Chapter U— DECEMBER 



FUNCHAL AND ITS GaRDENS 



"Infinite riches in a little room." — Marlowe. 



^HE island of Madeira," says Mr. 

 W. Robinson in his " English 

 Flower Garden" — that sacred 

 volume of the amateur — " is 

 very instructive in the variety of its gardens ; 

 every one I remember was distinct, and this 

 was owing to the owners being free to do as 

 the ground invited them, instead of following 

 any fixed idea as to style, or leaving it to men 

 who are ready with similar plans for all sorts of 

 positions. In France, England, or Germany, 

 this could never happen because, owing to the 

 conformity about style and the use of book 

 plans, we can usually tell beforehand what sort 

 of garden we are to see." And he further 

 speaks of " real gardens varied and full of 

 beautiful colour, yet without any trace of the 

 barren monotony characteristic of gardens at 



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