L E T T E R X V .
T h e culture o f Barrilla f?ems to be o f a v e ry o ld Handing a t A lic a n t ; Mr.
James H ow e l g iv e s a particular account o f i t in a letter to Chriftopher Jones, Efq ;
dated from A lic a n t, 27th M a rch, 1621 ; wherein he tells him, “ I am now
(thanks be to G o d ) come to A lican t, the ch ie f rendevouz I aimed at in Spain,
fo r I am to fend hence a commodity-called barrilla, to Sir R ob e rt .Manfel, for
-making o f cry ila l gla fs. T h is barrilla is a ftrange kind o f v egetab le, and it
grows no where upon the furface o f the earth, in that perfection as here. T h e
Venetians have it hence, and it is a commodity whereby this maritime town doth
p a r tly fubfift, for it is an ingredient that goes, to the m akin g o f the belt Ca ftile
foap. I t grows thus; it is a round thick earthy ihrub that bears berries lik e barberries,,
b e tw ix t blue and g r e e n ; it lies clofe to the ground, and when it is ripe
th e y d ig it up b y the roots, and p u t it together in co ck s , where they leave i t to dry
•many days lik e h a y ; then they make a p it o f a fathom deep in the earth, and w ith
an inftrument lik e one o f our p rongs, they ta k e the tuffs and p u t fire to them,
and when the flame comes to the berries, they melt and diffolve into an azure liq
u o r , and fall down into the p it t i ll it be f u l l ; then they dam it up , and fome
.days after they open it and find this barrilla ju ic e turned to a blue ftone, fo hard
th a t it is fcarce m a lle a b le ; it is fo ld at one hundred crowns a tun, but I had it
fo r lefs. T h e re is alfo a ipurious fort c a lled gazul, that grows here, but the glafs
that is made o f that is not fo reiplendent and clear. I have been here now thefe
th re e months, and moil: o f my food hath been grapes and bread, with other roots
which have made me fo fat that I think i f you faw me you would hardly kn ow me,
fu ch nurture this deep fanguine A lic a n t grape g iv e s .”
L E T T E R X V I I .
F rom what I have faid o f Valencia , it m ay perhaps be thought a p iftu re drawn
from imagination, but to ihew I am not the on ly writer who has founded forth
the praife o f that country, I ihall add the account g iv en o f it b y M r . H ow e l, in
a letter to D r . F r . Manfel, dated Valencia , i f t M a rch, 1620.
“ I am now in Valencia , one o f the nobleft cities in a ll Spain, fituated in a
la rg e vega, or v a lle y above fix ty miles compafs. H e re are the ftrongeft filks , the
fweeteft wines, the ex cellenteft almonds, the b e lt o ils and beautifulleft females o f
a ll
all Spain, fdr the p rime curtifans in Madrid and elfewhere are had hence. T h e v e ry
brute animals make themfelves beds o f rofemary and other fragrant flowers hereabouts
; and when Ohe is at fea, i f the wind blows from the fhote, he may fm e ll this
fo il before he comes in figh t o f it , many leagues o ff, by the ftrong odoriferous fceht
i t caffs. AS it is the moft pleafant, fo it is alfo the temperateft clime o f a ll Spain,
àhd they Commonly Call it the fécond Ita ly , which made the M o o rs , wh e reo f
many thoufands were difterred and. bânilhêd hence to Barbafy, to think that Para-
dife was in that part o f the. heavens which hung o ver this c i ty .”
A lflofigft other g a y flowers which adorn our parterres, we are. indebted to Sp ain :
for the rnuflc io fe , Or rofa Jetnpervirens, thus defcribed b y Linnaeus :
• Rofa JempervireHs. Germinihas oVatis peduncuU/que hifpidU ta n k petiolifqM ■
aculeatis,
Seed buds e g g lhaped, covered w ith ftrong b riftly hairs, as .
are lik ewife the fru it fta lk s .. Stem and lea ve ffa lk s p r i c k ly ; .
T h e plants o f thefe and fame other kin ds , o f ro fts were found g row ing naturally
in Spain, ,by the late ingenious R o b e r t M o re , E iq ; o f L in d le y in Staffo rd-
fhire, who fent the feeds to M r . M ille r , who railed them in E n glan d y the.- flowers
are Angle, white, and have a f t r o n g m u ik y odour ; they appear in A u g u ft, and
i f the autumn proves favourable, w ill con tin ue,in fucceffion till O fto b e r . M ille r ’s .,
gardener’s d i f t . .
T h e . Spaniih a rum , is the arum maculdlum o f Linnseus, ttl W a k e R o b in ,
cu ckow. p in t,.lo rd s and ladies.” I t is a fmall p lan t, common, in. moft parts o f
S p ain, particularly in Bifcay. T h e roots and leaves when re c en t, .are extremely
acrid. T he. ro o t has been em ploy ed in medicine as a ftimulant, b u t when reduced
to powder it lofes much o f its acrimony. T h e French m a k e ufe o f the root
dried and powdered to walh .their ikin with, i t is fold .a t a h igh p r ice , under the
name o f Cyprus powder, and is.an. innocent cofmetici. W h en , the acrimony o f the
roots is e x tra fted ,. either b y b o ilin g o r b a k in g , .they certainly w ill afford a 'mi l d
and wholeföme nourilhmen t. Man y nations p fèpâré the only bread they have from
plants as acrimonious as this, fi'rft diflipa ting the noxious qualities, b ÿ forcé o f
h e a t ,. Starch.may be.made from, the ro o ts . It grows in En g lan d in fliady places ,
d itch