics, but which was no Rat. It
w’as of large size. Several were set at large about
the house at the Decoy, in St. Mary’s, and at Wor-
thy Park, to establish themselves how they might.
It would seem that nothing came of the scheme, for
no animal allied to the Musteline group of quadru-
peds has been found naturalised in the colony. The
Poto, or Kinkajou, which Mr. Colinson communi-
cated to the Count de Buffon in a letter of the 12th
December, 1766, and described as having been taken
in the mountains of Jamaica, and of which he gave
Buffon a drawing, engraved in the 1st Edition of his
Natural History (the 3rd vol. of his Supplement),
is the nearest approach to an animal of this character
found here in a state of nature.

“ There are some three or four Viverrine animals of
South America, which Sir Charles Price might have
made experiments upon as substitutes for Ferrets,
and which the negroes might have considered gigan-

448

SPANISH- TOWN.

tic Rats. The animals which Buffon delineates,
and calls, La petite Fouine de la Guyane^; le
Grison de Surinam f ; la Grande Marte de la Guy-
ane J ; and le Touan§, might have been so mistaken :
especially the first and last, which have tails for half
their length naked and scaly, like those of rats. I
would venture to add to these, also, that strange
equivocal animal, known in Cayenne as the Crab-
dog II , the tail of which is altogether naked and scaly.
This animal M. de la Borde mentions as being in
his time domesticated in the houses of the colonists,
with the dog and the cat, and living on the same
food with them, and doubtless performing common
service with them in ridding the dwelling of vermin.
This is the best history I can give of Sir Charles
Price’s connexion with the large species of Rat,
which is said to be common here, and to bear his
name. If we have any of these Rodents more than
usually remarkable for size and ferocity, we [pro-
bably] owe them to the vessels of war, that, coming
hither from distant cruises when the West Indies
were the scenes of so many maritime conflicts, un-
loaded their stores at the naval magazines near
Kingston, and round on the north side at Port
Antonio, and so spread through the island the Rats
of Asia and Africa, as well as those of Europe and
America.”

Browne and Long both speak of a Rat in the
island bearing Sir Charles Price’s name, but do not

* Mustela Guayanensis, Lac. ; perhaps a young Coati.

4 Viverra vittata, Linn. | Mustela harhata, Linn.

§ Didelphys hrachyura^ Pall. j| Didelphys cancrivora, Linn.

CHARLES PRICE RAT.

449

ascribe its importation to that gentleman. The
former (1756) under the head of “ Castor 1 ; cauda
linear! tereti, the Water-rat, commonly called
Price’s Rat,” says, “ These creatures, though the
natives of some foreign land, are now grown very
common in Jamaica.” He gives us no description,
but distinguishes it from the House or Cane Rat.”
Long observes, ‘‘ Four different species of Rats
infest this island. The largest is commonly called
the Charles Price Rat, and obtained its name from
having been first observed here about the time when
the late Sir Charles Price, Bart, returned hither
from Europe. It is said to have been imported by
a Danish ship belonging to Sancta Croix, which was
driven into Kingston Harbour by stress of weather.”
He considers it the same as the Water-rat of Europe,
as it is manifest Browne had done before him, by
his adoption of Linnaeus’ short technical description
of that species. If the smallness of the ears and the
red hue of the fur of Arvicola amphibius guided them
to this identification, I should be inclined to con-
clude that my Mus saccJiarivorus just described was
the species indicated by them. Long mentions the
total length of one as eighteen inches, which would
well enough agree with mine.

It is worth remarking, that there is a Rat of
great size found in the Carribbean Islands, the Mus
pilorides of Desmarest, which has the upper parts
black, and the inferior parts white. It has not the
dentition of the Old World Rats, but resembles, in
the structure of its molars, the South American
Rats grouped by Mr. Waterhouse under the generic

450

SPANISH-TOWN.

name of Hesperomys, It is described as attaining
the length of fifteen inches, exclusive of the tail,
which is yet longer than the body.

In the above quotation from Long, he speaks of
three other Rats besides the Price Rat. One of
these he distinguishes as the Black House-Rat
(doubtless Mus rattus) ; the other two are Field-Rats,
which he thinks to be indigenous. ‘‘ The larger is
of a light ash, or greyish colour on the back and
other parts, except the belly, which is entirely white.
This subsists almost wholly on the sugar-cane, and
is therefore generally called the Cane Rat.” The
other is described as much smaller, no larger than
the English Mole. It is of a beautiful reddish
colour, with a milk-white belly. Like the former,
it takes up its habitation chiefiy about the hol-
low roots of large trees, and the rocky acclivities
of gullies and river banks. It is far from being
numerous.

SUGAR-CANE INSECTS.

The ravages of insects on the various vegetable
productions that are cultivated by agriculturists can-
not but be a subject of deep and even anxious
interest ; an interest which heightens with the im-
portance of the plant as an object of commercial
traffic, or its value as furnishing food to man and
beast. The Sugar-cane will probably always be the
staple production of the West Indian isles, and
whatever affects it may be said to touch the very life
of those valuable colonies. Some notice of its insect
•enemies may therefore reasonably be looked for in

SUGAK-CANE INSECTS.

451

this work; and though the part of the island in
which I sojourned is not a sugar-growing district,
the zeal and experience of my friend Mr. Hill will
supply the deficiency of my knowledge.

The insects that have been noticed as injurious to
the cane are principally the following: — the Borer-
Weevil, the Borer-Moth, the Cane Aphis, the Cane
Ely, and the Termite.

Of the first of these, the Borer-Weevil {Calandra
sacchari), the best account is contained in a prize
communication made to the Royal Agricultural So-
ciety of Jamaica, by Mr. Samuel Kell King, of
Portland, and published in the Society’s Reporter”
for March 6th, 1845. It is of considerable length,
and being the result of great practical experience, is
doubtless valuable. I shall make a few extracts
from it, and condense the rest of the information.
Mr. King suggests that the insect is not indigenous,
but that it was imported into Jamaica from Tahiti ;
for it suddenly appeared in 1797, the year after the
Tahitian varieties of the Cane were introduced into
the island.

The insect Mr. King thus describes in its trans-
formations. An egg, the size of a small bead, in a
considerable degree transparent, is deposited within
the succulent vessels of the cane, where the adhering
footstalk of the leaf retains the decayed foliage

hanging to the germinating joint The egg

deposited is hatched at the time when the growing
bud, usually called the eye, exhibits the active influ-
ences of both heat and moisture. As soon as the
maggot is formed, it commences its voracious injuries

452

SPANISH-TOWN.

by worming its way from the verge of the footstalk
where it had been hatched, into the very body of the
succulent and vegetating shoot, where it grows with
its growth, and strengthens with its strength. It
then occupies the centre of the plant, making its
way upward through the growing cane, but remaining
within the sweet and perfected joints, and never
ascending to the greener tops to devour the germ
and destroy vegetation. It entirely exhausts the
saccharine fluid in those joints in which it has
lodged, — Ailing the excavation it makes with an
excrementitious deposit, extremely injurious to the
cane liquor from the mill ; deteriorating it rapidly if
it remain untempered while running into the pans.
When the canes are cut, the grub-worm has already
arrived at its second transformation. It has en-
veloped itself, within the gallery it has bored, in a
shroud of decayed trash wrought with curious neat-
ness ; the shreds being plaited and wound together,
and so closely fastened at the ends, that the air is
excluded ; and if exposed to the weather, no weather
could injure it. I have watched the grub in the act
of making this cerement. It first wraps itself all
over with such of the rotting fibres of the cane as
are near it. It tears the strips asunder with its for-
ceps, and matting the pieces one within the other, it
completely conceals itself within that kind of case
usually called a cocoon, where it remains dormant
for a little interval of time. It has now assumed its
third or beetle state, and emerges from the excavated
cane a weevil, bearing a rostrum or snout charged
with fracticorn feelers, and wearing a splendid livery,

THE BORER WEEVIL.

453

striped yellow and brown, an insect about the size
of the nail of one’s finger. If the cocoon be opened
before this last transformation, the pupa found within
is of a dingy brown colour, and its bulky body is
well supplied with the usual milky fiuid, stored for
that final change in which it comes forth from its
temporary sleep, to become the parent of a succession
of enemies to the planter.”

The ravages of the weevil-grub do not, according
to Mr. King, retard the growth of the cane, or in
any way affect the healthiness of its outward ap-
pearance. The juice, however, is greatly deterior-
ated. Though there is some quantity of really
sweet juice still remaining between the rind of the
cane infected by the borer, and the galleried centre
through which it had worked its upward way, I have
found it impossible to granulate this juice. It re-
mains molasses, and to temper of any kind, whether
lime or any more powerful alkali, can produce sugar
from it. It might be possible to desiccate it by
continued boiling, but the result would be charcoal,
not sugar.”

The writer recommends preventive and remedial
measures. Among the former he deprecates the use
of animal manure not sufficiently decomposed. A
great number of the insects are carried in with the
cane tops and leaves with which the cattle are lit-
tered. If this manure, unrotted, be taken to the
cane field, the young sprouts become infected with
the pest as soon as they begin to vegetate.

As soon as the sprouts begin to joint, the presence
of the insect becomes evident to a careful eye by the

454

SPANISH-TOWN.

sickly appearance of the whorl of terminal leaves.
In such a state, ‘‘ the sooner the whole of the field
be trashed, and all such sprouts drawn out, the
better.”

When the canes have advanced in growth, and the
joints are forming, repeated trashing, or removal of
the lower leaves, must be resorted to : once every
two months, or at intervals of twelve weeks at most.

The sheathing footstalk is not only a shelter for
this weevil, hut it hinders the outer covering of the
cane from hardening, and fixing that deposition of
white powdery glass which resists the puncture of its
proboscis. If with all this care, the planter finds
himself overwhelmed by the numbers of his assailants,
or by the success with which they have established
themselves in his fields, nothing remains, hut de-
struction by fire.”

“ But great as is the damage which this insect
does in the field; it is a still greater calamity to
have it in the mill-house. To mingle the juice of
the injured cane with the uninjured, is to ruin a
crop. The expedient of tempering the liquor, while
running into the pans, may arrest the increase of the
evil, but it does not get rid of it. If, however, the
most pains-taking watchfulness has not secured the
manager from an occasional bundle of infected canes
getting into the mill, and if the pernicious conse-
quences have begun to tell upon the proceeds of the
boiling-house, I would recommend correcting the
cold liquor with an alkaline mixture of potash and
alum, in equal quantities. These, with the addition
of as much boiling water as will hold them in solu-

THE PALM WEEVIL.

455

tion, may be added to the temper lime commonly
used in plain tempering. Such a measure of this
mixture should be added to the liquor in the pan as
would be deemed sufficient to correct the prevailing
acidity. When the liquor has been boiled into what
is called first syrup, it should be racked through the
cock. By this timely remedy I have secured well
grained sugar which has not deliquesced during the
voyage to Europe, even when I had had the misfor-
tune to have ground tainted canes.”

The Rev. Lansdown Guilding, of St. Vincent’s,
who was honoured by the Society of Arts of London,
with the Gold Ceres Medal, for his memoir on
Insects which infest the sugar-cane, describes the
Calandra palmarunii a gigantic weevil, known as
the parent of the palm worms (the Gru-gru of the
negroes), as a pest in sugar plantations, as well as its
congener, the Calandra sacchari, the subject of
Mr. King’s description. The Palm Weevil, he says,
is principally injurious to the cane-plants lately stuck
in the ground, to which the female is allured by the
juices which are exuded. These they sometimes
attack so vigorously, that a fresh planting becomes
necessary. They do not, however, seem to deposit
their eggs in full grown canes, when palms are
abundant in the neighbourhood.

The same zoologist also describes the Borer-Moth
{Diatrcea sacchari). ‘‘ By far the most destructive
and common enemy,” he says, “ is the smaller grub
of the Borer-moth,” belonging to the jpyralidcc of
Leach. The sugar-cane is never exempt from
this dreaded pest.” In the seasonable island of

456

ST. Vincent’s.

St. Vincent, from improved cultivation, the animal
is not very formidable ; but in some other of our
colonies, which, from the absence of mountains,
or other causes, are subject to dry seasons, it has
been known to blast the hopes of the year, to de-
stroy whole acres of canes, and to ruin the unfortu-
nate planter.” The Diatrcsa sacchari is a small
sized straw-coloured moth, with upper wings of a
tint best described as an ochry-drab, varied with
darkened lines and margined dots. The under
wings are pale yellow. The caterpillar is of a yel-
lowish colour, spotted with faint black dots, and in a
slight degree hairy. This Borer-moth is indigenous
to Jamaica, or at least is now ordinarily known to
infest the Sugar-cane.

The late Mr. Stephen Hannaford of St. Doro-
thy,” observes Mr. Hill, ‘Mn a communication to me
respecting this pest, so well known on this side of
the island, wrote me that ‘ the system of trashing
and of keeping the canes clean is the best and surest
method, as well to prevent the depredations of the
Borer, as to improve the juices. In seasonable dis-
tricts, where this system can be fully carried out, the
mischievous effects of the Borer seem to betray a
want of proper attention on the part of the manager
to his field. But in districts subjected to long spells
of drought, the utmost caution is necessary. It is
generally observed that the Borer commits the great-
est injury to the cane after a rapid growth, which is
followed by a spell of dry weather, whilst vegetation
seems not only suspended, but the plant itself strug-
gling for life. In this dilemma the planter chooses

CANE APHIS.

457

he least of two evils. To trash his canes under
such circumstances would prove almost, if not entirely,
destructive to his fields; he is, therefore, compelled
to suffer the Borer to proceed unmolested, until rain
has fallen, and the plant has again started into life.
Then the removal of all the loose trash from the cane
will check the progress of this insect, and by follow-
ing up this operation as often as the canes require to
be freed from superffuous trash the Borer ceases to
effect further perceptible injury.’

