weftern boundaries of Granada are made up of fteep-
rocks and craggy mountains. The Solano winds prevail
much here, and do a great deal of mifchief, deftroying,
the harveft if they blow early in the feafon. The country
people are fond of tobacco, and though they have
near them thofe excellent wines of Malaga and Xerez,
they feldom or ever drink them, preferring diftilled
liquors (a), without any vifible prejudice, for the men
are robuft, and the women have good features, with
lively fparkling eyes full of expreffion and fire.. The
country is extremely pleafant to Herrera, with a white
and red earth which is remarkably fertile,, divefted of
any loofe ftone, pebble, or flint, fo common, in other
parts of the kingdom. This rich foil is a perfect marl,
qnd under the olive tree yields plentiful crops o f wheat,
and barley. Eftepa, about a league from Herrera, Hands
in a pi&urefque manner, on the top of a hill furround-
ed with olive trees. The olive o f Eftepa is fmall, but
delicious, and gives an oil as clear and delicate as that
of Valencia. The Seville olive , though often as large as
a dove’s egg, does not yield near fo good oil, for which
xeafon they are more frequently, pickled. Even fo far
back as the days o f Cicero they were in high eftimation,
for in writing to his friend in Andalufia he compliments
him on being intendant of fo fertile a province, and re-
(a) Called in Spain rofoli and mijiela<
minds
minds him to fend him fome Seville olives to Rome.
They are very carelefs notwithftanding in making their
oil, leaving the fruit a long time collefted in heaps, fo
that it rots before it is ground, part of the oil turns into
mucilage, and acquires a rank and difagreeable flavour,
and as there are few mills in proportion to the quantity
of-fruit, each perfon is obliged to wait for his turn fome-
times for months, from whence in this warm climate a fermentation
enfues, which o f courfe occafiohs bad oil.
Others deceive themfelves through a principle o f avarice,
for though the olive yields more juice from having lain by
for fome time, it is at the expence o f its quality fuch thin
fermented matter hardly deferving the name o f oil, for
which reafon, and from their little care in putting it into
proper veflels, and carrying it about the country in
Ikins, the oil in general is wretchedly bad at Madrid.
The olives are gathered from the middle o f October to
the middle of November. I f a good year they fell from’
2.0 to 24 reals the arroba (about i|i|I t^d. fterling) but in
years of fcarcity will rife to 36 or 40 reals. A fanega o f
olives will yield an arroba o f oil. i In the fouth of France
they are not gathered till they are perfectly ripe, and
have acquired a reddiih hue inclining to black ; if this
period paffes, they wrinkle, moulder, and rot. Thofe
that are green give a bitter tafte to the oil, and they
carefully feparate fuch as are worm-eaten, which would
vitiate