60 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



soil, combined with the lack of any means of 

 carting, would make terracing a very serious under- 

 taking. 



The grounds contain many very fine trees 

 among others, a very good specimen of the de- 

 ciduous cypress, Taxodium distichum, which is also 

 called the swamp, or Mississippi cypress, as the 

 whole valley of the Mississippi is clothed with these 

 trees. In summer they are of a splendid deep 

 emerald-green, which gradually turns to a bronze- 

 red colour in autumn, and by December the trees 

 are bare. 



At the back of the house there is one of the 

 largest coral-trees in Funchal, and a very large 

 til-tree stands immediately in front of the house. 



Among other villas with good gardens, the 

 Deanery, which has long been noted for its fine 

 collection of trees, and the Achada, cannot be 

 omitted. The Deanery, standing in a very sheltered 

 situation at the foot of the Santa Luzia ravine, has 

 proved an admirable trial-ground for trees, shrubs, 

 and plants which have been collected by its present 

 owner. From all parts of the world rare and in- 

 teresting plants have been brought, and some have 

 been raised from seed on the spot. The following 

 description of the place was written in the early 



