Blue Mountains Of Jamaica Research Articles

Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): Activity and Infestation in the High Mountain and Blue Mountain Regions of Jamaica.

Jamaica produces coffee marketed as Blue Mountain and high mountain (grown outside the Blue Mountains). Since the discovery of the coffee berry borer (CBB; Hypothenemus hampei) in Jamaica in 1978, chemical control has traditionally been the primary approach used to protect the crop from the pest. However, in the last 20 years, there has been an effort to shift towards more sustainable management strategies. The study was conducted to determine CBB activity (trap catch) and field infestation on coffee farms in the high mountains and Blue Mountains of Jamaica, over a crop cycle. A total of 27,929 and 12,921 CBBs were captured at high mountain and Blue Mountain farms, respectively. Peak CBB activity occurred in April in the high mountain region (365 CBBs/trap/month) and February in the Blue Mountain region (129 CBBs/trap/month). The highest levels of infestation were in November (33%) and October (34%) in the high mountain region and Blue Mountain region, respectively. There was no significant difference in the patterns of CBB activity and infestation between the study locations, and neither were related to the temperature or relative humidity. However, there was a significant relationship with rainfall. These data suggest that the population dynamics of the CBB may involve complex interactions among weather conditions, berry development, and agronomic practices.

Shocks and cherries: The production of vulnerability among smallholder coffee farmers in Jamaica

Abstract Coffee is a global commodity that supports the livelihoods of 100 million people worldwide, many of whom are smallholder farmers. While smallholder farmers are known to be vulnerable to social and environmental changes, the complex interactions that shape their vulnerability have not been adequately explored. This analysis identifies the determinants of that vulnerability in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and discusses how these determinants interact and have evolved. We use mixed methods consisting of household surveys of 434 farmers, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and archival research of coffee industry reports. We show that vulnerability is manifest in low coffee harvests that result from the interacting stressors of climate variability, plant diseases, and market conditions. The impacts of shocks and stressors are further aggravated by low resource endowments that influence the capacity to manage these persistent challenges as well as a political economy characterized by unequal market relations, national policies that promote a vulnerable coffee variety, and a retraction of public investments in smallholders. Using regression methods we show that among the farmer resources, the ability to invest in agricultural inputs and tools as well as the elevation of the farm are importantly associated with production outcomes. We argue that the context of these smallholder farmers produces a Gordian Vulnerability whereby the determinants interact, are changing in form, and appear intractable. Consequently, strategies to reduce vulnerability need to be complex and multifaceted which make them difficult to implement. We argue that reductions in vulnerability will only come about by investments in multiple strategies.

A Pilot Study of Type 2 Diabetes among Female Jamaican Maroons from a Genetic Isolate: Physical Characteristics and Prevalence

The purpose of this study was to analyze type 2 diabetes (T2D) among adult female Jamaican Maroons, comparing those with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). A health survey was conducted with a self-selected sample of female heads of household (n=116). Comparisons used analysis of variance/ covariance (ANOVA/ANCOVA), cross tabulations, and logistic regression and resampling with listwise deletion of missing values (n=86). T2D women were significantly older than non-T2D women (71.7 years vs. 57.0 years, p < 0.01). Hip circumference (cm), BMI, fat mass (FM) (kg), and percent body fat were significantly lower in T2D women compared to non-T2D women. Obesity was significantly more frequent in non-T2D women (OR = 0.16, p < 0.05). Notably, waist:hip ratio was higher among T2D women compared to non-T2D individuals (0.95 vs. 0.88, p < 0.04). Mean systolic blood pressure among T2D women (152.8 mmHg) was significantly (p < 0.04) higher than non-T2D females (134.7 mmHg). The estimated prevalence of T2D among Maroon females (16/116) was 13.79% (95% CI: 8.67% - 21.24%), which is similar to non-Maroon Jamaican populations. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression showed that women self-reporting T2D tended to have: a higher waist circumference (OR=1.22, p < 0.01), decreased FM(OR=0.71, p < 0.001), higher systolic pressure (OR=1.06, p < 0.007), lower diastolic pressure (OR=0.90, p < 0.02), and a first-degree relative with T2D (OR = 9.11, p < 0.03). This is the first report on T2D in Jamaican Maroons. Abdominal (central) obesity, body composition, and systolic hypertension were associated with T2D. Central fat distribution predicted T2D rather than overweight or obesity per se. The prevalence of T2D in this small sample of women from a genetic isolate in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica was significantly lower compared to admixed urban Jamaicans.

