SANTA CRUZ OF TENERIFFE. 33 



nometer gave 18° 33' 10", the accuracy of which re- 

 sult, although differing from the longitude assigned, 

 by Cook and others, was afterward confirmed by 

 Krusenstern, who found that port 16° 12' 45" west 

 of Greenwich, and consequently 18° 33' west of 

 Paris. The dip of the magnetic needle was 62° 24', 

 although it varied considerably in diff"erent places 

 along the shore. After undergoing the fatigue of 

 answering the numberless questions proposed by 

 persons who visited them on board, our travellers 

 were at length permitted to land. 



» 



CHAPTER III. 



Island of Teneriffe. 



Santa Cniz— Villa de la Lagiina—Guanches— Present Inhabitants of 



Teneriffe — Climate— Scenery of the Coast — Orotava— Dragon-tree 



Ascent of the Peak— Its Geological Character— Eruptions— Zones of 

 Vegetation— Fires of St. John. 



Santa Cruz, the Anaja of the Guanches, which is 

 a neat town, with a population of 8000 persons, may 

 be considered as a great caravansera situated on the 

 road to America and India, and has consequently 

 been often described. The recommendations of the 

 court of Madrid procured for our traveUers the most 

 satisfactory reception in the Canaries. The cap- 

 tain-general gave permission to examine the island, 

 and Colonel Armiaga, who commanded a regiment 

 of infantry, extended his hospitality to them, and 

 showed the most polite attention. In his garden 

 they admired the banana, the papaw, and other plants 

 cultivated in the open air, which they had before 

 seen only in hothouses. 



In the evening they made a botanical excursion 



