THE 



FLOWERS AND GARDENS 

 OF MADEIRA 



CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



THE very name of Madeira (or island of timber, 

 as the word signifies) brings to the minds of most 

 people a suggestion of luxuriant vegetation flourish- 

 ing in a damp, enervating climate. Such, indeed, 

 was my own mental picture of Madeira before my 

 first visit to the island. I expected to find every 

 garden with the aspect of a fernery, moisture 

 dripping everywhere, and the hills clothed with the 

 remains of the primeval forests. The latter might 

 possibly still have existed had it not been for the 

 zeal of the discoverers of the island in making use 

 of their discovery from a utilitarian point of view, 

 and cutting clearings for the cultivation of the rich 



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