Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/59

 TOPOGEAPHY OF THE AZORES. 41 Since tlie time of the Portuguese occupation violent eruptions have occurred, but none in the terminal crater itself, which emits nothing but a light column of vapour, mingled with carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen. The CFuption of 1572 appears to have been specially distinguished by the intensity of its fires, lighting up the whole archipelago, changing night into day, and illuminating the waters of San-Miguel at a distance of 150 miles. Like Terceira and Graciosa, Pico consists mainly of lavas which were ejected in a perfectly fluid state, and con- sequently spread in serpentine windings over the slopes. Around nearly the whole island, as round Etna in Sicily, the waters filter through the ashes and porous lavas, under which they develop subterranean streams, reappearing on the coast, where they are alternately exposed and covered by the tidal ebb and flow. Hence, notwithstanding the abundant rainfall, the inhabitants are obliged to husband their supplies in artificial reservoirs. Although of much larger extent, Pico has a population very little superior to that of the neighbouring Fayal. Formerly the large landowners of this island accumulated great wealth from their extensive vineyards, especially in Pico, which in 1852 yielded over 2,860,000 gallons of a vintage resembling Madeira ; but in 1853 the crop was reduced by the ravages of oidium to one-fifth, and a few years later the vines had only the value of so much fuel. Since then a few vine- yards have been restored, and attention has been paid to the cultivation of other fruits and to grazing on the upland pastures. But the produce of Pico, and consequently the trade of Fayal, have been much reduced, so that the impoverished inhabitants have largely contributed to swell the tide of emigration. Lagens, capital of Pico, is a wretched village near the south coast, on the banks of a lagoon which it is proposed to convert into a harbour. Geographically, Fa^al may be regarded as a dependency of Pico, from which it is separated by a channel less than 300 feet in depth. The spurious beeches, whence Fayal, or the " Beech Grove," takes its name, have almost disappeared, being now found only in a "cauldron" in the centre of the island 1,340 feet deep and nearly 4 miles round, and flooded with a small lake. Of all the Azores, Fayal is the best cultivated, and yields the finest fruits, such as oranges, apricots, and bananas. The industrious natives manufacture some woven fabrics, and the women prepare a thousand fancy objects for strangers, amongst which beautiful lace made with agave fibre. Ilorta, capital of Fayal, occupies a pleasant position over against Pico at the entrance of the fertile Yale of Flanders, so named from its first settlers, amongst whom was Martin Beham, the famous Niirnberg cosmographer. 'No other district in the archipelago surpasses that of Horta for the variety of the indigenous and exotic flora and the beauty of its shady groves, in which are intermingled the European, American, and Australian species. Owing to the abundance of its vegetable and other produce, Horta has become the chief port of call of the American whalers frequenting these waters. Its roadstead also is the best sheltered in the whole archipelago, being protected from the dangerous west winds by the surrounding heights, from those of the east and north- east by Pico and 6r— AF