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Show 12 SANTA CRUZ. lect a few of the most remarkable, I would just mention the plantain and banana, (nearly the same in appearance,) w.'t_h pendent leaves of vast di:ncnsion, and a profusiOn of finger-!tke fruit "'rowin,. in clusters-the wild m·ange tTee, covered at the same "time \~lh fruit and flowers- the lime, which lines the hed"'es, and is equally fragrant, producing in abundance, a small l<ind of lemon-the guava, with pink blossoms and pearlike fruit, also frequent in the hedge rows- the n.a11go, heavily laden with foliage, and with fruit in its season-the mammee, growing to a great eize, and profusely cov~rcd .with glazed, dark green, fo!iage-lastly, the tama1'ind, wtth tiS !tght feathery leaves and Jon"' pods which contain the frmt used (or a preserve, Spreading its brahehes far and wide, like the British oak. The sweet orange, and those larger species of the same genus, the "forbidden fruit," and the shadock, arb produced only by cultivation; but they grow in Santa Cruz very plentifully. In company with a young friend, I rode one mornmg to visit the gardens of Prosperity estate, which, for want of some of that labor, now monopolized by the sugar cane, arc left 111 wild confusion; but these de:ightful fruits arc still produced there itl luxuriant profusion; and a visit to Prosperity is an easy m3thod of gratifying the sight, the smell, and the ta~tc. Of these three senses, however, the first perhaps is the best pleased on the occasion; for nothing scarcely can be more beautiful than those rows of orange and shadock trees, laden with (i·uit, green and gold. The branches of the cocoa-nut tree diverge like the ribs of an umbrella. from one conunon centre; and just at that centre, fur out of re~ch, hang the c!usters of cocoa nuts. In their half ripe state, they often supplied us with a d~: icious beverage of sweet mi:ky water, a provision of nature admirably adapted to a hot c:imute. But va'Lnblc us i> the cocoa-nut tree in tropical climates, it is much in'crior, in beauty, to the cabbage palm, or mountaict cabbag~. which m:.ty be regarded as the greatest ornament of this de:i6htful i3land. Its straight branchless trunk, SANTA CRUZ. 13 from 30 to 50 feet high, bulges out a little in the middle, and is covered with a smooth grey bark, neatly divided into ringlets which mark the periods of its g rowth. Out of the top of the trunk rises a second stern equall y straight, of bright green, which contains the cabbage so much esteemed as a delicacy at table; above this green stem, the palm branches spring forth like those of the cocoa-nut, but with greater luxuriance; finally, a thin spiml rod forms the summit of the tree. The high road between -west-End or Fredcricksted, and Bassin or Christianstcd, the scat of govern met >!, (about fiCtcen miles in length) runs between rows of cocoa-nuts and cabbage palms, which have been carefully planted on either side. On one part of this road, the latter trees arc remarkably lofty and beautiful ; and so regular, and even artificial, is their appearance, that one might imagine onesself to be travelling between some of the colonnades of Prestum, or Tadmor in the desert. One good resulting, among many evils, from the despotic government of this island, is the careful preservation of its trees. No man is allowed to cut them down, even on his own estate ; for they are .not only valued for their shade and beauty, but are supposed to attract the showers ; and Santa Cruz depends almost entirely on the skies, for its supplies of water. Another favorable result of arbitmry power, is that the inhabitants have been compelled to pay for the macadamising of their roads. 'T'he travelling in Santa Cruz, is, in consequence, rapid and easy, and the evening drives through the picturesque valleys in the neighborhood of West-End, allord a luxurious enjoyment, even for invalids. On the top of the spiral rod of the cabbage-palm, I have frequently observed a hand~omc grey bird, somewhat les~ than a thrush, called the chinchcrry. Like the king-bird of North America, it is said to mock even the hawk, and to assert its dominion over all the fowls of the air. Humming-birds and bri"'ht little bnrbcts are seen coutending for the blossomed sw~ets of the yellow cedar; a sly looking black bird, in shape like a jay, and gencrully called ;he black witch, abounds in the |