New-York tribune., 1901-09-07
MADEIRA.
HISTORY AND GUIDANCE FOR THE
TRAVELLER.

THE LAND OF THE VINE Being an rn5 AGGoqbs &C. qbe
of the Madeira Islands at the BeeinnnS @ oint IN nf
View BY A. ]. DreXel Blddie, M" IN VIZ 0rexel
umes. octave PIP. 261, 800. Phliaoelpiia' D' ''>N'
This queer compilation is lacking in many oi
the reouirannents of literary Germ and 's-ance
and in .---os-a pl.cs. beauty: hi. the aulhor
has contrived to incornors;e in his two voiuIheS
a great amount Of information aoout d NIUE
known par. of the world. Historical, descrip
tive and statistical information about Maueld'
sts people government and industries ana iiluoh
detailed and practical advice 10 tourists VIII
,.la the hook of real service to intending Visi-
tors and of interest to those who like 10 traNel
AT their own fresid 8 with the aid of guide
hooks MIR. Riddle has provided for the practi-
cal use of his volume by putting the more imme-
d.atelv useful matter into the first volume ana
the treatment of more technical and scienthc
subjects in the second.
he gives the romantic legend of the chance
discovery of the islands by the Enghshman'
Robert a Machin. in the fourteenth century aS
the truth of history. Machin' imprisoned III
England for daring to love above MS stauoh,
ESCAPED with his lady love. already the wife OF
another. and set sail. Buffeted about by
storm. they landed on a mysterious and un-
known island: but their ship was driven away
bv a hurricane and the loss was such blow
TO the Young bride, that. on the seventh uaS
after their landing, when. as Mr.. bidule III
forms US "ar nature seemed rejoicing ana the
a.r,, groom leaves dashed here and there with
golden sunshine. rustled in the summer breeze
she drooped and died. Thereupon her lover iol-
LON ed her to the grave. five days later; ana Il
this tale be not true whence did the village VI
Nachico said to mark the spot where Machin
died derive its name? Having solved the hrst
problem in Madeiran history by this trium-
phant question. NJ. Biddle proceeds to the later
de,elonrnents OF It, and then goes on 10 much
more interesting discourse on travel ana sishI-
seeing in Madeira. We can praise unresefNea'H
the fine half tone reproductions OF Photographic
views Of FunchaI and other parts Of the island
which represent a picturesque tropical city ana
luxurious tropical landscape.
The first thing that strikes the visitor on land
ing is the strangeness of the only two MODES OF
CONVEYANCE used in FlnchaI one is the ''Iede,'
a hammock slung from a pole. which Is sup
ported AT either end by a carrier; tho other is
the "carro" car mounted runners, dragged
over the pavement by buocks and nlng with
bright colored curtains TO Keep out the draught
and The sun At intervals n piece Of grease
soaked cloth is put upon the roadway so that
the runners may pass oyer u and oil their way
along The small cobrlestones with which the
streets are paved are thus highly polished and
q eased from the passage of innumerable rar-
ros" The bearers Ct the 'rede" walk in
peculiar Madeiran fashion with a long Looping
stride by which though the knee IS unbent
wnen the foot touches the ground, they attain
great speed; or run a swinging, shutting
trot which they keep up for several niles
at a time The highways are narrow, the com
mon houses small and squad; but in the bet
ter quarters beautiful tropical gardens abound.
Mr. Biddle mentions several hotels with an
assurance of their excellence; but lodgings out
side of Funchal seem 10 be not always easy 10
obtain The newcomer must be careful 10 :est
indoors in the middle of the day, and TO eschew
too much meat. well native fruits and
wines.
The last Injunction will doubtless strike the
visitor 70 OF the femous wine districts OF
the world as a hardship. Mr. Biddle devotes
naturally much space in his second volume 10
the wine industry. All agriculture including
wine growing, is greatly dependent on irriga-
ton Of which there is an excellent system. The
water is dealt out for a period of several hours
on stated dates landowners who have the
right 10 its use, and the scene Is a strange one
Great excitement prevails:
The natives realizing the short space OF time
that they have in which TO irrigate their fields
0nd fiji their water tanks, seem to lose all self
control at sight of the first glIsh of water. and
dash hther and thither. waving their arms fnd
yelling like madmen Their apparently frantic
conduct tho way in which
they go about this work rather rems rkable
in view Of the fact that the irrigation of their
fields is, of necessity. not novelty to them.
The golden age Of Madeira wine was between
17SS and 1928 the industry having been estab-
lished by a young Englshman named Francis
Newton. whose successors are still the cLef
shippers Of wine. A popularity Of the wines
Of Madeira is the fact that they artihcay
treated in buildings called "estufa stores pro-
Yided for that purpose-the best al a tempera-
ture OF 10 TO 100 degrees Fahrenheit. for half
a year. The reason given for this is that the
germs OF fermentation may be destroyed and
that the wine may have nothing 10 delay IT'S
maturing. that II may be shipped in its sec
ond third year without further addition Of
spirits.