CHAP. CXIII. 



CONI'FER/E. PI V NUS. 



2263 



2165 



lies Canaries, Geog. Hot., p. 

 21.) The forests of pines, 

 in Grand Canary Island, 

 extend from Oratava, near 

 Doma jito, 3198 ft. above the 

 level of the sea, to Portillo de 

 la Villa, at an altitude of near- 

 ly 6000 ft. The volcanic na- 

 ture of the soil, the broken 

 rocks, evidently torn asun- 

 der by some tremendous con- 

 vulsion of nature, the ter- 

 rific precipices, the yawning 

 chasms, and immense masses 

 of lava, which are found in 

 different directions through 

 this region, convey a most 

 appalling image of desolation ; 

 and trees of P. canadensis, 

 which appear in some cases 

 merely spreading their roots 

 over the loose rocks, are the 

 only signs of life or vegeta- 

 tion that can be perceived. 

 The island is exposed to fearful storms, particularly one from the south-east, 

 called there the wind of Africa, which tears up the pines by the roots. In 

 the Voyage aux lies Canaries, by Father Feuillee, made in 1724, it is stated 

 that the mountain was then entirely covered with pines; and one tree is parti- 

 cularly mentioned, which was called the Pino de la Caravela. This pine, 

 which had been previously seen and described by J. Edens (Phil. Trans. Soc. 

 Rot/. Lond., 1714-16), received its name from the extension of its branches, 

 which, at a distance, gave it the appearance of a ship. The same traveller 

 mentions another remarkable tree, Pino de la Meri- 

 enda, which is still standing, though most of the other 

 pine trees described by these travellers have disap- 

 peared. " The Pino de la Caravela no longer exists, 

 but it has bequeathed its name to the rock which 

 served as its base. The Pin du Doma jito has shared 

 the same fate : the storm of 1826 having torn it up 

 by the roots. The trunk of this tree, which was co- 

 vered with a species of U'snea, had acquired an 

 enormous thickness, and was seen from every part of 

 the valley. Viera, in his Noticias, mentions another 

 enormous pine which grew in the Canaries, in the 

 district of Teror, at an altitude of about 1600 ft. The 

 trunk of this tree was nearly 30 ft. French (32 ft. 6 in- 

 English) in circumference at the base ; closely united to 

 it was the chapel of Neustra Sefiora del Pino, and one 

 of its arms served as a buttress to support the belfry ; 

 but repeated earthquakes in time destroyed this 

 singular chapel and, on April the 3d, 1684, the pino santo fell, and crushed 

 the chapel, of which it had so long formed part. Viera adds that the 

 reason of the chapel being placed so near this tree was, that, in 1483, an 

 extraordinary light was perceived to hover round, or rather issue from, the 

 pine. Don Juan de Frios, who was both a bishop and a warrior, alone 

 ventured to ascend the tree, and there found, reposing in a sort of cradle 

 formed by the interlacement of the branches, and lined with the softest 

 and purest moss, an image of the Holy Virgin, in honour of whom the chapel 

 was afterwards built. The fruit of this holy tree is said to have been useful 



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