Steamboat Lines. 1. Union Castle Line, steamers weekly from Southampton to Madeira in 3½ days (on their way to S. and E. Africa); fares, 1st cl. 15–17 guineas, 2nd 10–12 gs. (return in each case about ⅔ more); also summer tours to Madeira, Las Palmas, or Teneriffe and back, 18 or 12 gs., or, with a week’s board in one of the islands, 20 or 14 gs.—2. Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., fortnightly from Southampton (for Brazil) viâ Vigo and Lisbon to Madeira (fares 11l. 10s. or 8l.); also fortnightly from London round voyage to Gibraltar, Tangier, Casablanca, Mazagan, Saffi, and Mogador, returning viâ Las Palmas, Teneriffe, and Madeira (fare from 22 gs.; single to Madeira or Canary Islands from 15 gs.).—3. Booth Line (for Brazil), thrice monthly from Liverpool to Madeira; 10l., return 16l. 10s.—4. Yeoward Bros. Line, weekly from Liverpool to the Canaries calling on alternate voyages at Madeira; comp. p. [28].—5. Federal, Houlder, & Shire Lines, from Liverpool fortnightly, for Australia or New Zealand, calling at Madeira, Las Palmas, or Teneriffe, 10 gs.—6. Empreza Nacional de Navegação, from Lisbon to Madeira, 1st and 7th of each month; 5l. 6s. 3d. or 3l. 12s. 3d., return 9l. 0s. 8d. or 6l. 3s.—7. Empreza Insulana, from Lisbon to Madeira, 20th of each month; 4l. 5s. or 3l. 3s. 9d., return 7l. 13s. or 5l. 14s. 9d.—During the winter season the Mediterranean steamers of the White Star and Cunard Lines (p. [118]) call once monthly at Madeira, and the Transports Maritimes (p. [120]) occasionally touch at Madeira.
The communication between Madeira and the Canary Islands (R. 4) is very defective.
The Archipelago da Madeira, or Madeira group of islands, consists of Madeira itself, the largest of the group, 37 by 14 M., Porto Santo (rising 1663 ft. above the sea), 6½ by 3 M., which lies 26½ M. to the N.E. of Madeira, and the three uninhabited Desertas. These are the islets of Chão (341 ft.), 12½ M. to the S.E. of Madeira, Deserta Grande (1611 ft.), and Bugio (1349 ft.). Madeira lies in 33° N. lat., between the Azores and the Canary Islands (R. 4), 620 M. to the S.W. of Lisbon, 370 M. to the N.W. of Cape Juby (p. [104]), and 275 M. to the N. of Teneriffe (p. [32]). The population of the islands, which are said to have been uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1419, is now, in an area of 314 sq. M., about 150,000. All the islands are of volcanic origin. In Madeira, above the primæval diabase rock (p. [29]), numerous eruptions since the miocene epoch have formed a number of extinct craters (lagoas), and as in the Canaries have raised the soil 1150 ft. above its original level. The main ridge of the island, running from W. to E., and culminating in the Pico Ruivo (‘red peak’; 6060 ft.), frequently rises in rocky pinnacles. In examining the geological structure of the island one is struck with ‘the constant mingling of solid masses of basalt and lava with strata of loose tufa and ashes, the whole being interspersed with upright dykes of lava’. The only tablelands are the Paul da Serra, on the W., and the smaller Santo Antonio da Serra, on the E. On the S. and N. slopes of the central range we observe a series of very curious and grand basins (curraes, sing. curral), which are enclosed by high rocks, and are connected with the sea by deep ravines, testifying to the enormous erosion caused by water and wind. Narrow strips of coast, strewn with rounded fragments of basalt, occur only at the mouths of the few streams, and on the largest of these lies Funchal, the capital of the island, on its S.W. margin.
The mild and wonderfully equable climate of Madeira which since 1850 has attracted numberless invalids, chiefly English, to its shores, is due partly to its southern position, tempered by the surrounding ocean, but mainly to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which sends from the Azores an offshoot, known as the Canary branch, towards the African coast. On the sunny S. coast in particular, which is free from fog and is sheltered from the prevailing N.W. wind by the above-mentioned main ridge, the mean and almost unvarying temperature of the three winter months (at Funchal 61° Fahr.; minimum 50°) is considerably higher than that of the favourite Mediterranean resorts (Nice 48° Fahr., Ajaccio 52°, Algiers 54½°, Málaga 55°), while the summer temperature is lower (at Funchal in Aug. 70½°, maximum 92°). Dust is almost unknown. The rainfall (at Funchal 27½ inches; but more in the mountains and on the N. coast), chiefly in sudden and heavy showers, occurs mostly between October and February or March. The lowest snow-line is 1970 ft. above the sea. The relative moisture of the air (67 per cent) at Funchal is moderate, notwithstanding the proximity of the sea. As in the Canaries, the mountains are generally cloud-capped about midday, except during the prevalence of the Leste, the wind blowing from the African desert (p. [29]), which in Madeira is not specially unpleasant.