Lepidolejeunea grandiocellata sp. nov. (Lejeuneaceae, Porellales), a New Leafy Liverwort from the West Indies Based on Morphological and Molecular Evidence

Lepidolejeunea grandiocellata, sp. nov. is described for two specimens from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. This delicate species is characterized by ocelli in basal parts of leaves, underleaves, bracteoles and bracts often being conspicuously larger than the surrounding cells, whereas ocelli in central and upper parts of these structures are more or less the same size as surrounding cells. Further defining characters include sharply 5-keeled perianths without inflated horns, and orbicular underleaves with a sharp, v-shaped notch. In a molecular phylogeny based on the nrITS region and the cp DNA markers rbcL and trnL-F, L. grandiocellata is placed sister to a clade including accessions of L. delessertii from Reunion and accessions of L. cuspidata, L. eluta, and L. sullivantii from the Neotropics [L. subg. Perilejeunea]. Based on the phylogeny and the characters of the ocelli, L. grandiocellata is placed in a new subgenus Caribeolejeunea.

Coordination of aboveground and belowground responses to local‐scale soil fertility differences between two contrasting Jamaican rain forest types

There is growing interest in understanding how declining soil fertility in the prolonged absence of major disturbance drives ecological processes, or ‘ecosystem retrogression’. However, there are few well characterized study systems for exploring this phenomenon in the tropics, despite tropics occupying over 40% of the Earth's terrestrial surface. We studied two types of montane rain forest in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica that represent distinct stages in ecosystem development, i.e. an earlier stage with shallow organic matter and a late stage with deep organic matter (hereafter ‘mull’ and ‘mor’ stages). We characterized responses of soil fertility and plant, soil microbial and nematode communities to the transition from mull to mor and whether these responses were coupled. For soil abiotic properties, we found this transition led to lower amounts of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and an enhanced N to P ratio. This led to shorter‐statured and less diverse forest, and convergence of tree species composition among plots. At the whole community (but not individual species) level foliar and litter N and P diminished from mull to mor, while foliar N to P and resorption efficiency of P relative to N increased, indicating increasing P relative to N limitation. We also found impairment of soil microbes (but not nematodes) and an increasing role of fungi relative to bacteria during the transition. Our results show that retrogression phenomena involving increasing nutrient (notably P) limitation can be important drivers in tropical systems, and are likely to involve aboveground–belowground feedbacks whereby plants produce litter of diminishing quality, impairing soil microbial processes and thus reducing the supply of nutrients from the soil for plant growth. Such feedbacks between plants and the soil, mediated by plant litter and organic matter quality, may serve as major though often overlooked drivers of long term environmental change.

Evaluation of Forest Recovery over Time and Space Using Permanent Plots Monitored over 30 Years in a Jamaican Montane Rain Forest

Conservation of tropical forest biodiversity increasingly depends on its recovery following severe human disturbance. Our ability to measure recovery using current similarity indices suffers from two limitations: different sized individuals are treated as equal, and the indices are proportionate (a community with twice the individuals of every species as compared with the reference community would be assessed as identical). We define an alternative recovery index for trees – the Tanner index, as the mean of the quantitative Bray-Curtis similarity indices of species composition for stem density and for basal area. We used the new index to compare the original (pre-gap) and post-gap composition of five experimental gap plots (each 90–100 m2) and four control plots over 24–35 years in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. After 24–35 years, these small gaps surrounded by undisturbed forest had recovered 68% of the sum of per species stem density and 29% of the sum of per species basal area, a recovery index of 47%. Four endemic species were especially reduced in density and basal area. With the incorporation of basal area and stem density, our index reduces over-estimations of forest recovery obtained using existing similarity indices (by 24%–41%), and thus yields more accurate estimates of forest conservation status. Finally, our study indicates that the two kinds of comparisons: 1) over time between pre-gap and post-gap composition and 2) over space between gap plots and spatial controls (space-for-time substitution) yield broadly similar results, which supports the value of using space-for-time substitutions in studying forest recovery, at least in this tropical montane forest.

