and even place this horizontally, the force being sufficient to keep
up its rotatory motion in this unfavourable position.
My next excursion was to the peak of Ariero, on the eastern
side of the Coural, and about three hours ride from F unehal.
Approaching the Mount Church, we find beautiful chesnut woods,
clothing the sides of the precipices ; and in the rugged path which
commences above this building, I was astonished to find the elegant:
fuchsia coccínea, and the blushing rosa Benghalensis, both of which
had evidently strayéd from the neighbouring gardens. I have not
been able satisfactorily to separate the naturalized and indigenous
solaneee; the s. cerasiforme grew higher than the others, but it had
probably strayed from the gardens above this church. The sides,
of the hills , presented the most beautiful contrast of tints, from the
large patches of erica, broom, and evergreen shrubs; the digitalis
purpurea, appeared by every stream or spring. The; myrtles are
very beautiful, and grow luxuriantly ; they extend to a height of
3000 feet, but they certainly do not amount to forests, or even-
thickets, nor do any reach the region of the Vacciniab: they were
formerly much more numerous, having been injudiciously cut for
the ornamenting of churches and processions on religious festivals.
The latter part of the ascent is* along the barren rocks of basalt
and red tufa, which form the highest outline of the view behind
from Funchal, and are 3700 feet above the sea. One sudden turn,
through a romantic pass, opens a fine valley with thickets óf
laurels, dwarfish to be sure,'but in such profusion as to clothe the
whole landscape ; whilst -violets, are growing at their roots. The
plain near the peak was covered with the vaccinium; its leaves
turning red, but partially concealed the black berries ; and the
usnea lichen waved from one tree to the Other, like masses of long
green hair. The pasturage looked rich, not merely from the fresh
k Thelamented Professor Smith must have made both these assertions inadvertently.
Introduction to the Narrative of the Expedition to the Zaire, p. lxviii. ■
green of the grass, so constantly moistened by the vicinity of the
clouds, but from the young shoots of erica ; and where the masses
of tufa, and superincumbent soil had fallen from the heights, the
roots1 of the laurels and arborescent heaths were left bare, twisted
like serpents. I passed a small natural excavation, which disclosed
several strata of tufa and scoriae, which seemed to be the beacon
of my guide, who remained there ; and in a few minutes after, I
reached the summit of the peak of Ariero, amidst a thick mist,
like small rain, which entirely deprived me of the view I had
promised myself. The temperature, in consequence of a strong
north wind, was lowered to 43°, being 28° less than I had experienced
three hours before, in the shade at Funchal; the peak
is 5446 feet above the seac. The juncus glawus abounds on the
highest parts of this eastern side of the island ; the constant
moisture of the air, perhaps, accounts for its luxurious growth, so
far removed from any stream.
I started the next day for the Coural das Freiras, apprehensive,
that the. wished-for arrival of a vessel for Sierra Leone, might not
leave me the time to do so. The road from F unchal to Camera de
Lobos, (where you quit the sea, and ascend to the interior of the
island) is unusually bare of vegetation. The crustaceous lichens
form the principal feature, with here and there an euphorbia, a chei-
ranthus, scattered patches of the sida carpinifoliaA, and a few fig-
° Although southerly winds are announced by the fall, and northerly, by the rising
of the barometer, when in the lower regions of the atmosphere, yet the inverse seems
to happen in thè upper. M. RamOnd, when measuring elevated peaks, has observed
gusts'of wind from the north, lower the mercury by raising the column of air, whilst
those from the south produced the contrary effect for the moment. These oscillations
extended from two to three tenths of a millimetre, even when the winds were by no
means strong.—Mernoires sur la Formule Barometrìque de la Mecanique Celeste, p. 53.
4 I have been told, that the poorer inhabitants drink the infusion of its leaves as tea,
but the known properties of the sida are so contrary to those of all other plants used
as tea, that I am inclined to give very little credit to it. The principal plants sub