botanical excursion. 
49 
inches long, and which, requiring a temperature of 24 cen- 
tesimal degrees does not flourish even in the valley of 
Caracas. The bananas of Toiieriffe arc those named by 
‘^ an ! sh .P lal J te ^ Cambm-is or Guineas, and Dominicos. 
he tamburi, which suffers least from cold, is cultivated 
i^!l, 0SS r!" at ? r,ala S a > ^ere the temperature is only 
rl d n CC n’ but T? tr Y ,t r W sce occasionally at Cadiz comes 
I 1 , the Canary Islands by vessels which make the passage 
m three or four days. In general, the rausa, known by 
every people under the torrid zone, though hitherto never 
found in a v lid state, has as great a variety of fruit as our 
apple and pear trees These varieties, which are confounded 
the greater part of botanists, though theyreouirovervflif 
the for n p i w' 1ZO !" tho , cvcmi 'S in the direction of 
the fort of Passo Aito, along the basaltic rocks that close 
our harvest^ if 1 J‘ ga ' i , We ) ve , rc very little satisfied with 
If f 1 ’ ti u dl r US J tMd dllst had almost destroyed 
and ^av 011 ’ 1 T i Cacall!l V cmia ’ tho Euphorbia canariensis, 
noii!f al t a 161 ' * ucc, . llent Plants, which draw their 
nourishment from the air rather than the soil on which 
they grow reminded us by their appearance, that this group 
of islands belongs to Africa, and even to the most arid part 
ot that continent. 1 
Though the captain of the Pizarro had orders to stop long 
enough at 1 eneriffe to give us time to scale the summit of 
the peak, if the snows did not prevent our ascent we 
received notice, on account of the blockade of the English 
ships, not to expect a longer delay than four or five clays. 
We consequently hastened our departure for the port of 
Orotava, which is situated on the western declivity 1 of the 
volcano, where we were sure of finding guides. I could 
find no one at Santa Cruz who had mounted the peak and 
I was not surprised at this. The most curious objects 
become less interesting, in proportion as they are near to 
us ; and I have known inhabitants of Sch'affhausen, m 
Switzerland, who had never seen the fid] of the lthine but at 
a distance. 
On the 20th of June, before sunrise, we began our excur- 
M°n by ascending tc » the Villa de Laguna, estimated to he 
at the elevation of 350 toises above the port of Santa Cruz 
VOL. J. * 
