NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 55 



two very far-off ships upon it, but it was merely an illusion. The actual sea was 

 entirely shut out from view, except once for a few seconds, when a small rift in 

 the cloud-bank occurred and gave a momentary glimpse of the rippling surface far 

 below, a sort of vista dimmed by the misty frame through which it was seen. All 

 the while the snowy Peak itself was perfectly cloudless, and stood out clear and 

 sharp against a deep blue arctic looking sky. Soon the sunlight faded, and the moon shone 

 out brightly, and the Peak glistened in its light, which was strong enough to read by easily. 

 The view of the tent and camp fire amongst the dark broom bushes, with the moonlit 

 snowy Peak in the background, fronted by some dark ridges of lava, was most 

 picturesque. Some of the large dry retama bushes were set fire to, and a glaring 

 blaze was soon raised, the flames shooting high up into the air, so that they were 

 seen at Orotava, and even as far as Santa Cruz. The ground was frozen on the 

 surface around the tent during the night, the thermometer standing at 30° F. just 

 before sunrise. 



From the camp the party walked to the Canadas — a remarkable plain covered with 

 scoriae, and shut in on nearly all sides by a perpendicular wall of basaltic cliff. From this 

 plain of vast extent the present terminal cone of the mountain rises. The Canadas 

 represents an ancient and much larger crater, in the centre of the remnant of which the 

 more modern smaller peak has been thrown up. The bottom of the Canadas is dotted 

 over with the retama bushes, but the ground is devoid of any other vegetation. 

 Rabbits were found to be tolerably abundant, but were so wary that none were shot. 

 They feed on the retama and make no holes, but live in any chance crack or hole in the 

 rocks. The radiant heat of the sun was extremely powerful on the arid plain of the 

 Canadas. Both guides and mule drivers had deserted the party, refusing to accom- 

 pany it at this season of the year to the top of the Peak. The ascent therefore was 

 only accomplished to a height of about 9000 feet, the last 200 of which was climbed over 

 snow. From this height were watched the often described struggles of the opposing 

 winds, the trades and anti-trades, as shown by the eddying and twisting of the wreaths 

 of cloud. In the neighbourhood of the camp, at 6500 feet, winter was evidently still 

 in force as far as the animals were concerned. All the spiders and beetles found there 

 were under stones, apparently hibernating. 1 



1 The Kev. O. P. Cambridge writes — " The collection of spiders from Tenerife contains twenty- one species, of which 

 twelve have been previously described, these are : — 



Dysdera wollastoni, Bl. 



Zoropsis ochreata, C. L. Koch (immature). 



Tegenaria derliamii, Scop. 



Scytodes thoracica, Latr. 



Pholcus phalangioides, Fuessl. 



Steatoda versuta, Bl. 



Argyrodes epeirre, Sim. 

 Tetragnatlux extensa, Linn. 

 Epeira perplicata, Cambr. 

 Cyrtophora opuntice, Duf. 

 Uloborus zosis, Walck. 

 Ocyale rnirabilis, Clk. 



" The remaining species await further consideration ; one or two seem to be new to science, the others may probably be 

 referred to the following genera — Segestrico, Tegenaria, Tlisridion (Tlieridion pulchellum, Bl. 1), Linyphia, Xysticus, Lycosa. 



