[11] Insecta Maderensia, p. 516.
[12] Insecta Maderensia, p. 17.
[13] I possess specimens of this insect captured on the summit of Mount Olympus by my friend E. Armitage, Esq., who is also of opinion that it may be but a mountain state of the C. sylvatica, Linn.
[14] Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects (London, 1840), ii. p. 473.
[15] Id. ii. p. 158.
[16] Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects, ii. p. 431.
[17] Journal of Researches, p. 238.
[18] That I may not be misunderstood by those of my readers who conceive Madeira to be a kind of "arva beata," with the sky for ever blue, and (as a consequence) an unclouded sun; I would repeat, that I am not speaking of the vicinity of Funchal only (from which the invalids, who resort thither for their health, almost exclusively draw their deductions), but of Madeira,—and, more-over, of Madeira as it was, and not of Madeira as it is. More or less of cultivation during a period exceeding four centuries, in conjunction with the overwhelming fire which completely devastated the entire south of the island, immediately after its first settlers had taken possession of it, and which is stated (in the accounts which are transmitted to us) to have smouldered on for nearly seven years, have so altered the features of the country, that it is only in the untouched regions of the north (on which the woodman's axe is nevertheless encroaching, season after season, with lamentable rapidity) that we can catch even a glimpse of its pristine condition. The dense forests which then everywhere abounded must have caused an amount of moisture and exhalation of which even the northern districts as they now are (though saturated, even yet, with dampness; and at a certain elevation almost constantly enveloped with clouds) can give us but a faint idea. So tremendous indeed must have been the aqueous accumulations which then hung around the island, that even the splendour of a southern sun cannot have penetrated the atmosphere as it does at present; and, hence, the historical fact that Madeira proper (although separated by a channel of only thirty miles in breadth, and now usually visible in bold relief against the sky, during a portion, at least, of every day, from a far greater distance) was not discovered for an entire year after the colonization of Porto Santo, on account of the thickness of the canopy which shrouded it from view, is at once rendered intelligible. It is narrated, that, in the year 1419, Prince Henry of Portugal organized an expedition to attempt the doubling of Cape Bojador; but the commanders, having lost their reckoning, were driven ashore on an island,—which they named Porto Santo, in commemoration of their escape from the perils of the sea. "On their return," says Mr. Harcourt, "Prince Henry sent out Zargo, Vaz, and Pestrello, to plant a new colony in the island. It was not long before a dark spot was observed on the western horizon of Porto Santo. This was regarded by some with superstitious awe; but Zargo concluded it to be clouds attracted by high land; and shaping his course in that direction, in spite of the endeavours of his crew (by menaces and supplications) to prevent him, he discovered, in the year 1420, the island to which, from the trees that covered it, he gave the name of Madeira."—A Sketch of Madeira, London, 1851, p. 16.
[19] Journal of Researches, pp. 209, 210.
[20] Zoologist, x. 3616.