\ 28598722 *- TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, WITH A VIEW TO ILLUSTRATE THE NATURAL HISTORY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THAT KINGDOM, IN A SERIES OF LETTERS. Including the mod inferefting Subjects contained in the Memoirs of DON GUILLERMO BOWLES, and other SPANISH WRITERS, INTERSPERSED WITH HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. ADORNED WITH COPPER-PLATES AND ANEW MAP OF SPAIN.- NOJ 4 vkf©/ I : \ I W L WITH OBSERVATIONS lelative to the ARTS, and defcriptivc of MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. BIBUOTilEE" '^A £1$ Written »n tne Courfe of a late Tour through that Kincdo Bj^&U N TALBOT DILLON, Knight and Baron of the SACRED ROMAN EMPIRE. Lo im'ico a que puedo afpirar, es a la gloria de fer el primero que ha intent ado una deferipcion fifica de tJU pais. Don Guillermo Bowles. LONDON: IWed for G. ROBINSON, No. 25, PATERNOSTER-ROW; And PEARSON and ROLLASON, in BIRMINGHAM. M.DCC.LXXX. PREFACE AT my return from Italy, in the year, 1778, I once more vifited Spain, and traverfed the whole kingdom (a). This journey afforded me the greater pleafure, from not only being vcrfed in the Spanifh language, but having made many friends and acquaintance during my former refidence in that kingdom, befides, being no ftranger to their manners andcuftoms; which circumftancc greatly contributed to increafe my amufement, and render my travels far more agreeable than they would have been to a perfon in a lefs eligible predicament. On my arrival at Madrid, the m&rtiinn* and rfahnrate work of Don Guillermo Bowles (t), firft fell into my hands. This valuable treatife is defigned as an introdn/rton to the Natural Hijlory and Phyfical Geography of the kingdom of Spain, for the execution of which the. author was very well qualified, having been employed many years by his Catholic Majefty in vifiting mines and other purpofes tending to the improvement of that kingdom, in different branches of mineralogy, and other ufeful arts. Upon the perufal of this production, it occurred to mc, that at a period when Natural Hijlory is fo much cultivated, a more perfeft acquaintance with a country, which had hitherto in this refpeel almoft cfcaped philofophical enquiry, would meet the approbation of an Englifh reader; more efpecially as we might be induced to expeft from fuch a writer, abundant variety of accurate information, that could not be offered by any common inveftigator: particularly when the many inconvcniencics of bad roads, and other embar-raffments, that offer themfelves perpetually in that kingdom, are confidered. I have therefore availed myfelf of this work as my chief guide, with refpedt to the principal objefts of natural hiflory, without being a mere copy ill in every minute detail; but on the contra) y, fuch original' remarks are offered as I flatter myfelf will not be unacceptable to the candid reader. We are informed by Mr. Bowles, that having cafually (in 1752) met with at Paris, Don Antonio de Ulloa, now an admiral in the Spanifh fleet, he was induced by this gentleman to enter into the fervicc of Spain, and that he foon after fet out for that kingdom to receive his innru&ions, and to put them into execution. In this commiffion he was affociated with Don Jofcph Solano, who in 1773, was appointed governor of St. Domingo ; Don Salvador de Medina, who died at California, whither he went to make obfervations upon the tranfit of Venus; and Don Pedro Saura, an advocate of Madrid. The tvvo former gentlemen were naval officers and well known by their literary abilities and travels. The firfl objecl that engaged Mr. Bowles's attention was an infpcclion into the quickfilver imne °f Almadcn, in La Manchn, at that time greatly neghclcd, though a place of the utmofl: {a) This Was my tlijrd voyage t0 Spain_ (b) Introduce^ a la hixtoria natural y a U geoSra!u fifici de Efpana, por Don Guillermo Bowles. Madrid, 1775, 4to. a * confequence IV PREFACE. confequence to the Spaniards, as they extract from the cinnabar ore of that mine, the major part of the quickfilver that is requifite for the working of their fdver mines in America.-—Mr. Bowles relates that he fet out for Almadcn on the 17th of July, 1752, and having with great attention vifited the mines, he offered new propofals to the Spanifh miniftry, in which was contained a more eligible procefs than that which had been adopted for extracting the quickfilver, which was certified by experiments made on the fpot, in the prefence of the king's officers, which received the approbation of government, and ferved to fix him in their urvice. Several years after this hill expedition he continued his progrefs through moft of the provinces of Spain, of which he has given rather a defultory, though curious account, which he laid before the public, and publiflicd at Madrid in 1775, dedicated to his catholic majefty Charles the third. In the letters which I now prcfent to the public, I have included moft of the obfervations and remarks of Air. Bowlesin die luuiA, uf uia vaiiuw juuuno, from the ^ai 1 j-tj^ down to the prefent time, wtrrcb were read with great applaufe by the Spaniards, and bought up with fuch wgemeft, that in 1778 no copies were to be found. A tranflat ion was foon after made into French by the vifcount de Flavigny, who has every where literally followed the original text, without any additional note or obfervation [a) : in the progrefs of a work of fo extenfive a nature, which comprifes fuch a variety of fubjects, we could not reafouably expect that Mr. Bowles, as a foreigner, and more particularly at his advanced age, could fet before the public, in the metropolis of Spain, fo elaborate a performance, without the afflftance of a native perfectly acquainted with his maternal language, till now fo little introduced in philofophical re-fearches, though extremely copious and exprcflive. Accordingly we hud no lefs a perfon in the literary world than the ingenious and erudite Don Nicholas de Azara, the prefent Spanifh agent at the court of Rome, the revifor of this work; but notwithflanding this extraordinary affiflance, there remain many obfeure paffages in different parts of the text, which ncceffarily render an exact tranflation extremely difficult, as well as tedious and difagreeablc. Some palTuges are merely local, and would therefore afford little or no entertainment to an Englifh reader. We find moreover, that in his introduction he is compelled, from a deficiency of exprellion applicable to his fubject, to enter into tedious details. The ambiguity of the Spanifh language perplexes him, and throws a cloud over his meaning. After this he Further tells us, that the confines himfelf to no kind of order or method ; one chapter treats of Valencia, the next of Aragon, another of Bifcay, Catalonia, or theEfcurial, an 1 what is fotrcwhat lingular, the thirtieth chapter prefents us with his fir/1 journey from Bayonnc into Spain. Judging it expedient to avoid fuch confufion, I have endeavoured to arrange his materials in a proper manner; and have accordingly divided this work into two parts. The firft compiifes the journey to Madrid, by the way of Navarre, then I enter into a defcription of the northern parts of Spain, which includes many remarkable objects in Caflile, Aragon, and Bifcay. In the fecond pan, departing from Madrid, I tra- (a) Introduction a I'hiftoire, naturelle et a la geographic phyfiqoe de L'Efpacjne traduit de 1'original Ef-pagnol de Gtullermo Bowles, par lc Vicomte de Flavigny. Paris, 1775.8vo. verfe P R E 1« A C E. v verfe the provinces of Eurcmadura, Andalufia, Grenada, Murcia, Valencia, and Catalonia-, and though many of thefe diftrids have been the immediate objefts of my obfervation, I ingcnu-oully acknowledge that the chief remarks, with regard to the natural hiltory of thofe provinces, are from Mr. Bowles's valuable memoirs; where I have differed from him in opinion, my objection is thrown into a note ; and where I judged extraneous matter was introduced, it is fuppreffed; upon the whole, if I can derive the merit of giving thefe fheets an Englifh drefs, or afford any kind of novelty by enlivening the text, I fhall be fatisfted in luv ing compafTcdmy defign ; more cfpecially, if the literati mould indulge me with the opinion, that I have offered them any thing deferving their attention, which has not appeared before in print, occafioned by the dearth of refearch in a country fo rich ncvctthclcls in materials, that Mr. Bowles juftly calls it 11A Virgin Land.11 "There, arc, T Untter myfMF, fame pnrts of this hnnk, which cannot, in any refpeet, be confi-dered as borrowed from Mr. Bowles's work : in thofe parts the hiflorian and the antiquary may probably meet with fuch detached pieces, as have hitherto efcaped their obfervation. I mult acknowledge that I am likewife indebted to the works of the celebrated Don Antonio Ponz, fecretary to the royal academy of San Fernando at Madrid, whofc travels through Spain have met with univerfal applaufe and recommended him to the royal favour. As the extenfivc circulation of Ponz's works induced Mr. Bowles not to quote from them, 1 have been prevailed upon to avail myfelf of them, judging they would be agreeable to the Englifh reader, and have endeavoured to blend the quotations with the text, in fuch a manner as I deemed would render them the roofl acceptable: my clefign being merely intended as an effuy to afford a guide to future travellers. It is offered to the public in the flattering expectation that it may Simulate more capable travellers to invefligate the fubjects it treats of with greater judgment and accuracy. A fummary account of the mineral waters of Trillo is introduced with a fimilar view. It is fclccted from the judicious treatife of Dr. Ortega, F. R, S. and I am indebted to the ob. fcrvations of the late Donjofeph Quer, his Majefty's Surgeon, for what is offered on the virtues of the Perennial leaved Strawberry tree. If it fhould be urged that I have taken too great liberties with Mr. Bowh-s's text, let it be remarked, I have invariably prefixed his name at the head of each letter, any part of the contents of which is borrowed from him, to acknowledge fairly my obligation. I have likewife endeavoured to dojufliceto his ideas as far as the great variation of idioms would allow ; it being as diflant as poffible from my intentions to depreciate in the fmallefl degree, the extraordinary merit, which mufl impartially be afcribed to his uncommon talents. To what I have faid I muff fubjoin that it never was my intent to produce a tranflation of his book; of which many cunous pieces are omitted relative to platina, the Mexican mines, and other mifcellaneous matter. On the whole I have aimed at catching the quinteffence of his book. I have ventured to communicate it (0 my countrymen for their inflection, benefit, and entertainment. How far I have fucceeded, 1 itave to t|1£ can(jid, the intelligent reader;, but fliall venture to fay with Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Rofcommon, The vi PREFACE. The genuine fenfe intelligibly told, Shews a tranflator both difcreet and bold. It now behoves me to apologize for the many defects and imperfections that will prefeur themfelves to the eye of criticifm in the courfe of perufing this work. Should my flyle appear cold and inanimate when I climb the bleak fnowy mountains of Aragon and Bifcay, how much more mull I dread languor and torpidity in the fruitful plains of Andalufia and Granada; or amidlt the flowery lawns of captivating Valencia. But thus fituated at the. bar of criticifm, I trull myfelf to the candour of my jury, the impartial public ; let me plead in defence of any defers in language, a long abfence from my native country, -which however afforded me ,great fatisfaction, more particularly at the Court of Vienna, from the extraordinary favours I had the honour to receive there, from two fucceflive emperors. It yields me a moll flattering retrolpect to repafs in my memory, the various friendly offices I received from many diflinguifhed perfons, during my tour through different parts of Spain, and alfo the aflifiance of fome of my friends in England, in the execution of this defign. I hope my learned friend, Dr. Withering, will plcafe to accept my fincereft acknowledgments for his very liberal aflifhincc and obliging revifion of this work. I am further particularly indebted for many communications to a Gentleman, whofe long refidence in Spain, gave him the belt opportunities of information, equal to his kind difpofition to promote literary refearches there, and to whofe friendly affiflance the firfl hiflorian of the age has exprefled fuch particular obligations. The reader need not be furprLcd that I have not engaged in politics, naval or military ope* rations : they were foreign to my fubject, which leads not to {peak of fleets or armies, or the efforts of contending princes, no more than of national characters. The refearches of nature alone, and the admiration of providence in their difcovery, afford an ample field for the philo-fophic traveller! If I have fometimcs expatiated on the qualities or excellence of Spanifh productions fa), I hope, ncverthelefs, it will not be thought, that I mean to leffen or feel lefs warmth for the innumerable advantages of my own country, wherein, if we have not the rich fiuits of the foulhern climes, we enjoy fo many other cffential benefits, fuperadded to the great-cfl abundance of every ncceffary, every convenience of life, as cannot fail, from our infular nutation, to render us a molt happy people. Thus even fuppofing for a moment we grant to other nations every advantage of a luxuriant climate^ or that the Spaniard lives in ten degrees of more indulgent Ikies; 'Tis Liberty that crowns Britannia's ifle, And makes her barren rocks, and her bleak mountains fmile. addison. Birmingham, April 15, 17S0. {a) Even the great Linnaeus, fpcaking of the natural advantages of the climate of Portugal has faid, Eone Deus ! Si Lufitani nofcent fua bona naturae, quam infelices client, plcriquc alii, qui non potent terras Exoticas. Sec Linnaeus in epiftola die, 12 Februarii, 1765. TABLE of CONTENTS. PAP. T I. I. t.t. _^ r I. UIVIS10 N of the kingdom of Spain. -- --- * II. Itinerary from Bayonne to Pamplona, and from thence to Mad', id. A mine of fal gem at Valtierra described. -1 .---° III. Natural hijlory of the grana kermcs, or fear let grain* - J& IV. The method of making falt-petre in Spain. - - 3- V. Of the Merino fheep. -- -■ - 4l> VI. Inconveniencies ariftng from the Merino peep and the partial laws of the Mfla. 57 VII. Mijcellaneous obfequations made at Madrid, with fome account of the royal cabinet of natural biflory.-- ■-- 6(1 VIII. Defcription of the palace and gardens of Aranjuez. IX. The baths and mineral waters of Trilh. -- - 89 X. The royal feat and gardens of St. Ildefonfo.—City of Segovia. — io3 XI. Departure from Madrid for the city of Burgos. — ' --11 j XII. Remarkable objects on the road from Burgos to the provinces ofAlaba and Guypuf- coa, as far as Irum,the lajl town on the frontiers of Spain towards France. 127 XIII. Of the iron ore of Mondragon in Guypufcoa and famous Toledo blades. — 134 XIV. Environs of Reinofa,fource of the river Ebro.—Intended canal of Cajiile. 140 XV. Natural hijlory of the tpanijh plant gayuba, or perennial leaved Jlrawberry-tree. 145 XVI. Defcription of the lordfiip of Bifcay and its products. - 1 53 XVII. Reflections on the genius and character of the Bifcayners. - 162 XVIII. Defcription of the town of Bilbao and manners of the inhabitants. ----172 XIX. Strictures on the injudicious method laid down in the Spanifh ordinances for the propagation of timber. - - 17 8 XX. Defcription of the iron mines and forges at Sommoroflro in Bifcay. - 187 XXI. Obfervations on the copper mines of La Platilla in the lordfJAp of Molina. 196 XXII. The four ce of the Tagus and its environs defcribed. --205 XXIII. Mine of cobalt in the Valley of Gijlau, in the Pyrenees of Aragon — 211 XXIV. Obfervations on an alum mine near the town af Alcaniz, in the kingdom of Aragon. •-- - - 220 XXV. Remarkable depofttory of foffil bones, near the village of Con cud in Aragon. 224 PART IL Let. j-^ page I. JD 0 N Guillermo Bowles infpects the quickfilver mine of Almaden, by order of government.—His new method of extracting the quickfilver from the ore of that mine. - -> - 231 II. Itinerary of Don Guillermo Bowles continued from Almaden to the city of Moida in Ejlremadura, ■ -■ — 249 III. Natural biflory of the locujls that ravaged the province of EJlremadura, in the years i7j4, ,75jj ^ md m^ „ ,- ^ IV. Of via CONTENTS. IV. Of the barren and wretched diftricl of Batttecas in EJlremadura. ■ 270 V. The convent of Jufte in the Vera of PCqfencia, famous for the retreat of the empe- ror Charles V. - — •-■ 27 b' VI. Further obfervations made by Don Guillermo Bowles, in the courfe of a tour from Almaden to the fdver mine of Guadalcanal.-- 284 VII. Defcription of the famous Jilver mine at Guadalcanal in EJlremadura. — 2S9 VIII. Remarkable objects in the courfe of another tour from Guadalcanal to the city of Seville. ■- -. 301, IX. Extraordinary qualities of the river Tinto and copper mine of that name, in its neighbourhood. • — 210 X. A tour into the kingdom of Jaen, the lead mine of Linares, unfortunate fate of Macias the poet. -1 - 316 XI. Journey from Merida to Malaga, - — 324 XII. The country defcribed between Malaga and Cape dc Gat.-- 333 XIII. Excurfton from the city of Granada to Cordova and Anduxar in Andalufta. 341 XIV. Observations made in a progrefs from Cadiz to Carthagena. - n 48 XV. The face of the country defcribed between Carthagena and Alicant. — XVI. Road from Alicant to the city of Valencia.--■ ■-■ 367 XVII. Obfervations made in the city of Valencia and its environs. •-- XVIJ I. Jottfwy from Barcelona to the mountain of Montferrat. ■- 382 XIX. Singular mountain of foffil fait near Car dona in Catalonia. --. 390 XX. Obfervations on the roundnefs of pebbles in the beds of rivers. - 39^ XXI. Defcribing the hot wells at Caldas in Catalonia, and thofe of Caldetas, near the city of Mataro.--\--. 405 XX IT. Remains of and en t volcanos in Spain. - - 409 XXII f. Return to Valencia and Cafiile.—Mine of Jal gem at Mingranilla.—Source of the river Guadiana.—Mine of antimony near Santa Cruz de Mudela in l,a ~M:ncha. --- '-— 414 LIST of PLATES given in this WORK. J?RO NTIS PIECE, Charles the Hid. king of Spain, in the robes of the new order of Carlos Tercero, infiiiuted the 1 $th of September, 1771. Figure of Minerva with dedication, before the preface. Map of Spain to face letter the firft. Plate 1. The arbutus uvaurft, to face-----............ Page 2t II. The great ant bear - - -.............----- - '- 7 6 III. The crefted falcon......-.......----------80 IV. Arch of Fernan Gonzales, in Burgos.....------- - -121 V. The cathedral of Burgos-------------------125 VI. Tower and giralda of Seville - - — - -- -- -- -- -- - ■-308 The tail-piece, a laudfcape, exhibiting a view of the Spanifto gennet and lizard, ' different trees and plants, fuch as the palm, feat let oak, Indianfg, aloe, vine, &c. TRAVELS I?/ c Orte«rtl? B a y O F Jtcrii/tr/i't/i' 1 A** r ***** SM Ovitdo Bis c ay °^ asturias F K . U t'//f,t/i/)n// Ti'tt/l;:/'/..,' (iir<-ii/.v<'f/t C E JI extern i * .Yftrlwne a /Vrpii/iuin 1. -^^"'.vA Hnuro R- f-s MINIM) TWJ..... D OTXRO nis/miv w aj • \ 0 X D I „ ,>--^^~J ( K I Nl G :goa. - ■ - *' ^ <■--------jv\ ^ ■ crt,t it . \ _ limns , / latum* in ) v a r r e/ Pri/ncipalT\ OF 12 Gtrefonn I'tWt (t/t, Mum VoAyr ****** 7 n. Villa A I'lil 7/"""' '""■■ID /; A ^^tv^v^>.........a^f'r a g q ~N / B b \t r a ■llftit^g^^-'^^ Almeida I li B 0 N °8a7 N> ( Id1" / \ \ 2 at a vL tj^s" a.''" r^ 'J'lU-rui/i'tiii fia hi/a 00? Allxinruvitt P/a*re/ict\'t'i'ttf//iltli'S 7'rtt,ri//,< , I frflt'/l' , ///'tt/i-flf i (>///, rtr & Cabrera I. /'./to.? \ A\KSTHE1L^DIJ11A \ - .Uituutrti . l/t/tt ilitiil II W iIf (i ii,,i//,1/1,1 I L E p« a tiiii/int'.ffifi/ ZA JMAJVC'HA V,tl ot/,y»tf,M' o ///>!/<>■/>,■ iff ^X/JT1^ • t/wit/iA-i, | ^^^/ liiauti^ I'i."" -KM OF UUwani Ivica /'i'fttiitl/i/il / / /,/,ttIt /.'t/'llfll l A'/.W/ " oAitaw Cordova a 7M U , //AM/ '/ii/'ittnitor ftam*."/'..*■, \i;,t,i,h',itin /tilttt'H 13 / lumpy jt.' It Of!'! t f-f V'lnti'iit J I. ,y Jinn, ,fi %."'•',,„ »V ''{•'i. A/iff,iti° y A' i.'t/.t \ it'./ j (htitt(t,cr • M'n'" X/'V. -2- Alttftfturn ,-' -r-r >r , l,t,-t„'ii/i'tnti &> Zt- . ... <■./(»<"' \/0'"-t'' r\« /w; 57 ——-.......— nmw— new map of Spain. Intended, fbr Tjratjbms m6> SE4W4kc. -—p-s Bv .John BAKHOT Dillon , Knight k Union oldie Sao red lloman Umpire. A _ _Krit/ntrrtf by ,/. Patjr, I,nnt-ft.__ 0 fiM&tet -4ct d*™*%> fa#£r£\ TRAVELS through SPAIN; WITH A VIEW TO ILLUSTRATE THE NATURAL HISTORY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THAT KINGDOM. PART I. LETT E R L Divifion of the kingdom of SPAIN. THE dominions of Spain are generally clafled by their writers in the following order. The kingdom of Spain, confiding of Old and New Cadile ; the kingdoms of Leon, Aragon, Navarre, Granada, Valencia, Galicia, Seville, Cordova* Murcia, Jaen, and Majorca ; the principalities of Aflurias, and Catalonia, the provinces of Eftremadura, Guipufcoa, and Alava, and the lordfhips of Bifcay, and Molina: they are bounded by the Cantabrian ocean, or bay of Bifcay, on the north, by the Pyrenean mountains and the Mediterranean towards the eaft ; by the ftreights of Gibraltar A. and and the Mediterranean, which divide it from Africa, on the fouth, and by the great Atlantic ocean on the weft : lying between 36 and 43 degrees of north latitude, and between 8. 22. longitude, reckoning from the ifland of Ferro, the moft weftern of the Canary iflands(*). The Pyrenean mountains are the higheft in Spain, extending from the ocean to the Mediterranean, feveral others branching out, as from their root, fuch as mount Idu-beda now called Montes de Oca, the Orbion, Moncayo, the Puerto de Pajares, or pafs from Caftile to Aflurias, the Puerto de Guadarrama, which feparates the two Caf-tiles, that of Molina, of Cuenca, of Confuegra, of Al-caraz, of Segura, of Cazorla, and the Montes Marianos now called the Sierra Morena(^): the Puerto del Rey(c), (fl) Defcripcion de la provinciu de Madrid, por Thomas Lopez. Madrid, 17G3, umo. [b] Sierra is a general name in Spain lor all wild diflricts whofe rugged appearance feems to refemblc the notches of a faw (which is Sierra in Spanifh.) Of thefe places the Sierra Mo-rcna in Andalulia is one of the moft extenfive and bleak. Translated literally it anfwers to our Englifh word, Black-Heath.