A c co rd in g to the o ld co inage, the par o f exchange between En g lan d and Spain
was fettled at 40 pence fter ling for a Spaniih current dollar o f 15 reals v ellon, and
this varies in proportion with the balance o f trade between the two kingdoms.
A c co rd in g to the new coinage, the par may perhaps be leis. In fp eakin g o f the
hard dollar in the courfe o f this work, I have followed the example o f D r . Robert-
fon, and fixed it at 4s. 6d. fter ling, which will anfwer every purpofe o f an hiftori-
cal enquiry.
L E T T E R V;
Since m y return to En glan d, an ingenious correlpondent in Spain has favoured
me with the fo llow in g obfervations relating to the fa it giv en to thtM erino iheep.
I cannot thin k M r . Bow le s ’s account o f the quantity o f fait giv en to the iheep
e x a d , for I have two or three times met thefe flocks o f Merinos> and always aiked
the q u e ft io n : fometimes the anfwer was Conforme (a Spaniih mode o f ipeech when
a d irect anfwer is not ready) but that meant only with.refpeft to weather and the
k in d o f fo il the ih e ep happened t o be feeding.in. I never found the quantity o f
fait any thing lik e what Bowles fays ; I underftand that in the northern parts o f
Spain they g iv e fait in fmall quantities to their o xen, and fometimes to their
horfes.”
L E T T E R V I .
T h e quantity o f land neceftary to fow a fanega is called a fanegada. , T h e fanega
meafure, befides corn, is further ufed for chefnuts* beans, acorns, various kinds o f
feeds, fruit, and fait. H a l f a fanega- is called an almud in many parts o f Caftile,
12 celemtnes make one fanega, four fanega* o n e caiz. A fanega o f go od wheat
weighs from 90 t0 lO o lb . A Spaniih leaie cannot exceed 9 £ years.
LETTER VII.
I t is a difficult matter to afcertain the exa<5t population o f Madrid ; for its fize
it is populous, perhaps may contain about 150,000 fouls, fomething more or lefs.
T h e longitude o f Madrid, according to Don T homa s L o p e z , geographer to the
k in g , is found b y the moft accurate modern obfervations to be 1 3 ° . 49', 30". re c k
on in g
k o n in g from the ifland o f Ferro, o r 47'. | f ¡ ¡ ¡ from the p eak o f TenerifFe,
from whence Spaniih navigators reckon their longitude. T h e Spaniih aftronomers
who followed the A lfonfin e tables, drew their firft meridian at T o le d o . D o n
Thoma s L o p e z ju f t ly c en fu r e sL ’A b b e V a llem o n t, a French writer, for fay ing in his
Elements de Thiftoirey that the Spaniards drew their firft meridian a t T o le d o , becaufe
A dam was th e firft k in g o f Spain, and that G o d p laced the fun over T o le d o at the
creation; when in fa<5t they on ly imitated the example o f other nations, In
drawing their meridian from the place where the firft obfervations were made, as
P to lom y did at Alexandria, and amongft the moderns, the E n g liih at the obferva-
to ry at Greenwich,, and the French academy at their obfervatory near Paris.
W h en M r . Bowles fays, Madrid is fupplied with provifions at all hours, a todas
horaSy 'it feems rather an ex aggera tion: early in the morning, it is. M ad rid is w e ll
lig hted , but the lamps are not lighted on moon lig h t nights. W ith refpedt to the in-
vention o f Jofeph L u c a te lli, mentioned in the philofophical tranfa&ions, his machine
is ca lled dfembrador, or feed b o x , and at once p lo u gh s , fows, and harrows,
'whereby the fower’s labour is faved, and the g ra in falls in order, and in the bo ttom
o f the furrow, and remains at the fame diftance under ground. T h e re is a p late
o f it in Mr. Duhamel de Mon ceau ’s treatife on huibandry, b u t as it is liab le to
many exceptions, p articularly in ftoney countries, and that other improvements
have fince been made o f more general u tility , it is deemed needleft to enlarge any
further concerning it, as a fu ll defcription o f it is giv en in the w o rk above-mentioned.
See “ Practical treatife o f huibandry, b y M r . Duhamel de M on ceau ,
tranflated b y John M ills , 1 7 5 9 .”
T h re e or four years ago there was a zebulo3 or cibolo3 alive at A ran juez. In the
gardens there are two bafons o f water, in one o f w hich a fmall elephant has water
fa llin g out o f his trunk, in the other bafon there is a figure o f the zebulo.
T h e fo llow in g defcription o f the Crefted Falcon m a yb e added to what has been a lready
faid o f that bird. “ F a lco Criftatus.— Corpus magnitudine gallo-pavonis,
caput cr-ifta verticali orna turn, temporum genariimque pennis eréófcis ciñereis,
roftrum adüncum, cera nigra, mandíbula inferiore reótiufcula, dorfurn, atee, gu la -
que nigrse, abdomen album, cauda fafciis quatuor ciñereis tranfverfis : ob animalis
ferociam reftrices numerare non licu it. H ab ita t m Carracas. N u lla hujus novae
fpeciei mentio fadba^eft a C l. Linnseo.”
H h h 2 L E T T E R