Thanks to the genial climate, the abundant winter rains, and the system of irrigation by means of open channels (levadas), whereby water is brought down, partly through tunnels (furos), from its mountain sources, the fields and gardens of Madeira, ‘Flor do Océano’, show an almost tropical luxuriance of vegetation. Side by side with pines, junipers, and deciduous European trees, such as the plane, the chestnut, the maple, the oak, and the walnut, of which there are many splendid specimens, are seen countless evergreen trees and shrubs of tropical and subtropical origin. Among these are palms, araucarias, hickory-trees, cork-trees, camphor-trees, figs, palm-lilies (yuccas; p. [233]), magnolias, eucalypti, bamboos, papyrus-bushes, tree-ferns, and aloes. A few isolated dragon-trees (p. [30]), the laurel (vinhatico), and the tilwood tree (Oreodaphne fœtens), a kind of bay-tree scarcely occurring elsewhere, are survivals of the primæval forest destroyed by the Portuguese discoverers, and now lingering only in the remote ravines and on the slopes of the N. coast. To that forest the island owes its name (madeira, ‘wood’; Isŏla di Legname on old Italian charts). The hill-sides are now largely clothed with tree-like erica and broom (Genista madeirense, G. virgata, furze, etc.), large bilberry-bushes (Vaccinium madeirense), stemless ferns, and box, forming a kind of evergreen underwood. In the gardens of Funchal, enclosed by high walls, the traveller feasts his eyes, especially in May, on a most exuberant flora, comprising roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, callas, bignonias, daturas, fuchsias, hydrangeas, honeysuckle, and a superb red and purple bougainvillea. The garden-walls, field-roads, and hill-terraces are everywhere overgrown with vines, but, as in the Canary Islands, the wine-culture has suffered since 1852 from the grape-disease (Oïdium Tuckeri) and from the competition of port-wine (p. [4]). Among favourite brands are Malvasia or Malmsey, a sweet dessert-wine, Boal, and the astringent Sercial. Like the Vega of Málaga (p. [89]), the S. coast of Madeira yields the sugar-cane, which forms the chief crop of the island, bananas, sweet potatoes (p. [89]; Portug. batata doce), cherimolias, coffee-plants, yams (Dioscorea batatas; Portug. inhame), and early vegetables, which last are exported chiefly to England. Pine-apples thrive in hot-houses only. The natives live mostly on maize and the fruit of a kind of cactus (Opuntia Tuna) which grows abundantly on all the rocks.
Madeira also possesses several charming home-industries, producing embroidery, lace, silk shawls, basket-work, inlaid laurel-wood, and feather-flowers. Funchal, the only considerable harbour in the island, is an important coaling and provisioning station for steamers bound for S. Africa and for America. The heavy customs-dues, which render living dear, the over-population of the island, and the poverty of the peasantry cause a considerable emigration, chiefly to S. America.
Season and Mode of Travel. Madeira is an admirable health and rest resort at all seasons, except perhaps for sufferers from neurasthenia or gastric disorders; but in summer the Monte (p. [24]) and Camacha are preferable to the lower sites. Tourists, on the other hand, will find July, Aug., and Sept, the best months for their purpose, as the hotels are cheaper and less crowded, the days are long, and the dry weather favours excursions into the interior. At Funchal English, French, and in the larger hotels German are much spoken, but in the interior Portuguese only. Those unacquainted with the language of the natives are then dependent on the help of their horse-attendants (arrieiros) or guides (guias or chapas), many of whom speak a little English. At the principal hotels and shops English money is readily received, but small Portuguese change is required for fees and other minor outlays. Beggars abound, but their importunities should invariably be disregarded (comp. also p. xxv).
The streets of Funchal and the hill-roads are paved with round and slippery cobbles of basalt, against which india-rubber heels afford protection. The most popular vehicles are the bullock-cars (carros de bois; seated for 4 persons; 400–1000 rs. per hour). For steep descents the carro do monte or carrinho, a kind of running sledge, is employed (400–1200 rs. per drive). The longer excursions on the extremely hilly routes so characteristic of Madeira are best taken on horseback. The horses of Andalusian race are wonderfully wiry and sure-footed (per hour 500 rs.; arrieiro, or attendant, 800–1000 rs. per day). Ladies and invalids use the hammock or litter (rede), a costly conveyance (2–4 bearers, at 500–600 rs. each per hour). Finger-posts are entirely lacking.
The few Vendas, or country-inns, and the houses of the mountain engineers (to which travellers are admitted by leave from the office of the Obras Publicas at Funchal, Rua do Conselheiro Vieira 80) afford very primitive quarters. Travellers should therefore be provided with rugs, preserved meats, candles, insect-powder, and good drinking-water. As in the Alps, strong boots with nails and a hasta or bordão, a long stick with an iron spike, are desirable for mountaineering.
Among Books on Madeira may be mentioned A. Samler Brown’s Guide to Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the Azores (10th ed., London, 1910; 2s. 6d.); Leaves from a Madeira Garden, by Chas. Thomas-Stanford (London, 1910; 5s.); Yate Johnson’s Handbook of Madeira (London, 1885); Madeira, by Ellen M. Taylor (2nd ed., London, 1889); Madeira Islands, by A. J. D. Biddle (2nd ed., London, 1900; 2 vols.); Madeira, Old and New, by W. H. Koebel (London, 1909; 10s. 6d.); The Flowers and Gardens of Madeira, by the Misses Du Cane (London, 1909; 7s. 6d.).