—-The inhabitant of fuch a country is called Serrano, and if the diftricT is fmall, it is called Serrania. (c) The word Puerto is applied to partes from one province to another where duties are paid. I could not help fmiling to read in a modern geographer, that Ordunna, (becaufc there is a Puerto there) has a good harbour, when it is an inland city feven leagues from Bilboa. J. Barrow's geog. dicti 2 vol. fol. 2d edition revifed and corrected, 1763. At many of thefe Puertos there are ludicrous duties cflablifhed, as for example, at the Puerto del Rey in Sierra Morena a fingular toll is paid for monkies, parrots, negroes, and guittars uolefs played upon at the time : married women unlefs in company with their hufbands or producing certificates -viz. for any monkey, parrot or fingular bird, one real vellon; a gui-tarrc, one pefeta; any drum, unlefs the king's, one pejeta; a woman as above defcribed, one rea] vellon; a travelling mule, one quarto. which which commands the communication between Caftile and Andalulia, and the Puerto del Muradal, where lies that famous pafs called las Navas de Tolofa, celebrated for the victory obtained there in 1212 over the king of Morocco, and other paffes of lefs note. Amongft the rivers, the Ebro has its fource near Fon-tibre, fix leagues from Aguilar del Campo, paffes by Logrono, Viana, Calahorra, Tudela, ZaragoiTa, Mequi-nenza, and Tortofa, and a little lower falls into the Mediterranean at the Alfaque illands. The Guadalquivir has its fource in the Sierra de Segu-ra, paffes by Beas, Baeza, Andujar, Cordova, Loxa and Seville, and enters the ocean at San Lucar de Barrameda, receiving in its courfe the waters of the rivers Guadal-bullon and GeniL The Tagus rifes in the Sierras near Albarracin, paffes by Zurita, Aranjuez, Toledo, Almaraz, Alcantara, Ab-rantes, Santarem, and Lifbon, where it is three miles broad and enters the ocean, having the tide as high as Santarem, and receiving in its courfe the waters of the Jarama, Manzanares, Guadarama, Alberche, and others. The Guadiana rifes about four leagues from Montiel in the Laguna Ruydera, and after running under ground A 2 appears appears again near Damiel at the lakes or lagunes called Oj'os de Guadiana M the Eyes of Guadiana," then paffes by Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Medeliin, Merida, Badajoz, and Ayamonte, where it falls into the ocean, after running for fome time in Alentejo, in Portugal, and feparating that kingdom from Spain, having Caftro Marin of Portugal on the weft, and Ayamonte on the eaft. The Duero rifes in the Sierra of Orbion and paffes by Soria, Almazan, Ofma, San Eftevan de Gormaz, Aranda de Duero, Roa, Simancas, Tordefillas, Toro, Zamora, Miranda de Duero, Lamego, and enters the ocean at Oporto, receiving the rivers Erefma, Adaja, Pifuerga, Ezla, Agueda, and others. The Minho has its fource in Galicia near Caftro del Rey. It runs South Weft and paffes by Lugo, Orrenfe and Tuy, after which it divides Galicia from Portugal, and falls into the Atlantic at Caminha. Other fmaller rivers are alfo worthy of notice fuch as the Segura, Guadalaviar, Lobregat, Caya, Vidafo, Tinto, Guadalate, &c. Spain may be faid to enjoy a temperate and healthy air, neither fo cold as the northern regions, nor fo burning ing as the fcorching heats of Africa, and abounds in cattle, game, fowl, corn, wool, filk, wax, honey, excellent wine, brandy, oil, and fugar, all kinds of fruit and pulfe, aromatic herbs and plants, the fineft of oaks, quarries of marble, alabafler, jafper, and other precious (tones; mines of filver, lead, copper, iron, mercury, antimony, and cobalt : in fhort every natural advantage tending to the pleafure and happinefs of mankind. The territories of Spain are faid to contain 25,000 fquare leagues [a). According to returns made to the Count de Aranda in 1768, the general population of the whole, including the Canaries and Mediterranean iflands, amounted to about nine millions of fouls. In the year 1778 it was further calculated to be between ten and eleven millions, and fuppofed to be increafing. [a] The Spanifh league is 7680 varas. 17 Spanifh leagues make one degree, equal t« 20 French leagues. Three Caftilian feet make one vara of Caftile, whofe length is about 33 inches Englifh. LETTER LETTER II. Itinerary from Bayonne to Pamplona, and from thence to Madrid. A mine of fal gem at Valtierra defcribed. QUITTING Bayonne I proceeded on my journey ^towards Spain and travelling through an uneven country, I began to perceive a fpecies of flaty ftone which announced the vicinity of the Pyrenees about half a league diftant. The environs of Anoa are mountainous. The farmers manure the ground with lime to fow maiz or Indian corn, laying on a greater quantity for wheat, without which it yields nothing, which proves the necefiity of this method to cherifli and expand the tough and cold foil in mountainous countries. Half a league from Anoa a rivulet forms the boundary between France and Spain. The country is covered with fern, which they cut and heap in piles, till it rots and ferves for manure. In the arable land, and where cattle have grazed, there are two kinds of mint, ground ivy, and other ufual plants. You next pafs a Carthufian {a) The itinerary of Mr. Bowles is fupported in this letter, with refpecl to natural hiftory, and further iliuflrated with the hittorical part not mentioned by that writer. convent convent at the foot of a high mountain chiefly df quartz (0), whofe fummit is a rock of purpliih fand, and from thence defcend to the firft village in Spain called Maya, feated in a valley where they have good crops of maiz and turneps, and whofe foil though not calcareous produces equally the fame kind of plants. Such as thd elder, henbane, nightfhade, fwallow wort, figwort, thorn-apple, hawthorn and bullace tree. After palling the village of Elizondo and traverfmg the vale, I afcended a mountain of blueilTi lime rock with fine beech towards-the top, its fides lined with many other trees, fuch as elder, hawthorn, and holm. This mountain is one of the higheft in this country ; but in fpeaking of the plants found here, I only mean fuch as are feen in that part ftill uncultivated, for where the ground has been opened, and near the inn called Venta de Belate, not far from the top of the mountain, being acceffible to animals, the following plants are to be feen, celandine, mint, cuckow-ilower, crowfoot, plantain, fowthiftle, figwort, archangel, dock, arfmart, and two forts of maidenhair on the walls, from whence I judge that if a houfe was built on the higheft and moft barren mountain, and the ground manured with the dung of animals, we fhould foon perceive the fame plants that are obferved in the neigh- [a) Quartz is a hard vitririable flonejomctbing intermediate betwixt rock cryflals and flints or opake verifiable (tones, well known to metallurgiUs, mineralogifts, and miners. According to-Cronfkd, it is cater to be known than defcribed. bourhood bourhood of villages and in plains, and that it is not a good rule to judge of the height of a mountain by the appearance of plants, if no diftinction is made between the fpontaneous ones and the others, elfe we might conclude that the little hill of Meudon near Paris is as high as the Pyrenees. From the Venta de Belate it is an eafy defcent into another vale well cultivated with vines and corn, which extends as far as the city of Pamplona, capital of the kingdom of Navarre. In this vale there is a wood of ftately oaks, with plenty of box, thorntree, wild rofes and other common plants of cultivated countries. You keep conftantly on the borders of a rivulet running amongft round fand-ftone of a purple colour, fimilar to thofe on the other fide towards France. I faw the following plants in the plains of Pamplona, on the fide of the roads, in the fields and the vineyards; two forts of eringo, one called the hundred headed fort, and the other with large leaves, poppy, dockwced, white horehound, vipergrafs, elder, white gpofegrafs, devilibft, cinquefoil, croflwort, henbane, tutfan, agrimony, teafel, hawthorn, reft harrow, crowfoot and bullace.. In this plain it is clearly feen how the limy rock decays, for in an almoft perpendicular fiffure above an hundred feet high, the earth which at firft fight and even to to the touch appears to be clay, is nothing more than limy earth, mixed with a fmall portion of clay, the refult of rotten plants as I experienced with the acid I always carry with me whenever I travel. The fame fort of earth of a blueifh colour is found near Pamplona, but harder, and fo very hard in a hill oppofite to the city, as to deferve the name of ftone, difpofed in ftrata wTith the lame obliquity as the fiffure abovementioned, all which proves the decompofition of the rocks. Leaving Pamplona I traverfed a champaign country for two leagues and a half to the mountain oppolite, which having palled, a variety of cultivation takes place. Some limy rocks are fo barren, that nothing is to be feen but butchers broom, a few oaks, juniper, and lavender, for two leagues and a half further, when I arrived at the city of Tafalla; then palling an extenfive plain full of aromatic plants, had five leagues to Caparrofo. This plain may be thrown into four divifions, the firft from Tafalla being olive trees, the fecond vineyards, the third cornrfields, and the fourth barren, except a few olive trees and fome corn-fields near Caparrofo, where a hill divides the plain, and now and then, the rounded purple ftone (hews itfelf again the fame as in France, From Caparrofo I crofted a high hill where any miner might miftake the ftrata of gypfeous ftone which is only one or two inches thick, for fpar, but you may dig as, B deep- deep as you pleafe, and never find any thing but gyp-fum, which is very feldom feen where there is mineral. The country, is every where barren and miferable, a perfect defert without water, and nothing but rofcmary, lavender, and a few ftarved oaks. After quitting this wretched diftrict, a fertile plain opens to the eye, fuppli-ed by wheels with water from the Ebro, and here I faw the tamarifk, which is a beautiful plant when in flower. From Caparrofo it is four leagues to the Ebro in a plain bordered by a chain of hills from eaft to well, compofed of limy earth mixed with gypfeous ftone, fometimes in ftrata, granulated, or in mattes, white as fnow. This chain extends about two leagues, and towards the middle, where it is the higheft, ftands the village of Valtierra: about half way up, there is a mine of foffil common fait, which being tranfparent and refemb-ling chryftal, goes by the name of Salgem, and is feen above ground where the fhaft is made at the entrance of the mine. About twenty paces within, one obferves that the fait, which is white and abundant, has penetrated into the very beds of gypfeous ftone. This mine may be about four hundred paces in length, with feveral lateral lhafts, upwards of eighty paces, fupported by pillars of fait, and gypfum, which the miners have very judici-oufly left at proper diftances, fo that it has all the appearance of a gothic cathedral. The fait follows the direction direction of the hill, inclining a little to the north, like the ftrata of gypfum, being comprifed in a fpace about five feet in height without variation, and feems to have corroded feveral beds of gypfum, and marl, and infinu-ated itfelf into their place, though much of thofe fub-ftances ftill remain. At the end of the principal ftiaft, the miners have carried out a branch to the right, where the faline bed appears to have followed exactly the inclination of the hill, which in that part is very perpendicular: this ftratum of fait defcends to the valley, and goes on to the oppo-fite hill; which regularity dcftroys the fyftem of thofe who pretend that fal gem is formed by the evaporation occafioned by fubterraneous fire. If this was the cafe, the beds would not be undulated in this manner, re-fembling thofe of coal at Chamond, near Lyons, in France, or thofe of afphaltos in Alface, that follow the elevation and declivity of the hills or vallics, the bi- [a] Afphaltos or Jewijh bitumen is fo called from the lake Afphaltites or dead fea in Judca, •which rifes up in the nature of a liquid pitch, and floats upon the furface of the water like other oleaginous bodies, and is condenfed by degrees through the heat of the fun ; the Jews formerly ufed it to embalm dieir dead. The Arabs gather it for pitching their fliips, but Europeans ufe it in medicinal compofuions, efpecially in thcriaca, or Venice treacle, as alfo a,Hne black varnifh, in imitation of that of China. Rolfs did. of commerce. London, 1-761... The origin of bitumens is an interefling queftion, concerning which naturalifts are not agreed,, fome imagining that they eflentially belong to the mineral kingdom, and otheis that they proceed originally from vegetable fubflances; we mult allow this latter opinion to be the moil probable, 8cc. Sec did. of chcmiflry, tranflated horn the French. London, printed for T. Cadell, i 777. B z tumen tumen often floating on the water when it meets with it. t am of opinion that fait grows in the mine like minerals, that coal is the product of foflil wood, as appears from fuch remnants as are found in the mines (#), and that the afphaltos is produced by the water of fome fpring. I examined attentively thefe ftrata of fait, comparing them with the matter in which they are embedded. I obferved the roof to be of gypfum with aromatic plants, then two inches of white fait, feparated from the gypfum by a few threads of faline earth, then, three fingers breadth of pure fait, with two of ftone fait, and a coat of earth, next another blueifti bed, followed by two inches of fait; and laftly, other beds alternately of earth, and chryftaline fait to the bed of the mine, which is gypfeous ftone undulated like the reft, defcending to the valley, and rifing on the oppofite hills. The ftrata of faline earth are of a dark blue, but thofe of fait, are white. This mine is of a great elevation with refped to the fea, for you always go up hill to it from Bayonne, excepting thofe cafual defcents which are infeparable from mountainous countries. [a] It has been afferted that coals being fometimes produced from clay Saturated by petroleum, may be found in any place or fituation where clay or argillaceous Hate is to be met with, in ancient fimplc or modern ftratificd mountains, as well as on, and in volcanic mountains, and that henceforth coals will not be confidered as conflantly produced from trees, plants, and forefls, buried by inundations, though many coal mines may have had fuch an origin. See Feibers mineralogical hiftory of Bohemia, page 308, note 5, prefixed to Baron Born's travels through Tranfilvania and Hungary, tranflatcdby R. E. Rafpe, London, 1777- It It is a continual afcent from Valtierra to Agreda, the firft town in Caftile, on the top of one of the higheft mountains in Spain called Moncayo, whofe rocks fo decompose into earth, as to be covered with plants, defending the attention of a botanift, from the great variety thence afforded in the vegetable kingdom. From Agreda the country is well cultivated to Hinojofo, without any trees or plants, as far as Almeriz, and forwards to Almazan, on the banks of the Duero : examining this diftricl, which produces wheat and barley, I difcovered lime rock at a few feet from the furface, which for a great extent has an outward coat of fandy foil, with quartz and fand ftone totally different from the bottom, which gives it the appearance of a foreign matter brought from a dif-tance. The phenomenon is fingular, and thofe who are fond of hypothefes have here an ample field to employ their imagination. Leaving Almazan you rife upon an eminence which affords an extenfive profpect:, the country at a diftance having the appearance of a plain, the eye not being able to catch the many irregularities of ground. After fome leagues of uncultivated land, the country improves ; three leagues and a half further, I came to Paredes, and crofting a barren plain arrived at Baraona, then paffing over the fteep hill of Atienza, the confines of the two Caftiles, Caftiles, I came in five hours to Xadraque, and four leagues further, to Flores ; about half way, there is a place where there are hills with great clefts ; one evidently fees they were caufed by the rains which carry away the limy earth, and that all that country had been a plain, for the parts that remain without gullies, have a bottom of hard rock, and in proportion as the water makes its way through, they form gullies ; I faw fome jufl beginning, with a likelihood of rifing into hills in the courfe of twenty years ; from whence I conjecture, that if fome hills give way, and crumble into plains, others, in the courfe of time by the motion of waters, gradually form themfelves into mountains. In palling this road, you go through a wood of fcarlct oak, whofe leaves are covered with the gall infect, and on coming out of the wood, find a well cultivated country with vineyards, corn fields, and plenty of lavender, thyme, lavender cotton, and fage ; then pafs by the village of Hita at the foot of a pyramidical hill, rearing its lofty crelt above the others, like a great rock in the fed, with an old Mooriih cadle on its fummit. Having eroded the river Henares you enter a fertile plain with a great deal of fmall grained fandy pebble. It is remarkable that on entering New Caftile, ftone of this kind is always found, even in hills of limy earth : after after palling a range of cultivated hills I arrived at the famous city of Alcala de Henarcs, with an univerfity founded in 1499, by that great ftatefman Cardinal Ximenez de Cifneros, who alfo endowed it with a good library, and printed here, at his own expence, the firft polyglot bible, known by the name of Complutenfian. The univerfity is a handfome ftructure, Ximenes is buried in the church with an elegant monument, by Domi-nico of Florence. The medallion of the Cardinal has been removed from the tomb into the library. Before I leave Alcala, let me entertain you with a ftory related by the witty Don Antonio Ponz, fecretary of the royal academy of San Fernando, at Madrid, in his tour through Spain, who, vifiting the convent of San Diego, belonging to the Francifcans, thus expreffes himfelf; tc I could not fwallow two pills that my conductor endeavoured to ram down my throat, which, for his part, he feemed to have very eafily digefted. He lhewed me a picture of St. Jerome in a cardinal's robe, and a red hat, which is quite out of character, and wanted to per-fuade me it was a portrait of Cardinal Wolfey-, after that would make me believe it was valued at fifteen thoufand dollars (£. 2500) though I was ftartled at the fum, I did not choofe to difpleafe the perfon who was doing me a favour. I mull not forget to tell you I alfo faw, in a chapel, on the altar of St. Francis, the head of that faint in clay, painted to imitate nature. I do not know what what you will think of the manner in which I was affu-red it was made; a potter had placed his velfels in the oven to be baked, and behold one of them came out changed into this head! you may believe it if you pleafe ; many believe it at Alcala! fcr my part, as I know no other circumflances of this miracle, and have no other authority than that of my guide, with his tale about the fifteen thoufand dollars, I am rather fufpicious Alcala is only fix leagues from Madrid, and belongs to the Archbifhop of Toledo ; it gave birth to Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, the celebrated author of the much admired romance of Don Quixote (b). The country (a) Viage tic Efpana par Don Antonio Ponz, torn i,Madrid, 1776, (b) Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra was born at Alcala de Hen ares the 9th of October 1547, and died at Madrid the 23d of April, 1616. The fame nominal day a* his illuurious co-temporary Shakefpear. There is fuch a variety of matter and fo many beautiful pafTuges and allufions in Don Quixote, that it is impoflible to travel through Spain, without their frequently occurring to the mind. Don Guillermo Bowles has occafionally quoted him, and I hope I may be allowed the fame liberty. This book is one of thofe capital pieces only undcrftood by thofe who can read him in the original. We may now foon expect, a new and claffical edition of Don Quixote printed in England in the original Spanilh, illuflrated by annotations and extracts from the hiftorians, poets and romances of Spain and Italy, and other writers ancient and modern, with a gloffary and indexes, by the Reverend John Bowie, M. A. F. S. A. See letter to the Rev. Dr. Percy concerning a new edition of Don Quixote, by the Rev. Johu Bowie, M. A. F. S. A. London printed for B. White, 1777. Befidcs the advantage of having a more perfect and accurate text than has ever yet appeared, this is a work of fuch magnitude as will reflect infinite honour on the erudition and tafle of the ingenious editor; how fingular a pleafure to the admirers of Cervantes in general! how great the furprire to the Spaniards ! when they behold one of their favorite characters fo nobly emblazoned by an Engtifhman. around around is bleak, owing to the fingular averfion which the Caftilians have in general to the planting of trees. Nothing further occurs between this place and Madrid, the environs of which will be defcribed on another ©ccafion. G LETTER 18 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER III, Natural hijlory of the,Gr ana Kermes, or fear let grain. A MONGST the various and valuable productions with which the beneficent hand of nature has enriched the dominions of Spain, the Gra7ta Kermes is chiefly deferving of attention. This valuable production had been confiderably neglected in that kingdom fince the importation of cochineal from America; however, the royal Junta de Comercio, or board of trade at Madrid, having an eye to the further advantages to be drawn from this precious article, gave orders a few years ago to Don Juan Pablo Canals, director general of the madder and dyes of Spain, to report the flate of this product; and to him I am indebted for the pre-fent information on this fubject(^). The grana kermes is the coccos baphica of the Greeks; the vermiculus, or coccum infectorium of the Romans ; and the kermes, alkermes, of the Arabs; being the ingredient with which the antients ufed to dye their gar- (a) Memorial que de orden de la real junta general de comercio y Moneda fe dan al publico fobre la Grana Kermes dc Efpana. Pon Don Juan Pablo Canals y Marti. Madrid, 1768. ments meats of that beautiful grain colour, called coccinus, coccineus, or cocceus, different from the purpura of the Phoenicians, which at firft had been obtained from that teftaceous fifh, called the murex (a). But in courfe of time the purple colour and other tints having been more eafily effected by means of the kermes, the murex was neglected on account of the expencc, and the kermes we are now fpeaking of, was introduced ; which giving a ftronger and brighter colour, was univerfally adopted, and fupported its reputation for ages, till the difcovery of America ; as is evident from the many old tapeftries, damafks, and velvet hangings, ftill preferved in cathedrals, which feem yet to retain their primitive luftre and brightnefs (A). In the reign of Lewis the fourteenth, Giles and John. Gobelin, in the year 1667, under the patronage of Col- [a) Tyrioque ardebat murice lana. Virg. En. lib. 4.. Though the dye obtained from the murex was thought to have been loft,, it feems to-be known on the coafts of England, France, Spain, and the Weft Indies, though neg-lifted on account of the great trouble and cxpence. See Padre FeijooTheat. critico, torn 6, difc. 4. According to Cage, they tind a (hell fifh, in the feas of the Spanilh Weft Indies, which perfectly rcfembles the antient purpura, and in all probability is the fame. Cloth of Segovia dyed with it, ufed to (ell for 20 crowns the ell, and none but the created Spaimh lords wore it. Don Antonio de Ulloa alfo gives a particular account of this fifh, and the. ufc made of it iu America. Sue gentleman s magazine, for October and November, 1753. (6; This was the colour called carmrjx, by the Spaniards; cramoifi, by the French-, and crim-fon, by the EngUfU. " C 2 bert, bert, introduced the fecret into France of dying woollen of that beautiful fcarlet called after their name, which was done with the kermes that had been long in ufe in Flanders, where many old pieces of tapeflry, though above two hundred years old, had fcarcely loft any thing of their bloom. But cochineal, being now introduced into the dyehoufe, fo called from the latin word cocci-nella, as a diminutive of coccurn, and giving that brightnefs to fcarlet, at firft called Dutch, and afterwards Paris fcarlet, the invention of which, according to Kunkel, is owing to Kufter, a German, by means of a folution of tin in aqua regia; the kermes then began to decline, and yield in its turn as the murex had done before, of which Colbert makes a particular complaint, in his general inftructions to the dyers of France, in the year 167Infenfibly, the kermes was totally laid {a) As the Phoenicians neglected the antient purple, and gave a preference to the fcarlet, whofe colour is lefs coflly and more beautiful; juft fo, the French