The Nome daily nugget., 1936-01-31

Prepared by the National Geographic Society.
 Washington. D. C.-WNU Service.
 ENHANCING seasons do not touch | Madeira, the beautiful Portu- 0 guese island on the fringe of
 the eastern Atlantic. Its velvety green mountains cleft by deep ravines, it's terraced hilsides. brilliant with flowers and Towering vines are the same, summer and winter.
 In December the peaks of the tower- ing mountains, which rise like an amphitheater back of Funchal, chief city of Madeira, are sometimes tipped with snow but all else is vividly green, with riot of multi-colored blossoms on every terrace of this quaint old town, which climbs the hills above sapphire sea.
 Gardens are the striking feature of the Madeiran capital. They hang one above the other like balconies, radiant with flowers of many climes.
 Stiff Brazilian araucaria pines. tall Australian eucalyptus. and leafy Asi- atic mango nod to palm. mimosa and magnolia. The Indian fig, with Its wide-spreading branches, grows beside the flamboyant of Madagascar, the coral tree of the West Indies and the camphor tree of Japan.
 Most effective in winter are the flow ering creepers-the deep-magenta and brick-red bougainvilleas and the blaz- Ing orange bignonia, which form solid masses of color on the high walls. Flaming poinsettias and red pink and white camellias grow as tall as trees. Clinging to the sheer face of the cliffs which border many of the gardens Is variety of aloe which thrusts out startling scarlet flower spikes above the blue sea.
 Automobiles, motor busses, and trucks now crowd Funchal's narrow streets, but 1t is the native "carro' or sledge, drawn by pair of patient oxen. that catches the eye.
 Ridinq In an "Oxen-Cab." In one of these two-seated, curtaned and canopied "oxey-cabs," which re- semble big baskets on runners, one may glide over smooth, polished cob bles to the cog railway that climbs steep incline to pine-clad heights 3,300 feet above the sea. feature of the ascent is the shower of flowers tossed by blossom-laden children, who scamp CT after sledge and funicular.
 The descent from the mountain can be made in a toboggan sledge which offers an exciting ride. The speed of the passenger and cargo sledge is slow, but the downhill running carro" pro- vides real thrills. The broad armchair on runners is used in descending se- lected routes of tilted streets. Two men hold the sledge in leash by guide ropes; as 1t starts down the slippery stone path they hop onto the back platform and the slide begins.
 Then comesfashes of town and sea. gaudy blossoms draping high, sunlit courts, dark-haired women and big eyed children framed in vine-hung doorways. pedestrians hattened against the wall As the sledge approaches a curve, the crew jump off to guide it Wltn NlSOTOuS tugs dTotluu tiIV Noi hS' . checking the speed when the lower lev el is reached
 Madeira is an oceanic Amazon whose height from her crown, on the summit of Pico Ruivo, to her base in the briny deep south of Funchal is nearly 10000 feet. Only about one-third of this mountain queen is visible above water her head and shoulders draped in a vivid emerald scarf.
 The islands forming this archi- pelago, Madeira, Porto Santo. and two uninhabited groups, are of volcanic origin. Considering the depth of the surrounding sea, and the abysmal chasms which everywhere cleave Ma deira's mountainous surface. it is evi dent that . vast period of time must have elapsed since the beginning of the countless eruptions which went toward the making of this island Today nc live craters exist in this group, as or the Canary and Cane Verde islands