30 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



sugar-cane is no doubt largely responsible for this, 

 and also the great difficulty of acquiring a piece of 

 ground of any considerable size in the neighbour- 

 hood of Funchal. In many cases even one acre 

 may be owned by several different landlords, land 

 being divided into incredibly small holdings. 



In this respect the owners of Quinta Stanford 

 are to be envied, as the house stands well sur- 

 rounded by its own ground, out of sight of the 

 too common unsightly fazenda and its inevitable 

 squalid cottages. From the terrace in front of the 

 house the view is unrivalled, comprising a fine view 

 of the sea and an unbroken view of the mountains 

 behind the town of Funchal. It is easily seen that 

 the garden is tended with unceasing care by its 

 present owner, and near the entrance some judi- 

 cious massing of shrubs and flowering trees has in 

 a very few years well repaid the planter ; some 

 large clumps of weigandias, Astrapea pendiflora, 

 and bushes of common white marguerite daisies of 

 mammoth proportions give a broader effect than is 

 usual in most Madeira gardens. To my mind, the 

 very greatest praise should also be given to the 

 owner for having planted an avenue of cypresses, 

 almost the noblest and grandest of all trees, 

 especially when seen under a southern sun, and 