have forfaken our fcarlet for that of the Dutch. This new-invented colour was at firft in efleem on account of its brightnefs; but being lefs durable than that of France, and under a notion that they were both equally liable to fpots, they were foon laid afrde, which occafioncd the downfal of our moft valuable cloth manufactures, where this colour was fo much in ufe, particularly amongft our nobility, that few were without a fcarlet cloak of cloth, much preferable to thofe of Barracan now in fafhion, which are of foreign manufacture, lefs becoming, and alfo dearer, if we confider the fhort time they lafl. Chap. 304. u Again in the next chapter Therefore, to reinflate our cloth manufactory and vermilion dye, (the kermes) it fliould be introduced amongft the nobility and army as the noblefi of colours, moft fu it able to their rank; befidcs cloth being more fcrviceable, either of this, or any other colour, than thofe flimfy Barracans, we import from abroad. General inftructions of Colbert, 1C71. afide, f%t<- r. afide, and cochineal made ufe of, not only in yarns, but alfo in filk ; this new method being every where in fa-fhion, except at Venice, and inPerfia, for fcarlet, and in other parts of the eafi for crimfon. The ancients thought the kermes was a gall-nut on account of its figure and fize, not being larger than a juniper berry, round, fmooth, glofly, and rather black, with a cinereous down. It is found flicking to the branches, or tender leaves of the oak called in Spain • cofcoxa^ a derivative of the latin word cufculium, the coccus ilicis of Linneus, likewife called carrafca in Spanifh, from th'; Arabic word yxquerlat, foftened afterwards to efcarlata ; being the fmalleft fpecies of oak, the fame which Cafpar Bauhine and other botanifts call ilex aculeata cocci-glandifera This tree, whofe height is about two or three feet, grows in Spain, Provence, Languedoc, and along the (n) According to Pliny, the term cufculium is derived from a Greek word, signifying to cut the exctefcencies, as it happens on this occafion with refpeft to the kermes. Clufius fays, Hifpanis major frutex qui grandemfert carrafca dicitur, qui vero coccum gignit cojeoxa. Caroli Cluiii rariorum aliquot llirpium per Ilifpanias obiervatarum hiftoiia, Antucrpiac, x 576. It is flill called fcarlet grain by the dyers, under the notion of being a grain of feed, though the very name in Arabic, Jignilics little worms. Roderic, aichbifhop of Toledo, who finished his binary of Spain in 1243, feems to have coined the latin word fcarlatum, to exprefs this colour. Tunc comes Pctrus Afturii indutus fcarlato et infidens equo albo, Bcc. Kod. Toletaui de rebus Hifpanicb, lib, vii. cap. r. Mediterranean Mediterranean coaft ; alfo in Galatia, Armenia, Syria, and Perfla, where it was firft made ufe of. Diofcoridcs fays it grows plentifully in Armenia, and without particularizing other places, mentions what grows there to be better than that of Spain, which proves its high eftimation in thofe days ; moreover confirmed by Pliny, who, fpeaking of that which grew near Merida, adds, M Coccum Galaciae rubens granum aut Circa Emeritam Lufitaniae in maxima Laude eft." Lib. 9. cap. 41. For which reafon the Romans obliged the Spaniards, according to the fame writer, to pay their tribute in this article [a). Jofeph Moya, a Catalan writer of the laft century,, publifhed a treatife entitled Ramillet de Tintnras^ dedicated to the city of Barcelona, under the feigned name of Phefio Mayo. He fays, the Kermes is common all over Spain, principally in that part of Aragon bordering on Catalonia, in Valencia, and in the bifhopric of Badajoz in Eftremadura, as likewife in Setimbre of Portugal, where it is the beft, and equal to the kermes of Galatia and Armenia. Mr. Hellot of the French academy of fciences, in his Art of Dying, chap. 12. fays it is found in the woods of Vauvert, Vendeman, and Narbonne ; but more abundantly in Spain, towards (a) Book 16. chap. 8. Alicant, Alicant, and Valencia. It not only abounds in Valencia, but alfo in Murcia, Jaen, Cordova, Seville, Eftremadura, la Mancha, Serranias de Cucnca, and other places. In Xixona and Tierra de Relleu, there is a diflricl, called De la Grana, where the people of Valencia fir 11 began to gather it, whofe example was followed all over Spain. It has, fome years, produced thirty thoufand dollars (£5000-) to the inhabitants of Xixona. In the Year 1758, there went out of that town, Relleu, Buffot, Caftilla, Ibi, Tibi, Unil, Santa faz, Muchiamel, and San Juan de la Huerta de Alicante, above a thoufand perfons to gather the kermes, which was afterwards fent to Ali-cant, where it was put into calks for exportation, being chiefly fhipped for Genoa and Leghorn, paffing from thence to Tunis. In the fame year, 1758, they gathered about 300 arrobes of kermes at Xixona, which fold for about twenty-four dollars (£4--) the arrobe(^), with about fix per cent, duty and fhipping charges, till on board. In the kingdom of Seville it is put up to public fale and is generally bought by the people of the neighbourhood, who fell it again for exportation to the merchants of Cadiz. <*) An arobc is 25lb. Spanifh weight ioolb. Spanifh weight equal to 971b. Englifh. Both Both antients and moderns feem to have had very confufed notions concerning the origin and nature of the kermes; fome confidering it as a fruit, without a juft knowledge of the tree which produced it; others, taking it for an excrefcence formed by the punelure of a particular fly, the fame as the common gall obferved upon oaks. Tournefort was of this number. Count Mar-figli, and Dr. Nifole, a phyfician of Montpelier, made experiments and obfervations, with a view of further difcoveries, but did not perfectly fucceed. Two other phyficians at Aix, in Provence, Dr. Emeric and Dr. Ga-ridel, applied themfelves about the fame time, and with greater fuccefs ; having finally difcovered that the kermes is in reality nothing elfe but the body of an infecT; transformed into a grain, berry or hufk, according to the courfe of nature; whofe hiflory I fhall now briefly relate: The progrefs of this transformation muft be confi-dered at three different feafons. In the firft ftage, at the beginning of March, an animalcule, no larger than a grain of millet, fcarce able to crawl, is perceived flicking to the branches of the tree, where it fixes itfelf, and foon.becomes immoveable; at this period it grows the moft, appears to fwell and thrive with the fuftenance it draws in by degrees ; This ftate of reft feems to have deceived; deceived the curious rjbfcrver, it then refembling an excrefcence of the bark; during this period of its growth, it appears to be covered with a down, extending over its whole frame, like a net, and adhering to the bark: its figure is convex, not unlike a fmall Hoe ; in fuch parts as are not quite hidden by this foft garment, many bright fpecks are perceived of a gold colour, as well as ftripes running acrofs the body from one fpace to another. At the fecond ftage in April, its growth is compleated, its fhape is then round, and about the fize of a pea : it has then acquired more Itrength, and its down is changed into dull, and feems to be nothing but a hulk, or a cap-fule, full of a reddifh juice not unlike difcoloured blood. Its third ftate is towards the end of May, a little fooner br later, according to the warmth of the climate. The hulk appears replete with fmall eggs, lefs than the feed of a poppy. Thefe are properly ranged under the belly of the infect, progreflively placed in the nefl of down, that covers its body, which it withdraws in proportion 16 the number of eggs: after this work is performed, it foon dies, though it ftill adheres to its pofition, rendering a further fervice to its progeny, and fTiielding them from the inclemency of the weather or the holtile attacks of an enemy. In a good feafon they multiply exceedingly, having from 1800 to 2000 eggs, which prd- D duce duce the fame number of animalcules. The ancients knew them to be infeds, for Pliny fays, M Coccum ilicis celerrime in vermiculum fe mutans." Lib. 24. feci:. 4. When obferved with the microfcope in July or Auguft, we find that what appeared as dull, are fo many eggs, or open capfules, as white as fnow, out of each of which, iffues a gold coloured animalcule, of the fhape of a cock-roche, with two horns, fix feet, and a forked tail. Mr. De Reaumur has placed the kermes in the clafs of gall infers, on account of the analogy in their mode of propagation, and immoveable form, continuing even after death, like the other fpecies of this clafs, found upon different trees, appearing only like galls, or ex-crefcences, to the moft accurate naturalifts: Therefore they could not be more properly named, than gall infers. There are of them of different fliapes and fizes, but that of the cofcoxa or durrafca (the kermes) is of a fpherical figure, about the fize of a juniper berry. It is found moft plentifully on the oldeft and loweft trees, and when the kermes are gathered near the fea, they are larger and give a brighter colour than thofe in any other places. There are feveral fpecies of galls difcovered on different trees, and plants of Spain, though they only make ufe of thofe gathered on oaks, either for dying, .or any other purpofes; fuch are thofe, from the Levant called called Aleppo galls, which were generally made ufe of, till it was difcovered by frequent experiments, that the new ingredient called dividivi was preferable, being a fruit from the province of Carracas, and Maracaybo, in South America. The great myftery which hitherto had not been difcovered, by thofe naturalifts who knew how to diftiil- guiih the gall infect, from the galls, was to inveftigate their mode of propagation: Mr. de Reaumur allures us, that from frequent obfervations it appeared to him, that there are both male and female, but that fome which are extremely fmall, transform themfelves into gnats, while others, growing larger, depofit their eggs, without any transformation ; from which, and their analogy with the others, he concluded, that the fmall gnats with wings, though large in comparifon with their body, and ftriped with a beautiful crimfon, were the males of the gall infect, which he obferved with the help of a microfcope, feeing how they fecundate the females, before they affume a globular form towards March; but this happens when it is fcarcely ever noticed, and in fo fingular a manner, that a common obferver would never imagine fuch an event to have happened, or, even fuppofe, that the males which he faw frifking about, had the leal! conneaion with the females; but on the contrary, were fmall gnats which accidentally light upon the fame D 2 boughs; boughs s if to this obfervation we add, that as the new kermes which come forth in June, remain fmall without engaging our attention till March enfuing, when they begin to fwell without any appearance of animal life, it will not be thought fo extraordinary, that they have been generally held as a vegetable production. In Languedoc, and Provence, the poor are employed to gather the kermes, the women letting their nails grow for that purpofe, in order to pick them off with greater facility. The cuflom of lopping off the boughs is very injudicious, as by this means they deftroy the next year s har-veil. Some women will gather two or three pounds a day, the great point being to know the places where they are moll likely to be found in any quantity, and to gather them early with the morning dew, as the leaves are more pliable and tender at that time, than after they have been dried and parched by the rays of the fun: ftrong dews will occafionally make them fall from the trees fooner than ufual : when the proper feafon paffes, they fall off of themfelves, and become food for birds, particularly doves. Sometimes there will be a fecond production, which is commonly of a lefs fize with a fainter tinge. The firft is generally found adhering to the bark, as well as on the branches and ftalks ; the fecond is principally on the leaves, as the worms choofe that that part where the nutritious juice preferves itfelf the longeft, is moft abundant, and can be moft eafily devoured in the Ihort time that remains of their exiftence, the bark being then drier and harder than the leaves. Thofe who buy the kermes to fend to foreign parts, fpread it on linnen, taking cam to fprinkle it with vinegar, to kill the worms that are within, which produces a red duft which in Spain is feperated from the hulk. Then they let it dry, pafting it through a fearce, and make it up into bags. In the middle of each its proportion of red duft put in a little leather bag alfo belongs to the buyer, and then it is ready for exportation, being always in demand on the African coaft. The people of Hinojos, Bonares, Villalba, and other parts of the kingdom of Seville, dry it on mats in the fun, ftirring it about, and feparating the red duft, which is the fmeft part, and being mixed with vinegar, goes by the name of PaJleL The fame is done with the hulks ; but thefe have but half the value of the duft. There is no doubt, but if this branch of induftry was more clofely attended to, there is yet room for improvement, and the kermes would give a brighter colour, fimilar to that obtained from the cochineal, likewife an in-fed found in the Mexican woods on a plant called nopal by the Americans, and tana by the Spaniards ; being the opuntia maxima folio obtufo rotundo of Sir Hans Sloane, and the cactus opuntia of Linneus. It is remarked that thofe plants which are cultivated by art, give a much finer cochineal, known by the name of mcflica, fo called ffom the quantities collected of it in the diflrict of Meteca, in the province of Honduras (a). But neither the cochineal, the kermes, or any fimilar production, would afford that beautiful colour, were it not for the falts employed in the lye by the dyers, to bring it to perfection. Mr. Maquer in his art of dying filks, allures us, that the white tartar employed for crim-fon colours, gives by means of its acidity, that brilliancy to cochineal, and that though other acids might produce the fame effect, it would not be with fo much fuccefs. Mr. Goguet, in his " origin of laws, arts and fciences," tells us, the ancients ufed a great deal of fait, to make their dyes folid, and permanent, fupplying the place of our chemical preparations by other fecrets unknown to us. Plutarch, in the life of Alexander the Great, mentions, that conqueror having found in the treafures of the king of Perfia, a prodigious quantity of purple fluffs, which though they had lain by above one hundred and {a) Sec fecond memoir of Mr, de Reaumur, torn 4. ninety ninety years, ftill preferved their luftre, b'ecaufe they had been prepared with honey; behold, fays Mr. Go-quet, a fecret unknown to us! but if we reflect for a moment, that honey is a vegetable fait, like fugar, we mall find it to be the fame as tartar, which is no more than an effential fait of wine; fo that the falts employed by the ancients, were equivalent to thofe ufed at prefent in the dye-houfe. Probably the falts of fruits have the fame effect in the manner they are ufed in Perfia for dying of filk, where, inftead of tartar and honey, they ufe the pulp of red melons, well dried, mixed with allum, barilla, and other falts. The kermes of Spain is preferred on the coaft of Bar-bary, on account of its goodnefs. The people of Tunis mix it with that of Tetuan, for dying thofe fcarlet caps fo much ufed in the Levant. The Tunifians export every year above one hundred and fifty thoufand dozeri of thefe caps, which yields to the Dey a revenue of one hundred and fifty thoufand hard dollars, 6£33-75°~j per annum for duties ; fo that, exclufive of the ufes and advantages of kermes in medicine, it appears to be a very valuable branch of commerce in Spain, and there is ftill fufficient encouragement to ufe every effort for lts improvement. LETTER LETTER IV. : The method of making Saltpetre in Spain. IN the year 1754, I received orders (*) from the mi-niftry to infpect into feveral faltpetre works, as well as into the making of gunpowder, which having complied with, the following reflections occurred to my mind. All the profeffors of chemiflry I had converfed with* either in France or in Germany, laid down as a fixed principle, that there are three mineral acids in nature : that the vitriolic, is the univerfal one, belonging to metals, from whence the other two arife. That the nitrous is fecond in activity, and belongs to the vegetable kingdom, and the marine being the weaken: of all, is homogeneous to fifh* They do not include the animal acid* which united with the phlogiflon forms the phofpho-rus. I was further taught, that the fixed alkali of falt- [a) Don Guillermo Bowles. (b) By phlogiflon, cliemifts mean the moft pure and fimplc inflammable principle, concerning which there arc a great variety of opinions and do&rincs, fupported on the one band, and controverted on the other with equal ingenuity, by chemical writers. petre, petre, did not exifi purely, and limply in nature, but was generated by fire, and when they found faltpetre, to be dug out of the earth naturally in the Eaft Indies, they thought to fave the difficulty, by faying it proceeded from the incineration of woods, which had impregnated the earth, with this fixed alkali, the bafis of fait-petre ; fo that I had been led to believe, it was formed by certain combinations, that took place in the act of combuftion; but I foon found my error, when I had had feen the method of making faltpetre in the different provinces of Spain. I have now evident proofs that the bafis of nitre really exifts in the earth and in plants, the fame as in the Soda of Alicant. Let thefe learned gentlemen come to Spain, they may convince themfelves of this truth, and fee faltpetre with its alkaline bafis, in the manufactures of Caftile, Aragon, Navarre, Valencia, Murcia, and Andalufia, where it is made without the af-fiftance of vegetable matter ; fometimes throwing in a handful of aflies of matweed, merely to filter the lye of earth, and though they often meet with gypfeous fione in the neighbourhood of their works, yet they make excellent faltpetre by boiling the lixivium of their lands only, in which they do not find an atom of gypfum ; confe-quently they have gunpowder in Spain, without being indebted for its fixed alkali, to the vegetable kingdom, and without the vifiblc or fenfible converfion of the vitriolic acid of gypfum into the nitrous. £ Having Having thus difcovered in Spain a perfect fixed alkali in the earth, I purfued my obfervations on other falts, and vegetable productions, and after many reflections and experiments, I difcovered that fimilar fixed alkalies, many oils, and neutral falts,, proceed from different combinations of the air, earth, and water, with fuch matters as the air conveys in a diffolved ftate, and that thefe three elements, rifmg, falling, and meeting, combine together, and form new bodies in the organs of vegetation. Thofe who are verfed in phyfics, agree, that all the fubflances of the very globe we inhabit, confift of the combinations of fire, water, earth, and air; why then deny them the power of combining, in the living organs of plants? when we fo often perceive in them, the faculty of changing, and transforming productions in the kingdom of nature. In proof of it, we find that many cruci-formed plants give by analyfis, the fame volatile alkali as animals, notwithstanding that their tubes are fimilar to the eye, with thofe that give acids. Some plants have their roots fo fmall, and yet their branches, leaves and fruit fo ponderous, that it appears impoffible, fo inconfiderable a root fhould draw fufficient nurture out of the earth for fuch various purpofes. It fccms therefore, that the ambient air, containing many diffolved diffolved bodies, penetrates into the plants, and combines in the vegetative tubes, forming thofe fubftances difcovered by analyfation, s I have frequently feen water melons in Spain weigh from twenty to thirty pounds, with a ftem of only two or three ounces> fo great was the increafe of the fibrous and tubulous- fubftance of thofe plants, owing to the watery particles they imbibed from the air. It fhould1 feem then, that many plants draw their principal fup- ~ port from the air, water, and a fmall portion of earth, combined by the imperceptible labour of the vegetative tubes, and veffels of air, which convert thofe matters uv-to the products we contemplate, and taftc ; many plants producing all thefe effects in water only, and we find . that mint, and other odoriferous plants whofe roots grow in water, and in the air, give the fame fpiritus rector,, and oils, as thofe that grow in the earth. Botanifts know very well that thofe aquatic plants that fpring up from the bottom of waters have with a very trifling deviation, the fame properties and qualities in the: frozen regions, as in fultry and parching climates, and, that their acrimony, caufticity, inlipidity, and coolnefs, are invariable. The experiments made by Van Helinont on the willow tree, making it grow in water, and a fmall portion of dried E 2. earth* earth, fliew how much air, and water, added to the inter* nal labour of plants, contribute to vegetation. In the memoirs of the French academy of fcienccs, we find experiments of a celebrated chemift, to prove the exiftence of three neutral falts, in the extract of bor* rage. If he had gone further, and proved that one of thefe three falts, exifted in the earth, which produced the borrage, he would have illustrated the fyftem of phyfics, and cleared up the point I am fpeaking of, The fame memoirs mention another academician, who reared an oak for many years, only with water, the coiv fequences of which fpeak for themfelves. There are millions of firs about Valladolid, and Tor-tofa, replete with turpentine, and growing in a fmall portion of earth, and great quantity of fand, in which it would be difficult to prove that the thoufandth part of the turpentine, fo plentifully produced by thefe trees*, had exifted; of courfe, it muft.be owing to channels of air, connected with the tubes of vegetation. The conductory veffels of the wormwood of Granada, convey a bitternefs to the very juice of the fugar cane, which grows by its fide: the foil of the king s botanic garden at Madrid, is of one equal kind, for all the different plants that are reared there, yet fome produce a wholefome fruit, while others near them, are poifonous; and and one, with fixed alkali, will thrive ctofe to another, full of volatile alkali, (#}. The mountains arid vallies of Spain, as Well as trie gardens, are full of aromatic plants, yet I do not know that any body has ever extracted by arialyfis, any aroma*4 tic water, or volatile oil, from any uncultivated land. The variation of foil, or culture, may alter the form of plants, change the luftre of their drapery, or give additional flavour to their fruit, but it can never change their effencc, and nature. In proof of this, it is known, there is only one indigenous tulip in Europe, (I found it in flower near Almaden,) it is fmall, yellow, and ugly* appearing only in the fpring* Gardeners may inverit modes of cultivation, try all the climates of Europe, they may produce larger tulips with brighter coloursi but they all will be inodorous, and the little tulip of Spain, will give by analyfis, the very fame product as the moft fuperb of the eaft, whofe beautiful garment in common with other gay flowers, is owing to the phlo-gifton in the organs of vegetation, and not to iron as Juft as Shake fp«ar lias emphatically faid : The ftiuwberry grows underneath the nctilc, And wholefome berries, thrive and ripen belt Neighboured by fruits of bafer quality; nem 5tni has been thought. This phlogifton is manifeft by ana-lyfis in the leaves, where the leaft atom of iron has ne-ver been difcovered. There are many lands in Spain which naturally produce