Revising the Colonial Caribbean: “Three-Fingered Jack” and the Jamaican Pantomime

In 1780, the notorious rebel “Three-Finger’d Jack” Mansong escaped from slavery into the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and murdered hundreds of travelers. The dangerous outlaw remained at large for almost two years before he was captured and killed by the same Maroon who had allegedly taken two of his fingers in an earlier skirmish. 1 Jack’s exploits captured the British imagination, prompting over twenty biographical accounts in the Romantic period alone, including John Fawcett’s tremendously successful London pantomime, Obi; or Three-Finger’d Jack (1800). 2 Two hundred years after Jack’s execution, Kingston’s Little Theatre Movement (LTM) celebrated Jack as a freedom fighter in its annual pantomime. Written by playwright Ted Dwyer, Mansong (1980) amalgamates elements of British literary and theater traditions with Jamaican folk history into a creolized text that reflects the island’s troubled past as well as the syncretism of the Jamaican pantomime. Dwyer’s Mansong engages the problems and practices of representation from within a primarily oral culture, calling particular attention the transatlantic exchange and transformation of stories about slavery, colonialism, and their aftermaths. The Jamaican Royal Gazette published the first known account of Three-Finger’d Jack in 1780, issuing the governor’s proclamation for the reward and capture of the runaway. Early the following year it reported Jack’s death at the hands of Maroons, runaway slaves who formed autonomous communities in remote areas. These early journalistic accounts emphasize Jack’s leadership of some sixty runaway slaves and their eventual dispersal; after 1799, however, accounts of his life—some more sympathetic than others—describe him as a solitary bandit allegedly protected by obeah (obi), an Afro-Caribbean system of beliefs. 3 For the first three decades of the nineteenth century, fictional and stage adaptations of his life and his obi circulated in England, the provinces, and the United States. Despite Jack’s enduring reputation as a bandit, originated and perpetuated by the colonial British, Jamaican playwrights and directors have harnessed Jack’s energy to celebrate Jamaican independence from England and from a past of slavery and colonialism. To this day, Jack Mansong remains a significant though problematic figure in Jamaican oral and literary culture. Although Jack’s story has circulated around the Atlantic for over two hundred years, critical accounts of his life have been largely Eurocentric and pay scant attention to the Jamaican perspective. Somewhat ironically, recent scholarship frequently invokes the vocabulary of loss and recovery. 4 Chuck Rzepka, for example, suggests that the Obi plays offer Romantic period scholars a means to consider “our own cultural amnesia” (“Obi Now” 3). Debbie Lee identifies the cure for this amnesia in African American tragedian

Tree population dynamics of three altitudinal vegetation communities on Mount Cameroon (1989–2004)

Changes in permanent sample plots in the lowland, submontane and montane forests on Mount Cameroon (4,095 m above sea level), an active volcano, are described for 15 years from 1989 to 2004. Throughout the study period, the stocking level of trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm in the three forests were lower than in pan-tropical stands suggesting a significant impact of volcanic and human-related activities on the vegetation communities on the mountain. Annual mortality rates in the submontane and montane forests were consistent with those reported for comparable altitudinal ranges in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The annual mortality rate was higher in the lowland forest than other lowland sites included. Divergence between recruitment and mortality rates was large suggesting that the three vegetation communities have not reached their climax. The seven-year difference in half-life of large trees (with a DBH ≥ 50 cm) in the submontane and montane forests suggests an altitudinal effect on turnover of larger trees that in turn contributes to the frequent small stature of high altitude forests. There was little evidence of an altitudinal effect on species turnover and growth rate. This finding supports generalizations about the zero effect of growth on the stature of high altitude trees. Understanding forest dynamics is crucially important in the management of tropical montane environments and in this instance particularly so given the recent creation of the Mount Cameroon National Park.

Effects of shade and bird exclusion on arthropods and leaf damage on coffee farms in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains

The effects of overstory trees and birds on coffee pests are poorly understood. This study documents (a) the effect of bird exclusion on foliage-dwelling arthropod abundance and insect-caused leaf damage, and (b) the relationships between vegetation complexity and insect abundance, leaf damage, and prevalence of fungal leaf symptoms on coffee farms in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, West Indies. Overall arthropod abundance was reduced inside bird-proof exclosures, and this corresponded to reduced insect-caused leaf damage. The reduction in leaf damage increased with greater shade, but fungal leaf symptoms increased with greater shade and proximity to non-coffee habitat patches. There appears to be a trade-off for coffee farmers in our study region: vegetation complexity may attract beneficial insect-eating birds that can reduce insect damage, but it is also associated with the prevalence of fungal leaf symptoms.

