RECOLLECTIONS OF TIINERIFFE. 439 



At Matanza, a village about half way between Laguna and 

 Orotava, we stopped to obtain some rest and refreshment for 

 ourselves and our beasts. The exterior appearance of the 

 posada was not very inviting, but we found it tolerably clean. 

 The view, from a latticed gallery at the back, over the richly- 

 cultivated country and a wide expanse of sea, was very fine. 

 At one end of this gallery was a common filtering stone in a 

 wooden frame. I should not have noticed it, but from observ- 

 ing that the whole exterior of the stone from which the water 

 dripped was covered with a dense mass of the beautiful Adian- 

 timi Capillus Veneris. I had previously, in Santa Cruz, seen 

 Polypodium vulgare similarly situated, and I afterwards noticed 

 that the filters in most houses were usually covered with one or 

 other of these ferns. I much regret that my ignorance of the 

 language, and the haste in which we travelled, prevented my 

 ascertaining if they were thus planted for any purpose, or 

 whether it was merely that the moist surface of the coarse 

 soft stone afforded a peculiarly favourable nidus for the 

 sporules of these ferns accidentally floating about in the at- 

 mosphere. 



After some little delay we sat down to table, where we found 

 a plentiful provision of fried eggs and bacon, potatoes, good 

 brown bread, walnuts, grapes, drinkahle wine, and genuine 

 Hollands gin, so that we were enabled to make a very com- 

 fortable meal after our long ride. The moist hedges on each 

 side of Matanza afforded us some specimens of that curious 

 and beautiful plant Canarina Campanula, but being early in 

 the season, few of the plants were yet in flower. A few miles 

 beyond Matanza the date palm all at once appeared in abun- 

 dance, and a little valley which we crossed was quite wooded 

 with orchards of them. Many were much disfigured by having 

 most of their leaves cut off; but others retained their crowns 

 entire, and were still farther adorned with bunches of flowers 

 or young fruit ; the former white, the latter of a golden yellow. 

 As far as we could gather, from our inquiries respecting the 

 fruit, it is never eaten, but merely given to the pigs. The 

 trees are cultivated for the sake of their leaves, of which we 

 saw large quantities drying by the road-side. They are pre- 

 pared by tying up the central leaves of the crown till the inner 

 ones are blanched, when they are gathered, dried, and after 

 being platted, or otherwise ornamented, are ready for sale to 



