THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 145 



which are the gigantic Liliaceous plants called Dragon-trees 

 (Dracaena) t which when young have branchless stems, with 

 an elegant canopy of broad leaves at the top. There is a 

 celebrated gigantic Dragon-tree at the little town of Oratava 

 in Teneriffe, supposed to be older than the Pyramids; to 

 speak sober truth, it is known to have been held in venera- 

 tion by the natives when the island was first visited by 

 Europeans in the year 1400 ; it is seventy feet high, and 

 rather more than forty-two feet in circumference ; " the trunk 

 is hollow,and may be ascended in the interior by a staircase." 

 In Madeira we find an unusual mixture of English fruits 

 and tropical ones, all growing so luxuriantly that it is diffi- 

 cult now to ascertain what plants are native and what have 

 been introduced ; we are in a perfect embarras cle richesses, 

 so varied is the choice, from Pine-apples and Mangoes, 

 Guavas and Bananas, to Chestnuts, Apples, and Walnuts, 

 all of which grow almost without cultivation in the rich 

 soil of this island, each different fruit finding its appropriate 

 climate on hill or plain. Even the Chinese Tea-plant is 

 cultivated there, as we learn from Sir James Koss, in a 

 plantation belonging to a private individual; and the fla- 

 vour is so excellent, that it has been thought it might 

 become an article of commerce, if it were not for the cost 



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