Madeira : its climate and scenery : a hand-book for invalid and other visitors / by Robert White.

  • White, Robert
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Madeira : its climate and scenery : a hand-book for invalid and other visitors / by Robert White. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    94/360 (page 76)
    The principal part of their sustenance is derived from the inhame, common potato, sweet potato, cabbage, pumpkin, lupine, kidney bean, Indian corn meal made into porridge, chestnuts, and fish, which is plentifully taken during the favourable weather on the south coast. Much salt fish, chiefly cod and herring, is imported.* In consequence of the rugged nature of the country, boats are employed as much as possible in the conveyance of goods from place to place; but a good deal of carrying is necessarily effected on men's shoulders. The weight that one of these fellows will bear is quite astonishing when the steepness of the paths he has to traverse and the length of the journey are considered. A load of 250 lbs. is not uncommon, and sometimes a man will be found with a burden of 300 lbs. Like other places, Madeira has been occasionally visited by pestilence and famine. In the summer of 1856, cholera broke out and swept away about seven thousand persons in the course of a few weeks. In many districts, society was completely disorganised on the appearance of the scoui*ge; and the * In ] 853, tlie boats employed in fishing at Madeira amounted to 93 and tlie persons to 475; in 1855, 117 boats and 678 persons were employed. The Appendix contains a list of the principal fish brought to market. Any surplus supply of fish is salted for consumption on the island; and sometimes when the take of herring has been considerable, it has been cured for exportation,