ditch banks androughgrounds . " S e e D r . W ith e ftn g ’s botanical a r fan g em en t,& c.”
T h e re are eighteen varieties o f this^lant* mentioned•• b y M ille r , five o í which
have mild roots, and are eaten b y the inhabitants o f the hot countries where they
grow n atur|lly ; fometimes the leaves are bo iled and fu p p ly the want o f other
greens, and are efteemed who lefomq food, in places where the" common European
vegetables are with difficulty found.; but thefe: do not include the Spaniffi fort
■Which M r . Bowles, conjeitured m igh t in years o f fcarcity ferve as á fuccedaneum
to bread.
T h e Anchnja mentioned b y Mr.-Bowles is the lithofpetmum o f L innteus, with a
red ro o t, T h e ; a lk an e t. In Spanilh orcaneta. T h e ba3t o f the root ting es wax
and o il o f a beautiful red. In the northern parts of*E urope, girls paint their
faces with the ju ic e o f the ro o t upon days o f feftivity. W e h a v í it in England.
T h e g rom ew e ll. " S e e the v ariety o f it in D r .W i th e r in g ’s botanical arrangement.”
I am informed that fome plants o f the Chirimoya are now g row ing in En glan d,
ra ifed from feeds brought from Peru. F ru it cannot be tx p e f te d from them, but
Ihould they flower their exquifite odour w ill make fome amends for that deficiency.
L E T T E R •X V I I I .
T h e Spaniffi poem en titledMmtjerrate, b y Chriftdpher d eV iru e s , a p oet o f V a lencia,
is praifed by Cervantes, in his review o f D on Q u ix o te ’s library, as one o f
the b e lt in^that lan guage , equal to the Araucana o f D o n A lo n fo de E r c ilia , or the
Auftriada o f J u a n R u fo ; to all which the Curate giv es the fo llow in g praifes,
JwThefe three'1 poems are the b e ll that ever were compofed in heroic verfe in the
Spanilh language, and may v ie with the m o ll celebrated poems o f I t a ly ; le t them
therefore be carefully preferred as the choiceft lpecimens o f poetry tliat Spain is
■ poffeffed o f.” D on Q u ix o te , part I. chap. 6.
l e t t e r X X I I I .
'Gaffendi, in his life o f P y le fc , tells a laughable tale o f a Ihepherd o f Ta r ra gona,
o f whom he giv es the fo llow in g account, " H e realoned moreover, touchin
g the engrafting o f animals after the manner o f plants, upon occafion o f a floq
o r bullace tree g row in g .o u t o f a man’s breaft-bone. A fh e p h e rd o f T a r ra g on a
had fallen upon a floe tree, and a fharp point th e reo f h av in g run into his brea ll,
it to o k fuch a root in ten years time , that after many branches had been cu t o ff,
there fprung up fome at la lt which bare, both flowers and fruit. N o w he (P e y re fc )
would never be at reft t i ll. Cardinal Barbarini procured the archbilhop o f that
place .to te ftify the truth o f the ftory, and the Chevalier D u p u y not only received
letters teftify in g the fame, b u t alfo certain branches th e reo f which he fent unto
him. W h o e v e r lh a ll fee fuch th fg e s as thefe, fays Gaffendi, may fately belie
v e them ! N a tura l hiftory, in thcffe days, la y y e t enveloped in fable ; it is to
the prefent ag e we owe fo many difcoveries and experiments, which have elucidated
and afcertained the different parts' o f that ufeful and admirable fcience. I f
our neighbours were not enlightened in thofe days, we alfo came in for our ihare
o f thpir ignorance. W h en Sir R o b e r t D udle y and M r . T homa s Cavendiih failed
on an expedition to the W e f t Indies, we are to ld that as foon as the E n g lifli went
on ihore in the n ig h t , obferving an infinite number o f m o v in g lig h ts in the
woods, they mifto o k them for Spaniards com in g upon them unawares, with their
firelocks and match-1 ights;. on which they fled in hafte to their (hips, though it
turned out to be nothing elfe but a number o f thofe harmlefs infefts called lant-
horn flies. See H a c k lu y t ’s voya ges , v o l . 3.
T ra v e lle rs have obferved, that there are no fwans in Spain, and that you may g o
fo r many days together and never fee a goofe : i f we re fle ft on the national ab horrence
o f the Spaniards to the Jews, and to their manners and cuftoms, it may
perhaps afford fome new lig h t to this Angularity, and account for the want o f the
latter o f thefe birds, from'" what Dr. M o ffe t fays o f them from Jafon* Pratenfis,
" T h a t the Jews have fo hard a fleffi, fo foul a ikin, fo loathiome a favour, and
fo crooked conditions, becaufe they eat io many ge e fe .” Swans fieih was forbidden
the J e w s , becaufe b y them the hiero glyphiça l fages did defcrlbe hypo-
crify ; for fas fiyans have-the wb iteft feathers ¿and the blacke ft flefh o f all birds,
fo the heart o f hypocrites is contrary to their outward appearance. T h is latter
however, b e in g a prejudice o f an innocent nature, might have gained a more g e neral
admittance, being merely fymbo lical.
In a review o f the moft remarkable parts .of the animal k in gdom in Spain, we
lhall find that they poffefs the noble Andalufian horfe, the la rge afs, the bear, the
lynx, the ravenous w o lf, the w ild ca t, the gennet, the fleet greyhound, and the
K k k itaunch