The Republican journal., 1895-10-10
DR.. Miles Neryine
Restores Health

corn. To get to these fields you have to
cross the cliffs BY steep, zigzag path
cut in the face Of them, filter for goats to
traverse than for human beings; vet the
only road to Ponta Delgada. a consider
able inland village lies that way and by
| it the inha bitants of Fajemsinho must 90
every day to and from their tield-labors.
| We climbed a little way up and were we'll
rewarded by the backward view. The
afternoon sun shone up the mouth of
! gorge with a soft yellow light, illuminat-
ing one side and throwing the other into
shadow. 1t glittered on silvery water
fall which tumbled over the edge of a
nearby precipice to the surf far below
and turned to FURNISHED gold the whole
broad expanse OF sea i'll front Clouds of
vapor above the cascade wavered to and
fro in the breeze like incense from a
swinging censor; and over all lowered the
hazy cliffs in their three fold semi circle.
diversified in color by every shade of
brown, green and gray, bright red in
| places, with bands of shining ebony
wherever the lava-ledges protruding
through the soil were wet by streams or
/ waterfalls. While toiling up the stony
/ way, which seems more like the ruined
stairs OF an old abbey than a path grasp
ing the heather on the inner side for
greater safety and ramnaing our improvis-
ed alpenstochs down hard between the
rocks TO prevent a sir, which would have
dropped us into the surf roaring at the
! foot Of the pIecipice, we We're astonish-
sd to see both men and women come
tripping down it, carrying heavy burdens
we run ~ and down stairs vt home OF
course this careless confidence comes from
having always been used 10 it; and we no.
/ tlce0 that their bare feet appeared to
grasp every stone they stood on much as
a bird $ claws grasp 4 bough. We met a
/ Faielnsinho girl Will a great bundle of
wood on her head Posing herself for one
moment on a single stone to let us pass.
she acknowledged our salutation with a
smiling -sboa tarde' good afternoon:)
then gathering up her red petticoat in one
hand and steadyng tie faggots with the
other she bounded down the mountain
side with steps as fearless and graceful as
ours were the reverse.
Speaking of Azorean agriculture, though
these volcanic islands all ,,,,unal Of
and PERCEPTIONS, present such an unprom-
Using appearance from the sea- a closer i'll
spection reveals luxuriant vegetation, rich
pastures and beautiful woods. The eli
mate, though humid, is delightful, and
combined with the natural fertility of the
soil brings every sort Of vegetable product
to the utmost perfection. Sugar cane,
coffee ard tobacco grow luxuriantly on
some of the islands, besides the vine
yards and groves Of orange and lemon
trees There is no doubt that fruits and
plants of all kinds, from all countries,
could be cultivated here with greater sue
cess than in most other parts of the world ;
but, unfortunately, the native inhabitants
have neither the energy nor intelligence
to turn the natural advantages of their
position to the best account. Their I'M
plements are Of the rudest kind In SOW
ing they throw the seed about at random,
calculating on the bounty Of nature for a
! rich return; and they are never disap-
pointed. Altogether, the islands produce
annually upwards Of II, 900 pipes of wine,
| and about 100, 900 boxes of oranges and
lemons-which are mostly sent to Eng
land, the United States, Hamburg and
Brazil. They also export considerable
sailed pork and beef to Madeira and Por-
tugal, and good deal of coarse linen
made from home grown flax. One of
their most valuable productions is the
lupine, which here grows to extraordi-
nary size and is raised in great quantities.
The farinaceous seeds Of it, after being
soaked in sea water to get rid Of their
bitter taste, are favorite article Of food
among the poorer classes; the green leaves
are excellent fodder for the cattle; the
dry stalks are used for fire wood, and the
rest is plowed under for fertilizer. They
say that the most dry and sandy soil, if
..green manured' with lupine, is rendered
fit for any crop. This is the very same
sscornfield weed,' you know, which has
heen cultivated from time immemOrial in