falt-petre, fea-falt, and vitriolic falts; but the plants which grow fpontaneoufly in thofe foils, give by analy-fis the fame product as thofe of their fpecies in gardens, where there never was any appearance of falt-petre, fea-falt, or vitriolic acid. Analize as often as you pleafe, thofe plants fo numerous near iron mines, whofe roots penetrate into the very ore, or thofe that grow in ferruginous and fuper-ficial earth. I am fure you will not collect from their roots, branches, afhes, extracts, or oils, more iron, than what is found in the fame fpecies of plants that fpring up in places without the leaft communication with any fuch minerals. Whatever efficacy there may be in culture, and mar nure, to remove, abforb, and open the pores of the earth, enriching the watery particles, that rife in the vegetative tubes, conveying new fubftances which contribute to that perfection, we obferve, from the foil, and which they lofe when tranfplanted, yet they ftill attain tain various fubftances of vegetation from the air, which chemifts may look for in vain in the earth (a). Many plants are emollient in the fpring and fummer, and aftringent in autumn and winter. Their mucilaginous quality admits of alteration in the tubes, and the combination of earth, air, and water, engenders a vitriolic acid(£), juft as the alkali and the leaves receive colour from the phlogifton; from whence I conceive the reafon of the nitrous foil in Spain, abounding with fuch. a prodigious quantity of fixed natural alkali; which calls to my mind what is fondly advanced by the adepts, 41 That fome lands have the natural properties of load-ftone to attract peculiar fubftances from the air." It is certain then, that plants have proper tubes to attract the elements, and form a natural fixed alkali, and have peculiar feparate principles which only combine by the means of fire in the act of combuftion to form that artificial fixed alkali I had been taught to believe was the only one that exifted in nature. ■ij The ingenious author of this rcafdning docs not feem lobe aware, that it would be equally frunlcls 10 look for thefe fubftances in the water, or in the air. It is true that wc cannot ex-tra& turpentine from the land, or from the earth, in which the iir trees of Vallidolid and °rt0fa grow, but it is equally true, that we cannot extract it either from the air, or from U-le ^ # thofe couuuics. (&) The exiftcncc ol Vltrj0iic ^ in vegetables has not yet been proved; Perhaps Perhaps the foda and falicornia may thrive better when nurtured by fait water, but it is no lefs certain that the alkaline bafis of common fait is found formed in thefe two plants, and in many others as well as in the barilla, which is fowed in many parts of Spain, where they make as good foap as that famous fort at Alicant made with foda and falicornia. With refpect to neutral falts, there are at leaft five fubftances, in which they are found, viz. earth, plants, fait water, mineral, and artificial fubftances. After this digreftion, let us now fee how faltpetre is generally made in France and in Spain, I fay nothing of England or Holland, becaufe they make none, importing what they want from the Eaft Indies, where it is found naturally in the earth, as in Spain, where I have feen faltpetre made with the lixivium of nitrous earth, collected in places where perhaps there never was a tree nor a plant. In Paris they have feventeen faltpetre works : every thing that is carried on there, as well as in other parts of the kingdom, is done according to royal ordinances, in the manner I am going to relate : The rubbifh and filth of old houfes is carried to the works, and pounded with hammers ; the duft is then put into calks, perforated at bottom, the aperture covered with ftraw, to give give a free paffage to the liquor. Water is then poured on this duft, which in its paffage carries away all the faline matter. This impregnated matter is called a lye, which if they were at that period to boil, would produce faltpetre of a greafy nature; to remedy this, they pur-chafe the allies of all the wood fires in Paris, from which they alfo draw a lye that is mixed with the former, then boil up the whole («). In proportion as the water eva-porates, the common fait which cryftalizes when hot, foon falls to the bottom of the cauldron, and the faltpetre, which only cryftalizes when cool, remains diffolved in the water. They draw off this water, loaded with faltpetre, into other veffels, and place it in the fhade, where the nitre cryftalizes. This is called faltpetre of the firft boiling, having ftill fome remains of common fait, earth, and greafy matter, incorporated with it ; it is conveyed to the arfenal to be properly refined, being boiled over again, and left to cryftalize two or three times, or more if found neceffary ; by which means it is cleared of all its impurities, and becomes perfectly adapted to the making of gunpowder and the other life* to which it is applied in the arts ; but for medical pur-pofes, it muft undergo another purification. Thofe who [a] The fa& fcems to be this; the (all they obtain horn the lye of the riibbilh, is a nitre wit an earthy bafis, live fixed vegetable alkali procured bom the wood afhes is then added ; is a ah precipitates the earth from the nitrous acid, and taking its phce, forms true hlu pctre. F are arc curious of being more exactly informed, may find a very accurate account of thefe works in the memoirs of the academy of fciences by Mr. Petit, to which I refer them. In Spain, where a third part of all the lands, and the very duft on the roads in the eaftern and fouthern parts of the kingdom, contain natural faltpetre, I have feen them prepare it in the following manner. They plough the ground two or three times in winter, and fpring, near the villages. In Auguft they pile it up in heaps of twenty and thirty feet high : then fill with this earth a range of veflcls, of a conic fhape, perforated at bottom, obferving to cover the aperture with matwecd and a few afhes, two or three fingers deep, that the water may juft filter through. They then pour on the water, (fometimes without putting any allies); the lye that refults from this operation is put into a boiler. The common fait, which as we faid before precipitates, and cryftalizes when warm, falls to the bottom of the cauldron in a proportion of 40lb. to a quintal of materials (a) ; then the liquor is poured into buckets placed in the fhade, where it fhoots, and cryftalizes into falt- {a) The Spanifh quintal is ioolb. weight, and about 97 lb. Englifh. The arrobe of Madrid is 25 lb. Spanifh, and four arrobes make one quintal. petre. petre. The great quantity of common fait which accompanies the nitre, makes me think, that the marine acid with its bafis, is converted into nitre. The fame earth* deprived of its nitrous quality by this procefs, is agairt carried back to the fields, and expofed to the elements, by which means in the courfe of a twelvemonth, aiufted by the all-powerful and invifible hand of nature, it again becomes impregnated with a frefh fupply of nitre, and what is ftill more furprifing, and cannot be obferved without admiring the wonderful works of the omnipotent creator, the fame lands have produced time immemorial an equal quantity of faltpetre ; fo that if the fupreme power was to annihilate all the factitious faltpetre of France, and Germany, Spain alone could fupply the reft of the world, without the aid of a fixed alkali, allies 6r vegetables, if public ceconomy joined hands with induf-try, and affifted in bringing thefe great points to perfection. I once afked one of thefe people the reafon of that conftant production of faltpetre, but his only anfwer was, " I have two fields, I fow one with corn, and Cc have a crop, I plough the other, and it furnifhes me 4C faltpetre." This faltpetre thus cryftalized is fimilar to that of Paris of the firft boiling. In Spain they only boil it once more, and it becomes perfect, and proper for making of gun-powder, aqua fortis, and other purpofes of the F 2 fhops. mops. Its bafis placed in a cellar, attracts the damp-nefs of the air, lofes its activity, and forms a fixed alkali, which mixed with the vitriolic acid, forms a vitriolated tartar, a certain proof that the nitrous air of Spain is natural and perfect, in itfelf, without the affiflance of any fixed alkali whatever^.) I fhall not dwell upon the proportion of faltpetre, ful-phur, and coal, ufed in the making of gunpowder; as it depends upon experience, and is generally known. 1 was prefent at the proofs made by the king s officers in Granada, to afcertain whether the powder had the qualities required, in order to be admitted or refufed, but I do not think thofe proofs were to the purpofc, as new made powder perhaps may throw a ball to the diflance required; yet to form a true judgment of its real quality and goodnefs, it fhould be tried in different places and climates, and at various feafons of the year ; for I am convinced that the gunpowder which would come up to the ftrength required by the king in the dry and warm climate of Andalulia, would be found deficient in the damp and moift air of Galicia, which fhews how little (a) However incredible this account of Mr. Bowles may appear to an Englifh chemift, it would be rather rafh to deny the truth of it, particularly as he obferves that the bafis of the nitre thus produced is a fixed alkali, and united with the vitriolic acid, forms vitriolated tartar. But if there is no deception in the cafe, the fpontancous production of the vegetable fixed alkali in a place where no vegetables grow, is a fact altogether new, and worthy of a further examination, fuch. fuch experiments are to be depended upon. Of all the inventions I know of for this purpofe, the leaft imperfect is that of Mr. Darcy, a defign of which may be feen in the firft volume of Mr. Beaume's treatife on chemiftry. When the Count de Aranda was director of the engineers, I remember an old officer of artillery informed me that in the laft wars in Italy, he had feen barrels of gunpowder, that were good in the morning, and bad the next night: This did not furprize me, knowing the variations of weather, and the effects of dampnefs piercing through the cafks and damaging the powder, fo as to render it unfit for fervice, for which rcafon every precaution fhould be taken to guard againft thefe inconveniences^). (a) Tliis is the Jubilance of Mr. Bono's difcourfe. Some obfervations of his relating «o the qualities of falts are omitted, as thofs. fubje&s arc treated of with greater exa&uefs by modern chemifb, to which the reader is referred. It is likewife unncceffary to expatiate upon, or point out the properefl methods ofprcferv-t ing gunpowder, fo well known in this country, and with refpecl to the force of fired gunpowder, a late publication gives us the moft- curious and ample information, viz. *' The force of Fired gunpowder and the initial velocity of cannon ball, determined, by experiments, from* which is alfo deduced the relation oi the initial veLocity, to the weight of the fliot and quantity of powder. By Charles Hutlon, mailer of the military academy of Woolwich, which gained the prize medal of the Royal Society." Phil, tranfact. for 1778, vol. Jxviii* tETTER T R A V E L S THROUGH (1».KT "''/lofr CJ# SPAIN, LETTER V. Of the Merino Sheep. THE wools of Spain form a confiderable branch of our commerce with that country. It has even been faid that their fine quality was originally owing to a few Englifii fheep fent into Spain, as a prefent by our Henry the fecond, or according to others, by Edward the fourth, in 1465, but without entering into fruitlefs invef-tigations of an event fo remote, and of fo little confe* quence, I fhall confine myfelf to fpeak of thofe remarkable fheep known in Spain by the name of Ganado Merino^ ** The Merino flocks," and defcribe the conilant method of conducting thofe numerous tribes from the northern to the fouthern provinces, to which they attribute that peculiar fine quality of the wool, which has rendered it fo famous all over Europe [a,) (a) Though this account of Spanifh fheep appeared in the gentleman's magazine for 1764, and in other publications, yet as I am informed it came originally from Mr. Bowles, I have again inferted the fub(lance of his difcourfe, in jufiice to its original author, with fome further illuflrations relating to the wool of Spain, not mentioned by that writer. There There are two forts of fheep in Spain, fome that have coarfe wool, and are never removed out of the province to which they belong, and others, that after fpending the fummer in the northern mountains, defcend in the winter to the milder provinces of Eftremadura, and An-dalufia, and are diftributed into diftricfts, which go by the name of Merindactes* Thefe are the Merino fheep, of which it is computed there are between four and five million in the kingdom [a]. The word Merino, fignifies a governor of a province. The Merino mayor is always a perfon of rank and appointed by the king. They have a feparate jurifdiclion over the flocks in Eftremadura,, Sheep. (a) The duke of Irifantado's flock about ------ - 40.000 Countefs Campo de Alenfe Negrctti - - 30.000 Paular, and Efcurial convents, 30.000 each - 60.000 Convent of Guadalupe - * - - -- -- -- - 30.000 Marquis Perales - - - - ------ - 30.000 DukeofBejar - - - - - - - - - 30.000 Several flocks of about 20.000 each - m . _ . 200.000 All the other flocks in the kingdom together, on an average about 3.S00.000 4.220.000 - In 177S, the wool of Infantado was 9285 arrobes in the greafe, and Negretti nearly the" fame. Waflied wool coarfe and fine together, worth at an average, eight and a half rials vcllon per lb. (about 2s) cxclufive of duties which are 20 percent, on exportation. There is a curious difcourfe on the wools of Spain in the fecond volume of the Spanifh . correfpondence of lord Sandwich, lord Sunderland, and Gr William Godolphin, in a book entitled, Hifpania illuftrata. London, 1702* which which is called The Mefla^ and there the king in perfon is Merino mayor (a). Each flock confifls generally of ten thoufand fheep, with a Mayoral or head fhepherd, who mufl be an active man well verfed in the nature of pafture, as well as the difeafes incident to his flock. This perfon has under him fifty inferior fhepherds, and as many dogs, five of each to a tr»ibe. The principal fhepherd has a hundred pifloles (about £75.) and a horfe every year. The other fervants have 150 rials for the firft clafs (£1. 13s.gd.) 100 rials for the fecond clafs (£1. 2s. 6d.) 60 rials for the third clafs (ly. 6d.) and 40rials, or nine fhillings for the other attendants. Each of thefe has an allowance of two pounds of bread a day, with the fame quantity of an inferior fort for the dogs. They are likewife permitted to keep goats, and a few fheep, of which they have the meat, and the lambs, provided the wool remains for the mafler. They may do what they pleafe with the milk, of which they feldom make any advantage. In the months of April and October, each fhepherd has 12 rials given him (about zs. gd.) as a perquifitc previous to his journey. Though thefe flocks divide and feparate themfelves over fevcral provinces of Spain, it will be unncceffary to {a) Thcrv is a fupreme council at Madrid called Confejo de Mijla which takes cognizance of a'l matters relating to fheep, wool, fhepherds, panares, woods, and all concerns that belong to royal Idts and parks. relate relate what paffes in each, their government being fimilar and uniform. The places where they are to be feen in the greateft numbers are in the Montana and Molina de Aragon in the fummer, and in the province of Eflre-madura in the winter. Molina is to the eaftward of Eflremadura, the Montana is to the north, and the moft elevated part of Spain ; Eflremadura abounds with aromatic plants, but the Montana is entirely without them. The firfl care of the fhepherd in coming to the fpot where they are to fpend the fummer, is to give to the ewes as much fait as they will eat; for this purpofe they • are provided with 25 quintals of fait for every thoufand head, which is confumed in lefs than five months ; but they eat none on their journey, or in winter. The method of giving it to them is as follows. The fhepherd places fifty or fixty flat flones about five fteps diflancc from each other; he ftrews fait upon each {tone, then leads his flock flowly through the ftones, and every iheep eats at pleafure. This is frequently repeated, obferving not to let them feed on thofe days in any fpot where there is lime-flone. When they have eaten the fait, they are led to fome argillaceous fpots, where from the craving they have acquired, they devour every thing they meet with, and return again to the fait with redoubled ardour (tf). [a] Mr. Bowie* obferves, that if the cliflritf is limy or marly, the fheep eat lefs fait in proportion to the lime they find, and afking the reafon of one ©f the fhepherds, was told, it pro- G At At the end of July each fhepherd diftributes the rams amongft the ewes, five or fix rams being fufficient for an hundred ewes. Thefe are taken out of flocks where they are kept apart, and after a proper time are again feparated from the ewes. The rams give a greater quantity of wool, though not fo fine as the ewes, for the fleeces of the rams will weigh twenty-five pounds, and it requires five fleeces of the ewes to give the like weight. The difproportion in their age is known by their teeth, thofe of the rams not falling before the eighth year, while the ewes, from their delicacy of frame or other caufes, lofe theirs after five years. About the middle of September they are marked, which is done by rubbing their loins with ocre diluted in water ; fome fay this earth incorporates with the greafe of the wool, and forms a kind of varnifh, which proteds them from the inclemencies of the weather; others pretend that the preflure of the ocre keeps the ceeded from their grazing in cornfields, on which occafion the illiterate fhepherd fecmed to relate the fact though ignorant of the caufc, which was, according to Mr. Bowles, " from the fait all limy matter abounds with, and partaken of by cattle, either in Jicking the flones, or communicated by vegetation to grafs ; for which reafon, their appetite is not fo keen for any fait that is offered them:" however we cannot admit this to be the true caufe, as che-mills arc now well allured that lime does not contain any fait whatever, - wool wool fhort, and prevents it from becoming of an ordinary quality ; others again imagine, that the ocre acls in the nature of an abforbent, and fucks up the cxcefs of tranfpiration, which would render the wool ordinary and coarfe. . Towards the end of September thefe Merino flocks begin their march to a warmer climate ; the whole of their route has been regulated by the laws and cuftoms, time immemorial. They have a free paffage through paftures,, and commons belonging to villages, but as they mufl go over fuch cultivated lands as lie in their way, the inhabitants arc obliged to leave them an opening ninety paces wide, through which thefe flocks are obliged to pafs rapidly, going, fomctimes fix or feven leagues a day, in order to reach open fpots lefs inconvenient, where they may find good paflure, and enjoy fome repofe. In fuch. open places they feldom exceed two leagues a day, following the fhepherd and grazing as they move on. Their whole journey from the Montana, to the interior parts* of Eflremadura may be about one hundred ancl fifty, leagues, which they perform in about forty days. The firft care of the fhepherd is to lead them to the fame paflure where they have been the winter before* and where the greateft part of them were eaned ; this is no difficult talk, for if they were not led there, they will G. z difcovec: difcover the ground, by the great fenfibility of their olfaclory organs, to be different from that which is contiguous ; or were the fhepherds fo inclined, they would find it no eafy matter to make them go further. The next bufinefs is to order the folds, which are made by fixing flakes, faflened with ropes one to the other, to prevent their efcape, and being devoured by the wolves, for which purpofe the dogs are Rationed without. The fhepherds build themfelves huts with flakes and boughs, for the railing of which as well as for fuel, they are allowed to lop off a branch from every tree. This law is the caufe of fo many trees being rotten and hollow, which grow in thofe places frequented by thefe flocks. A little before the ewes arrive at their winter quarters, it is the time of their eaning, at which period the fhepherds muft be particularly careful. The barren ones are feparated from the others, and placed in a lefs advantageous fpot, referving the beft paflure for thofe that are fruitful, removing them in proportion to their forwardnefs : the lafl lambs are put into the richeft paflure, that they may improve the fooner, and acquire fuf-ficient flrength to perform the journey, along with the early ones. In March the fhepherds have four different operations to perform with the lambs, that were eaned in the winter ; the firft is to cut off their tails, five fingers below the the rump for cleanlinefs; the fecond is to mark them on the nofe with a hot iron; next they faw off the tips of their horns, that they may not hurt one another in their fro-licks; finally they caftrate fuch lambs as are doomed for bell-wethers, to walk at the head of the tribe; which is not done by any incifion, but merely by fqueezing the fcrotum with the hand, till the fpermatic veffels are twifted like a rope, and decay without further danger. In April the time comes for their return to the Montana, which the flock expreffes with great eagernefs, by various movements and refllefsnefs, for which reafon the fhepherds mud be very watchful, left they make their efcape, which often happens when proper care is not taken, and whole flocks have fometimes ftrayed two or three leagues while the fhepherd was afleep, as on thefe occaGons they generally take the ftraighteft road to the place which they came from. The firft of May they begin to fhear, unlefs the weather is unfavourable ; for the fleeces being piled one a-bove the other, would ferment in cafe of dampnefs, and rot; to avoid which, the fheep are kept in covered places to fhear them more conveniently; for this purpofe they have buildings that will hold twenty thoufand at a time, which is the more neceffary, as the ewes are fo delicate, that that if immediately after {hearing they were expofed to the chilling air of the night, they would certainly perifh. One hundred and fifty men are employed to {hear each thoufand fheep. Each perfqn i^r^c&pned to fhear eight fheep a day, but if rams, only;fiwe^ not merely on account of their bulk, and greater quantity, of wool, but from their ficklenefs of temper* and difficulty to keep them quiet, the ram being fo exafperated, that he is ready to ftrangle himfelf, when he finds he is tied ; to avoid which, they endeavour by fair means arid carefTes to keep him in temper, and with wuch foothing, and having ewes near him, they; at laft engage him to ftand quiet, and voluntarily naffer them to proceed. | l^ov i iii/ifl.?;ombomol o:r,d emboli aloifv/. ha . On the ihearing day the ewes are fhut up in a.large court, and from thence coractucled into a fudatory, which is a narrow place, where they arc kept as clofe as poffible, that they may perfpire freely, in order to foftcn the wool, and make it yield with more eafe to the fhears. This is particularly ufeful with refpeel: to the rams, whofe wool is more ftubborn,. The fleece is divided into three forts; the back, and belly, give the fu-perfine, the neckandfides give the fine, and the breaftsj fhoulders and thighs, give the coarfe wool. The fheep are then brought into another place and: marked, examining thofe without teeth, which are def- tined tined for the flaughter-houfe ; the healthy are led to graze, if the