. i u
ruo'ged trees a consideralile distance apart with g-reen
sward l)cneath, like tlie trees in an English park.
Idle foliage of an old cork tree is dark and giey,
and somewhat scanty, hut along our path the rough
holes and branches Averc evervAAdicre heantifully relieved
by great patches of the furry tawny rhizomes
and light green feathery fronds of one of the hare’s-
foot ferns { D a v a l l i a ) , perched in the clefts of the
hrancbes or clinging in the deep grooves formed by
the splitting of the outer layers of the cork.
IVc passed several fruit farms, most of them evidently
of old standing, with orange and lemon trees
30 and 40 feet high, now bending and breaking
under their load of golden fruit—eight or ten r i \ w
orangi'S at the end of every branch, throAvn out^m
splendid contrast against the dark green leaves. Ihe
spring floAVcrs Avere beginning to bloom, and great
spikes of J V a r c is s u s p o l y a n t h u s sent out a delightful
fragrance from the hedgerows. The Avhole scene was
very heautiful, hut the small amount of cultivation
and the evident carelessness and had management,
produced the feeling of regret which seems inseparable
from everything concerning the Spain of the
pi-esent,—tbat a country naturally capable of so
much should do so little.
At Gibraltar avc visited the remarkable caves
Avhich penetrate the limestone rock, and on one
occasion Captain Nares lit up St. Michael s cave,
the largest of them, Avith candles and blue lights,
throAAung out the magnificent curtains and columns
of semi-transparent stalactite in contrasts of light
and shade and colouring, and producing a highly
picturesque effect.
- m
il: 4 -111
I
k i r '
r-' -■
Is
1 \ >J11- I
'. • lit: -
4 ■' ..