FORMER CONDITION OF MADEIRA. 145 



tiou of wood and waters, giveu iu au uupublished aucient manuscript, 

 cited by Dr Graham in a work entitled " Climate and Resources of 

 Madeira," published iu 1870 : — " The island of Madeira at the period 

 of its discovery presented a most lovely picture of nature : a vegeta- 

 tion truly astonishing covered it with trees, reaching to a prodigious 

 height, — the majestic cedar, laurel, til, besides others, forming one 

 continuous and impenetrable forest. Evergreens and creeping plants 

 wove their festoons from branch to branch, giving new shade to a 

 land all clothed with vegetation, and new force to inumerable springs 

 of pic7'e and salubrious water" But tradition tells of a great forest 

 fire having swept over a great extent of the island ; and after that, 

 it was alleged, all was changed. 



Mr Milne H )me, Chairman of the Council of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society, in a paper submitted to this Society, entitled 

 " Suggestions for Increasing the Supply of Spring Water at Malta, 

 and Improving the Climate of the Island," says, — ' Some valuable 

 facts are supplied from the island of Madeira, It has been shown that 

 the annual fall of rain there is, on an average, thirty or thirty-two 

 inches, being about thirteen inches more than at Malta. Can one 

 reason be that, whilst Malta is treeless, Madeira is still partially 

 wooded ? Dr Graham says, — ' The north side of Madeira is still well 

 clothed ; and, although there are perhaps few trees which can aspire 

 to the dimensions handed down to us in the relics of former days, the 

 dark and ancient foliage still covers both hill and valley.' 



" Dr Graham refers to the dimensions of the trees of a bygone 

 age in Madeira. There can be no doubt that when first colonized 

 the island had been completely covered with wood. Its name, as 

 given by the Portuguese, was originally Materia, in allusion to the 

 inexhaustible materials it supplied for ship-building and the con- 

 struction of houses." 



Dr Graham quotes from an unpublished ancient manuscript the 

 glowing description of its woods and waters, which has been given 

 above ; and referring to those statements of an old date, he goes on 

 to say, — " It seems evident, from these descriptions, that Madeira 

 when first colonized was much better supplied with both wood and 

 water than at present ; and the conclusion seems not unreasonable, 

 that the better supply of water was in consequence of the larger 

 extent of wood." Citing these passages, Mr Milne Home goes on to 

 say, — " Dr Graham expresses a decided opinion to that efi'ect. He 

 condemns unsparingly the selfishness and folly of the first colonizers, 

 who, in order to get land for the culture of the sugar-cane and vine, 







