In commencing this chapter upon botany, I deem it proper to mention first the forest trees, confining myself to those vegetating in Antigua. As, however, it will be necessary to insert the botanical names, as well as their classifications, and wishful of throwing as much interest into the subject as possible, I have, along with my own observations upon these beauties of the creation, consulted other and more efficient botanists. It must be remarked, that nearly all the West Indian trees continue to bud and blossom throughout the year; so that there is no naked sprays and branches to be seen, as in old England’s woods in winter, but instead, every grove presents an unchanging canopy of the deepest green. One of the commonest flowers in Antigua is the Four o’clock, _mirabilis jalapa,_ or _marvel of Peru,_ so called from the circumstance of its opening its pretty petals at that hour of the day. The leaves are of dark green, and shaped like a heart; the flowers are of a tubulous form, and of the several colours of red, white, or purple—the latter are the most common. The seeds are black and hard, and of a conical structure; the leaves are of much repute among the old nurses of Antigua, for their efficacy in relieving tumours, &c., but if it be only fancy, or if they really possess some medicinal qualities, I leave the gentlemen of the lancet to determine. The Palmetto, _areca oleracea,_ cabbage palm, or mountain cabbage, is the most beautiful tree in Antigua, and richly deserves the epithet of king of the West Indian forests. The trunk rises straight and smooth, and is of a most graceful form, being about four to seven feet in circumference at the base, and gradually tapering upwards to the height of from one hundred feet; it is of a silverish grey colour, and indented with rings, marking the place of former foot-stalks. The upper part of the trunk presents a finely turned polished column, of a beautiful green colour, which diverges gradually from its pedestal until it attains the centre, when it diminishes in the same manner to the top, from whence springs an acuminated spatha terminating in a point. The branches spring from the top of the trunk in an elegant plume-like manner; as they decay and fall off, they are succeeded by others bursting from the centre of those that remain. The young leaves are esteemed delicious when boiled, as well as the cabbage, which is found in the interior of the green part of the trunk. The flowers are hermaphrodite; the male calyx sends forth three petals and nine stamens; the female flower is like the male, and turns to an oval fruit, enclosing an oval seed, which will bear a fine polish, and was formerly used for buttons. A grove of these trees presents a beautiful appearance, forming indeed a colonnade of finely turned columns, from the top of which springs a verdant canopy.