Healthy smiles in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Healthy smiles in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Soil fertility under Calliandra calothyrsus hedgerows and other land-use treatments following forest clearance in Jamaica

An experiment in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica investigated the consequences of three land-use treatments applied following forest clearance on soil fertility and resulting crop growth over a five year period. The treatments were: maintained weed-free without cultivation (bare); cultivated with herbaceous crops (agriculture); and cultivated with herbaceous crops and intercropped with Calliandra calothyrsus contour hedges (agroforestry) and compared with an uncleared secondary forest control (forest). Nitrogen mineralisation rates declined over time since forest clearance in the cleared treatments, but not in the forest. In the second and third years after clearance nitrogen mineralisation was higher under the hedgerows than all other treatments. However, by the fifth year this had reduced to net immobilization (both under and between hedgerows). Under controlled shade-house conditions bioassay plant growth was similar in soil from agricultural plots and from forest plots. In all the soils bioassay plant growth showed a slight (not significant) positive response to P addition. However, it did show a large positive response to N addition in all soils: most for agriculture soils, least for forest soils and intermediate for agroforestry. Crop plants growing in the agroforestry plots had significantly higher growth than those in the agriculture plots. This was sufficient to lead to grain yield per hectare being only 5% lower in agroforestry plots despite there being c. 20% fewer maize plants per hectare than in the agriculture plots. However, the results suggest that there was no clear positive effect of C. calothyrsus on soil fertility five years after establishment.

Evaluation of trees indigenous to the montane forest of the Blue Mountains, Jamaica for reforestation and agroforestry

The shortage of forest products and unsustainability of current land use practices experienced by many hillside farmers in the Caribbean is associated with increasing rates of conversion and degradation of remaining natural forests. This pressure could be alleviated by the establishment of trees in community/farm forests or more integrated agroforestry systems. Indigenous tree species are largely untried for these applications and represent an underexploited resource that may offer a good combination of tolerance of local environmental conditions, together with potential to restore degraded environments. These needs were addressed in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica in a study that combined: eliciting local people’s knowledge about the utility of tree species for a wide range of products and services, assessment of the ecological characteristics of the tree species, and testing the establishment and growth of selected species over three and a half years in on-farm environments. Detailed interviews were conducted with 16 male and 11 female local respondents. Together they reported on the uses of 80 taxa of trees and shrubs, 43 of them indigenous (each respondent naming, on average, 19 taxa). All but one of the trees already present on farmland were exotic, but the majority of respondents were interested in planting more trees. The overall local valuations of each of the species were calculated for 10 uses. Timber and fruit were the highest rated individual uses but, for planting, multipurpose tree species were valued most highly. The respondents were familiar with most, but not all, of the indigenous species that have been recognised as having high commercial timber value. Farm environments on the southern slopes of the Blue Mountains are subject to significant drought as well as frequent disturbance from fire. Fifty-eight tree species indigenous to the montane forests were assessed for their potential suitability for growing in this environment by two indices of their distribution and three of their ecology. Their potential for timber production was also assessed in terms of their maximum size and wood density. Twenty-four of these species (together with one other indigenous timber species and the most highly valued exotic multipurpose tree species) were selected for a species elimination trial with a blocked structure replicated in two sites. After 42 months the species were strongly differentiated in terms of their rates of survival (from 0 to 48%), diameter growth (from 1.7 to 5.1 cm increment over the 42 months for the montane forest species), height growth (84–258 cm increment) and crown and stem form. Performance of most species in the trial could be explained post hoc by selective reference to their distribution and ecological traits in the natural montane forests. However, none of the traits taken alone provided accurate predictions of species’ performance in the trial. The best prediction was provided by a classification of species’ regeneration type with pioneer species tending to do better and shade-tolerant species worse, however there were many exceptions. No relationship was found between species’ performance in the trial and their altitudinal range, abundance in southern slope forest, in secondary forests or on landslides, or their growth rate or maximum stem density in mature forest stands. From the combination of local valuation and trial performance 10 species are recommended for more detailed testing. Of the undomesticated indigenous species, Juniperus lucayana and Clethra occidentalis are particularly recommended, and it is suggested that Turpinia occidentalis, Cinnamomum montanum, Viburnum alpinum, Dendropanax arboreus, Podocarpus urbanii and Prunus occidentalis also be considered because of their good combination of establishment and utility. In addition, from the analysis of ecological characteristics a further 19 species (11 already known to be valued for their utility) are recommended for an additional trial.