weather permits, if not, they are kept within doors, till by degrees they are accuftomed to the air. When they are permitted to graze without being hurried, they felecl and prefer the fincft grafs, never touching the aromatic plants, though they find them in plenty, and if the wild thyme is entangled with the grafs they feparate it with great dexterity, avoiding it on every occafion, moving eagerly to fuch fpots as they can find that are without it. When the fhepherd thinks there is a likelihood of rain, he makes proper fignals to the dogs to colled the flock, and leads them towards fhelter ; on thefe occafi-ons the fheep not having time to chufe their paflure, pick up every thing they meet, thyme, rofemary, and every herb indiscriminately, even poifonous ones ; fuch as henbane, poppy, and hemlock, particularly foon after they are fheared. Were they to take a fancy and give a preference to aromatic plants, it would be a great misfortune to the owners of beehives, as they would deftroy the food of the bees, and occafion a difappoint-rnent in the honey and wax. They are never fuffered to move out of their folds till the beams of the fun have exhaled the night dews, nor do they let them drink out of brooks, or {landing waters, where hail has fallen, experience having taught them, that on fuch occafions they they are in clanger of lofing them all. The wool of Andalulia is coarfe, becaufe their fheep never change climate like the Merino flocks, whofe wool would likewife degenerate, if they were kept at home ; and that of Andalulia would improve, were they accuftomed to emigrate. Between fifty and fixty thoufand bags of wafhed wool are annually exported out of Spain. A bag generally weighs eight arrobes or 194 pounds Englifh. About twenty thoufand bags of this wool are fent annually to London and Briftol worth from £3°' to ^35. each ; fo that we have one third of the produce, and of the belt fort. The wool of Paular, which is the largefl, though not the beft, is referved for the king of Spain's manufactures. The common and fhooting dreffes of the royal family of Spain and their attendants, are made of the cloth of Segovia, from whence our Englifh nobility, in Henry the Vllth's time were fupplied with fine cloth (a). The crown of Spain receives annually, by all duties together on exported wool, near fixty millions of reals vellon per annum. (,£675,000.) \a) Breadth of Spanifh cloth made at Segovia i 3-4ihs vara, or 37 3-41I1S inches Englifh, LETTER TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 57 LETTER VI. Inconveniencies arifing from the emigrations of the Merino fheep, and the partial laws of the Mefla, VTOU defire my opinion [a] concerning die Mefta, but A I have nothing to add to what I have frequently mentioned to you, on a fubject not eafily reduced into the compafs of a letter ; however I fliall once more lay before you thofe obfervations that have engaged me to entertain the notions I have formed to myfelf concerning the Mefta. This appellation has corruptly crept into our language, and been applied to fheep, when in reality it had no other fignification, than a mixture of grain, and feed, fuch as barley, beans, oats, lentils, 8cc. nor was any fuch name as the Mefta flocks known in Spain before the days of king Alfonfo El Ultimo, when Englifh fheep were firft (n) This letter was written by the late ingenious Padre Sarmicnto, to Don Antonio Fonz, a«d is dated Madrid, iath Sept. 1765, and publifhed byPonz, in his eighth volume of Viage de Lfpana, Madrid, 1778. It (hews how far the fpirit of improvement has extended, and reached even Within the gloomy walls of convents, and as it gives a lively idea of the fpirit of the times, I thought it would perhaps be more acceptable to preferve it in its original form. H brought brought into Spain in the Spanifh caracks. It was then that the office of judge of the Mefta had its rife according- to the Bachelor Fernan Gomez de Ciudad Real, in his 73d epiftle. The aforefaid king Alfonfo introduced thefe foreign valuable fheep called Marinas, and not Merinas, according to the vulgar opinion ; in the fame manner as his prcfent majefty, Charles the third, has lately introduced at the Cafa del Campo [d)% fome goats from Angora, fo valued for their hair of a fine white, almoft like filk, the breed of which might eafily be propagated, as the diftri fures where happily the Mefta does not prevail. To return to the ftate of population. The Roman empire, according to Riciolus, was fuppofed to contain four hundred and ten millions of people. In the days of Tertullian not a foot of land was uncultivated. Soli-nus fays of Spain, " nihil otiofum^ nihil Jlerile eft" Eftremadura contains two thoufand fquare leagues of land. The moft moderate calculation admits of a thoufand per-fons to each fquare league; then Eftremadura would admit of two millions of inhabitants, which allowing four perfons to a family, would make five hundred thoufand families; but Uftariz (a) only allows to Eftremadura fixty (a) Theoriaypra&iea de commcrcioy marina, por Don Geronimo de Uftariz, Madrid, 1742. This curious book has been tranflated into Englifh. See Uftariz's theory and pra&ice of commerce, by Kippax. London, 17 51. thoufand thoufand families; and the number is now thought to be lefs. Confider then the difproportion, and what prejudice the country receives from the Mefta. Galicia, where there is no Mefta, and only fixteen hundred fquare leagues, has above a million of inhabitants. So much concerning population, the life of a ftate, when idlenefs is banifbed, and induftry encouraged. With refpect to cattle, Galicia has more than Eftremadura. Uflariz fays that about four millions of fheep go into Eftremadura* In Galicia they have not flocks of thirty and forty thoufand head, poffeffed by one perfon contributing nothing towards agriculture ; he that has forty or fifty fheep is a Croefus, but the poorefl of farmers have at leaft five and twenty head of different kinds. Few reflect, that in a flate, a great many fmall portions are of much more -confcqucncc than a few large divifions, though con filling of infinite numbers. Other advocates for the Mefta extol the value of the wool, and tell us it is an active commerce, but Uftariz fhews, that foreigners only pay us at par, for the wool in the fleece, and have a profit of four to one in vending their manufactures. The way to form an active commerce of our wool, and our filk, of which we have fuch. plenty, would be to work it ourfelves, and prohibit alt foreign importations. The The culture of filk is of no prejudice to agriculture like the Mefta ; a manufacture of filk would be of more advantage to Eftremadura, than all the flocks of the Mefta together. Uftariz computes the Mefta to employ forty thoufand people, deftined by nature for agriculture ; therefore, as each perfon could till land enough to produce 50 fanegas of corn(^), would they not be better employed in railing two millions of fanegas of corn, either at home or in Eftremadura, than in leadincr fuch a wandering life in idlenefs and poverty ? In Galicia they are not burthened with fuch fwarms of vagabond ftrollers with their dogs, nor are they peftcred with wolves ; one little girl while fhe is {pinning can bverlook the domeftic ceconomy, and have an eye to the whole flock of the family, when the plains of Eftremadura are ravaged, and laid wafte by the locuft. Afk thefe par-tifans of the Mefta, whether their fheep ever go into battle, or render any public fervice to their country? I know you have read the memorial of complaints made by the province of Eftremadura againft the Mefta; though they ftill fuffer this inconvenience in the interior parts of the kingdom, they ought to be more cautious on the frontiers towards Portugal, to prevent bad 'Iff fmrf rxir i*,*vT,"iW"*rA l7 / t • • * '-• * ■ .* + (a) Fancga is a corn mcafurc iu Spain, five of which make an Englifh quarter of eight buQids. confequences confequenccs in cafe of a fudden invafion. I fhould be glad to know how many head of cattle are maintained in Madrid, for I know their provifion is not brought from the mountains, or paftures, but from cultivated plains. Finally, I fhall always be of opinion that except fome fpots referved for the royal chace, and the diverfion of our fovereigns and their illuftrious line, all the reft fhould be cultivated, as in the days of Tertul-Han, that each farmer fhould inclofe his lands, and that the fame fhould be allotted to them for tillage, in proportion to their abilities, allowing a certain number of cattle, correfponding to the extent of the farm. Then, for the greater advancement of agriculture, the cultivators of land fhould form a body politic, with power to enaft wholefome laws, and regulations, for the encouragement and benefit of hufbandry. The Mefta people did fo and had a confirmation of their laws from Gharles 5th, in 1544, but with this condition, of their not being prejudicial to a third perfon. Let Eftremadura anfwer, whether this is the cafe? and let the farmers then give their opinions. But I muft infill with Solinus, that in Spain, no part where there is a poftibility of avoiding it, fliould remain otiofum neque Jlerile(a)% («) Ever fmce the accefuon of the houfe of Bourbon to the throne of Spain, the extenfion of commerce, and the improvement of agriculture have been primary objefts. The Real Junta de Commercio, or Board of Trade, was firft creeled by Philip the 5th, on the 15th of May, 1707. Many new regulations have been made lor the benefit of commerce and agriculture, I fincc LETTER VIL Mtfcellancous obfervations made at Madrid, tuith fome account of the royal cabinet of Natural Hijlory. THE town of Madrid is now become the capital of the monarchs of Spain, fituated in the center of their dominions > and from one of the filthieft places imaginable, is at prefent on a par for cleanlinefs with fe- fince his prefent majcfly s arrival from Naples at Madrid, which was on the 9th of December 1759. For the greater encouragement of agriculture, all the old laws relative to corn were repealed in 1765, and the embarraffments with which they were clogged, totally removed: new laws more favourable to induftry, were enacled, and a fpirit of freedom and liberty introduced in the commerce of grain, in order to give every encouragement to the farmer. To improve the minds of the people, Academies were erected in Madrid, Valladolid, Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona, befie'es many literary focieties in different parts of the kingdom, particularly one at Madrid, with the-nob-left of titles u Los Amigos del pais,1' The Friends of their country, in which every fubjeft is to be confidered, tending to the advancement of arts, manufactures, and commerce; and the better to convey thefe ideas to the public, the art of printing has been particularly attended to, and brought to very great perfedion: however as all thefe literary eftabhlhmcnts are ftill in. their infancy, time only will difcover their intended effe&s. The new roads through the kingdom form a principal branch of modern improvement, and for the better compleating the fame, they have been again put under the direction of the general port office, by a royal decree of the Sth O&ober, 1778, with new revenues affigned for the purpofe; but with refpect to the want of inns, and conveniences for travellers, Don Antonio Ponz, in his laft volume infifls, that every thing that has, or can be laid* on the fubjeft, is ftill (hort of the truth. 11 La verdad cs, que en quanto a la penuria que fe padece en efta materia, quslquiera fe quedara corto por mucho que dig*." Viage de Efpana, torn. 8. foMo aia. Madrid 1778. veral veral principal cities of Europe, being likewife well paved and lighted, but in refpecr. to population, it is far inferior to London, Paris, or Naples, (a) Madrid is in a high fituation, all the rivers and brooks in its neighbourhood fall into the Tagus, whofe waters roll down to the ocean. The Guadarama mountains, to the north weft of the town, are covered with fnow feverai months of the year, which added to the piercing north (a) The following table publiihed at Madrid for the year 1778, will thew the ptefent Rate of population in that town. Parilhcs* Marriages. Births. Deaths. St- Mary - » 13 - - 41 - • » - - «8 St. Martin - - 343 ' " " " 93° - - - - 33S St. Gines 74 - - - - 308 - - ■ - - u>S St. Lewis - IG7 - - - - 239 - • ■ - - 79 St. Jofeph - 114 - - - - 212 - • - - - 121 St. Nicholas - 7 - - - - 12 - ' ■ " " 15 St. Saviour - 9 - * - - 11 - • St. John 2 - - 17 - . ' - - 15 Holy Crofs - 86 - . - - 20S - - - - I08 St. Peter 13 - - - - 3° ' ' • " - «4 St. Andrew - 10S - - ' - 34* > • • - - 109 St. Michael - • 18 - - - - 87 - • ■ - - 5° St. Juft * S13 - - - - 723 - . • - - 248 St. Sebaftian • 341 - - - - 801 - - * * 277 St. Iago - 18 - - 7i - ■ ■ - - 42 1466 4031 1577 There died this year in the pariihes and in the three hofpitals 3483 perfons, without reckoning infants, and thofe who died in communities, nunneries, and the other hofpitals of the court; and there have been 4372 births, including the foundlings baptifed in St. Gines. This year Gu infants have been brought to the royal foundation of La Jnclufa for foundlings, of which 34, have been baptifed in the parifh of St. Gines. Kalendario manual, y Gnia de forafteros en Madrid para el ano de 1778. I 2 winds, winds, that reign in the winter, renders it exceiTively cold, while in fummer the fouthern and wefterly blafts arc generally attended with dampnefs and rain. Travellers have told us, the air is fo fubtle that if a dead dog was thrown into the ftreets over night, he would not have a bit of flefh on his bones in the morning, but this is a fable, as it is a known facl, that dead dogs and cats lie in the ftreets continually, as well as dead mules, clofe to the road fide, for days together, without any fuch effect.. Hiftorians relate that King John 2d being in Madrid, in 1434, it began to rain and fnow on the 29th of October, and never ceafed till the 7th January following, infomuch that feveral houles were deftroyed, and the inhabitants reduced to the greateft diftrefs for want of provilions; a report having been fpread that the King intended to alienate the town, the inhabitants petitioned the King not to defert them, which finally terminated in a royal edicr. of the 30th of May 1442, by which it was ordained that neither the town or its jurisdiction, could ever be alienated. The principal ftreets of Madrid are paved with cut flint, the others with pebbles, found in the neighbourhood, the cut flint on account of its fharpnefs is very inconvenient to foot paffengers, and the flat pavement near the houfes is too narrow. The town is well fup- plied plied with water, and there are conduits in the principal ftreets; that called del berro, in the neighbourhood of the town, is conftantly drank by the royal family wherever they are. The bread is white and good, and when the barrennefs of the country all round is conft-dered, the plaza mayor or principal fquare, where the market is kept, is extremely well fupplied with all manner of provifions. Mr. Bowles has obferved that if that celebrated pro-feflbr Mr. Henckel, had come to Madrid, he would foon have been convinced of his error, in faying that ** flint was not to be found in ftrata and only in detached lumps, or in mafles, for here he would find all the environs replete with ftrata of flint; and moreover not a houfe or a building, but what has been conftrucied with lime made from flint (a), which ferves alfo for lire arms, as well as for the pavement. In fome places pieces are (a) It is allowed that nature by fome procefs unknown to us, feems to change limcfiouc in to Hint, but this change once made, we cannot by calcination or any other known means convert flint into lime : it is true that flint may be calcined, and then it iolcs its flinty appear' ancc, becomes white and may by a faperficial ohferver be miflaken for lime, but it will not unite with an acid, it will not diflblve in water, it will not make a cement; in fhort it docs not poflefs any of the diflinguilhing properties of lime. There are in this ifland beds of lime-flone ftratihed with layers of flint, and it is probably the cafe with thefe lulls near Madrid ; fo Unt they get flint and limeflone from the fame quarry. 1 am indebted to an ingenious friend fincc my return to England for this obfervation, and as I had not an opportunity of ascertaining the point to fatisfaclion with refpeft to thofe plates near Madrid, I have related the circumftancc as ftated by Mr. Bowles, with hopes that fome future traveller in Spaiamay be inclined to examine that ground more minutely. found found of it full of a fpecies of agate, ftreaked with red, blue, white, green, and black, that take a very good po-lifli, but thefe colours are accidental, and difappear by calcination. No acid will diffolve it, or caufe any effervefcence; when calcined, it burns in the water with more violence than true liraeftone, and mixed with the pebble or coarfe fand near Madrid, makes an excellent material for building, though it does not anfwer fo well with the fine fand of the river. It is impofiible to fufe this flint alone, or any other found in limy or argillaceous earths, no more than the different kinds of agates, cornelians and rock cryftal, but they calcine by themfelves; that is are turned into lime and fufe very well mixed with the fixed alkali of Barilla, or with lead, the eafieft to fufe of all metals, and change into the Englifh flint glafs, which is by far the belt hitherto known. Many naturalifls, according to Mr. Bowles have followed this erroneous opinion refpecling flint, and amongft the reft Mr. de Reaumur. Linneus in his Syftema Naturae, fays, 11 Silex nafcitur in montium cretaceorum rimis, uti quantum in rimis Saxorum" but we have only to open our eyes, to be fully convinced of the fallacy of this after-lion, when we contemplate the numerous beds of flint near Madrid, and in different parts of Spain, and Italy, feparated from all cretaceous matter. The abate For-tis, in his late travels into Dalmatia, found the flint there, quite different from the defcriptions of former naturalifls, naturalifls, and adds, " I have often feen the flint in the very acT; as I may fay of paffing from the calcareous ftate to the filiceous, and particularly I have often found flint envelloped in volcanic matter. I have formed a feries of thefe progreffes, which I have fhewn to fome of my friends [a)" In the environs of Madrid there are above two hundred villages, but few can be feen on account of the inequality of the ground, the country being broken up by continual gullies, and various changes of afpecr., occafioned by torrents, and other cafual accidents, in a country little cultivated, and abandoned to every viciflitude of fcafon. Near the town they chiefly fow barley, and here and there have fome trifling vineyards. Their tillage is much the fame as in Old Caftile, that is, juft to fcratch up the earth and fcatter the feed at random, then to cover it over with a fimilar indifference, and wait for the coming of the poor labourers from Galicia, to get in their harveft. The farmers pretend that if they were to make ufe of a ftronger plough, they fliould have lefs corn. Mr. Bowles next reproaches the Spaniards for palling over in filence their countryman Don Jofeph Lucadelo, a gentleman of Aragon, who had invented a curious plough much efteemed by foreign nations, who had taken the merit of the invention to> [a] Travels into Dalmatia by the abate Fortis, tranflated into Englifh. London, 1-78. themfelves*. themfelves, fupprcffing the name of the ingenious Spaniard ; but this perfon, whofe name was Jofeph Luca-telli, was a native of Carinthia, one of the provinces of the houfe of Auftria, who having made his experiments before the emperor Leopold in 1663, at the caftle of Laxemberg, near Vienna, obtained a certificate of its Utility from the imperial court, and then came to that of Madrid, and performed other experiments equally fuc-cefsful at the Buen Retiro, in the prefence of Philip the 4th, from whom he obtained an exclufive patent for the fole vending of his plough for 24 reals plate in Europe, (about 11s.) and 32 reals plate (about 14/, 6d.) in America, of which a printed account was publifhed by Luca-telli, at Seville, in 1664. A model of this plough was fent by Lord Sandwich, then ambaffador at Madrid, to John Evelyn, Efq; who prefented it to the royal fociety, with a letter defcribing its ufe, which was inferted in the philofophical tranfadions of the 23d of February, 1669-70, and the model depofited in Grefharn college. Nothing can be more bleak and difmal than the general afpect of the country round the feat of its monarch, with a great want of trees, to which the Caftilians have fuch a diflike, from a falfe notion that they increafe the number of birds to eat up their corn; as if this rea-fon would not hold good in other countries, where fhade is not fo neceffary, as it is in Caftile, to fupport the the moifture of the foil ; or that it was ever an objection in Valencia, a kingdom fo fertile and wooded : the Caftilians not reflecting, that the feeds of plants, and leaves of trees, afford nurture for infects, and birds, and prevent them from deftroying the grain as they do in Caftile, for want of other food; befides the advantage of fcreening the earth in hot weather, and preferving a due moifture after dews and rain ; for without their aid, the fcorching beams of the fun parch up the earth, and render it unfruitful; fo that what little comes up is devoured by birds, in a climate where nature feems to have .defigned it fhould be otherwife; for the climate of Madrid is not in itfelf averfe to the propagation of trees, as may be feen by the public walks, and modern improvements and plantations. The old hiftorians fpeak particularly of the woods, and of their advantageous fituation for foreft beafts, as appears from a book written by king Alfonfo el ultimo, called Libro de Monteria del Rcy Don Alonfo, in which that monarch extols the country near Madrid, for its fliady fituation and exten-five woods, well adapted for hunting the flag, .wild boar, and even of bears ( lo and Panama. To extend this advantage further 10 the fouthward, fix packet boats were appointed in 1767, to fail from Coruna to the river of Plate, and city of Buenos Ayres, from whence fix expreffes were to proceed annually with the letters for Peru and Chili, and other provinces of thofe extenfive dominions ; all which has been conducted with fo much activity and fpirit, that communications have been opened over the famous Cordillera of Chili, between that kingdom and Peru, and a regular poll for letters kept up, in the moft remote jurifdictions ; where, before that period, even the very idea or name of a poft-office was unknown. For the conducting of which, the general poft-office have 25 veffels ; viz, 14 from the Coruna to the Havana, Montevideo and Buenos Ayres ; 5 from the Havana to Vera Cruz ; 4 from Porto Rico to Carthagena ; and 2 from Carthagena to Porto Bello. The Royal cabinet of natural hiftory, at Madrid, was opened to the public by his majefty's orders in 1775; a handfome houfe having been purchafed, of which the firft floor was appropriated for the royal academy of San Fernando, and the fecond for the purpofe of receiving an ample collection of natural curiofities, which had K 2 been finiow u been collected in Paris by Don Pedro Davila (a) a native of Peru, which his majefty has accepted of, and appointed him director thereof; and was alfo at the charge of bringing them from Paris. Every thing is ranged with neatnefs and elegance, and the apartments are opened twice a week for the public, befides being fhewn privately to ft rangers of rank. The collection of bcafts and birds, at prefent is not large, but may be fuppofed to improve apace, if they take care to get the productions of their American colonies. They