chap. vi. J PALM TREES. 0PUXTIA. 113 



occupation to one-fifth of the inhabitants of the island. As the 

 Cactus form is almost entirely American, so the heath form, 

 says Humboldt, specially belongs to the Old World, but more 

 particularly to the African continent and islands. 



The Madeiran Cedar (Juniperus oxycedrus) is a ti*ee of very 

 graceful growth, which is said to have abounded greatly 

 when the island was first discovered ; now it is rarely met 

 with in a wild state. 



The most valuable of the trees which have been intro- 

 duced into the island is the Spanish chestnut, which fur- 

 nishes food to the population in some of the higher grounds. 

 The Oak, which is of later introduction, may be said to be in 

 leaf all the year, for the young leaves begin to appear early in 

 February, and the last year's foliage is never quite gone 

 at that time. Two varieties of pines, the Stone Pine and 

 the Pinaster, grow well in the tufa. 



PALM TREES. 



Palm trees are not of very frequent occurrence, and are 

 shorn of their beauty for the religious ceremonies, the leaves 

 being in requisition on Palm Sunday to adorn the churches. 

 According to Humboldt, the true climate of palms has a 

 mean annual temperature of 78°-2 to 81 0, 5. 



OPUNTIA. 



An Opuntia *, or prickly pear, grows luxuriantly on the 

 most barren places. It is not turned to the same account by 

 the cultivation of the cochineal insect on it, as in Teneriffe, 

 where upwards of sixty thousand pounds' worth of this valu- 

 able dye is annually exported. The atmosphere of Madeira 



* The fruit of this plant is eaten. 