Nutrient cycling in secondary forests in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Secondary forests in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, subject to human disturbance as well as hurricanes, are coming under increasing land-use pressure with a rising population density and the remaining primary forest becoming more remote from settlements. The practice of slash-and-burn agriculture is commonly carried out by local communities. This study reports on estimates of how the secondary forests have recovered to, or close to, the functioning of undisturbed forest, in terms of key soil and nutrient cycling variables. Nutrient conservation was assessed by measuring inputs in throughfall and litterfall, which were compared to site nutrient capital and losses in surface runoff and erosion. Litterfall, litter standing crop and the growth of bioassay plants were measured in paired plots of primary and secondary forests. The results were compared with data already published for key nutrient cycling variables in primary forests of the Blue Mountains to determine the extent to which nutrient cycling and soil fertility in the secondary forest has recovered to primary forest levels. Rates of nutrient loss in runoff and eroded sediment in the secondary forest were low, basal area had recovered to 81% of primary forest levels, and rates of litterfall were high. Litterfall nutrient concentrations were high, particularly for P, and nutrient cycling was rapid as judged by the high ratio of litterfall to litter standing crop. Soil fertility had recovered well in the secondary forests as judged both by chemical analyses and the growth of the bioassay plants. The results indicate that, for forests in the middle of steep slopes, following the cessation of agriculture, tight nutrient cycling and soil condition and fertility are effectively restored during ca. 20 years of secondary succession. This results in the re-establishment of a forest with effective nutrient conservation which offers a high degree of protection of catchment soil and water resources, and the potential to sustain another cycle of agricultural production.

Variations and phenotypic correlation of growth attributes of Calliandra calothyrsus in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

Forested land cleared for agriculture in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica rapidly loses its productivity leading to further slash-and-burn cultivation and the degradation of more forest. Contour hedgerows of Calliandra calothyrsus Meissner have been shown to reduce water runoff and soil erosion, and products of the species have a wide range of uses in the local farming community. A trial was established at 1550 m in which the locally naturalised population of C. calothyrsus was compared with seven provenances from across the species' ecological range. There was considerable variation between provenances of C. calothyrsus in all the above-ground growth variables measured and, although the local provenance performed moderately well, it was clear that there is potential to improve the suitability of the species for a range of local uses by the introduction of new provenances. One provenance combined high above-ground productivity with low fine root-length density, especially in the inter-hedgerow area: it offers particular potential for use in simultaneous agroforestry systems providing wood and foliage products whilst not imposing high levels of competition with crop plants for below-ground resources. Although there were significant differences between provenances in the distribution of roots between the hedgerow and inter-row areas, they did not differ in the distribution of roots between soil depths. There were only limited differences between provenances in the response of their subsequent growth to harvesting. However, significant block × provenance interactions suggested that the performance of C. calothyrsus provenances may be difficult to predict between sites and farmers should be encouraged to carry out trial planting of a number of provenances to find those which best match their farm environment and needs.

The landscapes of class negotiation on coffee plantations in the blue mountains of Jamaica: 1790–1850

Analyzing the material elements of class negotiation should be a focus of historical archaeology. One of the most promising forms of material culture with which to conduct such analysis is landscape. To examine how landscapes shaped the negotiation of class relations in 19th century Jamaica, the material remains of three coffee plantations—Sherwood Forest, Clydesdale, and Chesterfield—are described and analyzed. The archaeological analysis of the landscapes of 19th century class negotiation can shed light on the historical development of capitalist social processes, many of which still impact the negotiation of class relations today.

Sprouting of Trees in Jamaican Montane Forests, after a Hurricane

1 Forests in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica were damaged by Hurricane Gilbert which passed over the island on 12 September 1988. 2 In plots between 1300-1900 m, recorded 5-41 months after the hurricane, most stems (61.4% of 4949 living stems) and most species (44 of 47 common species) had sprouts. Comparing species, percent of stems sprouting ranged from 0 to 100%. 3 Broken stems sprouted proportionately more than intact stems; completely defoliated stems sprouted proportionately more than those not completely defoliated; there was no difference between uprooted and upright stems; and stems > 10 cm d.b.h. sprouted more frequently and produced more sprouts per stem, than those 30 sprouting stems, four sprouted more from below 2.5 m, five more from above 2.5 m and five had sprouts evenly distributed. For all species combined, approximately equal numbers of stems fell into each of these three categories. 6 Survivorship up to 41 months after the hurricane was higher in stems with sprouts than those without. 7 There was no simple relationship between the frequency of sprouting of species and microenvironments where seed germination and seedling establishment have been recorded. However, eight common species which have rarely been observed to germinate or establish (in a wide range of conditions) had high frequencies of sprouting. We propose that sprouting is an important mechanism by which many species maintain their presence in these forests.