have the Ikeleton of an elephant that died lately at Madrid ; alfo a little American ox Huffed, called Zebu, by Mr. de Buffon, and Zcbula by the Spaniards. The great Ant bear from Buenos Ayres, the Myrmecophaga Jubata of Linneus, called by the Spaniards Oja Palmera, was alive at Madrid in 1776, and is now fluffed and prefcrved in this cabinet. The people who brought it from Buenos Ayres, fay, it differs from the ant-eater, which only feeds on emmets and other infects ; whereas this would eat flefh, when cut in fmall pieces, to the amount of four or five pounds. From the fnout to the extremity of the tail this animal is two yards in length, and his height is about two feet. The head very narrow, the nofe long, and flender. The tongue is fo fingular, that it looks more like a [a) Sec catalogue des curiofucs du cabinet de Davila, 3 tomes, avec figures. Paris, 1767. a worm, a worm, and extends above fixtcen inches. His body is covered with long hair, of a dark brown, with white ftripes on the moulders ; and when he fleeps he covers his body with his tail. The mineral part of the cabinet, containing precious Hones, marbles, ores, Sec. is very perfect. Amongft other curiofities they have a grain of gold of 2 2 carats, which weighed fixtcen marks, four ounces, four ochavos, SpanifTi weight, found in California, and fent by the viceroy of Mexico as a prefent worthy of his majefty's acceptance [a] ; alfo feveral curious fpecimens of filver ore, from the Guadalcanal mine in Eftremadura, of that fort called Roficler. Specimens of Mexican and Peruvian utenfils, vafes, &c. in earthenware of that kind, which the Spaniards call Barra, wretched both in tafte and execution. Some productions likewife of Otaheite, which the Spaniards call amath. A curious collection of vafes, bafons, ewers, cups, plates, and ornamental pieces of the fincft agates, arac-thyfts, rock cryftals, &:c. mounted in gold, and enamel, («) A curious treatife, now very fence, was publifhed at Mexico, by the viceroy, in June 1771, intitletl Noticia Breve dt la Expcdicion Milatar de Sonora y Cinalco, fu Exito felix y ventajofq eflado, en que por confequencia dc ello fe ha puefto ambas provincias. Sec a further account of this expedition in Robcrt.Ws hiflory or America. Note LX.V. vol. a', fet fet with cameos, intaglios, &c. in an elegant tafte, and the moft delicate workmanlhip, faid to have been brought from France by Philip die fifth. There is like-wife a valuable collection of books and prints daily-adding to the cabinet by the faid Don Pedro Davila. Were painting and fculpture my objeds, this would be the place to defcribe the many fine pictures in the royal palace and in the noblemen's houfes at Madrid J but I pafs them over in filence the more readily, as modern travellers have defcribed the moft beautiful of thefe pictures. I fhall juft obferve that a late writer who fpent fome time at Madrid, fpeaking of the church of the vifitation, called Las Salefas, where the late king Ferdinand and his queen are interred, tells us, that at the principal altar, there is a fine copy of Raphael's transfiguration ; whereas it happens to be a good picture of the vifitation, in allufion to the name of the church, and done by Francifco de Muro at Naples. It is true a moft excellent copy of Raphael's transfiguration may be feen at another church belonging to the convent of St. Terefa, placed there by the founder, the Prince de Aftillana, who confidered it as an original of Raphael, and valued it at ten thoufand piftoles (about £jooo). it is fuppofed to have been done by Julio Romano, the able ft and favourite fcholar of Raphael. The fame writer fpeaking of the pictures in the palace of of Buen Retiro in the faloon, named De los Reynos, calls one picture 46 Santa Cruz fuccouring Geneva"; whereas it is the furrender of Genoa to that officer, being placed amongft other hiftorical pieces of the times, which are termed by him, " Scripture fubjects of the old teftament." ■ That beautiful equeftrian ftajtue of Philip the 4th, by Tacca of Florence, which ftands in a little flower garden of the Retiro, is worthy of the higheft admiration. The attitude of the horfe is furprifingly bold, with both his fore feet in the air; and was imitated from a picture of Velafquez, fent to Italy for that purpofe. When feen by the Florentine artifts, they all agreed it was impoffi-ble to execute it; however Tacca with the aftiftance of Galileo happily applied the principles of equilibrium, and fucceeded beyond expectation. This unfortunate artift died foon after of grief from the treatment he re-ceived from the grand duke's minifter, concerning this ftatue, but his eldeft fon Ferdinand came to Madrid, and fixed the parts together, which were three in number, and placed the ftatue properly. Six hundred and fifty fix quintals of 128 lb. of metal each, were employed in the calling. Its height, including the pedeftal, is 84 palmos (19 feet 9 inches Englifh) (a). In an inventory of the effects of the Retiro, it was valued at forty thoufand piftoles (£.28.000) an enormous fum, and (a) A Spanifh palmo eight inches and a quarter, much much more than it could ever have coft. It was pro-pofed a few years ago to remove this ftatue to fome more confpicuous place, but it is faid to have been objected to, by the then prime minifter Marquis de Grimal-di, allcdging that they muft not pay any attention to the houfe of Auftria, but he would have no objection if the head of Philip could be changed, for that of Charles the third. Tacca alfo finifhed the equeftrian ftatue of Philip the third in the Cafa del Campo, left imperfect by John de Bologna, at his death, and was brought to Madrid in 1616, by Antonio Guidi, brother in law to Tacca, attended by Andrew Tacca, another brother of the fculp-tor, who brought with him the gilt metal crucifix fixed on the altar of the Pantheon at the Efcurial. The mention of the Retiro has naturally led me into the agreeable gardens of that palace, and to the menagerie, where, amongft other curiofities, they have a crefted falcon from the Carraccas. This curious bird, which is about the fize of a turkey, raifes his feathers on his head in the form of a creft, and has a hooked bill; the lower mandible rather ftraight; his back, wings, and throat arc black, the belly white, the tail diftinguifhed by four cinereous, and parallel ftripes, and is an undefcript bird not taken notice of by Limieus. LETTER W%/$N LETTER VIII. Defcription of the palace and gardens of Aranjuez. THE royal feat of Aranjuez, feven leagues dif-tant from Madrid, and to which a moft noble road has lately been made, is delightfully fituated at the conflux of the rivers Tagus and Jarama ; which run through the gardens, and add new beauty to this charming fpot, where art and nature feem to go hand in hand with the moft pleafing and rural fim-plicity. On one fide, fine avenues of ftately oaks and lofty elms, convey the trueft ideas of magnificence, while they afford the moft reviving fhade; on the other, the fudden tranfitions to lawns and wildernefs, the caf-cades of water breaking through the thickets, the tuneful fongs of numberlefs birds, fheltered in thefe cool recefles, the occafional appearance and paffage of the monarch, attended by the grandees of his kingdom; all thefe objects united, and concentered in one point, fill the imagination with pleafing ideas, and imprefs the mind of a traveller with a thoufand agreeable fenfa-tions, particularly in the fpring, when every thing is L in in high bloom and perfection, and engage him to look at Aranjuez as one of the moft beautiful places in Europe. The whole of thefe gardens may be thrown into three grand diviftons, diftinguifhed by the names of La Huerta Valenclana (#), Los Deleites^ and El Cortijo. In the Huerta Valenciana, agriculture and gardening are carried on in the fame manner as in that fruitlul province, and they plough with horfes. In the Cortijo they ufe oxen, as in Andalufia ; and in other places they fcratch up the ground with mules as is ftill practifed in fome parts of Spain. Which ever way one looks round, a conftant variety pleafes the eye and enraptures the mind. At one moment the fturdy buffalo moves before you, drawing his heavy burthen ; foon after, the flow camel with his ponderous load; while the fwift Zebra with his flriped garment frills over the plains. If you approach the farm, every object of convenience is confulted, and in the dairy every degree of neatnefs. The Dutch cow enjoys a luxuriant paflure, the brood mares greatly enliven the landfcape, and the ftables are filled with the moft excellent horfes. An immenfe nurfery furnifhes all manner of trees and plants, a cedar of Libanus, which (a) By the term of Huerta is undciflood that kind of tnclofmc we call an orchard, but -with a greater variety of cultivation. Wl.en they fpcuk of an ornamented (lower garden ■near a .palace or nobkmatfs houfe, the Spanifh term \$jardin> the fame as in Fiench. about about twenty years ago was only a twig, is now thirty feet high : the garden called the IJJa is particularly beautiful and rural. The Judas tree, which the Spaniards call Arbol de Amor, being happily difperfed there, has a very good effect early in the fpring, when covered with flowers without a fingle leaf; the banks of the Ifla are further enlivened by elegant yachts, for the amufement of the royal family. The fine avenue which alfo ferves for a public walk, called Calle de la Reyna has nothing equal to it at Verfailles. The extenfive flower garden on one fide, renders the walk extremely pleafant in an evening ; and were I to mention the quantities of flowers and fruit, it would require many details. A great many elms and oaks have been planted this year, (1778) faid to be ioi.ooo, which mull likewife include vines, olives, fhrubs, 8cc. They have lately begun to cultivate pine apples, unknown in every other part of the kingdom. At the noon-tide hour, when the frefhnefs of the morning is paft, the fliady walks near the palace then become an object of fingular luxury, as well as the elegant fountains, whofe fportive waters give fuch a cool-nefs to the air. Whoever has enjoyed the agreeable moments that pafs in pleafing converfe under thefe fhady bowers, will furely be charmed with their admirable effect, independent of every idea of modem improve- L 2 incuts meats, or criticifm upon fountains and water works. The nightingale and cuckow are heard here the latter end of April. That elegant bird the bee eater, called by the Spaniards Abejavuxo, the merops apiafter of Linn;cus, which our travellers tell us comes no further South than Andalufia, is known not only to breed at Aranjuez and live there all the year round, but is alfo found at St. Ildefonfo, which is 20 leagues more to the northward. The golden thrufh is alfo feen here, a beautiful bird with a bright yellow plumage, the icterus of Edwards, called oropejidulo by the Spaniards, and fauriot by the French, the oriolus of Catefby and Linnaeus. Amidft the great variety of birds in thefe woods, there is one about the fize of a cuckow, called Pito, of a beautiful purple. Such a diverfity of objects could not fail to excite the genius and fire of the Spanifh writers ; for my part I willingly join with that elegant poet Don Gomez de Zapia, who has fo naturally defcribed them, in a poem, of which the following lines are the beginning : En lo mejor de la felice Efpana Do el Rio Tajo tenia fit corrida, Y con fus criftalinas aguas bana La uerra, entre las ticrras eicojida, Ella una Vega de belkza eflrana i Toda de verde yerba entretejidav Donde natura y arte en competenci:., Lo ultimo pufieron de potencia {a). [a) ParnatTo Efpanol Tom 3. Madrid 1773. The The Palace being an old building with feveral additions is more in the ftyle of a hunting feat, as Philip the fecond defigned it, than of a,royal manfion, nor is there any thing very particular in the apartments, to take off from the enjoyment of fo many fine objects a-broad. The new wings to the Palace are finifhed ; in one is a play houfe, and in the other a chapel. Part of the cieling of the former was painted by Mengs, who is now (1779) at Rome painting a holy family for the principal altar in the chapel-There are feven fine pictures of Luca Jordano in the apartment called El Gabinete Antiguo, and fix others in that de los Mayordomos; particularly one, is univerfah-ly admired, in which a number of beafts are repre-fented liftening to Orpheus, and feeming to be flruck with the melody of his lyre. The portraits of the grand Duke and Dutchefs of Tufcany by Mengs, are in a new apartment called the king's drefling, room. In the chapel, over the great altar there is a fine picture of the Annunciation by Titian,, prefented by him to Charles the fifth, and brought from the convent of Jufte after the death of that Emperor. The Porcelain Cabinet-where there are feveral large pieces of the king's own Manufa&ory, is alfo an object of curiofity to a traveller. In a word, this charming place is highly indebted to* to Charles the third for bringing the whole to its prefent ftate of beauty, and making the new road from Madrid, and the noble ftone bridge over the Jarama : if the defign is continued of planting trees on each fide of the road, it will add greatly to its magnificence. A topographical plan of Aranjuez and the improvements there, has been executed by Don Domingo de Aguirre, captain of engineers, in fixtcen fheets, and the views in eight more. In fhort, thefe rural places have fo many charms, that they cannot fail of pleafing every fancy, and meeting univerfal acceptation, as Lupercio Leonardo de Argenfola has happily exprelfcd it, in ai little poem in praife of thefe gardens, Qualquiera aqui fu condicion aplic;ir Aunque fu origen trayga de otra parte, Do el fol mcnos, o mas fe comunica ! But this is only to be underftood with refpecT; to the proper feafon of the year, fuited to its fituation, for as it lies in a bottom furrounded with mountains, the air is of courfe confined, which added to the great quantity of water, and numerous plantations, makes it agueifh when the hot weather begins, for which reafon the court generally removes about the end of May, and goes foon after to St. Ildefonfo, which is a very high fituation amongft the mountains of Guadarrama, where they they begin a new fpring and breathe a clear refrefliing air during the fcorching heats of fummer. Great quantities of liquorice grow wild near the road between Aranjuez and Toledo, as well as on the banks of the Tagus, where one alfo finds thofe curious reeds made ufe of by the Romans for writing, and celebrated by Martial, in an epigram addreffed to Macer, who had been pretor in Spain. Nos Celtas, Macer, et truces Iberos, Cum defidcrio tui peteraus, Sed quocumque tamcn feretur, iliic Pifcofi Calamo Tagi, notata Macrum, pagina noftra nominabit, Lib. x. The caflle of Aceca dependent on the jurifdiclion of Aranjuez though kept in good order, is more taken notice of on account of its former reputation, and antiquity, than from any other circumftance. Its diftri<5l is fuppofed to have belonged formerly to a colony of Jews from Toledo, and fo named from azeba in Paleftine peopled by Jofliua (a). There is no doubt that the Jews were in great repute in Spain in the early ages, info-much that in 686, under the gothic king Ervigius, they had the boldnefs to affcrt, and endeavoured to perfwade the king, that the M^fTiah was not come. Their de- (fl) Kings. Book x. chap. 17, fcendants fcendants feveral years afterwards propagated fables, to prove their great antiquity in Spain, and in order to lef-fen the reproaches thrown on them by the Spaniards, they gave out, that they were not defcended from thofe Jews who crucified our Saviour [a)% (a) Sandoval, biihop of "Pamplona, relates, tnat when king Alfonfo conquered the city .of Toledo, he found it full of Jews, who fhewed to that monarch two letters in Hebrew and Arabic, fent from the fynagogue of Jerufalem to that of Toledo, giving them an account of Jerus Chrift, and afldng their opinion whether they fliould put him to death ; alfo the anfwer of the Toledo Jews, difluading them from it, Thefe letters were ordered to be Jtranflated from Hebrew into Arabic by Galifre king of Toledo, and into Latin and Spanifh •by king Alfonfo, and were preferved in the archives of Toledo till 1494. They were translated by Julian, archprieftof St. Juft, and were afterwards in feveral hands. The anfwer of the Spanifh Jews is dated Toledo 14th of the month Nifan, a:ra of Cacfar 18, and of Auguflus O&avianus 71. I know nothing further concerning the authenticity of this letter, fays ■the bifhop of Pamplona, than that it was found in the archives of Toledo, and in the fame ftyle and language in which I have given it. Hifloria de los Reyes de Caflilla y Leon j>or Don Jr. Prudencio de Sandoval obifpo de Pamplona. £n Pamplona 1G15. LETTER LETTER IX. Defcription of the baths and mineral waters of Trillo. NO country abounds fo much as Spain with hot baths and molt excellent mineral waters, and they are now beginning to inveftigate their qualities. Thofe of Trillo have of late particularly engaged the attention of government, and we have been more accurately informed of their virtues and properties. The village of Trillo, in New Caftile, is feventeen leagues from Madrid, by the new road lately made to that place, fituated on the north banks of the Tagus, two leagues fouth of the city of Siguenza. The village of La Puerta is about a league to the eaftward, and the town of Gualda much about the fame diftance to the weftward. The country is hilly, and affords little corn or fruit, fome few vineyards, and plenty of game. The Tagus abounds in fifh, fuch as trout, eels, and barbel ; has a ftone bridge of one arch over it, of a folid ftructure, and confiderable antiquity, being there when the firft inveftigations were made about this place in 1558(a). A little river runs [a] Particular mention is made of Trillo by Ambrohu Morales. Amiqucdadcs dc las Ciudades de Efpana, Alcala de Henares, 1575. M from from Cifucntes, which enters the Tagus at Trillo, and was once famous for its curious water mills, for fawing of timber brought down by the ftream, winch was the chief branch of induftry of the inhabitants ; but in the year 1710, on the 30th of December, they were vifited by 1400 of the Englifh army then ferving in Spain, in favour of the archduke of Auflria, who having ftaid there leven days, raifed confiderable contributions, and were fucceeded by 8000 Portuguefe their allies, under the Count de Atalaya, who ravaged the country, and pillaged the place : of the three law mills, only one was left ftanding, which has fince become ufelefs. The inhabitants dwindled in numbers, and the few that remained, from a ftate of affluence and eafe, experienced the extremity of poverty and diflrefs ; though in a fituation, where the climate is remarkably temperate, the air pure, provifions plentiful, their mutton fingular ly excellent, and a fine fpring of foft water runs near the village. The baths are up the river on the oppofite fide of the Tagus, about the diftancc of a mile, with an agreeable road to them, made from the foot of the bridge, with an avenue of trees, through a pleafant diftricl:, well fhaded with wood, where the warbling of nightingales, and the mufical notes of various other fong birds, delight the invalid, and welcome his approach to thefe falutary baths. Inns arc now building for the reception of company, pany, and every effort is made for the convenience of the infirm. The waters have been analyzed with exacl-uefs, a deputation having been appointed by command of the king, to conduct every thing with the utmoft formality, under the direction of Don Miguel Maria de Nava, Dean of the council and chamber of Caftile, affift-ed by Dr. Cafimir Ortega, F. R. S. and royal profeffor of Botany at Madrid, who has publifhed the proceedings of this affembly held at Trillo ; and from his elegant treatife I have felected the following information [a)\ Thefe baths are fituated at a fmall diftance from the banks of the river, in a meadow, at the brow of a hill, which by its fituation to the eaftward, affords a refrefhing fhade the greater part of the morning. The baths are divided in the following manner. Los ^uatro Banos, called the king's bath, divided into four feparate baths, all equally commodious, and hand-fome, with their proper appertenances, [a] Tratado de las Aguas Termales de Trillo efcrito de orden del Rey por el Dr. Cafimiro Ortega, Madrid, 1778.