“ Mr. Guilding speaks of an undetermined Aphis
as one of the insects that infest the sugar cane.
Some sugar canes which a friend had growing in his
garden in Kingston, were observed early in No-
vember 1844 to be infested with Aphides. They
made their appearance in considerable swarms, and
at once invaded both the leaves of the cane and
those of the plantain {Musa). Beyond encumbering
the foliage with substances that more or less ob-
structed their healthy growth, they did not seem to
do any injury by lacerating the leaf, nor did they
appear to waste the plant by diminishing its ab-
sorbent and excretory powers in any perceptible
degree ; they, however, continued increasing and mul-
tiplying without sexual intercourse, and were ob-
served to be ceaselessly visited by the common small
ants, which played around them, and touched them
caressingly. These provident creatures were taking
honey-dew from the abdominal ducts, those remark-
able distinguishing appendages of Aphides. Nothing
beside this good fellowship of the ants was observed
in the colonies of our Aphis^ till within some few

X

458

SPANISH TOWN.

weeks before they were brought under my notice,
that is, in February 1845, when a very remarkable
white insect with a bristled bordering of fleshy
tubercles on the abdominal rings, a mark of the larva
of the Aphis-lion {Chrysops), made its appearance
among them. The Aphis-lions devoured the Aphides,
and covered themselves with the fragments of what
they slaughtered. Whether the white efflorescence,
which makes its appearance on the vegetation in-
fested by the Aphis, and the little white spots like
patches of hoar frost, which mark the presence of
the Aphis-lion, be what in other islands they call
the white blast, which was said to have been distress-
ingly prevalent in 1844, 1 am not able to say, but it is
extremely probable that this plague had been general
throughout the West Indies that season. On ex-
amining under the microscope the leaves infested
with the Aphides, little pearl-like cases were seen,
each containing an insect in its course of develop-
ment. These cases were numerously spread about
the foliage. Some of the cells were seen already
perforated and empty. The Aphides were to be
observed about in their active pupa state, some
with their undeveloped wings glued to their sides,
and with their bodies of a bulk somewhat exceeding
that of the perfect insect ; the perfect fly had wide
reticulated wings marked with an obscure patch in
one section of the outer part of the main nervure,
while both possessed the two short conical abdominal
tubes from which the ants that visited them gathered
supplies of honey-dew.

‘‘ Some time ago the Agricultural Society of Gre-

TERMITES.

459

nada forwarded to the Council of the Society of
Jamaica, elaborate delineations of a fly that had con-
siderably damaged the growing canes in that island,
which they call the cane-fly. It was a four winged
fly that punctured the leaf, and deposited numerous
black eggs ; but when considerable apprehensions
were entertained for the consequences to the yielding
crop of canes, the planter was relieved by a little
parasitic insect which made its appearance among
them, and after fastening on the back of the per-
forated fly, devoured it, and rid them of this hitherto
unobserved pest. This cane-fly appeared to be our
Delphax saccharivora, a visitor as yet only known in
St. Thomas in the East.

I have yet to notice the Termite. However dis-
astrous to the planter may be the visitation of the
insects we have described, they seem to me all of
limited injuriousness compared to the havoc com-
mitted by the Ground Termite, The common ap-
pellation of Borer has been given to two very dis-
similar insects, the Calandra sacchari and the
Diatrcea sacchari ; the one a beetle, the other a
moth. The transformations which these two insects
undergo in their respective seasons bring their de-
predations to an end before they have gone beyond
some three or four joints of the mature sugar cane ;
but the ground Termites devour the entire stock,
ascend from the root to the crown of the plant,
change the whole vegetable mass from a saccharine to
an acidulous pulp, and establish themselves in consi-
derable patches in some of the most favourably grow-
ing fields. The destruction of the plant for all sugar-

460

SPANISH TOWN.

making purposes, is not however the sole evil at-
tendant on their establishment in a cane-field. They
carry into the body of the stock which they perforate a
mass of pure earth, and add to the deteriorated juice
of the cane a quantity of absolute filth, that must
do incalculable mischief wherever only a single joint
of the plant they have contaminated is unfortunately
mixed with the sound and uninfected canes.

‘‘We are all familiar with the Tree Termite, the
Termes lucifugus^ or white ant, that fornis galleries
in the trunks of trees : we are also well acquainted
with the nest-building Termite, the Termes arhorum,
that constructs a large massy habitation in trees, and
contrives a covered way from the ground to the nest,
along the outside of branches, composed of small
pieces of gnawed wood cemented together with a
natural glue. Aversion to light is the common
character of the whole tribe. All the species are
not social, nor do they all exhibit the constructive
instinct. The solitary ones simply destroy the
bodies in which they take up their abode, and are
to be traced by their perforations in books, and in
closely packed and dry substances. Some of the
perforating Termites, as they gnaw away wood, fill
up the interstices with clay, tempered to an exceed-
ing degree of hardness. The internal part of the
timber perforated by this kind may be said to be
transformed from wood to stone. One species uses
red clay, another black earth, and a third woody
materials. They adopt expedients to secure them-
selves against the attacks of the tree ants, the For-
micidcB. As these would enter any breach of their

TERMITES.

461

habitation and seize them, and carry them away, they
are alert in repairing the external breaches which
accident makes in the walls of their galleries, by
sticking into them patches of mud and compost.

“ Smeathman, who has very minutely described and
illustrated the tribes of Termites, and who considers
their whole economy of life as a providential relation
between the decomposition of vegetable substances
and the means of accelerating vegetable decay, says
they do not usually attack trees in a sound state :
^ Vigorous healthy trees do not require to be de-
stroyed, and accordingly these consumers have no
taste for them.’ When a large tree falls from age
or accident, there are Termites that enter it on the
side next to the ground and devour it at leisure.
The inside is soon perforated and destroyed, and
nothing but the outside case remains. It retains its
form for a time after this process of excavation has
been gone through, but it falls away and crumbles at
a touch, and is so unsubstantial, that Smeathman
very amusingly observes, ‘ you may as well step
upon a cloud,’ as set foot on one of these disem
bowelled masses of the forest.

“ The general remark that the Termite does not
attack growing trees, is the fact to which I would
direct attention. The depredation committed by the
ground Termite on a held of sugar-canes contradicts
this conclusion, and the general deduction that
Smeathman would draw from the economy of life of
the tribe. There is, however, a portion of the history
given by him of the pursuits and habits of some of
them, that bears upon their attacks upon sapid vege-

462

SPANISH TOWN.

tables, and illustrates their depredations on our canes.
There are royal chambers in the hillock-building
Termites, surrounded by a countless number of
others of different shapes and dimensions, all of them
being either arched cells or galleries : these open
into each other, or communicate by passages wide
enough for the soldiers and attendants, of whom great
numbers are necessary and always in waiting. These
apartments lead away to the magazines and nurseries.
The magazines are chambers of clay, and are always
well filled with provisions, which to the naked eye
consist of raspings of wood, and of plants which they
have destroyed, but are found by the microscope to
be principally gums and inspissated vegetable juices.
These are thrown together in little masses, some of
which are finer than others, and resemble the sugar
about preserved fruits; others are like crystallised
drops ; one kind are quite transparent, another are
like amber, a third brown and clear, and another
quite opaque, just as we see ordinary gums are.
The magazines are intermingled with the nurseries,
which are buildings totally different from the rest of
the apartments. They are composed entirely of
wooden materials cemented together. Smeathman
calls them nurseries because they are invariably
occupied by the eggs and young ones, which appear
at first in the shape of those called labourers, white
as snow. We may perceive in this description of a
colony of Termites, the purpose for which they esta-
blish themselves in our cane-fields. They are there
abundantly supplied with those inspissated juices,
which resemble the sugar of preserved fruits on

CURIOUS SPIDER.

463

which they feed. As they have an utter aversion to
feeding in the light, they leave the outer portion of
the stems of the canes they penetrate undevoured,
retaining the intermediate parts as divisions and
supports, so that, while the cane looks externally un-
blemished, it is internally destroyed. The earth is
introduced to repair breaches and add resistance
wherever decay has weakened the stock of the plant.
Latreille says they are furnished with an acid for
softening the wood, the odour of which is exceedingly
pungent, and that they moisten their galleries with a
gelatinous substance similar to glue. Whatever may
be the substance they use, it is certain that the sugar
disappears from the cane, and a powerful acidulated
liquor only remains. The canes become as red as
Braziletto-wood. As these insects are utterly in-
capable of subsisting exposed to light, the best
remedy against being overrun by their colonies is
the effective action of the plough. Tillage by horse
or cattle implements, by which the soil is frequently
disturbed and broken up, seems the only cure com-
mensurate with the magnitude of the evil.”

CURIOUS SPIDER.

In Sir Hans Sloane’s Natural History of Jamaica,
vol. ii. pi. 235. fig. 3., there is a representation of a
Spider, which has the four pairs of legs set on the
corslet by couplets, two pairs pointing forwards and
two pairs backwards. In his delineation of the geo-
metric web there are a few zigzag lines. These, as

464

CULLODEN.

Mr. Hill informs me, are the feeble notices of a verj
special instinct.

The creature itself, an insect of much beauty, fell
under my own observation. It was at Culloden, an
estate near Bluefields, the undulating and down-like
pastures of which are thickly studded with palm-trees,
chiefly of the Fan-thatch {Borassus Jlahelliformis ?),
and the bristling Ebby-palm {Acrocomia sclerocarpa).
Immense clumps of Prickly-pear have spread them-
selves over the rocky surface, and among the oval
nodes of these were placed many irregular, perpen-
dicular nets, geometric towards the middle. The
very centre of each web was occupied by an elegant
Spider, hanging head downward, the upper part of
whose body was of a glistening satiny or silvery
whiteness, the belly yellow spotted with black, and
the legs marked with alternate rings of the same
contrasting hues. It was the Epeira argentata of
Fabricius, or a species closely allied to it. The
interesting peculiarities detailed in the following
communication from my friend, escaped my own
observation, in my eagerness to secure the specimens,
of which I took three. The season was May, but
Mr. Hill’s facts were observed in January.

In a garden passage bordered with a hedge of
the TripJiasia {Limonia trifoliata of Linnmus), a
spider’s web had attracted my attention in consequence
of its containing in the centre a thick tissue of zig-zag
lacings, which gave it the appearance of being orna-
mented with a Saltier cross. On examining what
there was peculiar in the Spider to lead to the
peculiarity in the web, a little observation rendered

STRUCTUEE OF THE AVER.

465

the whole apparent. The arrangement of the legs of
the species, an Araneus cancriformis as Sloane de-
scribes it, differs from that of the generality of spiders.
They are set upon the corslet in double pairs, the
doublets close together, two pairs before and two
behind ; the two forelegs of equal length, but the two
hind ones slightly unequal. In the ordinary position
of the Spider, when in a state of watchful repose in
the centre of his web, the four double legs, represent-
ing the cross usually called St. Andrew’s Cross, are ex-
tended out so as exactly to cover the zig-zag lacings,
that form precisely a similar cross. The anomalous
structure of the Spider’s legs, in the mere necessities
of wear and tear, rendered requisite this thickening
of the web in the spots where the legs rested, and the
whole economy indicated a relation of fitness, useful-
ness, and consistency, very special in character.

All the vveb, except about some half inch of the
centre, was composed of the usual radiated lines with
concentric intersections. The centre was a sort of off-
set disk of irregular meshes, to avoid the crowding
together of the radiations before they converge to a
point. Immediately beyond this disk, stretching
through about an inch of the rays, the zig-zag lacings
were extended, and so overlaid as to make up a mass of
thickened tissue, about twenty or thirty times the
thickness of single threads, or of the warp and woof
of other portions of the web.

“ By some accident the web I first noticed got de-
stroyed ; but, in the course of a single day, I found
the Spider had rebuilt the web in the same hedge
some ten yards further away ; and though the new

466

SKELTON.

web was not so strong, nor so carefully constructed as
the preceding one, it was yet formed with the same
peculiarities of zig-zag lacings of a thickened tissue
corresponding to the Saltier position of the Spider’s
legs. I have since, in the course of my natural
history researches, met with some three of these
Spiders (they are rather scarce), and the same pecu-
liarity prevailed in all. Sloane evidently noticed it,
but does not seem to have understood its purposes.”*

STINGLESS BEES.

Everything relating to the marvellous instincts of
Bees is so entertaining, that the following extract from
the Journal of my esteemed friend, Mr. Hill, needs no
apology.

November Sth, 1847. — I was exceedingly in-
terested this afternoon by the sight of two hives of
indigenous Bees, shown to me by Mr. Garriques at
Skelton Pen, on the banks of the Rio Cobre. The
one hive, in the hollow of a Cal abash- tree, had an
entrance about half an inch wide at midway up the
trunk, the cavity being supposed to descend some
four feet down. The other was in a Cordia Cherry-
tree, and was laid bare by a considerable portion of
the tree being cut away. The cutting just disclosed
the uppermost of the brood cells, but nothing of the
sacklets that contained the honey. I take our bees to
be similar to, if not the same with, the bee of Mexico,
a Melipona or Trigonal called by the Spaniards
AngelitoSj from having no stings. They settled upon

See his description at p. 196. vol. ii.

STINGLESS BEES.

467

US, and we handled them ; hut they did no injury to
us, though it was perceptible that they were excited,
for they pursued the hand and clustered on it, when
portions of the brood cells were taken up. The
black Ants that infest forest trees had tracked the
hive in the Calabash-tree, and had congregated
around the entrance-hole, making an effort to gain
access. A sentinel-bee, which was every now and
then relieved from his guard, stood in a state of
restless watchfulness, assisted at his post by two
Bees behind. The Bees behind stood reversed, head-
downward; and, clinging to the upper arch of the
entrance, they gazed upward, and watched several
Ants clustered above, in some two or three little
groups within the crevices of the bark, prepared to
rush in, if the sentinels remitted their vigilance for
one moment. The active Ants paced upward and
downward in lines, but found no opportunity of
gaining a nearer access than a rapid reconnoitring of
the doorway. The entrance, when occupied by the
three sentinel Bees, admitted of no access by comers
and goers of the hive, except by the centre Bee, that
guarded the hole in front, momentarily stepping aside.
This movement he performed with surprising quick-
ness as often as a Bee came in or went out. The
wax of these Bees is very unctuous and dark coloured,
but susceptible of being whitened somewhat by bleach-
ing. The honey is stored in clusters of cups, about
the size of pigeon’s eggs, at the bottom of the hive,
and away from the brood cells. The brood cells are
hexagonal, they are not deep, and the young ones, when
ready to burst their cerement, just fill the whole

468

THE ANTILLES.

cavity. The mother Bee is lighter in colour than the
other Bees, and elongated at the abdomen to double
their length.”

Both of the stingless genera referred to, Melipona
and Trigona, are found in the 'warm regions of the
New World as well as in those of the Old. A
species of the former, M. fulvipes^ is found in Cuba ;
and the above may he identical with it. The species
of Trigona build their nests at the extremities of
branches of trees, in the shape of a large pear ; the
Meliponce select hollow trees. The nest of a Mexican
Melipona, exhibited at the Linnsean Society, Jan. 29.,
1829, built in a hollow log, consisted of a number of
irregularly-placed, black, oval cells, filled with thick
honey of an amber colour, among which several of
the Bees were lying dead.

THE UTIA, OR INDIAN CONY.

When Columbus discovered the greater Antilles in
1492, he found in them no quadruped of sufficient
importance to attract notice save the Alco already
noticed (‘^a species of dog which never barked”) and

a kind of cony or rabbit, called Utia.” The latter
was the only four-footed animal that afibrded meat to
the simple natives, who were accustomed, according
to the early Spanish historians, to hunt it during its
nocturnal activity by the light of the fire-fly.

