Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/195

Rh M A D M A D 177 claws and beaks of birds. This appears to be due to the ch.emic.il affinity of phosphate of lime for the colouring matter (Pereira, Mat. Med., vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 52). liubia chilensis, Mol., has been used for dyeing red from time immemorial (Pickering, p. G61). The chay-root, which furnishes a red dye in Coromandel and other parts of India, is obtained from Hedyotis umbellata, Lam., of the same family as madder (Drury, p. 366). 5 e III. MADEIRA. The Madeiras, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean belonging to Portugal, consist of two inhabited islands named Madeira and Porto Santo, and three uninhabited rocks named collectively the Desertas. Funchal, the capital of Madeira, is on the south coast of the principal island, iu 32 37 45&quot; N. lat., 16 55 20&quot; W. long. It is about 360 miles from the coast of Africa, 535 miles from Lisbon, 1215 from Plymouth, 240 from Teneriffe, and 480 from Santa Maria, the nearest of the Azores. Funchal is connected by the Brazilian submarine telegraph, which belongs to a British company, with Lisbon on the one hand, and on the other with Brazil. Madeira, the largest island of the group, has a length of 30 geographical miles, an extreme breadth of 13 miles, and a coast-line of 80 or 90 miles. Its longer axis lies east and west, in which direction it is traversed by a mountain chain, the backbone of the island, having a mean altitude of 4000 feet, up to which many desp ravines penetrate from both coasts, rendering travelling by land from place to place a very tedious and fatiguing labour. Pico Euivo, the highest summit, stands in the centre of the island, and has a height of 6100 feet, but some of the adjacent sum mits are very little lower. The depth and narrowness of the ravines, the loftiness of the rugged peaks that tower above them, the bold precipices of the coast, and the proximity of the sea afford many scenes of picturesque beauty or striking grandeur which are continually changing in character as the traveller advances on his way. The greater part of the interior is uninhabited, for the towns, villages, and scattered huts lie either at the mouths of ravines or upon the lower slopes that extend from the mountains to the coast. The ridges between the ravines usually terminate in lofty headlands, one of which has the height of 1920 feet, and much of the coast is bound by precipices of dark basalt. The north coast, having been more exposed to the erosion of the sea, is on the whole more precipitous than the south coast, and presents every where a wilder aspect. On the south there is left very little of the indigenous forest which once clothed the whole island and gave it the name it bears (Madeira, from materia, wood), bat on the north some of the valleys still contain native trees of fine growth. A long, narrow, and compara tively low rocky promontory forms the eastern extremity of the island, and here is to be seen a tract of calcareous sand, known as the Fossil Bed, containing land shells and numerous bodies resembling the roots of trees, probably produced by infiltration. Upon an islet off this promontory stands the only lighthouse of the group. It has a flashing light visible at the distance of 25 miles in clear weather. History. It has been conjectured, but on insufficient evidence, that the Phoanicians discovered Madeira at a very early period. Pliny mentions certain Purple or Mauretanian Islands, the position of which with reference to the Fortunate Islands or Canaries might seem to indi cate the Madeiras. There is a romantic story, of doubtful truth, to the effect that two lovers, Robert Machim and Anna d Arfet, fleeing from England to France in 1346, were driven out of their course by a violent storm, and cast on the coast of Madeira at the place subsequently named Machico, in memory of ona of them. On the evidence of a portulano dated 1351, preserved at Florence, it would appear that Madeira had been discovered long previous to that date by Portuguese vessels under Genoese captains. In 1419 two of the captains of Prince Henry of Portugal were driven by a storm to the island called by them Porto Santo, or Holy Port, in gratitude for their rescue from shipwreck. The next year an expedition was sent out to colonize the island, and, Madeira being descried, they made for it, and took possession on behalf of the Portuguese crown. The islands were then uninhabited. For the sixty years intervening between 1580 and 1640, Madeira, with Portugal itself, was under Spanish rule. In 1801 British troops occupied the island for a few months, commanded by General Beresford, and it was again under the British flag from 1807 to 1814. Madeira is now a province and an integral part of the Portuguese kingdom, entitled to send deputies to the Cortes assembling at Lisbon* Inhabitants. The inhabitants are of Portuguese descent, with probably some intermixture of Moorish and Negro blood amongst the lower classes. The dress of the peasantry, without being picturesque, is peculiar. Both men and women in the outlying country districts wear the carapu^a, a small cap made of blue cloth, in shape something like a funnel, with the pipe standing upwards. The men have trousers of linen, drawn tight, and terminating at the knees ; a coarse shirt enveloping the upper part of their person, covered by a short jacket, completes their attire, with the exception of a pair of .rough yellow boots. The women s outer garments consist of a gaudily coloured gown, made from island material, with a small cape of coarse scarlet or blue woollen cloth. At the end of 1881 the inhabitants of Madeira numbered 131,906 persons, the females exceed ing the males by 7060. The- population increases, notwith standing the emigration to Demerara and the Hawaiian Islands that occasionally takes place. There is strong reason for thinking that the islands are too densely peopled, considering the small proportion which cultivable ground bears to the whole, and the general want of capital. Government. The administration of affairs is in the hands of a civil governor appointed by the crown, under whom is a military officer in command of the troops, which consist of a battalion of infantry, a detachment of artillery, and some militia. The law of Portugal is administered by four chief judges, each of whom has a separate division (comarca) of the island in his jurisdiction, within which he tries both civil and criminal cases with the assistance of a jury. Magistrates elected by the people decide minor cases. For municipal purposes the island is divided into nine districts, called concelhos (Porto Santo forming a tenth), each of which has its popularly elected municipal chamber, whose duty it is to repair the roads, light and cleanse the towns and villages, &c. The chief police magistrate of each district is the administrador, who is appointed by the central Government. A bishop is at the head of the clergy, his cathedral being at Funchal. There are forty-eight parishes, each with its church and resident priest. Roman Catholicism is the established form of reli gion, but others are now tolerated. Education. By law all children of a certain age should be sent to school, but this regulation is not strictly enforced, and only a small fraction of the total number actually receive instruction. The chief educational establishment is the Lyceo at Funchal, where there are seven professors paid by Government. In 1881 the pupils at this establish ment were two hundred and fifty in number. There is a seminary for young priests, and a number of public primary schools are scattered over the island. Agriculture. Until recently a considerable portion of the land was strictly entailed in the families of the land lords (morgados), but entails have been abolished by the legislature, and the laud is now absolutely free. Owing to the irremediable difficulties of the surface, the roads XV. 23