VI. Gardening in the West India Islands (West Indies )
927. The gardening of these islands is almost entirely limited to the department of culture; some design and taste, indeed, is displayed near the houses of the native proprietors, but that consists chiefly in planting trees for shade. There is no green turf in the West Indies, except on the mountains; and there is no necessity for either turf or gravel in a country where none of the inhabitants ever walk out if they can help it. Pine-apple plants, and also ripe pine-apples, are frequently sent from the West Indies to Europe, and commonly arrive, after a voyage of from six weeks to two months, in a fit state for planting, or the dessert. The native products of these islands are various and excellent, and they have been greatly increased by fruits and spices, introduced from the East Indies, and other places. Among these it may be sufficient to mention the pineapple, bread-fruit, mangosteen, durion, and cinnamon. There is a large botanic garden at St. Vincent's, and others at Trinidad and Martinique, supported by their respective governments.