What this animal really was has been a matter of
uncertainty until recently. It has been commonly
confounded, by topographers and historians, with the
Agouti, a species of the Cavy tribe, known to inhabit

THE UTIA.

469

the Caribbean chain, and reputed to be indigenous to
the larger islands. Thus Bryan Edwards, enumerating
the quadrupeds of the West Indies, mentions the
Agouti, the Peccary, the Armadillo, the Opossum,
the Racoon, the Musk-rat, the Alco, and the Monkey.^
Of these he concludes the first and the last to be the
only indigenous animals now surviving in the larger
islands, and thus alludes to the first. The Agouti
is sometimes called couti and coati; it was corrupted
into uti and utia, by the Spaniards; and at present
is known in some parts of the West Indies by the
levins pucarar a and Indian Cony, It is the Mus agouti
of Linnmus, and the Cavy of Pennant and Buffon.”
(Hist. W. Ind. i. 90.)

A few years ago M. Fournier brought to Europe
specimens of the animal which still bears in Cuba
the name of Utia. It was found to be new to
naturalists, and a genus was constituted for its re-
ception under the appellation of Capromys, which
Mr. Waterhouse arranges in the great Porcupine
family. Two other species were afterwards added,
all three being inhabitants of Cuba ; and a fourth
representing them in Haiti, but, on account of some
difference in the dentition, erected into a genus by
itself, and called Plagiodontia (Edium, To these we
have now the pleasure of adding a fifth, the Utia of
Jamaica, which we shall see to belong to the Cuban
genus Capromys,

The Indian Cony is quite unknown in those

* There is no reason to believe that any quadrumanous animal
was indigenous to the greater Antilles.

470

PORTLAND.

western districts of the south side of Jamaica with
which I am familiar. I often heard it spoken of as
inhabiting the mountain regions of Manchester, a
district characterised by red earth and honeycombed
limestone rock. Mr. Andrew G. Johnston, in a com-
munication to Mr. Hill, describes the animal as pe-
culiar to a similar region in Portland : —

I have not heard ” he says, ‘‘ of its inhabiting
hollow trees. It is taken generally from under rocks ;
and that range of the John Crow Hills which furnishes
the beasts in abundance, is broken limestone : high
mountains on the north eastern side of the Rio Grande,
from its source to Moore Town. The other range,
which divides the valley of the Rio Grande from Blue
Mountain Valley, has no limestone and no Conies.
Both ranges are very lofty ; from 3000 to 4000 feet in
height. They form a sort of wedge at the sources of
the Rio Grande and Island River (which last flows to
Bath), from which wedge probably this district of
wilderness derives its name Cuna-Cuna. This is
conjecture only. The two chains unite at the point
of the wedge and form a saddle ; on the north rises
Rio Grande ; on the south, Island River. The
broken limestone is in a great measure honeycomb
rock, though some of it is compact limestone.
De la Beche has misunderstood the whole chain. I
suppose he never explored it. The other chain he
has well described: transition and trap, with immense
masses of conglomerate boulders; — but no Conies;
nor did I ever hear of one in the lowlands at all,
neither in woods nor hedges.”

Mr. Hill, in his correspondence with Mr. Johnston

THE SHORT-TAILED UTIA.

471

and with myself, was the first to see that the Cony of
Jamaica had no close affinity with the Caviform
Rodentia, but was generically identical with the
Capromys of Cuba. The details of structure by
which he convincingly proves these facts, want of
space compels me to omit ; but his polite transmission
to me of specimens in skin and in spirit, has enabled
me to confirm his conclusions, and to give to the
Indian Cony the specific name and the distinctive
characters contained in the note below.*

From the letters of this gentleman, however, I
gladly make the following extracts, comprising many
particulars of the economy and structure of this
animal : —

* The Short-tailed Utia. ( Capromys hrachyurus, Hill.) Tail very
short, about one-eighth of the total length. Fur dense and harsh,
generally from f to 1 inch in length, with a few longer hairs inter-
mixed, but all of one kind : each hair is black, with a ring of bright
bay or golden brown near the tip, imparting a brindled appearance
to the fur, like that of a dark specimen of the Brown Rat. On the
throat, breast, and belly the fur is yellowish, becoming white along
the mesial line. The feet are clothed with blackish hair, short and
stiff ; the soles are black, roughened with rasp-like warts. The thumb
of the fore-paws is a rudimentary tubercle, but armed with a distinct
blunt nail. The great toe of the hind feet set far back, separable, and
thumb-like. Ears blackish grey, short, and fleshy. Muffle (or broad
flat termination of the snout) blackish, clothed with a glistening pile
of very short down, the extreme margins of the nostrils alone being
naked. Moustaches long. Incisors white. Molars with two deep
oblique folds externally and one internally. Tail stiff, taper, with
rounded point ; scaly, with thick short bristly hair, which is black on
the upper surface, greyish-brown below : the base of the tail is nearly
naked.

The following admeasurements are taken from two specimens ; the
one not quite grown, a stuffed skin in bad preservation ; the other an

472

THE EED HILLS.

April \9thi 1848. — Mr. Johnston’s information
respecting the district in Portland inhabited by the
Indian Cony, showed that two conditions were
necessary to constitute a befitting locality for it.
Surface rocks, replete with cellular hiding-places,
and abundance of succulent roots, fruits, and herbage.
Our limestone hills bordering the plain of St.
Catherine, are all well-marked with the first requi-
site, the cellular hiding-places ; but it is only the
Red-hills that supply the necessary exuberance and
diversity of vegetable food : — there alone the Indian
Cony is common. In the limestone districts, defi-
cient in moisture and herbage, it is scarce, if not
altogether unknown. Fruit trees, such as oranges,
star-apples, nesberries, and Avogado-pears, together
with plums, guavas, anonas, and plantains, abound on
the Red-hills, and tuberous and farinaceous vegetables

adult, disjointed, In spirits, in excellent condition, but wanting the
central portion of the trunk.

Young.

Adult.

Inches.

Inches.

Total length, including tail

16 0

18-0 (?)

Length of head _ _ _

3 0

3-5

From muzzle to orifice of ear

2-6

2-8

„ to front angle of eye -

1 -5 nearly

1-6

Length of ear (inner side) -

-

10

„ (outer side) -

-

•66

Width of ear _ _ -

-

*7 nearly

Circumference of body

9-0

Length of tail _ - -

2 0

2-1

Diameter of tail at base

-

•5

„ at tip

-

•2

Fore sole to tip of longest claw

1-5

1-6

Hind sole „

2-6

2*8

Fournier’s utia.

473

are cultivated there in profusion. Cellular labyrinths
riddle the rocks through and through, and their
hiding-places are intricate and difficult. As they
are secure in such localities against the pursuit of
dogs, the Conies brought for sale are always obtained
by trapping. They go out to feed, and return to
their lodgments, by a constant pathway, observed
to be well-trodden, and strewed with pellets of dung,
and leading into adjoining provision grounds. As
they feed at night, they are not commonly met with
abroad; but if they are surprised, and the track-way
to their holes be at some distance off, they may be
dodged, and run down, and taken. I have seen live
Conies brought into town, but they were always young
animals, and were said to have been run down and
caught before they could retreat to the rocks ; they
wanted the experience and cunning of the old ones,
though they are naturally of quick vision and of
acute scent, and their taste is delicate and fastidious.

“ I mentioned Fournier’s description of the Utia of
Cuba. He seems to have been the first naturalist
who described the true characteristics of this animal,
and assigned it its proper place in classification ; hence
the Cuba Cony has received his own name, Capromys
Furnieri, The distinguishing characteristic of our
species is its shorter tail. That appendage is about
half the length of that of the Capromys of Cuba.
Whatever may be the differences of power and of
habit which accompany this distinction, there seems
to be enough of a common character to make the
following extract from Fournier’s account of his
animal applicable to the Jamaica species. ‘ Their

474

CUBA.

walk is almost absolutely plantigrade, and tbeir
movements are slow, their hinder parts appearing
when in motion to be as embarrassed as the bear’s.’
‘ They take occasional leaps, suddenly turning round
from head to tail, like the field mouse ; and they
gallop when at play, and make a noise with the soles
of their feet.’ ‘ They climb with ease, assisting them-
selves with their tails as a support, and they use the
same in descending.’ ‘ They often raise themselves
to a listening posture, sitting erect, with the hands
hanging down, like rabbits and hares ; and in eating
they employ sometimes both, at other times one, of
their hands only.’ When the substance is small
enough to be held between their fingers and the
tubercle at the base of the thumb, the single hand is
then put in requisition. If the Jamaica species
should not prove to be the second Cuba one to which
Pdppig has given the name of Capromys prehensiliSf
and about which there exists some doubt among
naturalists, I should suggest C. hrachyurus as a dis-
tinctive name for our Cony.

“ I cannot much depend on the Negro statements
respecting its prehensile powers ; they represent
them as feeble, or not frequently put in requisition.
They seem to me only to have seen the Cony under
the hurry of alarm ; for they tell me, they will attempt
to scramble up trees, but generally fall back, unable
to make good their hold. I have observed the
Capromys of Cuba in ascent. Some three or four of
them confined in a capacious pen in which trees were
growing, were very familiar ; and being exposed to
no apprehension when looked at, or even when

ANIMAL SAGACITY.

475

handled, they pursued their wonted frolicking, and
moved about as when free and at large. They
planted their feet and hands on the limbs like bears,
and climbed leisurely, but with great facility, along
the branches, and descended rather rapidly. We
may suppose they would hardly take to trees at all,
however they might fail in making good their retreat
up them, unless they were familiarly acquainted with
them. They only seem to fail to do hurriedly that
which they can at any time effect only deliberately.

‘^Although the extremities of the Indian Cony
exhibit such fitness for holding and grasping, they
appear never to be applied to the purposes of
digging and burrowing. They may extract the roots,
which they make part of their food, by scratching
the ground and drawing out such portions as their
strength may manage ; but they never remove the
earth to any depth to reach the esculent under-
ground provisions of the Negro garden ; yet when they
are enticed to take the rude traps and springes which
the Negroes set for them, the temptation is always
some piece of the large farinaceous roots, which by
their own labour they can never procure for them-
selves. Their delicacy of scent enables them to
perceive when any substance has been previously
touched and handled. It would be quite hopeless to
entice the Cony to the trap by setting it at once.
It is necessary to reconcile him to feed on the roots
which are to attract him, by permitting him for a
succession of nights to eat without danger, by strew-
ing the food about the unset trap. When it has
been ascertained by what has been devoured in the

476

SPANISH TOWN.

previous nights, that the Cony’s confidence is well
secured, the springe is set, and the morning scarcely
ever fails to exhibit him caught and strangled.

Jan, 1851. — I procured the other day an
Indian Cony, and have the head, feet, and tail in
spirits, to be transmitted to you by the first vessel
for England. I am led to think you will find, on
examining these several parts, that our animal is the
Plagiodontia (Bdium of your extracts. In pressing
the limbs to stow them, I observed the tight manner
in which the fore-paws closed up, showing great
power of prehension, and the extent to which the
hind toes under a similar degree of force expanded
and stretched out. The hand, though thumhless,
has evidently all the grasp peculiar to the Squirrel,
and the hind feet more of a capacity for pressing
rugged surfaces than belongs to the feet of the Rabbit.
Every observer concurs in representing the Indian
Cony as frequently sitting up while eating, hut few
assign to it that ability in using the hand that is
given to the Agouti and the Capromys, and all
doubt whether it has much power to hold the food
and carry it to the mouth single-fisted. I could have
wished I had seen a living specimen, not alone for
making observations on this uncertain point; hut
specially for another matter in which this particular
animal is interesting above all others whatever. The
teats are not, like those of rabbits, or other allied races,
placed on lines from the belly to the breast. They
are situated midway between the belly and the bach,
that is, just at the extremity of the short- ribs along the
sides, where they shoot out backward as protuberant

POSITION OP THE TEATS.

477

nipples to the right and left of the body, two on
each side. This is altogether without analogy in the
kindred Agouti. In that animal BufFon says, “ II
m’a paru que cet animal avoit douze mamelons, sept
sur la poitrine, trois a droite et quatre a gauche, et
cinq sur le ventre, trois a droite et deux a gauche ;
mais je n’ai pas pu m’assurer que tous les tubercules
que j’ai pris pour des mamelons, fussent en effet de
vrais mamelons, ou qu’il n’y en eut encore d’autres
que je n’aie pu distinguer de tubercules qui se
trouvoient a la racine de chaque poll. II resulte de
la position de douze mamelons dont je viens de faire
mention, qu’il devroit y en avoir deux de plus, I’un
sur le cote droit de la poitrine, et I’autre sur le cote
gauche du ventre.” — (1st edition, 1760, vol. viii.
page 386.) This is certainly a curious arrangement
of the teats in the Agouti, not, however, as to place,
but as to the numerical distribution of the nipples
along the belly and the breast. Yet it makes no
approach to the anomalous position of those of our
Cony. I wonder whether there be anything of this
in the Utia of St. Domingo {Plagiodontia) or in that
of Cuba {Capromys). Rudimentary tubercles in the
male, the representatives of teats, are found in the
same situation.

To conceive the animal in the act of suckling, we
must picture it seated in the posture of a Hare in a
form, pressing the body to the earth and filling the
udder with milk, while the young ones draw the
nipple on both sides at once. We must conclude
from this organisation that the cavities in rocks and
trees in which it lives and breeds, are not narrow

478

SPANISH TOWN.

holes like the burrows of rabbits, but capacious cells,
the young requiring room to the right and left of
the parent to stretch out in the act of lactation.
The exposed nipples would be liable to be torn by
prickly shrubs, so abundant in our wastes, if the
Cony fed in open commons like the wild rabbit. Its
movements are confined to the provision ground,
where the herbage is soft and succulent ; and as these
are ordinarily well-weeded, with clear space for
running to and fro, however massed and matted the
vegetation may be, it courses through it without
much danger of lacerating the teats .... You will
observe that the nails are quite pointed, and that the
edges of the under groove are sharp, showing that
the feet of the Cony move over the ground without

much wearing and rubbing

As the capability of the Rodentia to raise objects
between the fore-paws is determined by the form of
the clavicles, perfect clavicles not alone enabling
them to exert them with this effect, but giving them
the ability to climb trees, the uncertainty respect-
ing this power in the Indian Cony will be determined
hereafter by an examination of that part of the
skeleton. Hares and rabbits, whose clavicles are in-
complete, have no such power ; they sit on their
haunches, but they do no more than play with their
fore-feet ; rats and mice, with perfect clavicles, are
powerful climbers, and are not without ability to
use the hands, but their clench is not considerable.
Squirrels, on the other hand, have the climbing and
hand-folding capacity in perfection. With these
researches completed, and with what we have of

ANALOGY OF THE COYPU.

