Serious article on breadfruit - Smithsonian!

[Stonigut]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...ruit-41433018/

[Gamma]

more than breadfruit. thanks for this..

[Stonigut]

Yes a lot more.

I must say I was outraged and also somewhat intrigued all at the same time of the mention on page one of the three enormous women enjoying a day at the Bath Garden, who upon spreading blankets, arrayed themselves massively on the earth; as per this writer a woman I must add, I cannot see a man writing for Smithsonian actually writing something so offhandedly demeaning.

[Mosiah]

What a "complete" history of how breadfruit got to our shores! Great post, Stoni!

Few errors might exist in the article. Jamaica's square miles, for years thought to be the easy-to-remember 4,411, is now listed as 4,213 in Wikipedia. The writer described Jamaica as, "An island with a total area of less than 4,000 square miles..." Maybe she is factoring in the annexation of Goat Island by the Chinese?

The writer also said, "Unlike Jamaica's other gardens, Castleton's star has never dimmed, perhaps because, straddling the direct road from Kingston to Ocho Rios, it has been accessible and in plain sight." This, of course, is not so. The road thru Castleton drops you out by Annotto Bay. The direct road is the one through Flat Bridge and Mount Rosser/Diablo. Castleton is popular because it is half an hour from Constant Spring and it's the only garden with a river running through it.

I feel good knowing that I am familiar with all four botanical gardens. Castleton was a favourite of my father's, I think because he felt relatively sure that his children could safely take a swim in the river. There are few deep holes in that part of the Wag Water River.

The writer is correct when she said, "Bath has retained its Old World character; it is the easiest to conjure as it must have looked in Bligh's time." Through it's ruins and unkempt appearance, as opposed to the still-manicured gardens and lawns of Cinchona, you can still imagine its former grandeur.

Cinchona is not close to anywhere, and the road is treacherous. Makes you wonder why those gardens are maintained so meticulously as opposed to the relatively nearby and larger gardens of Bath and Castleton.

I would encourage my fellow Forumites to leave the sea and sand of the all-inclusives, the next time you visit Jamaica. Rent a 4x4 SUV and make the trek to Cinchona. Just being up in those salubrious Blue Mountains is invigorating and refreshing!