L E T T E R Vili.
T h e expedition againft the w ild cats at Cuerva, about fourteen leagues from
A ran ju e z , beyond T o le d o , is ufua lly made when the court is at A ran ju e z , at a
very great expence,, perhaps little Ihort o f ,£1000. a cat, as the R e v . M r . Clarke
has related. T h e y are a la rge mountain cat,, not very fierce, and do little more
harm than deftroying fome game.
A few camels breed at A ran ju e z , and many buffaloes, the camels carry burthens,.
and the buffaloes draw in the carts. T h e k in g has a ftable for his ftallions called
Cafa de Monte. T h e famous ja c k affes called Burros padres, are k ep t at V illa .
M a y o r , about three leagues from A ran ju e z , on the road to' T o le d o - ■
T h e re are 21 dipofitos, or magazines for corn, at A ran jue z ; thefe are ' inverted
cones'under groUndy the. earth only cleared out, which w ill hold 1000 or 1500 fane-
gas each, and preferve com dry for feveral years.
A m o n g ft th e many fine trees in the gardens o f A ranjuez, the lo t e o r nettle tree,,
the Celtis o f Linnaeus, is one o f the moft beautiful, and is a la rge tree which has a.
m o lt pleafing e ffe il.
L E T T E R X .
St. Ildefonfo- gardens, are faid to have co ft hetween feven and e igh t millions
fter ling, a great deal o f which was expended by the late k in g Ferdinand the 6th, to-
p e r fe il the improvements o f his ro yal father.
Am o n g ft the p iitures o f S t. Ildefonfo, are two Claude’s, the drawings o f which
are in the D u k e o f Devonfhire’s co lle itio n , and' have been la te ly publifhed b y
Boydel.
. I c e to b e found in h o t weather in moft parts o f Spain, v e ry cheap- at S t .‘ Ildefonfo,
for a farthing a pound. W a te r fellers are v e ry numerous every where, always
Frenchmen, from Beame, and Gafcony, who drive affes about with barrels o f water^
the pooreft Spaniard think ing it beneath him to fo llow fo mean a livelihood-;
b ut i f water is wanted in a glafs fo r immédiate refrelhment here, the Spaniard,
ftretches o u t his hand, and helps yo u , and prefents a few carraways to g iv e it a
' relilh.
refifh. Others fell barley w a t e r , and lik ew ife a-nafty fweet compofition called
xarope.
T h e method o f co o lin g water,-and p re fe rv in g it in cellars-or caves, was firft introduced1
into "Spain at V a len cia , b y D on L ew is Gaftelv i, a g en tlem a n -o f the
houfehold o f the emperor Charles V th j on this account the p eop le o f V a len cia
g a v e him the name o f D on L ew is de la N ie v e . In the re ign o f P h ilip IIId,<
P ab lo J a rq u ie s jir ft invented a mode o f laying, a tax upon preferved fnow.
T h e ftorks leave St. Ildefonfo ab out the 1 2th, or generally before the middle
o f A ugu[t,-and they come to Madrid - about the b e g ih n in g ’o f F ebrua ry . T h e re
are many o f them at the efcurial, n o t above one o r two nefts at M ad r id . T h e
fivallows begin to afifemble for their departure b y the middle o f September.
.T h e new altar o f fine marbles in the-cathedral o f Se g o v ia was a prefent from.
Char les the H id , and coft ab out^8ooO. fte r lin g ,
L E T T E R X L
T h e Garvatizo from O ld C a ftile , is a la rge y e llow pea, but not a delicate pea>
and never ufed green ; is always bo iled , and makes part o f the pucbero or olla, the
favourite difh which all Spaniards dine upon. T h is dilh is called olla podrida,
when it conflfts o f beef, mutton, fowlj ham, .pig’s feet, garlic^oniòns, See. fo called
as every th in g is boiled down for a lo n g tim e ; though Andreas Bacio,, a Roman
phyfician, in his -b o ok de Natura vinorum, fays that podrida is the fame aspoderida
fUbftatitial. Such m igh t perhaps have been that olla o f V ite lliu s , mentioned in ■
Suetonius, and named Clypeum Minerva. See Covarrubias iejpro de la lengua
' Caftellana. -
T h e Bèrengena is an efculent fruit, g rea tly cu ltivated in C a ftile , and is alfo a fa- -
vourite part o f the Spanifh olla. T h e y are fo fond o f it at T o led o ,.th a t the p eop le
there are called Berengeneros. T h is p lant produces a flefhy fru it,ab ou t the fize o f a ■
Rvàn’s e g g , o f a dark purple on -one fide and white on the other. T h a t fort which is-
white is fometimes called the e g g p la n t . I t is theJolmum melongena o f Linna sus ;•
■ in E n g lllh , the mad appiè. It is faid to have feveral bad qualities, and that they
fliew-'