479

other peculiarities, we shall no longer be at fault in
classification.”

This strange position of the teats is not quite
singular, though it has never before been remarked
in the Capromys, Mr. Waterhouse in his beautiful
work on the Mammalia, now in progress, thus alludes
to the subject: — ‘‘ The female Coypu (a large South

American Rodent of the same family)

swims with her young on her back until they are sufii-
ciently large to follow the parent. This habit helps
to explain the singular position of the nipples in
the female Coypu. Of these four were found by
M. Lereboullet on each side of the body, and
situated rather above the mesial line of the flanks,
the foremost being placed behind the shoulder, and
the hindermost in front of the thigh.” Mr. Water-
house considers that this position of the nipples,
rather on the sides than the under part of the body,
will be found a common circumstance in the Hystri-
cine division of Rodents, since he has found them so
situated in the genera Lagostomus, Octodon, Ha~
hrocoma, and Nelomys. — {Nat, Hist, Mammalia,
ii. 299.)

The following notes by Mr. Johnston will be read
with interest. After a minute detail of some par-
ticulars of structure distinguishing the animal from
the Cavies, he thus continues : —

‘‘ The animal treads on the whole of the lower
joint of the hind leg, from the hough, as does the
rabbit ; it is in fact plantigrade, but its usual motion
is very unlike that of either rabbit or rat : the former
always, and the latter generally, moving the pairs of

480

PORTLAND.

limbs together, galloping, in fact. The Indian Cony,
on the contrary, walks like a horse, or, applying its
plantigrade feet as the hear, moves onward like a dog
trotting. In its gait it waddles rather grotesquely.
I am describing a living specimen before me, which
is, as I understand, about eight weeks old, and would
weigh ten ounces. It is of a dark-brown colour,
very familiar, and almost affectionate ; gratified by
kind notice, and utterly void of fear. It sleeps with
one or other of the children in the house, and eats
anything which they feed on, vegetables and flesh, and
it is very fond of salt-fish. If handled by a stranger
it is more shy, squeaks, and even threatens to bite
and scratch if displeased, but has scarcely as yet
proceeded to these extremities. It was taken when
very young from under a limestone rock on the
northern ridge of the Carrion Crow Mountains, and
was raised with little trouble on milk and vegetables.
It now waddles about the table when permitted,
picking up crumbs, or any fragments of food, and
when it can find no more it jumps down without
fear, although this effort has a very awkward ap-
pearance. The soles of the feet are black, soft, and
raspy. It had a respectable moustache, but being
a little too inquisitive about the flame of a candle, it
singed these almost entirely off. Though it waddles
in its common motion, it jumps like a rabbit when
hurried or impatient.

The Cony is easily procured, being abundant up
here [Portland] ; it is inoffensive until attacked ;
then it becomes as savage as a badger. It ‘ chaws *
the dogs. The flesh of the young is very good indeed.”

HABITS OF THE UTIA.

481

Mr. Hill has lately favoured me wdth the following
notes, in addition to the above, which conclude our
present information concerning the economy of the
species.

‘‘At Two-mile Wood, a run of stunted forest on the
road to St. Dorothy’s, is a perfect warren of Indian
Conies. Patches of Bromelia pinguin occur among
the woodland. This is an aboriginal cover in the
lowlands, and is almost the only place in which they
occur in the plains. The overseer, Mr. Russel, tells
me that when he surprises them out in the adjoining
sward, and his dogs cut them off from the cover, they
run up the Cashaw trees, and grapple the rough bark
easily. This is another point of resemblance to the
Cuba Capromys, I have applied for living specimens
to send to England.”

“ I learn that our Cony is fond of browsing the
Logwood (HcEmatoxylori) and the Bastard Cedar
{Guazumd) ; or rather that it barks these trees just
above ground. It is never seen out in wet weather ;
and it has never yet been traced by its foot-prints.”

The species appears to be the “ Small Indian Cony,
Mus 3 ; major ^ fusco-cinereus, caudd truncatd ” of
Browne ; of which he gives no distinct information,
except that it is a native of Jamaica. Sloane takes
not the least notice of it : Long merely includes it in
his enumeration of the wild animals.

ORCHIDEiE.

Though Jamaica cannot boast of Orchideous plants
so curious or so gorgeous as some that are found in

T

482

WESTMORELAND.

Continental America or in the great Indian isles, yet
it has many species of much beauty. Epidendrum
ciliare and Brassia caudata are curious forms, the
former for the delicately-fringed white lip, and the
latter for the length and slenderness of its spotted
yellow petals. The shell-like form of Epid. coch-
leatum and E.fragrans is interesting, as is the delight-
ful perfume widely diJBTused by the latter. The lilac
spikes of lonopsiSf and the crimson ones of Brough-
tonia sanguinea, yield to few in beauty ; and of ter-
restrial species, a rich purple Bletia that I found
in the Bocdguas near Spanish Town, and a Phajus
from the summit of Bluefields Peak, are particularly
noble.

I have not found that the Orchidece, any more
than other tribes of plants, are confined to one par-
ticular season of flowering. It is commonly con-
sidered that the dry season is a period of rest for these
parasites, and that the return of the periodical rains
stimulates them to push forth their leaves and flowers.
In Jamaica, however, there are many exceptions to
this, so many that it can scarcely he deemed the
rule. Thus in February and March, the time of
drought, Broughtonia sanguinea flowers profusely and
magniflcently all along the shore of Westmoreland.
Epidendrum umhellatum I also found in blossom,
not far from the shore ; and a little Polystachia (?)
appeared to have just done blossoming. Angrcecum
funale continues to throw out its elegant flowers
successively all through this period of drought.

In the mountain woods, at the same time, I found
the dense spikes of Epid. nutans depending in abun-

FLOWEKING OF OKCHIDEtE.

483

dance from the forks of the trees, and the fine Phajus
that I have already spoken of rearing its magnificent
head in the gloom of the hush. The rose-coloured
Bletia of Bluefields Mountain, which at the com-
mencement of the drought showed only the withered
leaves crowning the round compacted bulbs, was in
full fiower at the latter part of this period ; and it
was in March of the following year, a season even
more arid than the former, that I met with the pro-
fuse blossom of the lovely purple Bletia, growing on
a precipitous rock on the banks of the Rio Cobre.
Towards the end of the dry period I saw Epid, fra-
grans and Ep. cochleatum in blossom on open trees
in the beautiful park-like pen called the Kepp, in the
Luana Mountains ; and, a little later, Brasavola nodosa
fiowered at Bluefields, where it is abundant. It is
w’orthy of remark that I had found this species in
blossom at Alligator Pond in company with Brough-
tonia sanguinea, during the early part of December,
when it rained nearly every day ; yet around Blue-
fields, while the latter, as already mentioned, was
fiowering profusely, the former was fiowerless until
the beginning of March.

At the same time many kinds were out of bloom
throughout this season, some of which flowered soon
after the commencement of the vernal rains. Maxil-
laria Barringtonice, whose great wrinkled bulbs had
been conspicuous on the mountain trunks, threw out
its fieshy flowers from among the roots about the
end of March, and continued flowering through April.
A little later, the long spikes of Oncidium Cartha-
ginense were waving in the breeze all through the

484

BLUEFIELDS PEAKS.

high woods that bordered the shore. Bulbs of Epid.
fragrans and of Brassia caudata that had been brought
from the mountain in the dry weather, and planted
out in the open air, blossomed, the former at the
beginning, the latter towards the end, of May, About
the middle of the same month, in the tall, dark, and
humid woods of Shrewsbury, about halfway up the
mountains of St. Elizabeth’s, I saw several racemes
of a beautiful lonopsis* in rich bloom. The irregular
tuber-like bulbs of that terrestrial Orchid, with a
Bletia-like habit, which grows abundantly in the
dense bush on the summits of the Bluefields Peaks,
had thrown out their tall but not very inviting pani-
cles of flower through the month of June. The rains
were at that time descending copiously, and continued
to fall until the middle of August ; about which
time I met with Epid. . fuscatum in blossom in the
tall woods of Basin Spring, a little lower elevation
than Blueflelds Mountain. About this time also the
singularly fringed blossom appeared on Epid. ciliare^
which had hitherto displayed only its long spindle-
shaped bulbs, each crowned with its pair of leathery
leaves. Soon afterwards the autumnal drought com-
menced, but I have no further record of the flowering
of Orcliidece.

If this irregularity of flowering, or rather apparent
independence of seasonal rain, had been confined to
the recesses of the mountain woods, it would not have
been surprising, since there actual dryness seems un-
known. On the summits of Bluefields Peaks, and

* Swartz, if I mistake not, describes lonopsis as affecting the driest
open pastures.

CHOICE OF TKEES.

485

especially in the shallow intervening valleys, whether
from the closeness of the woods preventing the escape
of vapours, or the luxuriance of the rank vegetation,
the air feels at all times surcharged with moisture,
even during the dry seasons. In the night this
moisture is concentrated very copiously, so that in the
concavities of large leaves, sometimes as much as a
wine-glass full of clear water may be seen collected,
especially on such leaves as those of the Heliconia, or
wild plantain, and of the great esculent Arums,
called Cocoes, of the Negroes’ grounds. I have many
a time been refreshed by drinking from these leaves.
The ferns and other herbaceous plants that fringe the
narrow paths, and the Lycopodiums and mosses that
form thick cushions around the roots of the trees, are
always found heavy with dew, and as it were saturated,
when one visits this locality in the early morning.

With respect to the choice of trees exercised by
Orchidece, it certainly seems to exist, but is not, I
think, very exclusive. In the lowlands, the lovely
Broughtonia sanguinea is found in very different situ-
ations ; on the Palmetto thatch (a small species of
Thrinax, I believe), that forms an extensive grove,
at Crabpond Morass, it grows abundantly, at the
height of four feet from the ground. At Alligator
Pond I took it from a Hog-plum (^Spondias graveo-
lens'), and around Bluefields it is common on the
Calabash, both trees of moderate dimensions. But
on the road to Savannah le Mar, bunches of its bril-
liant blossom are seen depending from the lofty forks
and limbs of the towering Cotton-trees (Eriodendron),
at an elevation of eighty or a hundred feet.

486

WESTMORELAND.

Brasavola nodosa has perhaps an equal range as to
elevation, and is found on the same trees as those just
mentioned, frequently in company with Broughtonia.
It also affects the Yokewood (a species of Bigno-
nid), the Birch {Bur sera), and many other trees ;
being one of the commonest of the lowland Orchids.
The leafless Angrcecum funale, as I have before inti-
mated, clings by its tortuous roots to the trunk of
the Calabash, at the height of a yard or two from
the earth ; the great mass of its roots depending, in
a tangled plexus, in the air.

Oncidium CartJiaginense also prefers the Calabash ;
but it is found likewise on the Fiddlewood {Cytha-
raxylon) and other trees, always on the branches, or
in the forks, at an elevation of from fifteen to thirty
feet. The flat bulbs of a Maxillaria (as I believe)
cling in abundance to the trees growing in the morass
that borders the shore at Cave ; and I have found
what I suppose the same genus, with a little Epiden--
drum, on a Star-apple tree {Chrysophyllum) half way
up the mountain. On Bluefields Peaks, Max. Bar-
ringtonice is numerous, affecting the trunks of various
trees, close down to the ground. I have taken the
bulbs also from a fallen trunk near Kilmarnock, in
the mountains of St. Elizabeth’s. Epidendrum nutans
clings to the trunks of large trees in the mountains,
twenty and thirty feet from the ground ; and the
habits of E. umhellatum and E. fuscatum are similar,
the latter at a moderate elevation, the former near the
sea-shore. Epid. ciliare prefers the Avocado-pear
{Persed) ; and is confined, I believe, to the mountains ;
I have found it most common on such trees in open

TREES COVERED WITH ORCHIDS. 487

pastures, growing on the trunk and larger branches
in great luxuriance, at the height of fifteen to twenty-
feet; one bunch that I procured comprising forty-
two bulbs, cohering together. 1^. fragrans and E»
cochleatum also grow on fruit-trees in the mountain
pens, eight or ten feet from the ground. lonopsis
I found only in the situation above-mentioned, on
the trunks of forest trees, a few feet above the
ground.

In the tall woods on Bluefields Mountains, almost
every tree, from the thickness of one’s arm upwards,
is found to bear its bunch of Orchidece, frequently
four or five species growing on the same tree. The
trunk is the most common situation on the tree, but
in very large trees the forks and great horizontal
limbs are likewise studded with these and other
parasites, Tillandsice, sessile and caulescent Ferns,
Jungermannice, &c. I was surprised and delighted
at the number of minute species, some with tiny
bulbs, others with small oval, alternate, almost pin-
nate leaves, and others long and grass-like, which, in
company with the larger and more common kinds,
crowded the trunk of an enormous Fig-tree that had
been recently felled on the top of the Bluefields ridge.
The massive, pillar-like stem, sixty or seventy feet
long without a branch, was studded from end to end,
and on all sides of its surface, with these delicate
little parasites, which also spread themselves upon the
great arms. On the lower mountains the huge Cotton-
tree {Eriodendron') forms a perfect nursery of Or chi-
decs as well as Bromeliacece, Of terrestrial species,
both the kinds of Bletia were growing on the bare

488

BLUEFIELDS.

rocks, exposed to the unmitigated glare of the sun.
The tuberous kind with a similar habit, and the mag-
nificent Phajus Tankervillice^ on the other hand, oc-
curred only in the deepest shadow of the dense humid
mountain woods.

Specimens taken from one tree I found would grow
very well on another. I was accustomed to trans-
plant many of the masses brought from the moun-
tains and other distant localities, affixing them either
to logs of wood, or to fruit-trees in the pasture, or
else merely laying them on the flat top of a stone
buttress, with a brick or some other weight on them
to prevent their being blown away. The smaller spe-
cimens I pushed into crevices between the stones of
the same buttress. Those which I planted on fruit-
trees were fastened by string passed several times
round the trunk and the Orchid. In all these cases
the specimens grew healthily. The roots, which had
been torn from their attachments in procuring the
specimens, never adhered to the new surface, but
fresh roots were soon pushed out from the base of
the bulbs, which clung to the support by their flat-
tened under sides with the same tenacity as if they
had been on the original trees ; and after a few
months needed not the assistance of strings or weights
to enable them to maintain their position. Some-
times the mere laying of a bunch of bulbs in the fork
of an orange-tree was found sufficient. I do not
think the parasite is dependent on its tree for any-
thing but support; the roots do not penetrate the
bark in the least degree, but derive all their nutri-
ment from the moisture with which the air is charged,

DEPARTUKE FROM BLUEFIELDS.

