Of Flowers and Ants

It is always pleasant to view an eight-page color photo section preceding a major article, especially those of the beautiful Canary Islands' art and architecture.  In "Hunting for Plants in the Canary Islands", an article in the May, 1930, issue of National Geographic Magazine, Mr. David Fairchild has described some of the history, biology, culture, geography and products of these islands.

The Canaries are located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Africa.  "One thinks of the Canaries as a tiny archipelago, but as a matter of fact it is nearly half as large as the Hawaiian Archipelago and has twice as many inhabitants.  It looks so small on the map that one imagines one could explore it in a summer's afternoon. . .The largest island, Tenerife, is almost the size of Rhode Island" (p. 607).

Mr. Fairchild, a native of the State of Kansas, United States of America, and his son, Graham, "had come over from Casablanca, Morocco, to see if any of the 335 species of indigenous plants which still grow wild in the barrancos and nowhere else. . .might be worthy of introduction into the gardens and farmlands of our great Southwest and South or perhaps prove choice greenhouse plants for popularization" (p. 607).

FYI: Barrancos are "great, dry river beds with precipitous sides and terraced plantations wherever terraces could be built" (p. 623).

The author, a botanist, joined the Allison V. Armour Expedition of which Dr. William M. Wheeler, an entomologist, was also a member.  Dr. Wheeler had a habit of collecting species of ants wherever he went and was delighted with the many and varied specimens in the Canaries.

Spain conquered the islands in the fifteenth century; their language and culture remain, with slight Moorish influences.  One major industry is fishing and another cash crop is mild-flavored Chinese dwarf bananas, most of which are exported to Europe.  Chief cities in 1930 were Santa Cruz, the capital, Santa Domingo and La Laguna.

The islands are a geological product of volcanoes with cold, black lava covering much of the islands.  The beaches have black lava sand.  Due to the difficulty of digging in lava, graves are built above ground.  All of the volcanoes except one were extinct in 1930.  The tallest volcano, Pico de Teide (means 'Peak of Hell') is more than 12,000 feet high and can be seen 150 miles out to sea on a clear day.  It was slightly active in 1930.

FYI: Native canary birds are green. . ."The more familiar variety, raised in Germany, are yellow" (photo caption, p. 628).

The team was greatly interested in a particular use of many of the islands' flowers in the annual religious festival of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ).  This is observed with "an elaborate procession and by the making of huge, beautifully designed mosaics of varicolored flowers, seeds, and stones. . .in front of City Hall" and the Cathedral, and lining the street of La Laguna (p. 615).  "Every street introduces a different design" (p. 619).  "When artists have made their final arrangements of petals and blossoms, the molds are deftly withdrawn, leaving a completed carpet of flowers covering the street.  This is carefully sprinkled with water to keep it fresh until evening, where the procession will come to tread over it" (photo caption, p. 621).

Mr. Fairchild was pleased to gather many seeds of the native plants he examined.  He reports, "Few corners of the world can command such variety of mountain and valley, forest and desert, landscape and sea view, as these nature-favored islands of the Atlantic" (photo caption, p. 636).  He and Graham left the Canary Islands thinking that the islands offer, summer or winter, "a temperate climate and superb scenery to the tourists of the world who are looking for new and quiet places to visit" (p. 652).