Leaves from a Madeira Garden 



of the indigenous hard-wood trees. Beneath 

 their shade and on their trunks cluster the 

 finest of the island ferns. The levadas^ or 

 artificial watercourses, which I have already 

 described as winding in and out of valleys 

 otherwise inaccessible, and crossing the face 

 of precipitous cliiFs afford a ready means of 

 approaching these haunts. The levada on the 

 east side of the Metade Valley (see Chapter III) 

 may be reached in less than three hours from 

 Funchal, and following its course either west- 

 ward into the heart of the valley, or eastward 

 from the Ribeiro Frio towards the Lamaceiros 

 Pass, the pedestrian will be rewarded with a 

 view of very luxuriant fern life. Here especially 

 will he note the Killarney fern {Trichomanes 

 radicans)^ and the filmy ferns {Hymenophyllum 

 Timhridgense and H. unilaterale). These grow 

 in masses on damp rocks and sometimes clothe 

 the gnarled trunks of the ancient laurels. 

 Here also may be found the curious cow's- 

 tongue fern {Acrostkhum squamosum) growing 

 in the same manner. 1 have observed this 

 fern in great profusion, and of unusual size, by 

 the path which leads up the head of the Boa 

 Ventura Valley to the Torrinhas Pass, a route 



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