489

or which, in the form of rain or dew, trickles down
among their matted masses from above.

At the same time there is an unaccountable pre-
ference of certain localities to others. Thus of the
vicinity of Bluefields in Westmoreland, and of Con-
tent in St. Elizabeth’s, including both lowland and
mountain, the former district is rich in species and
individuals ; while the latter, embosomed in tall humid
woods (the pristine forest extending from the level
of the sea to the summit of the first range of the
Luana Mountains), possesses, as far as I have seen,
scarcely a single specimen of any species. Again, the
low level land around Savanna le Mar seems equally
destitute of these parasites; but this is less to be
wondered at, since so large a portion of the district is
overrun with logwood (as is indeed a large part of the
once-cleared land in St. Elizabeth’s), a tree on which
I do not remember to have found an Orchideous
plant, (though Tillandsics are common enough on it),
with the exception of Oncidium Carthaginense y which
occasionally grows on the hedges that are made of
this thorn-like tree,

DEPARTURE AND RETURN.

At length the day arrived for my departure from
Bluefields. On the 19th of June, 1846, I embarked
on board a little drogger, or coasting sloop, for King-
ston, and cast a farewell glance, not without regretful
yearnings, on the sunny slopes, and wooded glades,
and mountain-peaks, where I had spent so many
pleasant months. Seven dreary days were swallowed

490

KINGSTON.

up in slowly beating along a hundred miles of coast,
against the fierce daily sea-breeze. Nothing of any
note occurred to break the monotony of the voyage,
except that on the morning of its last day — as if I
were not to be allowed to leave the island without a
taste of its bitters as well as its sweets — I was stung
by a Scorpion. While lying in the berth of the little
close cabin, I was awakened by a severe twinge on
one side of my neck : on putting my hand to the
place, I took hold of some object which had pierced
the flesh, and which, requiring some force to make it
let go, I fancied to be a beetle that had nipped me
with its mandibles. There was a dim lamp in the
cabin, and on holding up my prisoner against the
light, I found that it was a large Scorpion, which I
had fortunately seized by the tail, so that, though it
sprawled, it could not do any further injury. The
pain was severe, but the old skipper kindly applied
some camphorated rum, which he well rubbed on the
part. The flesh began to swell and form a lump ;
but very soon both this and the pain subsided, so
that in two or three hours only a slight soreness was
perceptible about the region, and even this was gone
before night. Altogether the affair was not equal
to the sting of a wasp. One of the most curious of
the results was a numbness of some of the nerves
of the tongue, perceptible in the pajpillcE of the
surface, which felt as if dead : this was soon after the
sting.

On my arrival at Kingston on the 26th, I found
that the length of the coasting voyage had lost me a
passage to England, the steamer having just sailed.

BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY.

491

This however gave me a few days’ leisure here, which
I should have been loath to be deprived of. At in-
tervals, when the breeze had been too strong to be
stemmed, I had landed at one or two points of the
coast, and obtained a few specimens, chiefly in en-
tomology. A little to the eastward of Black River
there is a dreary, rocky, and inhospitable shore,
marked on the charts with the sufiiciently appropriate
name of Starvegut Bay. While windbound here, I
took a walk on shore, climbing over the immense
masses of fragmentary rock, against which the surf
was beating and boiling with furious violence, and
shooting up ever and anon white jets of vapour-like
spray through the sea-worn holes. In the woods,
which consisted largely of the Cashaw {Prosopis
juUJlora), intermingled with some species of Inga
and the great Cactus Peruvianus^ — a vegetation
totally different from that in the neighbourhood of
Bluefields, — I observed a Vanessa-like butterfly,
of brilliant blue iridescence, and some white spots
near the tip of the fore-wings, which was, I doubt
not, Cyhdelis Hyperipte, I had never met with it
before, and as I had no net with me, I did not capture
any specimens now. It was however in some abund-
ance ; flitted along close to the ground, in the shadow
of the woods, allowing an approach within a distance
which would have rendered its capture with a ring-
net an easy matter. Its manners bore some resem-
blance to those of the Saty rides. I also saw here
Anolis maculatus, that zebra-marked Lizard, which
is so common around Kingston.

An arid plain, just behind Pedro Bluff, afforded

492

KINGSTON.

me some insects diifering almost totally from those
of the leeward part of the island. The elevation is
scarcely above the level of the sea ; the soil is sand ;
the trees, chiefly Lignum vitae, scarcely attain a greater
height than twelve feet, and the heat of the sun is
on these accounts peculiarly intense. The collection
of gum-guaiacum, the produce of the trees just men-
tioned, helps the poor inhabitants of this spot to
obtain a livelihood. I found here a second specimen
of Myrmeleon Leacliii, and on the twigs of the
stunted prickly trees, Diaprepes Spengleri, and a
much finer beetle, Psiloptera {sp, nov. near torquata),
both in considerable abundance.

At Alligator Pond, my negro lad tried the net
with little success, the only novelty here being a
species of Libythea^ apparently new, but closely allied
to the North American L. motya. ^

While I remained at Kingston, the lad attended
to insects in the environs, particularly at Greenwich,
near Passage Fort. The beautiful Lachnopus aurifer
was the most common beetle, occurring in great
numbers upon the bushes. The most abundant
butterfly was Callidryas Neleis ; as it had been near
Bluefields in the preceding April and May. A Chry-
sopa, much resembling our C. perla, and a great bee
with violet wings, resembling Xylocopa violacea^ also
attracted notice.

My own time here I chiefly spent in consulting the
valuable MS. volumes and drawings of the late Dr.
Robinson, on the botany and zoology of the island,
preserved in the Library of the Jamaica Society, and
in comparing notes with my valued friend Mr. Hill,

HAYTI.

493

of Spanish Town, to whose kind courtesy I have
been indebted for so much information, and who, at
parting, added to his other kindnesses the gift of
many zoological rarities, which would otherwise have
remained either totally or nearly unknown to me.
On the 9th of July at noon, I took my place on board
the mail-steamer Avon, and bidding adieu to kind
friends, finally left this lovely island.^ A last glance
at it, about 9 at night, revealed it dimly fading into
the darkness, with the friendly light on Point Morant
shining brightly.

The mountains of Hayti were in sight at daylight
the next morning, and during the whole day w^e ran
along the great promontory of Tiburon, the ancient
province of Xaragua, once the happy domain of the
beautiful hut unfortunate Princess Anacaona.

On rising at early day on the 11th, I found the
steamer at anchor in a little bay, environed by abrupt
mountains, at the foot of which is the town of Jacmel.
The boat was just putting off with the mails. There

* To some of the “ courteous readers” who have accompanied me
through the details of the preceding pages, it may not be altogether
without interest to know the amount of my collections in zoology
and botany, made during eighteen months’ residence in Jamaica.
They were as follows: Mammalia, 41 specimens; Birds, 1510,;
Reptiles, 102 ; Fishes, 94 ; Nests and Eggs, 34 ; Shells (marine),
1276 ; (terrestrial and fluviatile), about 1850; Crustacea, 100; In-
sects (including Arachnida and Myriapoda), about 7800; Echino-
dermata, 57 ; Zoophytes, &c. 42 ; Sponges, 550. Dried Plants, about
5000; Living Plants (Orchidese), about 800; (Bulbs and Suckers),
932 ; (Cacti), 32 ; (Ferns), 222 ; (other Living Plants, young Trees,
&c.), 117; large Capsules and Seed-vessels, 383 ; Seed of flowering
Plants, 170 packets; Palm-seeds, 14 boxes; Gums, 24 specimens*
Woods, 50 blocks.

494

POKTO EICO.

had been rain in the night, and the shaggy hill-tops
were partially robed in fragments of cloud, undefined
and changing, which contrasted finely with the dark
surface of the forest. Inland the mountains in the
morning sun looked inviting ; and I noticed that they
displayed the same singular resemblance to crumpled
paper, as those in the eastern part of Jamaica. Our
stay here was short ; the harsh, deafening sound of
escaping steam was succeeded by the crashing of the
paddles on the water, and ofi* we rushed on our
homeward course. By nightfall we were just within
the singular insulated rock called Alta Vela, or the
lofty sail, from its very deceptive resemblance to a
ship in the distance.

At sunrise on the 13th, we were under the little
island Mona, between Hayti and Porto Rico, and
through the day we steamed along the northern shore
of the latter island. The land, thickly strewn with
cultivated estates, spotted with clumps of trees, has a
very beautiful appearance, contrasting in this respect
with both Jamaica and Hayti, whose forest-covered
coasts display little traces of cultivation, and look rude
and repulsive. Soon after mid-day, the Moro, or for-
tification which protects the port of San Juan, was in
sight, like a white wall projecting into the sea, and at
4 P.M. the steamer moored under it.

A few of the passengers went on shore for an hour
or two. Everything showed we were in a foreign
country. The town gloomily walled, and strongly
fortified, the turret-like houses, and little balconies to
each window, the well-paved streets, the ladies in
black mantillas, opening and shutting their fans as

CONCLUSION.

495

they walked, solemn priests in black robes and shovel-
hats, the children, the men, the posadas (taverns),
everything wore a character so novel, so nnlike any
thing in our colonies, that I was greatly entertained.

In an hour or two we were again afloat, and steam-
ing away for St. Thomas, where the sun on his rising
the next morning found us snugly anchored. It had
again been raining hard, and the mist hung over the
town and slopes behind ; yet the beauty of the town,
rising from the sea on the sides of three conical hills,
in the form of three pyramids of buildings, could not
be concealed. I walked on a hill at the entrance of
the harbour, covered with stunted bushes, and spent
an hour or two entomologising. The insects were
almost entirely different from those with which I had
been familiar in Jamaica.

On the 16th we left St. Thomas, arrived on the
20th at the little isles of Bermuda, with their English-
looking scenery and the clear transparent sea around
their rocks, as still as the water of a Polynesian lagoon,
as little answering as might be to the anticipations
one might have formed of the “ still vexed Ber-
moothes.” We found the steamer Clyde lying here,
migrated from the Avon to her, and reached South-
ampton on the 5th August, 1846.

Here I take a respectful leave of my readers and
of tropical natural history together. If I have suc-
ceeded in imparting to the former a small portion of
the delight, admiration, and enthusiasm, which invest
in my own feelings the things I have essayed to pre-

496

CONCLUSION.

sent to them, I shall not have lost my labour. Emi-
nently pleasing that labour has been : the compiling
of these pages from my journals and papers, and from
the correspondence of my beloved and honoured friend,
has recalled in vivid power the lovely Eden-like scenes
through which. I wandered, and has made me live
over again those months of unwearying delight that I
spent in beauteous Jamaica. I can echo with fullest
truth the experience of Bishop Heber : — “ In every
ride I have taken, and in every wilderness in which
my tent has been pitched, I have found enough to
keep my mind from sinking into the languor and the
a23athy which have been regarded as natural to a tro-
pical climate.” Nay, I may truly say, I found no
tendency to apathy or ennui ; every excursion pre-
sented something to admire ; every day had its
novelty ; the morning was always pregnant with eager
expectation; the evening invariably brought subjects
of interest fresh and new ; and the days were only
too short for enjoyment. They were not days of
stirring adventure, of dangerous conflicts with man or
beast, of hair-breadth escapes in flood and field ; their
delights were calm and peaceful, I trust not unholy,
nor unbecoming the character of a Christian, who has
his heart in heaven, and who traces, even in earth’s
loveliest scenes, the mark of the Spoiler. The senti-
ments expressed on this subject by my friend and fel-
low-labourer are those which I would ever associate
with the study of science. If the sight of nature,”
observes Mr. Hill, “ were merely the looking at a
painted pageantry, or at a spectacle filling the carnal
mind with wonder and delight, the spirit would be

COXCLUSIOX.

497

overpowered and worked into weariness, but it is
admiration at the wdsdom, and reverence for the bene-
ficence of Almighty power. He who ‘ dwelleth in
the light which no man can approach unto ; whom no
man hath seen, nor can see,’ is yet visible in his per-
fections through the works of his hand, and his
designs are made manifest in the purpose of his
creatures. Wherever our lot is cast, into whatever
scenes our wayward impulses lead us, the mind-
illumined eye gazes on divine things, and the spirit-
stirred heart feels its pulses bounding with emotions
from the touch of an ever-present Deity. The habit
that sees in every object the wisdom and the goodness
as well as the power of God, I may speak of, as Cole-
ridge speaks of the poetical spirit, ‘ It has been to
me an exceeding great reward; it has soothed my
afflictions ; it has multiplied and refined my enjoy-
ments ; it has endeared my solitude ; and it has given
me the habit of wishing to discover the good and the
beautiful in all that meets and surrounds me.’”

“ Great are thy works, Jehovah ! infinite
Thy power ! what thought can measure thee, or tongue
Relate thee ? ”

FINIS.

APPENDIX.

I.

The {Scyllium cirratum), p. 241. — “On some of

the particular shoals and banks within the Bay of Old
Harbour, these fishes congregate in great numbers at spe-
cial seasons, probably to deposit their egg capsules in the
sunny waters. At these seasons nothing more is neces-
sary than to get among them upon the shoal with sticks
and strike them. [Hence the expression used by Sam,
“ strike Nurse,” which I had supposed to imply the use of
the harpoon. P. H. G.] They may be taken, and are
taken in this way in large numbers. This habit may ac-
count for the shipwrecked Richard Falconer, on the Ala-
cranes, being able to take this fish, when he had no means
of securing any thing else for food.” — {Letter from Mr,
Hill, 2Sth March, 1851.)

II.

The Silk-cotton Tree {Eriodendron anfractuosum),
p. 279. — “There is a profusion of magnificent Ceiba-
trees around us, and all are more or less in their winter
nakedness. The aspect they have assumed after shedding
their autumnal foliage, is that of young leaves in some
trees, and that of flowers and seed-pods only in others,

500

APPENDIX.

the buds containing the leaves not having yet opened.
Now as the Ceiba does not bear flowers and seed but in
alternate years, though there is an annual hybernation,
biennially it produces only foliage. In alternate years it
blossoms, but never throws out a single leaf till those
blossoms have expanded into seed-pods as big as walnuts.
In one case it produces leaves in January, in the other it
does not assume that livery till April. If I can conve-
niently walk out with my sketch-book, for I cannot ride
on horseback, and I am scarce able to bear the jolt of a
chaise, I will make a sketch of some tree that has got out
of the equilibrium of leaves, — and flowers and fruit, — in
alternate years, and exhibits the biennial succession in one
half only of its branches, so that the east side will be all
foliage up to April, and the west bare stems and twigs
with only terminal seed-pods to the same month, and vice
versa next year. The Bursera gummifera, though deci-
duous, does not, so far as I have observed, bear in alternate
years. In St. David’s, where I was when I last addressed
you, that tropic Birch is the commonest of the trees,
among the scrubby forests that line the mountains towards
the sea, and they were all leafless alike. I narrate these
facts exclusively from my own observation. MacFadyen
does not notice them.” — {Letter from Mr. Hill, dated
Lawrencejield, St. Catherines, Jamaica, 21 th March,
1851.)