Children in the Field: Anthropological Experiences.

1. Oh No, They're Not My Shoes!: Fieldwork in the blue Mountains of Jamaica - Joan Cassell 2. Children in the Amazon - Christine Hugh-Jones 3. A Tale of Simeon: Reflections on Raising a Child while Conducting Fieldwork in Rural South India - Mimi Nichter and Mark Nichter 4. Daddy's Little Wedges: On Being a Child in France - Jonathan Wylie 5. Birthing in the Bush: Participant Observation in Trinidad - Morton Klass and Sheila Solomon Klass 6. Three Children in Rural Jamaica - Melanie Dreher 7. Our Ulleri Child - Patricia Hitchcock 8. Children and Parents in the Field: Reciprocal Impacts - Renate Fernandez 9. A Children's Diary in the Strict Sense of the Term: Managing Culture-Shocked Children in the Field - Nancy Scheper-Hughes 10. Drink from the Nile and You Shall Return: Children and Fieldwork in Egypt and the Sudan - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban and Richard Lobban Conclusion - Joan Cassell

Regeneration following clearing in a Jamaican montane forest: results of a ten-year study

ABSTRACTSuccession was monitored over ten years in a 10×10m plot in forest with mor humus at 1550 m in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, following the removal in January 1975 of all aerial plant parts and some of the root material. In April 1977, August–January 1980/1 and August 1984, all woody recruits in the plot were tagged and numbered, identified and measured (height), and mapped on a 1 m grid. The height of coppice was recorded. Ten of the eleven tree species present before felling produced coppice shoots. Two individuals almost attained canopy height by 1984. Twenty tree species and three shrub species were recruited from seed; six of the tree species were normally absent from the forest. Species composition changed very little with time.The rate of seedling recruitment was greatest immediately after clearing. The overall den-sity of individuals changed little after 1977. Overall mortality of recruits was about 10% per annum. Mortality of the earliest recruits declined with time since establishment. Later recruits and individuals with poor growth had higher mortality than other plants. Mortality was not density-dependent. Growth rates of recruits were relatively slow. Only ten individuals exceeded 4 m by 1984.Recruitment rates, density, growth and species diversity were greatest in the parts of the plot where the mor humus had been removed or piled up during the initial clearance. Recruit-ment, growth and density were least, and mortality was greatest, at the edge. There was no relationship between any of these parameters and the presence of coppicing stumps.Tree species showed a clear spectrum from obligate gap-demanders to obligate shade-bearers. The persistence of gap-demanding species in this forest (in which gaps are normally rare) may be due to infrequent hurricanes, and also to a natural ability to produce basal sprouts. The succession conforms to an initial floristic composition model; it is slow, and we suggest that at least 50 years will elapse before the plot begins to resemble the undisturbed forest.

Some Agaricales from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

The following fungi were collected during a short visit to Jamaica in the course of my return journey from Trinidad in December I949. At that time the low country was much too dry to yield many agaricales and the collections listed were all obtained at or above the old botanic garden, now derelict, at Cinchona, i.e. at an altitude of 1600oo m. or over, in the Blue Mountains. They thus belong to quite a different flora from that sampled in Trinidad but show some affinity with that of the cloud-forests at about 2000 m. in the Sierra de la Costa, Venezuela. A close relationship with the fungi of the southern Appalachians may also be expected but it is difficult to assess as these are still largely undescribed in modern terms. The climate of Cinchona, though relatively temperate, is free from frost. In addition to the former Cinchona plantations, now almost entirely overgrown by secondary native forest, there are extensive plantations of introduced pines, with which several of the species are associated.

Fossils from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Mr. G. M. STOCKLEY, F.G.S. in 1925 made the interesting discovery of fossils near the top of Blue Mountain Peak, the highest summit in Jamaica, at the considerable altitude of about 7,000 feet. Unfortunately the material he collected was lost on the way down by a horse slipping and throwing his fossils down a ravine. He told me, however, that he was almost sure there was a species of Inoceramus among them. Dr. C. A. Matley, F.G.S. collected some specimens at the same locality a year or two later. On looking over his collection, however, I could not find any fossils which might fix beyond doubt the age of the beds. During a recent visit to Blue Mountain Peak I was able to spend enough time at the locality to make a small collection of fossils which I now endeavour to describe.