—-The ingenious and learned Dr. Ortega was in England a few years ago, and is well known to feveral gentlemen in this country. Befides the waters of Trillo, thofe of Ribas, at a fmall dillance from the mountain of Nueftra Senora de Nuria, near the Pyrenees of Cataluna, are greatly reforted to in the fpring, and autumn, for gravelly complaints, as is alfo the fountain of Paterna, in the Alpujurra mountains of Granada, called M A$ua* flfiT"» " 11 Acidulous waters." M 2 7hc The Countefss Bath, fo named after the lady of the Count de Gifuentes, who is lord of the place, is clofe to the river, but judicioufly built and remarkably folid, to refill every impulfe of the ftream, and equally decorated with every convenience and advantage. The bath of the Pifcina is about four hundred paces from the king's bath, and has acquired this appellation; from being chiefly made ufe of, by the poor, who are moft fubjecl to cutaneous complaints, for which pur-pofe this bath is remarkably efficacious* A dwelling-houfe is now building for the ufe of the bathers, with every diftribution of apartments and convenience, re-quifite for a place of this nature : alfo, for a greater em-bellifhment of the baths, they have planted round them that beautiful and odoriferous tree fent thither from the royal botanic garden at Madrid,, by the name of robinia pfeudo acacia. In Spanifh jalfo aroma. (The falfe acacia.) Dr. Ortega, after referring us to Macquer, and other eminent chemifts, who all agree, that the analyfis of waters, is the moft difficult operation of chemiftry, as it tends to difcover that union, which nature by flow and fecret fteps, forms in water, and other fubftances, in its moft occult and abftrufe motions ; proceeds to his* analyfis of the waters of Trillo, after fome ftriclures and criticifms on the writings of Dr. Limon Montero, on the mineral waters of Spain, publifhed at the clofe of the the laft century, intitled " Efpejo Criflalino de todas las Aguas Minerales de Efpana." And after denying them any nitrous, aluminous, or fulphureous qualities, as afferted by Dr. Limon, he clofes his analyfis with the following corollary : " That thefe waters participate of five fubftances, two volatile, and three fixed ; viz. a phlogiftic vapoury extremely anodyne, penetrating,, and friendly to the nervous fyftem ; of a moderate quantity of gas, calcareous earthy common fait, and felenetic fait; and that to each pound of water of fixteen ounces, one may calculate twenty-five grains and an half, of fixed principle. This computation was made on a confidera-ble evaporation of water, of about a quintal (a), which was judged to be the beft method, as lefs liable to er-rour, than thofe experiments with fmall quantities. It was alfo confidered, that of the twenty-five grains and an half, of fixed principle, correfponding to each pound of mineral water, near fourteen grains are common fait, about three of felenetic fait, and about eight and an half, of abforbent earth ; which for greater exaclnefs we fliall exprefs in this manner; 13 grains common fait. 2 ~£ grains felenetic fait. 8 iH grains abforbent earth. (i) A Spanifh quintal 97 pound Englifh. The: The fame proportions, with a very trifling deviation, were alfo found by Don Manuel Joachim Enriquez dc Paiva, royal demonftrator of the chemical laboratory at Coimbra in Portugal. Dr. Ortega obferves, that the lightnefs of this water is fo great, as even to enter into competition with that of diftillcd water, the pureft we know of; therefore its effects will be the more eafily accounted for : that the heat of the water, does not equal that of the blood, in a perfon in good health, and comes near to that tepid degree, prefcribed by the phyficians in artificial baths. The bath of the princefs is the moft efficacious, or at leaft abounds moft with phlogifton, and of courfe is better fuited to thofe diforders where the efficacy of this principle is defired. The king's bath, and that of the countefs have fcarcely any phlogiftic vapour, which variety makes them ftill more pleafing to the bathers, and applicable to different complaints ; while the Pifcina bath abounds chiefly with phlogifton, and is admirably fuited to the diforders of the poor, as already obferved : finally the two principles of gas, and of phlogifton, are of fo volatile a nature in thefe waters, that a re- I markable difference is obferved betwixt the well, and the bath, by thofe who drink them immediately from the fpring, Spring, or at a diftance ; which fhews how much it evaporates by carriage ; for which reafon it fhould not be filled in earthen pitchers, but only in bottles of flalks, well corked, and carefully fealed. This is the fubftance of a public oration pronounced by Dr. Ortega, before a numerous affembly at Trillo, and afterwards publifhed by authority of the council at Caftile, in virtue of their decree for that purpofe, bearing date the nth of April 1778, to which are added a few trifling cafes, with that of the dean of the council, Don Miguel Maria de Nava, at the head of them, who found great benefit from thefe waters, and prefided at this pompous affembly, attended by the Count de Ci-fuentes, a grandee of Spain, and many other noblemen and gentlemen of rank, as well as feveral eminent phyficians, furgeons, and apothecaries, who all concur in the praifes of Trillo, and fet their names to the facts, there related. I fhali only felecl: one cafe, inferted by Dr. Ortega, and taken by him verbatim from Dr. Mendoza, phyfician at Cifuentes, written at Trillo fo early as the 18th of July, 1714, adorned with a copper-plate, reprefenting the virgin Mary as prote&refs of the waters, being one of the firft cures, which brought them into repute. " A friar tc A friar of the congregation of St. Philip De Neri, was troubled with ulcers in his legs, the remains of a malignant eryfipelas, and an abfcefs in the bone of the right clavicle, which having been opened by the perfon who attended him, terminated after along and painful procefs, in a fiflula. An ill-conditioned abfcefs of a great fize, was difcovered at the fame time, fituated on the laft right rib, which was deemed very dangerous to open. He had alfo a tumour feated in the right axilla, another on the left hand, and others on the moulders, a pain in the fide, a hectic fever, fhortnefs of breath, painful refpiration, and a fallow complexion, with conflant faintings and vapours, which flew to the head, and often occafioned a fyn-cope. Having fuffered thus, for two years, and all the remedies having failed, which arc called human, he came to Trillo, drank the waters, ufed the baths, and voided a great deal of fand. The ulcers being c healed, though for fome time the hectic did not fub-c fide, he returned the following feafon to repeat the c ufe of the waters and baths ; and was perfectly cured, • fo as to go home without a fiftula, tumours, or pain c in the fide ; his refpiration recovered, with a healthy 1 and florid complexion ; and finally with fo much na-1 tural vigour, that even the ilTues which he had been 1 advifed to have made, could not be kept open, not- il withflanding 11 withftanding every endeavour for that purpofe. The tl witneffes of this cafe were Dr. Aquenza, Dr. Porras, *6 and the king s firft furgeon Monfieur Legendre." I now clofe this narrative with a lift of fuch plants as Dr. Ortega tells us he found in the environs of Trillo ^5^CER Monfpefliilanum Achillea ageratum * Achillea millefolium •#Adiantum capillus veneris % Agrimonia eupatorium *Agroftemma githago All ium defcendens Allium vicloriales Allium paniculatum Alfine fegetalis Althaea cannabina * Althaea officinalis AlylTum faxatile Ana^allis monelli Androface maxima Anemone hepatica # Anthyllis vulneraria Antirrhinum bellidifolium Montpelier maple Sweet maudlin milfoil Milfoil yarrow True maiden hair Common agrimony Corn cockle - - - - Garlic Broad leaved garlic Corn chick weed Hemp leaved marpi mallow Common marfli mallow Yellow mountain madwort Blue flowered Pimpernel Androface with the largeft cmpalement Single hepatica Double headed ladies finger Daife leaved fnap dragon (n) Thofe marked with an aflcrilk are likewife natives of this country, the Englifh names ol which are adopted from •* A Botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in Great-Britain, with defections of their genera and fpecies, according to the fyllcm of the celebrated Linnccus, !«;• By William Withering, M. D. Birmingham, 1776. N Antirrhinum Aiuirrhinum juncctim 'RitJIi leaved fnap dragon # Antiirliinum majhs Snap dragon toad /lax Antinhinum faxatile Snap dragon Aphyllanthes Monfpellienfis Apium pctrofclinum Common parjley * Aquilegia vulgaris Common columbine * Arbutus uva urfl Perennial leaved Jlrawberry tree Ariftologia loncra Long birthwort Ariftologia piftolochia Scallop leaved birthwort Afclepias nigra Black fwallow wort * Afparagus fativa officinalis Cultivated Jjmragus Afparagus filvcftris Wild Jparagus # Afperugo procumbens Goojegrajs madwort *Afperula cynanchica Squinancy woodrooj Afplenium ceterach Common Jpleenwort #Afplenium rutamuraria White Jpleenwort * Afplenium trichomanes Green Jpleenwort Atraclyllis cancellata ----DiflaJf IhiJlle # Bel lis perennis Common daijy Berberis dumetorum - - - ~ Barberry Bifcutella didyma Buckler mvjlard with a double orbicu- lar pod VrBorrago officinalis Common lor rage * Bryonia alba While briony Buplevrum frutifcens Shruby thorough wax Buplevrum rigiclum - - - - Hares ear * Buplevrum rotundi folium Bound leaved thorough wax * Buplevrum tenuillimum Fine leaved thorough wax *t Buxus fcmpervire.ns Tree box * Campanula * Campanula rapunculus Rampion bell flower Campanula ftricla Bell flower with a Jialk branching at the bottom Catananche coerulea Blue candy lions foot Caucalis grandiflora Baflard par/ley *Centaurea calcitrapa Starry knapweed *Centaurea cyanus Blue bottle knapweed * Centaurca nigra * ■ - Black knapweed Cheiranthus triftis Stock gilly flower * Chenopodium muralc Sow bane bite * Chlora perfoliata Yellow centaury *Ghryfanthemum leucanthemum Daijy goldins •v-Cichorium intybus Wild endive *Conium maculatum Spotted hemlock Ciuus albidus - - - - Ciflus Ciuus incanus Honey leaved ciflus Ciflus fumana ------ * Ciuus marifolius Hoary ciflus Ciuus populifolius Poplar leaved ciflus Ciuus umbellatus - Clematis viorna Virgins bower Cleonia Lufitancia ..... Colutea arborefcens Common bladder Jena *Convallaria polygonatum Odoriferous bellwort Convolvolus terreflris Bindweed Coris Monfpellienfis Montpelier coris. We have no Eng- lifli name for this plant. Coronilla coronata Jointed bodied coluthea Coronilla juncea > - - - - Coluthea Cotyledon Hifpanica - - - - ' - N 2 Croton Croton tinclorium Cynogloffum cherifolium *GynoglolTum officinale Slinking hound1 s tongue Cytifus argenteus Low filvery cytifus * Daphne Thymelaea Spurge laurel, or mezereon *Daucus carota filveftris Wild carrot Daucus vifnaga Diclamnus albus White fraxinella Digitalis obfcura - - - Foxglove *Dipfacus fuveflris* Clothiers teazle; Echinops fphaerocephalus Greater globe tliifllc *Echium vulgare Common viper grafs Ephedra dellachia Shruby horfetail *Epilobium hirfiuum Hairy willow herb- vEquifetum fluviatile River horfetail #Equifetum paluflre Marjh horfetail. Erigeron tuberofum *Eryfirnum Barbarea Rocket wormfeed * Euphorbia characius Red /purge Ficus carica Figtree -v-Fraxinus excelfior Common a/li Fumaria enneaphylla Ninel'eaved fumitory *Fumaria officinalis Common fumitory * Gallium uliginofum Marfi goo/egra/s * Gallium aparine Cleavers goofegra/s * Gentiana centaurium . Centaury gentian * Geranium cicutarium Hemlock leaved:crane/bill * Geranium * Geranium fanguineum Geum montanum *Geum urbanum Globularia ipinofa *Glechoma hederacea Glycyrrhiza glabra *Gnaphalium luteo album *Hedera helix Hedyfarum humile Heliotrophium vulgarc *Herniaria hirfuta Hieracium multicaule Hieracium murorum *Hieracium pilofclla *Hippocrenis comofa HylTopus officinalis *Humulus lupulus lllecebrum paronychia Inula montana Inula oculus chriui * Iris pfeudoacorus Jafminum fruticans Juglans regia *J uncus acutus Juniperus oxycedrus Juniperus Phoenicia * Juniperus communis Bloody cranejbill Mountain ovens Avens bennet Groundivy gill Smooth liquorice Jerfey cudweed Common ivy Common turnjol Rough rupture wort — - - Hawhweed Golden hawhweed Akufe ear hawhweed Tufted horfe flioe Common hyffop Brewer s hop SpanifJi knot grafs Mountain elecampane - - - - Elecampane Yellow flag Shrubby yellow jeffamine Wallnut Marine rufli Great SpanifJi juniper Phoenician juniper Common juniper. Lavandula Lavandula fpica Spike lavender * Lepidium latifol-ium Pepper dilander Lepidium nafturtium aquaticum----dilander *Liguftrum vulgare Linum gallicuni Linum narboncnfe Linum faffruticofum Lithofpermum fruticofum Lontcera caprifolium Lotus dorycinium Lotus filiquofus Lotus tetragonolobus Lyfimachia ephemerum * Lyfimachia vulgaris Malva fylveftris Malva tournefortiana Medicago polymorpha orbicularis * Mentha aquatica *Mercurialis annua Mercurialis tomentofa Mefpilus amelanchier Nigella arvenfis *Oenanthe liuulofa Olea Europaea Ononis mititlima Ononis natrix * Ononis fpinofa Ononis tridentala Common privet - - - - jlax ----flax Shruby flax Shruby gromwell White honeyjitckle - - - - Birdsfoot trefoil ----Loofe fir ifc Yellow loofe flrife Common Mauls Water mint French mercury Woolly mercury Alpine vefpiltus ----Fennel flower Wafer drop wort -Olive Smooth reflharrow Yellow rcjlharrow . Thorny reflharrow Three thomed reflharrow Ononis vifcofa *Ophrys fpiralis * Origanum vulgare *Orobanche major *Papaver rhxas *Parietaria officinalis * Pedicularis fylvatica Phillyrea auguflifolia Pblomis herba vcnii Phlomis lychniiis Phyfalis alkekengi Piuacia terebinthus Plantago albicans * Plantago major * Plantago maritima Plantago pfyllium Plumbago Europxa Polygala Monfpclliaca * Polygonum convolvolus * Polygonum perficaria *Populus alba Porlulaca oleracca * Potentilla verna *Poterium fanguiforba Prunella hyflopifolia Prunella laciniata ^Prunella vulgaris Pforalea bituminofa Punica granatum Clammy reflharrow Triple twaye blador Wild marjoram Great broom rape Corn poppy Wall pellilory Common louje wort Narrow leaved phillyrea Herbaceous Jerufalem fage Winter cherry Common turpentine tree White plantain Great plantain Sea plantain Branching plantain Common leadwort Montpelier milkwort Binding jnakewced Spotted fnakewecd Abele poplar - - - - purflaine Spring cinqucfoil Burnet ironwort Hyjflop leaved Jeljheal Jagged jeljheal Common Jeljheal Three-leaved Jupiter's beard Pomegranate Quercuo Quercuo ilex Evergreen oak * Ranunculus acris Upright crowfoot Refecla luteola ■Dyer s yellow weed Refeda phyteuma Rampion yellow weed Rhamnus alaturnus Alaturnus Rhamnus cathariicus Purging buckthorn Rhamnus pyrenaicus - - - - Buckthorn Rhus coriaria Myrtle-leaved Jhumach Rofmarinus officinalis Common rofemary Rubia tinclorum. Dyers madder *Rumex acutus Sharp pointed dock Ruta graveolens Broad leaved rue Ruta lini folia Narrow leaved rue * Salix rofmarini folia Rofemary willow *Salix helix Rofe willow Salvia ceratophylla Salvia officinalis Garden fage Salvia fclarea Clary fage Salvia viridis Green fage *Sambucus ebulus Dwarf elder *Sambucus nigra Common elder * Samolus valerandi Pempcrnel marfliwort Scabiofa integrifolia ---- Devilfbit Scabiofa ftellata Starry devilfbit Scorzonera Hifpanica Scorzonera *$crophularia aquatica Water figwort Scrophularia canina Dog's figwort *Sedum album White flonecrop *Senerio vulgaris Common groundfel anum dulcamara Solanum lycoperficon '^Solidago virga aurea *Sonchus alpinus *Sparganium ereclum Spartum fcoperium * Spiraea filipendula *Stachys alpina *Statice armeria *Stipa capillata Stipa pennata Symphytum tuberofum Long leaved hellehorine Haiiy trailing ironwort * Serapias longifolia Sideritis hirfuta Sideritis incana Sideritis fcordivides *Silene nutans 'Sola Telephium imperati Tcucrium capitatum * Teucrium chamaedrys * Teucrium chamaepitys Teucrium pfeudochamaepitys * Teucrium icordium *Thaliclum flavum Thymus alpinus Thymus maRichina Thymus zygis Tordilium apulum *Tragopogon porrifolium Nottingham catchjly Woody nightfliade Love apple Common golden rod Blue fowthiflle Great bur ued Common broom Dropwort meadowfweet Mountain clvwnheel Seathrift Fine Jealhergrafs Downy feather grafs Comfryl True orpine ----Germander Wall germander Ground germander - - - - germander Water germander Common meadow rue Mountain thyme Maflick thyme " - - - thyme The leaf harlwort of Apulia Purple goatfbeard O Tribulus. Tribulus terreltris Caltrop with chick leaf and prickly fruit *Trifolium melilotus officinalis Melilot trefoil *Trifolium pratenfe *Triglochin maritimum *Triglochin paluftre *Tuuilogo farfara *Ulmus campeflris * Valeriana calcitrapa ^Veronica anagallis aquatica * Veronica beccabunga * Veronica hederifolia * Verbafcum Thapfus ^Verbena officinalis * Viburnum lantana *Vinca major * Viola odorata Honeyfuckle trefoil Spiked arrowgrafs MarfJi arrowgrafs Coltsfoot butler bur Common elm Valerian with leaves, like thofe of the flar thi/lie Pimpernel fpec dwell Brooklime fpeedwell Ivy leaved fpeedwell \ Great mullein Common vervain Pliant meal tree Greater periwinkle Siueet violet Befides the above fpontaneous plants, the following are cultivated in gardens; Amygdalus perfica Crataegus oxyacantha Prunus domeftica Prunus cerafus Pyrus communis Pyrus cydonia Vitis vinifera Peach tree White hawthorn . Plumb prune Black cherry prune Pear apple Quince Vine Since the environs of Trillo had induced Dr, Ortega to give a catalogue of plants in that neighbourhood, it infenfibly engages me to add a few words rcfpecling the ftudy of botany in that kingdom, which hitherto had made fo little figure as to draw down very pointed reflections from Linnxus, who fays, »* Hifpanicic flora; nulls nobis innotuerunt adcoque plant* Carthamus tinclorius Baflard faffron Linum ufitatiflirnum Common Flax plantx iftx rarifhmx in locis Hifpanicc fertilliJTimis minus dctcclae funt. Dolcndum eft, quotl ]1* locis, Europe cultioribus tanta exiflat noftro tempore barbarics botanices! pauciflimas iflns plantas, qux nobis in Hifpania k fottugalia conftant, debemus curiofis clafs iii. Tour-nefortio ct paucis aliis/" Linn, biblioth. botanica, part vii. floriflx § viii. Hifp. pag. 06. which tended greatly to raife the emulation of the Spaniards; and while that celebrated botauift was taking me am res to obtain a permiffion for one of his pupils to travel through Spain, he received 3 mefTagc from the Spanifh ambaffador at the court of Stockholm, which greatly furprifed him, as it intimated the defjre of his Catholic majefty to have a botanift recommended by Linnxus. This appears to have been owing to fome Englifti gentlemen then at Madrid, and among them Robert More, Efq; F- R. S. who dining with the prime minifter Don Totephde Carayajal, had been afked their opinion of Spain by that miniilcr, who perceiving that the remark of Linnaeus was not without foundation, and being informed that a Spanifh flora would turn out as new as it was rich, determined that his country fhould foon be Free from fuch a reproach; this was afterwards communicated to Linnaeus by Mr. More in his tour through Sweden, and accounted for the application above-mentioned. Peter Lafiing, the favorite fcholar of Linnxus, was accordingly fixed upon for this expedition, and was received in Spain in the mod gracious manner. His furprife was great to find many lovers of botany at Madrid, particularly Don Jdfeph Ortega, fecretary to the phyftcal academy, Don Juan Minuart, chief apothecary to the armies, Don Jofeph Qucr, firft furgcon to the king, who had a fplendid botanical garden, and a moll elegant collection of plants, Don Chrifloval Velcz, apothecary of the college of phyficians, who was poffefled of a choice collection of botanical books, with a grand hortus ficcus, and had drawn up a flora Madritenfis. Lulling was greatly cardial by thefe gentlemen, and in return paid a handfomc compliment to each, by calling four new plants after their names. Linnaeus has taken thefe names into all the Cubfequent editions of his genera and fpecm planlnrum, and into the laft edition of his fcjlema natura. Lxfling flaid about two years at Madrid, making occafionul excurfions, during which time he collected above 1300 diftinct fpecies of Spanifh plants. By orders of the court he embarked at Cadiz, in the year 175 \, for South America, where he unfortunately (hcd, 22d Feb. 1756, and Linnaeus publifhed his letters. See Iter llifpanicum, Holmix, 1758 and a further account of Peter Lxfiings life and botanical writings, in the 2d vol. of Boflu's travels in Louiliuna, tranfhted by J- R Forftcr, F. A. S. London, 1771. LETTER LETTER X. The royal feat and gardens of St. Ildefonfo, with fame account of the city of Segovia. T 7hoever has feen the gardens of Aranjuez will * * not think it extraordinary that the fovereign of Spain fliould have another agreeable feat in the fertile dominions of his crown, but when a traveller has croff-ed the craggy and bleak mountains of Guadairama, it will be a matter of fingular furprife to behold one of the moft dreary rocks embellifhed with an agreeable villa, where the mines of Mexico have been laviflied to effecl: the alteration; fuch is the royal feat of St. Ildefonfo; for in few parts of the world, the powers of art have been more ftrenuoufly exerted to correct the rugged flate of nature, and convert a horrid rock into a fumptuous garden, decorated with beautiful fountains, throwing up water to a great height, like thofe of Verfailles ; while a variety of trees, brought from different parts of the world, furnifh fhady walks, in a fpot unfavourable by nature to all kind of vegetation ; fhewing to what the art of man can attain, and fully evincing the efforts of Philip the Vth. who at the the expence of millions of dollars changed a barren and folitary mountain, into one of the moft defirable fpots in his kingdom ; yet not without thofe ineonve-niencies which all the power of art cannot conquer; lor on account of its lofty fituation, the night air, even after the hotteft fummer s day, is fo piercing, that it makes precaution neceffary, to guard againftits hidden and pernicious effects. In other refpecls nothing can be more reviving during the fummer heats, than the fhade of thefe gardens, invigorating the languid courtier, whofe fpirits are further revived by the coolnefs of the groves, added to the moft limpid water that eyes can behold, in, fome places flying up into the air, to an immenfe height, in others rolling down in torrents, which, when catched by the rays of the fun, feem like fo many lheets of liquid filver, of a moft amazing brightnefs. As the cold air of this place keeps every thing back, the king finds a new fpring after he has left Aranjuez, while his fubjecls are dying with heat at Madrid. The earlieft fruits are but juft ripe in Auguft at St. Ildefonfo, carnations and rofes then adorn the parterres; September is the feafon for ftrawberries, rafpberries, currants, and barberries; and fnow lies on the mountains till the beginning of June. Many fprings run down from the fummit, and fides of the mountains, and are collected into a confiderable bafon at the upper end of the garden, to which they huve given the name of El Mar, " the V the fea from whence they are diflributed to all the different fountains and water works, the whole garden being on a (lope, about two miles in circumference. Other fprings with two brooks, form the little river Erefma, abounding in falmon trout, where the king often diverts himfelf with fiihing, under the fhade of thickets, beautifully variegated by the pencil of nature. The dreary mountain at the top of thefe gardens, is a kind of rock compofed of clay and fine fand, which by degrees crumbling and mixing with rotten leaves and roots, forms that light coat of earth, which juft covers the rock, and gives nurture to the firs and other trees and fhrubs. The foot of the mountain is of granite, and ferves for building, fometimes for mill-flones, though rather too foft for this purpofe, Handing in need of frequent repairs. They get vegetative earth on the North fide, about a hundred paces from the green rails of the flower garden, which being further cherifhcd by manure, is laid a foot high on the rock, and by dint of cultivation and care, they are enabled to raife flowers and fruits, whofe roots hardly touch the barren foil of the place. Mr. Bowles informs us, That when the late queen mother lived at St. Ildefonfo, the Infant, Don Lewis, her fon, had an aviary in the gardens, filled with a great variety variety of beautiful birds ; one place was allotted for woodcocks, where they lived for feveral years. In the middle of their cage a channel of fpring water was intro duced, which kept up a conftant frefhnefs of verdure ; a fir tree, flood in the centre, furrounded with fhriibs, and they were daily fupplied with frefli clods of turf, full of worms, which, though they hid themfelves ever fo much therein, the bird would inflantly difcover by the fmell, and driving in his long bill bring them immediately out, then raifing his head towards the fky, and extending the worm gently the length of his bill, would let it Hide down foftly, without any appearance of deglutition ; all which was performed with the utmoft facility, as if totally unemployed, without ever miffing its aim, and fliould the woodcock be killed at that moment, thefe naufeous worms would immediately contribute towards the forming a delicious repaft at the moil elegant tables. 