III.

Vegetation on the Pedro Kays, p. 310. (See also ‘‘ The
Birds of Jamaica,” p. 435.) — “ I must not omit to let you
know that the low shrub, the only vegetation on the Pedro
Pocks, if we except the single Cocoa-nut tree, — the me-
morial of a dead seaman, — is the Suriana maritima, a
plant which Humboldt says the South American Spaniards

APPENDIX.

501

call Romero de la Mar. It puts forth its leaves in tasseled
tufts, and produces small yellow flowers. I sent and pro-
cured the plant. R. H.” This plant, which is common to
the sea-coast throughout the tropics, presents some ano-
malies in its structure, which render it very difficult to
classify.

IV.

Viviparous generation of the Yellow Boa {Chilabothrus
inornatus), p. 323. — The case of the Boa which produced
in captivity twenty-three living young ones (not eleven, as
stated by mistake in the text) appeared to me so anoma-
lous, that I sought a further verification of the circum-
stance. Mr. Hill accordingly obtained from his informant
the following clear and interesting details of the matter,
which render the fact indubitable, however strange.

“ Cumberland Pen, [Jamaica,]
8th May, 1851.

“ My dear Mr. Hill,

“ According to your desire I sit down to give you
the particulars of the Yellow Snake, that I told you had
produced young in my possession.

‘‘ It was on the 3rd of July, 1849, that I caught the
Snake, on a sunny bank at Halfway-tree Pen (its compa-
nion, the larger of the two, escaped, and I lost it in the
grass). I put it into a box with a wire front, and with it
imprisoned a mouse and two ground-lizards : the Snake
made no attempt upon the lives of its fellow prisoners,
who were fortunate enough to regain their liberty in a
week or two.

“ I could never induce the Snake to eat, though I offered
it everything I could think of ; and it was more savage
than most others, and bit me several times, each bite
drawing blood like a severe scratch from a cat.

502

APPENDIX.

“ It measured 6 feet 1 inch (its tail short and blunt),
and lOi inches round the body. It was very inactive,
lying all day in a corner of its cage, or coiling in graceful
folds about the perches.

“ On the morning of the 1 9th of October, I was sur-
prised to find my captive had produced twenty- three
young ones ; they were all perfectly formed and of much
the same size. I measured six of those that died first, and
found them 16 inches long and IJ inch in circumference.
The last of the young ones died on the 24th, and the
mother on the 28th, of the same month. Since that time
I have only caught two or three more, and they have
always got away by some accident or other ; but I hope
soon to find more, as I am anxious to try them again, for
I had always supposed they laid eggs like other snakes,
though this one certainly brought forth her young alive.

“ I am, my dear Sir,

“ Yours very truly.

“ F. R. Griffith.”

INDEX

A

Agua-Toad, 425 : vast size of,
426 : strange voice of, 427 :
description of, 428 : tadpoles,
429 : introduction of, 430 :
voracity of, 432.

Alco, a dog domesticated by the
Indians, 330 : breeds of, 331.
335 : history of “Prince,” 337.

Alligator, 398. (See Crocodile).

Alligator Apple, 214.

Alligator Pond, 26. 492.

Aloe, 131.

Ampullaria, eggs of, 163.

Anchovy, Browne’s, 291.

Annellides, 22. 55.

Anoles, 75 : habits of, 73, 217 :
goitre of, 220 : metachrosis,
224.

Ant-lion, 194; pitfalls of, 195.

Ants drinking, 126.

Aphrodite, 55.

Apistes, new species of, 207.

Ascalaphus, 197.

Avocado Pear, 70.

B

Bamboo, elegance of, 199 : growth
of, 201 : walk, 124. 200. 252.

Barbadoes Pride, 88.

Barnacles, 7.

Bats, 159. 267. 279. 292. 295. 298.
326 : only partially nocturnal,
162.

Bees drinking, 126 : stingless,
466.

Beetles, 60. 96. 141. 492.

Begonia, parasitic, 149

Belmont, insects of, 99 ; Beach,
animals on, 50.

Birds, aquatic, 247 : songs of,
154. 166.

Black Snake, description of, 228 :
habits of, 229 : ferocity, 230 :
prey of, 232.

Bletia, 63. 304. 483. 487.

Bluefields, description of, 39 :
departure from, 489.

Bluefields Bay, 35 : scene from,
36 : transparency of, 36.

Bluefields Ridge, from the sea,
36 ; ascent of, 61 : insects of,
100 : vegetation of, 132 ; birds
of, 139 : prospect from, 141.

Bluefields River, 79 : its border-
ing plants, 80 : bathing pool,
81 : animals of, 82.

Blue Mountain Peak, first sight
of, 17 : grandeur of, 19.

Boc^uas, a romantic glen, 303.

Bognie, 149.

Bonito, beauty of, 2. 12.

Breadfruit, 258.

Bristle-herring, a new species of,
290.

Broadleaf tree, 68.

Butterflies, 27, 28. 69. 91. 96. 99.
491.

C

Cachelot, appearance of, 350 :
prey of the sword fish, 352: fate
of, 353.

Cacti, 31. 42. 129. 176.

Calabash tree, 46.

Canary, wild, 91.

Carlisle estate, 26.

Cave, bay at, 212.

Cave Swallow, 51 : song of, 168.

Centipede nursing, 1 64.

504

INDEX.

Chsetodons, 24. 190. 208. 215.

Chigoe-flea, 177.

Chitons, mode of collecting, 32 :
of preserving, 34.

Cicindela, sea-side, 26. 51.

Club-moss, 67.

Cocoa-nut Palm, 259 : rigidity of,
260 : endogenous growth, 261.

Cocoon, beautiful, 228.

Conch-shells, 59.

Content-cottage, 86. 92.

Cony, Indian, indigenous to the
islands, 468 : a new species
described, 474 : its habitat,
470. 472 : food, 474 : habits,
474 : anomalous position of the
teats, 476 : manners in domes-
tication, 480.

Corals, 24. 53. 59 : parasites of,
55.

Cotta Wood, 92. 197.

Crabs, sensibility of the feet in,
35.249: calling, 51 : flat, 248:
land, 214: river, 86 ; soldier,
44 : swimming, 21. 52 : swift-
foot, 34.

Crane-fly, 284.

Crested Snake, legends of, 374 :
seen by Dr. Palmer, 375: by
Mr. Cargill, 377 : by Ramsay,
382 : described in Seba, 378 :
known in Hayti, 381: conjec-
tures, 384.

Croaking Lizard, 75. {SeeGecko).

Crocodile, West Indian species of,
398: mode of eating, 399 :
partiality for dogs, 401 : ex-
planation of this, 402 : parental
care, 402 : adventure in Hayti,

404 : St. Mery’s specimen,

405 : rapid growth, 406 : fe-
rocity, 407 : anatomy, 409 ;
curious habit, 412 : exploit,
418 : fatal encounter, 420.

Cydimon, curious flight of, 113.

P

Deer, introduction of, 433 : horn
of one proves to be that of the
Fallow-Deer, 437 : habits in
their mountain-haunts, 436 :

Mexican species, 437 : early
notices of, 439 : Cariacou, 440.

Departure from Bluefields, 489 :
from Jamaica, 493.

Doctor-fish, 215.

Dodder, 40.

Dog, native, 330. {See Alco).

Dolphins, 6. 334: devour Sharks,
354 : arranged in line, 357.

Doves, voices of, 173.

Dragonflies, swarm of, 251.

Drive to Montego Bay, 252.

Drought, evils of, 79.

Duck-ants, 118. {See Termites).

Dumb-cane, 128.

E

Eared Owl, habits of, 367 : voice
of, 368.

Earthworms, 66.

Echini, 58 : description of, 77 :
mode of preserving, 78.

Elacate, new species of, 208.

Elater, luminous, 102 : its light
twofold, 106: habits of, 107:
a substitute for candles, 109 :
used by travellers, 110: larva of,
110: feeds on sugar-cane, 111.

English plants, 150.

Entomology, 94 : insects rare,
95 : remarkable exceptions, 9 6.

Erebus odora, habits of, 198. 234.

Evil eye, feared by negroes, 154.

Eyed Pallette-tip, 284.

F

Fan corals, 24.

Ferns, 68 : abundant on Blue-
fields Ridge, 136.

Fig-trees, 133 : net-formed roots
of, 192.

Fire-flies, 101, 298.

Fishes, 190, 207, 287 : beauty of,
209, 289.

Fishing canoes, 20. 205.

Fish-pot, 206.

Floors, curious mode of polishing,
157.

Flowering-plants, 40. 63. 80. 87.
90. 127. 158. 175.

Flowers, fragrance of, 175.

INDEX,

505

Flying-fish, its motion a true
flight, 9: a new species de-
scribed, 1 1 : pursued by birds,
12 : distribution of, 13.

Fog after rain, 204.

Forest, aspect of, 41 : impenetra-
bility of, 42 : gloom of, 66.
197: nocturnal sounds in, 358.

Forest-trees, 63. 97. 133.

Fruits, 62. 94. 158. 258. 329. 334.

G.

Galliwasp, 77. 214.

Gardens, 38. 151. 158.

Gecko, 75, 76. 179. 359.

Glass-shells, 7.

Goats, wild, 440.

Gootoo, sand, a new species, 287 :
eatable, 287.

Grand V ale Estate, 9 1 : seen from
Kilmarnock, 123.

Grave-digger, 145 : industry of,
146.

Great-eared Leaf Bat, 295.

Gregarious trees, 368.

Grey Snake, 371 ; mode of seiz-
ing prey, 372 : description of,
372.

Ground Lizard, 74.

Grunts, beauty of, 210.

Guinea-grass, 254.

Guinea-hen, nest of, 124.

H.

Half-beak Garfish, 24.

Hampstead Road, a good locality
for insects, 96.

Hauling the seine, 213.

Hawkmoth, 142.

Hayti, scenes in, 333. 351. 381.
387, 400. 411. 494 : native dog
of, 340 : crested snake of, 380.

Hedgehog-fish, 244.

Heliconia butterfly, 27.

Helmet shells, 59.

Herring, a new species of, 291.

Hicatee, 421.

Highgate and Hampstead, 121.

Hog, wild, description of, 385 ;
a formidable foe, 387 : adven-
tures with, 387. 391 : a clever

defence, 390 : mode of hunting,
392.: Sloane’s notices of, 392 :
barbecued pig, 395: maroon
hunters, 396.

Holothurise, 52. 55.

Honeycomb limestone, 30. 470.

Houses, arrangement of, 156.

Humming-bird, 159 : long-tailed,
48. 140: mango, 28: vervain,
170.

I.

Iguana, 76.

Indians, simple life of, 332.

Insects, 96. 145. 148. 164. 194.
251. 282. 450. 492.

Inverary, 149.

J.

Jabbering Crow, 139.

Jacks, 290.

Jamaica, first sight of, 17: vivid
recollection of, 49: coast of,
299. 291.

Jigger, 177.

K.

Kepp Estate, 126.

Keratto, 31.

Kilmarnock, 123.

King-mullet, 208.

Kingston, 19. 492.

L.

Leaf of life, 60.

Lianes, 30. 42.

Lightning in evenings, 205.

Lignum- vitffi tree, 492.

Liguanea Mountains, 299.

Limestone,honey combed, 30. 470.

Lizards, 74. 142. 178. 216.

Lucifugous insects, 164.

Luminous insects, 102.

Lunar rainbow, 60.

M.

Maintop, a pleasant station, 14.

Manatee, 341 : its pachyderma-
tous character, 342 : descrip-
tion of, 344 : manners of, 346 ;
anecdote of, 348.

Mango tree, 258.

Z

506

INDEX.

Mangrove, 245 : its arching roots,
245 : curious seeds, 246 : fetid
swamps, 246 ; haunts of aquatic
birds, 247.

Maritime lily, 98.

Market day, 57. : busy scene on
the beach, 59.

Maroons, 396.

Mastiff Bat, 159.

Melastomacese, 68.

Misseltoe, 131.

Mocking-bird, 139. 171. 298.

Monk Bat, 292 : immense host
of, 294.

Monophyllus, 328.

Montego Bay, 252.

Montserrat, beauty of, 16.

Moonlight at sea, 15 : in the
forest, 101 : at Bluefields, 297.

Mormoops, 327.

Mountain Cabbage-tree, 135.

Mountain gardens, 151 : mode
of cultivation, 151 : plants of,
152.

Mountain Pride, 134.

Mountain Scenery, 122. 132. 138.
140. 375.

Mullet, Grey, 83 : king, 208.

N.

Naseberry Bat, 267 : habits of,
269 : four species described,
270.

Naseberry tree, 268.

Naturalist’s Work-room, 235.

Negro gardens, 127. 251. 257 :
proper names, 232 : villages,
beauty of, 256. : superstitions,
154. 275.

Night at sea, 15 : on the moun-
tains, 302.

Night-blowing Cereus, 176.

Nightshade, 130.

Nocturnal forest sounds, 358.

Nurse Shark, 241. 499.

O.

Old Harbour, 299 : traditions of,
300.

Oniscus, spinous, 65.

Orange-trees, 88. 127.

Orchideae, first sight of, 31 : on
calabash trees, 47 : terrestial,
63. 137. 149. 304: rare around
Content, 97 : at Kilmarnock,
23 : at the Kepp, 128 : on
Bluefields Ridge, 134: grow-
ing in the house, 238 : curious
forms of, 481. : season of flower-
ing, 482. : choice of support,
485: transplantation of, 488:
preference of, localities, 488 :

Owl, Eared, 367.

Owl-faced Bat, 326; habits of,
327.

P.

Pallette-tip, Eyed, 76.284: ring-
tail, 254.

Palisades, 23.

Palms, 135. 259. 304.

Papaw, fruit on a male, 227 : sin-
gular property of, 257.

Parasitic plants, 43. 47. 149.
{See Orchidece).

Pardaline Snake, 324.

Parrots, 64.

Parrot-fish, 215.

Peadoves, 88: voices of, 174.

Pedro Kays, 310 : seal of, 307 :
vegetation of, 500.

Pedro Plains, 491.

Pelicans resting, 22 : voracity of,
292.

Periodical rain, 203.

Peripatus, habits of, 66.

Peter’s Vale Estate, 90.

Pheenix Park, 155.

Phrynus, 165.

Pigeons, 92. 173.

Pilot, 21.

Pimento, 64.

Piper, 288.

Pitcairnia, 304.

Plovers, 88.

