THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
205 
EDITORIAL WANDERINGS II. 
The Azores and the Mediterranean. 
The Azores or Western Islands, dependencies of Portu¬ 
gal, and a group of nine small islands, poke their irrregular 
noses out of the water quite abruptly. Here and there 
sharply pointed hills run up several hundred feet taking on 
curious and unexpected shapes. The hillsides, however, 
present a pastoral appearance very different from the hills 
of the same type in the Colorado region of the Rocky 
Mountains where water is needed to give verdure and vegeta¬ 
tion. 
The whole group of islands provide about 1,200 square 
miles of surface, a considerable part of which is made arable 
by dint of industry and ingenuity. The striking thing about 
the island is the equability of the climate. Perhaps, no¬ 
where else does one see a more evident example of the 
influence of the Gulf Stream. Lying between latitude 36 
and 40 N., the climate of the region is sufficiently equable 
and humid to ensure the successful cultivation of oranges 
and other citrous fruits. In late years, the pineapple has 
been extensively planted. Other crops of great importance 
are wine and tea. Evidence of the salubrious character of 
Palm Street of the Garden Antonio Borges—Ponta Delgada—S. Miguel-Azores 
the climate is found in the great variety of tropical trees and 
shrubs found in the public parks and private gardens. 
One of the show places of Ponto Velgada, a city of 
20,000 inhabitants, is the garden of Antonio Borges, which 
for beauty of design and tropical luxuriance is difficult to 
equal much less surpass. The Doctor, his good wife and 
the young lady of our party were surprised and charmed. 
The interesting feature about the Azores is that one expects 
little or nothing and is delightfully disappointed. 
The people of the Islands, of Spanish and Portugese ex¬ 
traction, have developed provincialisms as a result of their 
isolation. The peasant rain costume on some of the Is¬ 
lands is very unique as shown in the accompanying illustra¬ 
tion. It consists of a large cape surmounted by an enor¬ 
mous and much modified Quaker bonnet which protects the 
face and shoulders as well as the head. A profile view 
suggests nothing that you have seen before except, perhaps, 
a gigantic pouter pigeon. 
The Island vehicles and methods of transportation are 
original also. The two wheeled carts of various designs 
drawn by donkey burros, goats, or even sheep are frequently 
seen in S. Michael. The young lady was much scandalized 
at the sight of a fat drunken man urging his steed—a 
demure sheep—up a steep incline greatly against the steed’s 
desires. She was much delighted, however, when the 
collar parted releasing the animal which promptly took .to 
its heels. 
Plantation of Tea in S. Miguel 
The Mediterranean. 
At Gibraltar, the quiet run of three hours into the harbor 
is sufficient to bring most of the retiring passengers on deck. 
In many respects, Gibraltar is disappointing. The great 
rocky promontory frowns at the visitor but the fortress as 
it exists is left largely to the imagination. There is no 
admission for the casual visitor. The city is modified 
oriental in its architecture and Anglo-Oriental in its 
populace. English, French and Spanish are spoken or 
attempted. Ask a native what language he speaks and he 
will answer, “Gibraltar.” It is then “up to you” to guess 
what that means. Your ear catches a mixture of French 
and bad English. The native, during the tourist season is 
principally engaged in “doing” the tourist. His location 
gives him peculiar advantages and the tourist is com¬ 
paratively “easy.” Later on he acquires a tougher veneer 
and learns that the asking price is usually about twice the 
selling price. 