1 he palace of St. Ildefonfo has a noble collection of excellent pictures. In the gallery there are many fine ftatues bought at Rome, out of the collection of queen Chriftina of Sweden; amongft which the groupe of Caftor and Pollux facrificing, and a fawn, are undoubtedly the moft beautiful. The ftatues in the garden arc chiefly of marble of Granada, fome few of marble of Carrara : there is nothing elfe remarkable except the fine fine looking glafies made in the king's glafs houfe at St, Ildefonfo, which fupplies all the palaces ; they have here the larger! tables perhaps in the world for running plate glafs. The greateft being 145 inches by 85, and its weight 405 arrobes. The fmaller is 120 inches by 75, and weighs 380. This curious art was firft invented by the Sieur Abraham Thevart, who propofed it to the court of Verfailles in 1688, and is performed much like the calling of flieet lead by the plumbers, by which means they are enabled to make glaftes of double the dimenfions of thofe, by the Venetian method of blowing, befides other improvements. At a fmall diftance from the palace, at a place called the Mata, near the powder magazine, there is a vein of quartz, which appears above ground, running from South to North for about half a league, till it enters and lofes itfelf in the oppofite mountain. A piece of this quartz, of about fix pounds, being cut, feemed very curious, being half tranfparent, and almoft as fine as rock cryftal, having a kind of ftripe, four fingers broad, between two coats, of a darker quartz. On following this vein feveral pieces of the fame quartz appeared covered with rock cryftal of a milk colour, forming thofe veins called by miners, " noble veins." Mr. Bowles acknowledges he did not more particularly examine, or make any effay in this place ; and yet he tells us, us, he conjectures, and infers that it is an unwrought mine of gold. The environs of St. Ildefonfo and particularly the foot of the mountain are covered with a remarkably fine fort of grafs, to which they give the name of cofquilla, from its effect of tickling the hand when touched. The root is about eight inches long, cylindrical, and about the fize of a pin, diminifhing towards the point; in the middle of this root, which is fmooth, the ftem fprings up, bearing fmall capfules at their points, in-clofing the feed ; in many places, and particularly at Segovia, they make ufe of it at Chriftmas for ornaments in the churches, to imitate verdure ; alfo little brooms are made with it to fweep away duft ; it likewife grows in abundance in the plain of Olmedo, and is feldom to be feen elfewhere. It is only a few hours ride from St. Ildefonfo to the city of Segovia. The naturalift will meet with many objects of curiofity in the environs of this city, ob-ferving its different fpecies of marble, granite, lime-ftone, clays, and three forts of fand [a). It's famous Roman aqueduct: remaining fo perfect to this day, will prove the folidity of its materials, more effectually than (a) Mr. Bowles enters into many details rcfpccling the variety of fand, clays, 8cc. in the environs of Segovia, which, not being confidcred as univerfally interefling, are omitted. P long long dilfcrtations. Monfieur SeguierV method of dif-covering the infcription on the Maifon ^uarree at Nimes, the invention of which is originally due to that celebrated antiquary, Monf. Peyrefc, might likewife ferve to difcover that, which was formerly on the aqueduct; of Segovia, for the place of the infcription, marks, and holes of the letters, are yet very vifible (0). This place is much dwindled at prefent from what it was formerly.. The cathedral is handfome and has been lately repaired ; the mint in this city only ferves for copper: gold and Over are coined at Madrid and Seville. The alcazar or caftle is curious and in a fine bold fituation. The unfortunate Duke de Ripperda was confined here, they fhew you the darkroom, from whence he made his efcape, and the broken lock on the door is ftill in the fame fituation. (a) The tittle fquare in Segovia, from whence you have a principal'view of the aqueduct,, is called El Azoguejo de Segovia, as a diminitive of the Arabic word Zocq, which figni-• fies a fquare or a market-place. This place is mentioned in Don'Quixote, and ignorant tranflators, becaufe the Spanifh word azoque alfo fignifies. quickfilver, call this place the Oinckfilver Houfe of Segovia. Delpino, in his Spanifh dictionary tells us, without any, authority, that a market is fo called, becaufe. the people in it. arc continually moving liLc quickfilver. LETTER LETTER XI. Departure from Madrid for the city of Burgos. leaving Madrid, to go into Old Caftile, the firft grand objects which itrike the eye of a naturalift, are the mountains of Guadarrama, that divide the two Caftiles ; you leave the famous Efcufial on the left, and following the new road, afcend thefe lofty mountains, whofe tops, and particularly where the marble lion ftands> are chiefly covered with fern, which is common here, though fcarce in other parts of this country. From the higheft part of the road, there is an extenfive profpect of Old Caftile, which is more elevated than NewCaftile, and forms a fpacious plain not unlike a great fea. An eafy defcent leads to the Hermita del Chrifto del Caloco-, where grey and blue marble is dug out of the adjacent mountain, and is found almoft clofe to the road. The mountain terminates at Villacaftin, but the grand plain only commences at Labajos, where they fow the peas called Garbanzos in a fine blackifli foil, but they are not equally tender and large every year, no more than at Salamanca or Zamora ; for though the land is good for P 2 this this fort of pulfe, its fuccefs depends much upon the weather. A new bridge has been lately built over the river Almarza, whofe banks are lined with poplar and elm ;. half a league further there is another plain, without a fingle tree, but water is found at two or three feet depth; fo that a very flight plough anfwers the purpofe, it being fufficient to tear away the weeds, to fecure a good crop of wheat ; this is generally the cafe in Caftile, where they have fine harvefts without being obliged to wait for rain to fow their corn, the vicinity of of water and flrong dews being fufficient to fertilize the foil, the reverfe of what happens in the fouthern parts, where the water is deep under ground, the foil dry and tough, and flrong ploughs mult be ufed ; befides waiting for rain, or an appearance of its falling, other-wife the grain hardens, and is in danger of being devoured by birds, infects-, or rats. In thefe plains, the villages are numerous, as well as the vineyards, the foil is fandy, and yet, by means of the nearnefs of water, produces plenty of fliumach ; every houfe has its garden, and the fides of the road are chequered with the lychnis, and oak of Jerufalem. Though the plain I have juft mentioned is of about eight leagues extent, without the appearance of a fpring, or a brook, the inhabitants drink the waters of wells and cifterns, without out any bad confequences, or being troubled with agues, as the water does not flagnate, but has a current near the furface, and regains from a higher region, what it lofcs by evaporation. This accounts for their having fuch fine grafs and paflure in Caftile, and fo many herds of cattle, with fuch a variety of game, birds, and wild and domeftic animals. Near Valladolid there are groves of fir trees terminated by an extenfive plain, covered with green wormwood, oak of Jerufalem, and thyme, of that beautiful fort called thymus legitimus Hifpanicus. The city of Simancas(tf) appears on the left, about two leagues dif-tancc, as you enter the once famous city of Valladolid, (i) The records of the kingdom having been found to be in great confufion, and a large collection of valuable papersdifcovered at Valladolid, Philip II. ordered his chief architect, Juan de Ilerrcra to conflrucft proper apartments at Simancas lor their prefervation, and they were difpofed of in nine grand divifions, or apartments, accordingly. In the flrongeft, called the Cubo, were thofe relating to Granada, Indies, right to Naples, Navarre, Portugal, Vicariate of Siena, monarchy of Sicily, efhiblifhmcnt of the inquifition, wills of king1;, capitulations of peace with France, with Moorifh kings, with the Houfc of Auftria, marriages of Catholic kings, grants of military orders, and Rate papers from the time of Ferdinand V. all which are preferved in wooden cafes fixed in the wall. In the year i^gg the king vifitcd them. All the proceedings relating to the imprifonment and death of Don Carlos his fon, were depofited here in a trunk, carefully locked. Another apartment was built for accounts, and other olHce papers-, in another were papers 1 elating to royal palaces, raw fuits, grants, knights of military orders, and Indies; another for records of corporations | and in another the memorials and letters of kings, princes, and flatcs, concerning Flanders, fince the rebellion. Vida de Philipe lid. Por Luis Cabnera de Cordova. Madrid, 1g19. The American papers alone fill the largefl apartment of this Archive, and are faid to compofe 873 large bundles. The profpeA of fuch a treafure had excited the moll ardent curioftty of the elegant, hiflorian of America, but the profjpecl of it was all that he enjoyed. Preface to Dr. Kobertfon's hift. of America. fituated fituated on the banks of the Pifuerga. This large city, exclufive of colleges and fome churches that have good remains of gothic architecture, now only exhibits the dif-mal remains of its former grandeur; and the palace where Philip the fecond was born, has nothing but bare walls, where bats and fpiders quietly inhabit the manfions of the great Emperor Charles, and the Philips his progeny. Every thing is barren with dreary afpecls of flat topped, barren fand hills as far as Caveron, where they have vineyards and make a tolerable light red wine. Leadwort is common on the fide of the road, whofe leaves pounded, are faid to be good againfl the gangrene. The vineyards are numerous, near the town of Duenas(^), which belongs to the Duke of Medina Celi. The plain extends to Rodrigo, whofe environs produce a little lavender, two forts of fhrubby Jerufalem fage, with a fage leaf, and meadow ragwort, which are the only plants the country affords. All the territory of Campos is fo bare and deflitute of trees, that the inhabitants are obliged for fuel, to burn vineflocks, flraw, (a) A Spanifh proverb lavs, 11 Ruyn con ruyn que ajfi fe cafan en Dumas—Mean with mean, for thus they marry in Ducttus." In 1506, Ferdinand of Aragon, alter the death of his wife Queen Ifabclla, of Caftile, was married here a fecond time to the Lady Germana de Foix, daughter of John de Foix, vifcount Narbonne, by Maria, filler to Lewis 1 alIi of France. This match having been made by the political Ferdinand, to cement his union with Trance, might perhaps difpleafe the Caflilians, and have given rife to the piovcrb. At present Ducnas feems ill prepared lor fuch fplendid guefts, and indifferently provided, even to celebrate the nuptials of a reputable farmer. dung, dung, and the few aromatic fhrubs they can find ; their kitchens are like Moves, and they lit round them on benches, giving to thefe wretched hovels the emphatic name of Glorias. A folitary elm or a walnut tree now and then appears near a church, a fure fign that water is not far from the furface, and that its roots have partaken, of it. When this happens, independent of every vi-eiiritude of weather and climate, other trees would thrive in like manner, and the country might be rendered fliady and pleafant, inftead of being the moft defolate in Europe ; but it is no eafy matter to conquer prejudices, or diffuade the Caflilians from that erroneous notion, that an increafe of trees would only augment the number of birds to eat up their corn, and devour their grapes. On approaching the hills, the pebbles which had al-moft difappeared, fhew themfelves again, encreafed both in number and bulk, and although from Labajos they were fcarce larger than oranges, they are now double that fize, and rounded, which the others are not, covering the tops of the hills : it is fomewhat fingular, that thefe ftones, which are of a fine fandy grain, and are found every where in this province, fhould be of the very identical fort and colour, as thofe of La Mancha, Molina de Aragon, and other parts of Spain. The The country from hence to Burgos, produces plenty of wheat, and fome flax; the road is a continual though gentle afcent, with much conglutinated fand ftone, of which there is a fort near Burgos, fo firmly conglutinated with fmall pebble that it forms a marble like the Brec-cia(a)9 and takes a good polifli, fpecimens of which may be feen in the choir of the cathedral of BurgoS. The environs of this ancient city are remarkably pleafant, and fhady, with many beautiful avenues; the hills are no longer flat-topped, but have a chearful appearance; the waters are pure and falubrious, the rivers abound with trout, eel, and cray-fifh. Though the air is fharp and rather piercing, it is efteemed very healthy, and Caftile may juftly be reckoned the country of partridges, hares, rabbits, and lamb. They do not fow their wheat before Auguft, nor arc grapes ripe before that time. The wild thiftle with yellow flowers, is feen every where near the roads, and plenty of meadow fweet. The city of Burgos is fituated on the fide of a hill, at the bottom of which, the river Arlanzon wafhes its walls, and has three ftone bridges over it. The cathedral is a magnificent gothic ftruclure, and one of the fineft in {a) The breccia filicia is the plumb pudding ftone. This ftone is of a very elegant appearance, when cut and poliflied; it is found in England. See ElTay towards a fyflcm of mineralogy, by Axel Fred. Cronfted fecond edition. London, 1772. Sect. CCLXXIII. Spain. Spain. The city is well inhabited by ancient nobility, and was formerly the refidence of their kings. It gave birth to that illuftrious hero Fernan Gonzales, and near the place where his houfe ftood, a triumphal arch has been erected to his memory at the expence of the city, with the following infcription : FERN ADO GONSALVI CASTELLiE ASSERTORI. SV2E iETATLS PRiESTANTISSIMO DVCI MAGNORVM REGVM GENITORI SVO C1VT INTVS DOMVS AREA SVPTV PVBLTCO AD ILLIVS NOMINIS ET VRBIS GLORIA MEMORIA SEMPITERNAM. The pariih church of Santa Gadea (St. Agatha) more ancient than the cathedral, is remarkable for being the place, where that renowned champion Ruy Diaz de Bibar alfo a native of Burgos, commonly called the Cid Cam-peador(a), obliged king Alfonfo the 6th, before he was proclaimed, to fwear three times publicly, that he had no concern in the murder of the late king Sancho his brother, at the liege of Zamora, where he was treache-roufly flain by a Spanifh knight, whofe name was Heliel Alfons, though he is ufually called Velido Dolfos. The words of this extraordinary oath were as follows, You, come to fwear, that you had no hand in the death of my lord the king, that you neither killed him, nor. gave counfel therein, [a) The title of Cid is derived from an Arabic word which fi&nifies Lord. See Don Quixote. Itmuft have been common in thofe days, for in the Spanifh chronicles, it is (onactimci-given to lews* The The king and his nobles anfwered, Amen* If otherwife, may you fufFer the fame death as that of my lord ; may a villain kill you, let him not be a gentleman, nor born in Caftile, but come from foreign parts, nor be of the kingdom of Leon. The king and his nobles anfwered, America) After this ceremony, Alfonfo was folemnly proclaimed king of Caftile, Leon, Galicia, and Portugal, in the pre-fence of the infanta his fifter, and the prelates, and nobles of his kingdom. As Burgos was formerly a place of fo great importance in the affairs of Caftile, it is impoffible to look with indifference on thefe venerable remains, or view its magnificent cathedral, without calling to mind fome particular period of its ecclefiaftical hiftory ; none feems more ftriking, than when the fon of a Jew was raifed to that fee, and became one of its moft illuftrious prelates. {a) At the fecond time of tendering the oath the king changed colour, and at the third he was greatly difpleafed, faying, " Rodrigo Diaz why do you prefs me fo hard and make me fwear to-day, when you will come to kifs my hand to-morrow;" to which that warrior replied, " Yes, Sir, if my fervices are properly confidered, for in other kingdoms, knights are alfo rewarded, and you mufl do the fame, if you mean to retain me in your fervice;" which fpcech the king never forgave, and foon after ordered him to retire out of the kingdom, allowing him only nine days for that purpofe. The Spanifh chronicles are full of the achievements and feats of the Cid. He died in 1099, and is buried in the church of St. Pedro de Cardena, near Burgos, where his memory is held in the higheft veneration. « Such Such was Paulus Burgenfis, whofe extraordinary elevation is worthy of notice. This great man was the fon of a rich Jew at Burgos, of the tribe of Levi, whofe name is not mentioned in hiftory. In the year 1376 Paulus married Joanna, of the fame tribe as himfelf, by whom he had four fons and one daughter. Gonzalo, his eldefl, bifliop of Plafencia and Siguenza, Alfonfo, who fuc-ceeded his father in the fee of Burgos ; Pedro, Alvaro, Sancho, and Maria, who all at the converfion of the father, took the name of Santa Maria, and when Paulus was made bifliop of Carthagena, they affumed the fir-name of Carthagena. Paulus had been for many years firmly attached by education, and principle to the Jewifh religion, and being a man of great learning, enforced his opinions with vehemence. At this time the Jews profeffed their religion publicly in Spain, and held offices of truft and emolument. At the age of forty, Paulus Burgenfis embraced the Chriftian religion, and on the 21ft of June, 1390, was publicly baptifed in the cathedral, by Don Garci Alfonfo de Cobarruvias, treafurer of the church, whofe coat armour was affumed by Paulus, in memory of ' this event, which was a lilly argent, in a field vert, defiring to have the name of Paul in baptifm, from his particular attachment to the facred writings of that great apoftle, of whom he ufed to fay, " Paulus me ad fidem convertit. Q,2 Pauli, Pauli mihi indebile noracn una cum cara&ere aiTignari depofco." His two fons were baptized at the fame time, his eld-eft being eleven, and the youngeft only two years of age. His father had been dead fome time in the Jewiih religion, and his mother ftill continued fo with remarkable fteadinefs, though fhe yielded at laft to the arguments of her fon, but his wif£ was inflexible; for which reafon the marriage was diffolved, and Paulus took upon him the clerical habit, purfued his ftudies with new zeal, and foon after went to Paris, where he received the degree of mailer of arts, and continued writing to his late wife, ufing every argument to convince her of the fublime truths of the Chriftian religion, in which at laft he had the happinefs to fucceed. He then fet out for Avignon, was made archdeacon of Trevino, in the fee of Burgos, and a canon of Seville. At the age of fifty-two king Henry the third of Caftile, appointed him bifliop of Carthagena, and he became fo great a favorite with that monarch, that he made him chancellor of the kingdom, one of the executors of his will, and tutor to his fon and heir, John, then only two, years of age, and afterwards king of Caftile: finally Paulus was nominated to the fee of Burgos with univerfal approbation, which he refufed for a twelvemonth, but at laft acquiefeed, and took poffeffion of, in 1415, being fixty-five years of age. After IMiilc v South View of t«u catiieixral of ios. aa..v/,vX,/,,v„/ the principal /<',;•„( \\. To,,,,*,, //„■ fr„/,r, adorned with eybt ftknaefo,* the /«/»,;■ efSa*iutp> AtPatron ,>/'//«.* Gtfadnl, em H.trX. ('/„o, and engraved by the faid Thomas Lopez, I find Villafranca, Tolofa, and Irum, but not Legafpia, Onate, or VillareaL LETTER LETTER XIIL Of the iron ore of Mondragon, in Guypufcoa, with fome account of the famous Toledo blades, fo greatly valued formerly in England. T Shall now relate fome particulars concerning the fa-mous iron mine of Mondragon, which is about a league diftant from the town of that name, in Guypufcoa. It is called, by the Spanifh miners, " Hierro Elado" frofen iron, is found in a red clay, and produces natural fteel, with this remarkable circumltance, that it is not to be met with any where elfe in the kingdom (a). They even preferve to this day, a traditional ftory that this ore was ufed for thofe famous fwords, which Cathe-line of Aragon, made a prefent of, to her confort, our Henry the VHIth; fome of which ftill remain in re- [n] Steel, confidercd chemically, is nothing elfe than iron reduced by art to a particular ftatc, which occafions fome changes in its properties, but thefe properties are eirentially the fame as thofe of iron; that is, iron and fteel are not two different metals, but the fame metal, in two different ftates. Steel may be made by fufion or cementation : the litft method is ufed to convert iron into fteel, immediately from the ore, but more frequently from crude, or caft iron; but all ores of iron are.notufed indifferently, for this purpofe, becaufe fome of thefe, which are therefore called ores oj Jleel, arc much fitter than others, to furnifli good heel, and the fteel exira&cd from them is called natural Jleel. Dictionary of chemiftry, London, 1777. pute pute in the highlands of Scotland, being fuitable to their drcfs, and arc called Andrt Ferrara, the name of the maker, which is marked on the blades. The famous Toledo blades, thofe alfo of Zarragoffa, called Del Perrillo, mentioned in Don Quixote [et)% and others, were alfo fuppofed to be made of the ore of this mine, which gives forty per cent, metal, though rather difficult to fufe: good fteel may be obtained from it with very little trouble, becaufe the iron has in itfelf the proper difpofition to receive in the forge, the neceffary phlogifton to make excellent blades, but without cementation it perhaps may not anfwer for files, or razors. Thefe blades were generally broad, to wear on horfeback, and of great length, fuitable to the old Spanifh drefs, but this being altered at the beginning of this century, when the duke of Anjou afcended the throne of Spain, the French fwords were introduced with their drefs, which even now is commonly called in Spanifh, a military drefs, veflido de militar, in oppofition, to the long black cloak univerfally worn there before (a) Thefe fwords were called Del Perrilh, from the figure of a little dog on the blade 5 Cervantes endeavours to heighten the courage of Don Quixote, when he attacked the lion in the cage, by adding, J' That his fword was of the common fort, and not fo fharp as thofe famous ones, with the Perrillo mark/' Tu magnanimo! con /via una Efpada, y no de las del Terrillo cortadvrus. Don Quixote, part II. cap. 70. Madrid, 1771. The Zarragoffa artifia had three diuindl marks on their blades ^ viz. El Perrillo, a little dog ; El Moril/o, a Moor't head-, and La Lata, a wolf. Swords with the Lob a mark, have the name of Andre Ferrara ©n them, and are not uncommon, at this day, in England. They fhew a fword in the fmall armoury of the tower of London, wilh the name of Andre Eerrara, and no other mark, whicfa was taken ifljhc Scotch Rebellion in 1715, that epocha. So that the old Toledo blades fell into difufe, and the manufacture declined; but his prefent majefty has again encouraged it, and a new manufacture has been lately fet up, by his orders, at Toledo, for the ufe of the troops, and they are faid to be as well tempered as the old ones, and are able to bear molt extraordinary proofs ; but thefe are not made of the ore of Mondragon, There are various opinions relating to the old blades, we have been fpeaking of; fome fay, they were only tempered in winter, and when taken out of the forge, for the laft time, were vibrated in the air, in the coldeft weather ; others relate, that they were heated till they acquired that colour, the Spanifh artifls call cherry, and then, were fleeped in a tub of oil, or greafe, for a moment or two, then plunged, in the fame manner, in warm water, all which was done in the depth of winter : others will have it, they were made of the natural fteel of Mondragon, with a lift of common iron in the middle, to make them more flexible, and then tempered in the common way, in the winter feafon. Such are the prevailing opinions about the blades of Mondragon, which are certainly excellent; but as to the prefent workmen of Mondragon, or in any part of Guypufcoa, they are yet unacquainted with the fecret of converting iron into fteel, or tempering it properly, and even in the making of tools, are far inferior to the artifts in England : it is fomewhat particular, particular, that to this very day, they have no other word in the Spanifh language, for a bickhorn, or a bench vice, than Vigornia, the Latin name for the city of Worcefler, thought to have been once famous for works of that kind (a). As many of the moft capital workmen of Toledo, quitted that city, on the decline of their trade, and fettled in different parts of the kingdom, where they fupported the reputation of their art ; and as their blades have fince been difperfed all over Europe, thofe who are curious in thefe matters, will, perhaps, not be difpleafed to fee a lift of their names; as by this means they may know them, whenever they fall in their way. Bilboa Pedro de Lagaretea Orgaz Pedro Lopez {Melchior Saanz Lifbon jr ^m . ' , . CJuan Martinez Machacha iSebaftian Hernandez Pedro de Lezama Juan Martinez el Mozo f Francifco Alcocer Madrid \Dionifio Corrientes >Antonio Ruiz _ C Julian Garcia Cuenca