bxviti INTRODUCTION. 
the level of the sea. At the height of 3200 feet they en- 
countered a wood composed of the beautiful Laurus in- 
dica, the Laurus nobilis, the Erica arborea or mediterranea, 
and the Erica scoparia. Through thick fog, and continual 
rain, they persevered in the ascent ; and at the height of 
4340 feet, they traversed the valley of Ganada, where 
Smith viewed with astonishment and delight, a whole forest 
of myrtles (Vaccinium arctostaphyllos) of trees from 16 to 
20 feet high and more. At 5390 feet they fell in with the 
snow. ‘he summit of ‘Torringas was found to be 5857 
feet. 
The two naturalists left Madeira on the 2d May, and 
landed on the 5th at Oratava, in Teneriffe, where they 
were kindly and hospitably received by one of the most 
amiable and respectable families in the island, to whom 
Mr. Smith, by his natural gaiety and the suavity of his 
manners, made himself particularly acceptable: but the 
charms of agreeable society did not make him forget the 
object of his visit to the Canaries. He was always on his 
feet, and incessantly in pursuit; he never returned from 
his excursions Ull late in the evening, and always laden 
with a rich harvest of plants, the examination and arrange- 
ment of which, left him but little time for sleep. Some- 
times, in his rambles, overtaken by night, he passed it in 
caverns, without food, and harassed by fatigue ; but happy 
in the discoveries he had made, he neither felt nor thought 
of either. The melting of the snow, on the 19th May, al- 
lowed him to ascend the summit of the Peak of Teneriffe, 
from whence he made a tour round the southern part of 
the island, in which he examined, and determined for the 
first time, the pine of the Canary islands to be an unde- 
