A VISIT TO MADEIRA AND THE CANARY ISLANDS. 127 
now, and the many craters around it give some idea of its 
former magnitude. 
On a broiling hot day we climbed up to one of the 
lower cinder craters, now covered with vines and other 
vegetation. A large species of Dodder (Cuscuta) grew 
in profusion over some leguminous shrubs, completely 
destroying many of them. 
A little way out of the town are the Botanical Gardens, 
wherein we found the Dragon tree, and a fine collection 
of native trees, shrubs and flowers; amongst them the 
Pinus canariensis, Euphorbia canariensis, L. balsamifera, 
Eucalyptus, Magnolia, yellow Bignonia, Cobeea, Oleander 
(white, yellow and red), Amaryllis of varied hues, Hibiscus, 
Poinsettia, Pampas-grass, Bougainvillea, Xc. Humboldt 
mentions an immense dragon tree in ‘Teneriffe, near to 
here, which was supposed to be between 6000 and 10,000 
years old; it was from 50 to 60 feet in height, and had a 
circumference of 45 feet. Piazzi Smith saw it in 1856, 
and it was destroyed by a storm in 1867. No other 
specimen approaching it in size is, I believe, known to 
exist, though several good sized ones are still to be seen. 
In a sunny part of the gardens, adjacent to a fountain, 
we noticed the leafy branches of some of the smaller trees, 
and especially of the lower palms, covered with little tree 
frogs of a brilliant grass green and golden yellow colour, but 
so exactly resembling the foliage that unless carefully looked 
for they might most easily be passed unobserved. They 
are from one inch to one and a half inches in length, and 
at night croak loudly. They are evidently very common. 
I brought several to England, and have placed a few ina 
hot-house ; they are, however, most difficult to find, from 
their colour, but continue to proclaim their existence at 
dusk. Lizards were very common, but we saw none of 
the green species so common in Italy. 
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