Polydesmus, 166.

Ponds in the mountains, 126. 186.

Porpita, a new species of, 8.

Porto Rico, beauty of, 494.

Portuguese man-of-War, 3.

Potoo, voice of, 368.

Prawns, 85.

INDEX.

507

Preparation of specimens, 34. 78.
235.

Prickly-pear, 27.

Prickly-pole, 253.

Prospects, fine, 31. 36. 62. 90. 93.
122, 123. 141. 149. 212. 301.

R.

Rabbits, wild, 441.

Radonda, 17.

Rains, 203.

Rats, a new species of, 444 : the
Price, 445 : what and whence,
446 : the Caribbean, 449 :
Long’s Field rats, 450.

Red hairy-tailed Bat, 279.

Ride to Content, 86 : to Kilmar-
nock, 121.

Ringtail Pallette-tip, 254.

Robin’s River, 87.

Rorqual, 1.

Rose of Jamaica, 68.

S.

Sabito, insects of, 98 ; plants of,
99. 239.

Savanna-le-Mar, 37 : market at,
57.

Scorpions, 164: comb of, 165:
sting of, 490.

Seal of Pedro Kays, 307.

Sea-side Grape, 98.

Sea-slug, 55.

Sea-weeds, 23.

Shark, 241.

Sheathclaw Gecko, habits of,
178: its singular voice, 180:
sloughing, 181; reproduction
of the tail, 182 : eggs, 184 :
food, 185.

Shells, marine, 24. 32. 56. 59. :
terrestial, 30. 65. 96. 121. 124.
126. 128. 301.

Shore-plants, 26.

Silk-cotton tree 271 : its appear-
ance, 272: spurs, 272: gigan-
tic size, 273: cotton, 274:
superstition, 275: peculiarity
of foliation, 275 492.

Sipunculi, 56.

Snakes, 228. 262. 314. 324. 371.
374. 384.

Snappers, 209.

Snipe-fish, 2.

Soap-berries, 279.

Sole, new species of, 52.

Solitaire, 64. 139. 167. 302.

Songs of birds, 154. 166.

Southern Cross, 41.

Spiders, 165: brush-footed, 28.
239: trap-door, 115: their
nest, 119: mode of construc-
tion, 116: air-holes, 118: sil-
ver-bodied, 463 : web of, 464.

Spirula, 7.

Sponges, 51.

Spotted-chinned Snake, 384.

Sprat, 289.

Star-apple, 91. 258.

Star-fishes, 55. 58.

Starlight at sea, 13.

Starvegut Bay, plants and insects
of, 491.

St. Thomas, 485.

Sugar-cane insects, 450: borer-
weevil, 451: its depredations,
452: antidotes, 453: palm-
weevil, 455 : borer-moth, 455 :
cane-aphis, 457: cane-fly, 459 :
termites, 459.

Swimming- crabs, 21.

T.

Tanager, scarlet, 304.

Termites, 118: voracity of, 120:
nests of, 119. 460; inhabited
by other animals, 120 : used
for fuel, 120. : destructive to
sugar-cane, 459.

Tichicro, 91.

Tickiticky described, 84.

Toad, Agua, 425. (See Agua).

Tody, 133.

Tortoise, a doubtful native, 421 :
habits of one in Antigua, 423 :
eggs of, 425.

Towing-net, 6 : its success, 7.21.

Tree-ferns, 68: compared with
palms, 69 ; another species,
137.

508

INDEX.

Tree-frogs, 358 : brown, de-
scribed, 361 : habits of, 361 :
little yellow, 366.

Tree-toads, 366 : lichened de-
scribed, 362 : habits of, 363 :
transparent eyelid of, 364 :
green-backed, 365.

Trees, gregarious, 368.

Tropic birch, 44. 500.

Trumpet-tree, 89.

Turtle, freshwater, 186.: logger-
head, 2.: trunk, 306.

Two-headed Snake described,
263 : habits of, 264: eggs and
young, 265.

U.

Urania Sloanus, 69 : beauty of,
70: fondness for pear-trees,
72 : habits of, 71 : eggs of, 73.

Urchins Sea, 77.

Utia, 468. (^See Cony).

V.

Venus Lizard, 76 ; described,
143 : curious mode of taking,
143 : habits of, 144.

Violet Flat-crab, 248.

Voices of birds, 154.

Vulture, 82.

W.

Wall plants, 40. 129.

Wasps’ nests, 29.

Water-lily, 253.

Water- withe, 125.

Wax-coccus, 14&.

Whales, a troop of, 3 : cachelot,
349.

Wild Goats, 440.

Wild Hogs, 385.

Wild Pines, 43. 149.

Wood slave, 75.

Wood thrush, song of, 172.

X.

Xibaro, 340.

Y.

Yellow Snake, 314 : size of, 315.
voracity, 316: an immense
specimen, 318: economy of,
319. 501.

"z.

Zebra Lizard, 225. 491.
Zebra Snake, 324.

THE END.

London r

Spottiswoodes and Shaw,
New-street- Square.

0t^cr SSlorks ftg fHr. ®rosse.

THE BIRDS OF JAMAICA. By R H. Gosse, Autlior

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distinctly-expressed character.” — Spectator.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

A CATALOGUE

NEW WORKS

IN GENERAL LITERATURE,

PUBLISHED BY

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS,
39, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.

CLASSIFIED INDEX.

Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Pages

Bayldon on Valuing Rents, etc. . . 6

Caird’s Letters on Agriculture ... 7

Cecil’s Stud Farm 7

Loudon’s Encyclopaedia of Agriculture . 14

Low’s Elements of Agriculture . . 14

,, Domesticated Animals . . . 14

Arts, Manufactures, and
Architecture.

Amott on Ventilation .... 5

Bourne on the Screw Propeller . . 6

Braude’s Dictionary of Science, etc. . 6

Chevreul on Colour 8

Cresy’s Encyclo, of Civil Engineering . 8

Eastlake on Oil Painting .... 8

Gwilt’s Encyclopedia of Architecture . 9

Jameson’s Sacred and Legendary Art . 11
,, Commonplace Book . . 11

Loudon’s Rural Architecture . . .14

Moseley’s Engineering and Architecture 17
Richardson’s Art of Horsemanship . . 19

Scrivenor on the Iron Trade . . ,19

Stark’s Printing 22

Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club . 6

Tate on Strength of Materials . . 21

Ure’s Dictionary of Arts, etc. . . 23

Biography.

.22

Lives of Scientific Men . . 5

Bodenstedt and Wagner’s Schamyl . 22
Brightwell’s Memorials of Opie . 17

Buckingham’s (J. S ) Memoirs . . 6

Bunsen^s Hippolytus .... 6

Clinton’s (Fynes) Autobiography . .8

Cockayne’s Marshal Turenne . , .22

Dennistoun’s Strange and Lumisden . 8

Forster’s De Foe and Churchill . . 22

Haydon’s Autobiography, by Tom Taylor 10
Hayward’s Chesterfield and Selwyn . .22

Holcroft’s Memoirs 22

Holland’s (Lord) Memoirs . . .10

Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopicdia . , 13

Maunder’s Biographical Treasury . . 15

Memoir of the Duke of Wellington , 22
Memoirs of James Montgomery . . 16

Merivale’s Memoirs of Cicero . . 16

Russell’s Memoirs of Moore . . , 17

,, Life of Lord William Russell . 19
Southey’s Life of Wesley . . ,21

Southey’s Life and Correspondence
Stephen’s Ecclesiastical Biography
Taylor’s Loyola
,, Wesley

Townsend’s Eminent Judges
Waterton’s Autobiography and Ess
Wheeler’s Life of Herodotus .

Books of General XJti

Acton’s Modern Cookery Book . . 5

Black’s Treatise on Brewing ... 5

Cabinet Gazetteer 7

,, Lawyer 7

Cust’s Invalid’s Own Book
Gilbart’s Logic for the Million
Hints on Etiquette ..... lU
How to Nurse Sick Children . . .10

Hudson’s Executor’s Guide . . .11

„ On Making Wills , . .11

Kesteven’s Domestic Medicine . . 12

Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopiedia . . .13

Maunder’s Treasury of Knowledge . 16
,, Biographical Treasury . .15

,, Scientific Treasury . . 15

,, Treasury of History . . 16

,, Natural History

Piscator’s Cookery of Fish
Pocket and the Stud
Pycroft’s English Reading
Reece’s Medical Guide . . . .18

Rich’s Companion to Latin Dictionary . 18

Riddle’s Latin Dictionaries
Richardson’s Art of Horsemanship
Roget’s English Thesaurus

Rowton’s Debater 19

Short Whist 20

Thomson’s InterestTables , . .23

Webster’s Domestic Economy . . 23

West on Children’s Diseases , . .24

Willich’s Popular Tables . . .24

Wilmot’s Blackstone’s Commentaries , 24

Botany and Gardening.

Conversations on Botany .... 8

Hooker’s British Flora . . . .10

,, Guide to Kew Gardens . .10

., „ Kew Museum . . 10

Lindley’s Introduction to Botany , . 12

„ Theory of Horticulture . . 12

Loudon’s Hortus Britannicus . . . 14

,, ■ (Mrs.) Amateur Gardener . 14

,, Encyclopmdiaof Trees & Shrubs 14
,, „ Gardening . 14

„ ,, Plants . . 14

lity.

Pages
. 21
. 21
. 21
. 21
. 23
i . 23
. 24

London; Trinted by M. Mason, Ivy Lane, Psiternoster Row.

2

CLASSIFIED INDEX.

Pages

Pereira’s Materia Medica . _ . . .18

Rivers’s Rose Amateur’s Guide . . 19

Wilson’s Britisli Mosses . . . .24

Chronology.

Blair’s Chronological Tables ... 6

Bunsen’s Ancient Kgypt .... 7

Haydn’s Beatson’s Index . . . .10

Jacqueinet’s Chronolouy . . • .11

Johns and Nicolas’s Calendar of Victory 12
Nicolas’s Chronology of History . . 13

Commerce and Mercantile
Affairs.

Francis On Life Assurance . . . 9

„ Stock Exchange .... 9

Lor i m er ’s Le t ters to aYoun gMast er Mariner 1 2
M'Culloch’s Commerce and Navigation . 15

MacLeod’s Banking 15

Seiivenor on the Iron Trade . . .19

Thomson’s Interest Tables . . .23

Tooke’s History of Prices . . .23

Criticism, History, and
Memoirs.

Austin’s Germany . . • . .6

Blair’s Chron. and Historical Tables . 6

Bunsen’s Ancient Egypt ... 7

,, Hippolytus .... 6

Burton’s History of Scotland ... 7

Conybeare and Howson’s St. Paul . . 8

Kastlake’s History of Oil Painting . 8

Erskine’s History of India . . . 9

Francis’s Annals of Life Assurance . 9

Glcig’s Leipsic Campaign . . .22

Gurney’s Historical Sketches ... 9

Hamilton’s Discussions in Philosophy, etc. 10
Havdon’s Autobiography, by Tom Taylor 10
Holland’s (Lord) Whig Party . . .10

Jeffrey’s (Lord) Contributions . . 11

Johns and Nicolas’s Calendar of Victory 12
Kemble’s Anglo-Saxons in England . 12

Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia . . 13

Macaulay’s Crit. and Hist. F.ssays . .14

,, History of England . . 14

,, Speeches . . . . 14

Mackintosh’s Miscellaneous Works . 15

,, History of England . .15

M‘Culloch’s Geographical Dictionary . 15

Martineau’s Church History . . .15

Maunder’s 'Preasury of History . .16

Memoir of the Duke of VVellington . 22

Merivale’s History of Rome . . .16

,, Roman Republic . . .16

Milner’s Church History . . . .16

Moore’s (Thomas) Memoirs, etc. . . 17

Mnre’s Greek 1/iterature . . . .17

Raikes’s Journal . .... 18

ffanke’s Ferdinand and Maximilian . . 22

Rich’s Companion to Latin Dictionary . 18

Riddle’s Latin Dictionaries . . .19

Rogers’s Essays from Edinburgh Review 19
Roget’s English Thesaurus . . .19

Russell’s (Lady Rachel) Letters . . 19

,, Life of Lord William Russell . 19
St. John’s Indian Archipelago . . .19

Schmitz’s History of Greece . . .19

Smith’s Sacred Annals . . . .20

Southey’s The Doctor etc. . . .21

Stephen’s Ecclesiastical Biography . 21
,, Lectures on French History . 21
Sydney Smith’s Works .... 20
,, Select Works . . 22

,, Lectures on MoralPhilosophy 21

,, Memoirs 20

Taylor’s I.oyola ....

,, Wesley ....
Thirlwall’s History of Greece . .

Townsend’s State 'Trials .

Turkey and Christendom . •

Turner’s Anglo-Saxons . . .

,, Middle Ages .

,, Sacred History of the World
Vehse’s Austrian Court
Whitelocke’s Swedish Embassy .
Young’s Christ of History . .

Pages
. '21
. 21
. 21
. 2.3
. 22
. 23
. 23
. 23
. 23
. 24
. 24

Geography and Atlases.

Arrowsmitli’s Geog. Diet, of Bible . .5

Butler's Geography and Atlases . . 7

Cabinet Gazetteer 7

Cornwall, its Mines, Scenery, etc. . 22

Durrien’s Morocco 22

Hughes’s Australian Colonies . . .22

Johnston’s General Gazetteer . . .12

M'Culloch’s Geographical Dictionary . 15

,, Russia and Turkey . . 22

Milner’s Baltic Sea 16

,, Crimea 16

Murray’s Encyclopsedia of Geography . 17

Sharp’s British Gazetteer . . . .20

Wheeler’s Geography of Herodotus . 24

Juvenile Books.

Amy Herbert

Cleve Hall^ .......

Earl’s Daughter (The) ....

Experience of Life . . • . .

Gertrude .......

Gilbart’s Logic for the Young . . .

Howitt’s Boy’s Country Book . . .

,, (Mary) Children’s Year . .

Katharine Ashton

Laneton Parsonage

Mrs. Marcet’s Conversations . . .

Margaret Percival

Pycroft’s English Reading . . .

Medicine and Surgery.

Brodie’s Psychological Inquiries .

Bull’s Hints to Mothers . . .

„ Management of Children .
Copland’s Dictionary of Medicine .
Cust’s Invalid’s Own Book . ,

Holland’s Mental Physiology . .

How to Nurse Sick Children .
Kesteveii’s Domestic Medicine
Latham On Diseases of the Heart .
Moore On Health, Disease, and Remedy
Pereira On Food and Diet . .

,, Materia Medica . .

Reece’s Medical Guide

West on the Diseases of Infancy

19

20
20
20
20

9

11

11

20

20

15

20

18

6

6

6

8

8

10

10

12

14
16
18

15
18
24

Miscellaneous and General
Literature.

Austin’s Sketches of German Life . . 5

Carlisle’s Lectures and Addresses . , 22

Defence of Eclipse of Faith ... 8

Eclipse of Faith 8

Greg's Essays on Political and Social

Science 9

Hassall on Adulteration of Food . .10

Haydn’s Book of Dignities . . .10

Holland’s Mental Physiology . . .10

Hooker’s Kew Guide . ... 10

Howitt’s Rural Life of England . .11

,, Visits to Remarkable Places . 11
Jameson’s Commonplace Book . . 11

Jeffrey’s (Lord) Essays . . . .11

Last of the Old Squires ... .17

TO Messrs. LONGMAN and Co.’s CATALOGUE. 8

Pages

Macaulay’s Critical and Historical Essays 14
,, Speeches .... .14

Mackintosh’s (Sir J.) Miscellaneous Works 15

Martineau’s Miscellanies
Memoirs of a Maitre d’Armes .

Maitland’s Church in the Catacombs
Pascal’s Works, by Pearce
Pycroft’s Eiiglish'Readiiig
Rich’s Companion to Latin Dictionary
Riddle’s Latin Dictionaries
Rowton’s Debater

Seaward’s Narrative of his Shipwreck
Sir Roger De Coverley
Smith’s (Rev. Sydney) Works . .

Southey’s Common- Place Books »

,, Doctor . . . .

Souvestre’s Attic Philosopher

Confessions of a VVorking Man 22
Spencer’s Principles of Psychology . 21
Stephen’s Essays . . ... 21

Stow’s Training System . . . .21

Tagart on Lo<-ke’s Philosophy . . .21

Thomson’s Outline of the Laws of Thought 23
Townsend’s State Trials . . . .23

Willich’s Popnl.ar Tables . . . .24

Yonge’s English Greek Lexicon . . 24

,, Latin Gradus . . . .24

Zumpt’sLartiu Grammar . ... .24

Natural ffistory in General.

Callow’s Popular Conchology ... 7

Ephemera and Young on the Salmon . 9

Gosse’s Natural History of Jamaica . 9

Kemp’s Natural History of Creation . 22
Kirby and Spence’s Entomology . . 12

Lee’s Elements of N atural History . 12
Mann on Reproduction ... .16

Maunder’s Treasury of Natural History . 16
Turton’s Shells of the British Islands . 23
Waterton’s Essays on Natural History . 23
Youatt’s The Dog . ... 24

„ The Horse 24

1- Volume Encyclopaedias and
Dictionaries.

Arrowsmith’s Geog. Diet, of the Bible . 5

Blaine’s Rural Sports .... 6

Brande’s Science, Literature, and Art . 6

Copland’s Dictionary of Medicine . . 8

Cresy’s Civil Engineering . . .8

Gwilt’s Architecture 9

Johnston’s Geographical Dictionary . 12
Loudon’s Agriculture . . . , 14

,, Rural Architecture . , 14

,, Gardening . , . .14

,, Plants 14

,, Trees and Shrubs . . .14

M'Cnlloch’s Geographical Dictionary . 15
,, Dictionary of Commerce" . 16
Murray’sEncycloptcdiaof Geography . 17
Sharp’s British Gazetteer . . . . 20

Ure’s Dictionary of Arts, etc. . . ,23

Webster’s Domestic Economy . . 23

Eeligious and Moral Works.

Amy Herbert 19

Arrowsmith’s Geog. Diet, of the Bible . 5

Bloomfield’sGreek Testaments . . 6

,, Annotations on ditto . . 6

Bode’s Bampton Lectures .... 6

Calvert’s Wife’s Manual . ... 7

Cleve Hall 20

Conybeare’s Essays 8

Conybeare and Howson’s St. Paul , , 8

Dale’s Domestic Liturgy .... 8

Pages

Defence of Eelipie of Faith ... 8

Discipline 8

Earl’s Daughter (The) ... .20

Eclipse of Faith .8

Englishman’s Greek Concordance . . 8

,, Heb. and Chald. Concord. 9

Experience of Life (The) . . . . 20

Gertrude 20

Harrison’s Light of the Forge ... 9

Hook’s (Dr.) Lei tures on Passion ’Week 11
Horne’s Introduction to Scriptures . 10
ft Abridgment of ditto . . .10

,, Communicant’s Companion . 10
Jameson’s Sacred Legends . . . 11

Monastic Legends . . .11

Legends of the Madonna . 11
,, Sisters of Charity . .11

Jeremy Taylor’s Works . . . .12

Kalisch’s Commentary on Exodus . .12

Katharine Ashton 20

Kippis's Hymns ...... 12

Laneton Parsonage ...

Lyra Germanica ....

Maitland’s Church in the Catacombs
Margaret Percival . . .

Martineau’s Christian Life

,, Church History
Milner’s Church of Christ . .

Montgomery’s Original Hymns
Moore On the Use of the Body .

,, Soul and Body .

„ ’s Man and his Motives .
Mormonism ....

Neale’s Closing Scene . .

„ Resting Places of the Just
Riches that bring no Sorrow
Risen from the Ranks .
Newman’s (J. H.) Discourses .

Ranke’s Ferdinand and Maximilian
Readings for Lent . . .

f, Conhrmation

Robinson’s Lexicon to Greek Testament
Saints our Example ...

Self Denial

Sermon in the Mount . .

Sinclair’s Journey of Life .

Smith’s (Sydney) Moral Philosophy
,, (G.) Sacred Annals

Southey’s Life of Wesley .

Stephen’s (Sir J.) Ecclesiastical Biography
Tayler’s (J. J.) Discourses
Taylor’s Loyola ....

Wesley ...
Theologia Germanica . .

Thumb Bible (The) .

Turner’s Sacred History . ,

Twining’s Bible Types . .

Wheeler’s Popular Bible Harmony
Young’s Christ of History

Poetry and the Drama.

Arnold’s Poems 5

Aikin’s (Dr.) British Poets ... 5

Baillie’s (Joanna) Poetical Works . . 5

Bode’s Ballads from Herodotus . , 6

Calvert’s Wife’s Manual .... 7

Flowers and their Kindred Thoughts . 12
Goldsmith’s Poems, illustrated • . 9

Kippis’s Hymns 12

L. E. L.’s Poetical Works . . . .12

Linwood’s Anthologia Oxoniensis . . l2

Lyra Germanica 7

Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome . .14

MacDonald’s Within and Without . .14

Montgomery’sPoetical Works . .16

,, Original Hymns . 16

CLASSIFIED INDEX.

Moore’s Poetical Works .

,, Lalla Rookh ....

,, Irish Melodies . . .

,, Songs and Ballads . .

Shakspeare,hy Bowdler .

,, ’s Sentiments and Similes
Southey’sPoetical Works . .

,, British Poets . . .

Thomson’s Seasons, illustrated .

Watts’s Lyrics of the Heart . .

Political Economy & Statistics.

Caird’s Letters on Agriculture ... 7

Census of 1851 7

Francis on Life Assurance ... 9

Greg’s Kssays on Political and Social

Science 9

Laing’s Notes of a Traveller . . 12 & 22

M’Culloch’s Geograhpical Dictionary . 15
,, Dictionary of Commerce . . 15

„ London 22

,, Statistics of the British Empire 15
Marcet’s Political Economy _ . . .15

Tegoborski’s Russian Statistics . .21

Willich’s Popular Tables . . . .24

The Sciences in General and
Mathematics.

Arago’s Meteorological Essays . . 5

,, Popular Astronomy ... 5

Bourne’s on the Screw Propeller . . 6

Braude’s Dictionary of Science, etc. , 6

,, Lectures on Organic Chemistry 6
Cresy’s Civil Engineering ... 8

DelaBeche’s Geology of Cornwall, etc. 8
,, Geological Observer . < 8

De la Rive’s Electricity .... 8

Faraday’s Non-Metallic Elements . . 9

Herschel’s Outlines of Astronomy , . 10

Holland’s Mental Physiology . . .10

Humboldt’s Aspects of Nature . .11

,, Cosmos . . . .11

Hunt’s Researches on Light . . .11

Kemp’s Phasis of Matter ... .12

Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia . . .13

Mann on Reproduction . . . .15

Marcet’s (Mrs.) Conversations . . 15

Moseley’s F.ngineering and Architecture 17
Owen’s Lectures on Comparative Anatomy 18
Our Coal Fields and our Coal Pits . . 22

Pereira on Polarised Light . . , IS

Peschel’s Elements of Physics . . 18

Phillips’s Fossils of Cornwall, etc. . , 18

,, Mineralogy . . . .18

,, Guide to Geology . - ,18

Portlock’s Geology of l.ondonderry , 18

Powell’s Unity of Worlds . . . . -18

Smee’s Electro-Metallurgy . . .20

Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club , 6

Tate on Strength of Materials . . .21

Wilson’s Electricity and the Electric
Telegraph 22

Pages

. 17

The Hunting Field . . .

Pages

. 9

. 17

Idle’s Hints on Shooting . .

11

. 17

Pocket and the Stud , . .

9

. 17

Practical Horsemanship . .

9

. .20

Pulman’s Fly-Fishing
Richardson’s Horsemanship .

18

. 11

19

. 21

St. John’s Sporting Rambles .
Stable Talk and T^le Talk .

19

. 21

10

. 23

Stonehenge on the Greyhound .

21

. 23

The Stud, for Practical Purposes

9

Rural Sports.

Baker’s Rifle and Hound in Ceylon
Berkeley’s Reminiscences . .

Blaine’s Dictionary of Sports
Cecil’s Stable Practice . .

,, Records of the Chase .
Cecil’s Stud Farm . , .

The Cricket Field . . .

Davy’s Angling Colloquies .

Ephemera on Angling

,, ’s Book of the Salmon
Hawker’s Young Sportsman

Veterinary Medicine, etc

Cecil’s Stable Practice .... 7

,, Stud Farm 7

The Hunting Field . .

Miles’s Horse Shoeing .

Pocket and the Stud .

Practical Horsemanship
Richardson’s Horsemanship . . .19

Stable Talk and Table Talk ... .10

The Stud for Practical Purposes . . 9

Youatt’s The Dog 24

„ The Horse 24

Voyages and Travels.

Allen’s Dead Sea 5

Baines’s Vaudois of Piedmont . . .22

Baker’s Rifle and Hound in Ceylon . . 5

Barrow’s Continental Tour . . .22

Burton's Medina and Mecca . . .7

Carlisle’s Turkey and Greece . . . 7

De Custine’s Russia 22

Eothen 22

Ferguson’s Swiss Men and Mountains , 22
Forester’s Rambles in Norway . . .22

Gironibre’s Philippines . ... 22

Gregorovius’s Corsica . . . .22

Hill’s Travels in Siberia . . , . 10

Hope’s Brittany and the Bible . . .22

,, Chase in Brittany . . . .22

Howitt’s Art Student in Munich . . 10

,, Victoria . . . , .11

Hue’s Chinese Empire . . . .11

Hue and Gabet’s Tartary and Thibet . 22
Hughes’s Australian Colonies . . .22

Humboldt’s Aspects of Nature . . 11

Jameson’s Canada 22 I

Jerrmann’s Pictures from St. Petersburg 22 !

Laing’s Norway 22

,, Notes of a Traveller . . 12 & 22 !

Macintosh’s Turkey and Black Sea . . 15

Marryat’s California . . . . ,15

Mason’s Zulus of Natal . . . ,22

Mayne's Artie Discoveries . . .22

Miles’ Rambles in Iceland . . ,22

Oldmixon’s Piccadilly to Peru . . .17

Osborn’s Narrative of Arctic Discovery . 17
Pfeiffer’s Voyage round the World . . 22

,, Second ditto . . . .18

Richardson’s Arctic Boat Voyage . .18

Seaward’s Narrative of his Shipwreck . 19
St. John’s (H.) Indian Archipelago . . 19

,, (Hon. F.) Rambles . . .19

Sutherland’s Arctic Voyage . . .21

Weld’s United States and Canada . .24

Wheeler’s Travels of Herodotus , . 24

Werne’s African Wanderings . . . 22

Works of Fiction.

Arnold’s Oakfield 5

Lady Willoughby’s Diary . ... 24

Macdonald’s Villa Verocchio . . .14

Sir Roger De Coverley . ... 20

Southey’s Doctor 21

Trollope’s Warden . ... 23

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ACTON’S COOKERY-BOOK THOROUGHLY REVISED.

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MODERN COOKERY

FOR

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By ELIZA ACTOK

NeAvly rcTised and miieli enlarged edition.

OPINIONS OF THE NEW EDITION.

“ This is indisputably the most copious
ami complete work that lias yot met the
light on the subjec't of cookery. Mrs.
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vided a volume entitled to the lofty desig-
nation of an encyclopa)dia. We have here
no fewer than thirty-two chapters on
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oiuf circulating libraries groan.”

British Bahxee.

“ A new and greatly enlarged edition of
Eliza Acton's Cookery just appeared,
embellished with numerous woodcuts, and
enlarged by the .addition of a great num-
1 ler of new receipts. AVe need not say that
this is one of the most useful of our Eng-
li.sli puWicalions on domestic economy,
containing as it does all that the house-
keojiers or cixiks of the middle classes can
Teijuire to know. The authoress infomw
the public that in the nresent edition she
has availed herself or the instructions
upon cookery given by men of science,
and esiiecially by Baron Liebig ; we can
only express a hope that our cooks will
aiipreciate the advice. Aliss Acton ad<ls
what is of much more interest, that efforts
are being mafle, by the establishment of
well-eonducted schools, for the early and
efficient training of ^lu- female domestic
servants. Let us trust that her exiiecta-
tions may soon Ik* realised, and that we
shall lie provided with a race of cooks not
too ignorant to use the good advice which
they find in the many goo<l cookery-books
now within everybody's reach. We would
even commend the subject to the Board of

Health, as one which most especially
comes within their line of operation : for
it is of little use to purify the atmosphere
we breathe, until general health is im-
proved by rendering what we eat condu-
cive to nutrition rather than to indiges-
tion. In no country do better raw mate-
rials of food exist than in England ; no-
wliere can he found better flour, better
meat, better fish, better vegetables, we
will even add better fruits. Nowhere in
the world, notwithstanding these advan-
tages, is to be found worse cookery than
among -our middle classes. But we hope
and believe that some improvement in this
respect is begmning to take place, and
above all that some serious attempt ivill
be made to teach our lower orders how to
economise and best employ the materials
of food which they possess. Had our
peasantry beenftiven decently taught the
rudiments oiyood plain cooking, we should
never have heard the heartrentUng tales
of starvation at Scutari caused by the
uneatable provisions supplied to our
neglected troops.”

Gardeners’ Chronicle.

^London : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

8