C l im a t e
An d S ea-
SONS.
Face o f the
Country.
So il aoé
Agriculture»
C H A P T B R IV* w
N â't ü ’k.a i - G e o g r a p h y .
ClmateMnd. -Seafo7is. — Face af the -.Country.— SoîL'ahd 'Agriculture. — Rivers. —
Lakes.— Mountains.— F or:ejls.— Botany. — Zoology. — Mineralogy. — Mineral
Waters.— Natural Curiqfities.
t I 'H E cKpiate o f Spain has been defervedly.praifedj as equal I f not
fiipeftor to th a t o f a n y country in E u ro jw ; bùt_ in th em u th e rn
provinces th e heat is, iiifalubrious, and m a lig n a n t'fev e rs,Jh ta e tim e s
fweep off great numbers.^ T h is difafter ■ p fp h ab ly o r igm a t^ (froip th e
n e g led ted d a te o f the country, "from, d ag n an t tnarftie^, wh Lc^i. might, i f
pro p e rly drained, fupply r u l i n g ftreaöis 4ndverdant_meadqw,s. ■ T h e
S. E .w in d from Africa* called Solano,1 hâs fuch 4®yiÿmiùatdty’efFe£ts
t h a t i r i s faid more murders a re then, committed duringithfee .dafs^dhkn
th ro u g h o u t th e T e f t' o f the year.1 - a m chains which
pervade Spain at different in te rv a l^ |o m E» to W ., feem to teçqpe^-.the
climate, and fupply cooling breezes. In d ie So;Uth the,rfea breeze,, beginning
about nine in th e morning- and_ continuing till five in - th e
evening, agreeably diverfifies the.yvarmth o f the dimmer ;• a n d ’ iff‘ the
northe rn provgices the feverity o f winder is allayed by. th e p roxim ity o f
the ocean, which generally fupplies gales fa th e r humid th an frofty.
T h e face o f the country is, i n . moffi feafons delightful, abounding
w ith excellent Mid -fragrant padurage, vineyards-, and'.groves o f orange
trees ; and,the-hills clothed w ith wild thyme and other, odorous plants.
T h e rivers and dreams are .numerous-; and the chains o f mountains,
afford a grand variety to the p ro fp e â . > ;,
*The foifis generally light, and repofes on beds of.gypfum ' o r plaider
o f Paris, itfelf an excellent, manure.,.; “ T h e common courfe v o f
1 Dillon, 308..; Townfend, &c.
hufbandry
jjiufbandty* abeut>sBarcelona';b^gifis with <,w h e a t; which .being ripe in Soil
J une is immediately fucceeded by Indian, corn, hemp, millet, cabbage f G”’
■kidney b e an s,,o r lettuce-,? T h e ft’cond year thefe fame crops fucceed
each cither as Ijefore.’- 'T h e next ,y ear th ey f take barley,-« beans, o r
f e tc h e s ; .svvhiehc'cpnsing off the\,gro>nnd:ib.efOre'iMidfumpier^;are fob- 7
Ipwod, as in the- former, y ^ a rs ^ b y - otljer crops,,?{Only changing them
according 4 p ;ithe d^afpn* fo. as to h avefonythe fame M m the greateft
poffibl.c variety.” Wheat p roduc e s: ten for one ; but in rainy feafons
fifteen; T h e fame intelligent author informs us that.-near Carthagena
th e courfe is wheat, barley, and fallow,3 ■ For wheat; they plough thrice,
and fow from the middle .of November to the. beginning o f 'December
in J u ly th ey reap, from ten to one, hundred for one, as the feafon
happens to be humid. T h e llu e rta , or rich vale o f AlicanV, ’yidlds- a
perpetual fucceffion o f crops.* B a rk y is’-fown if f September,' reaped, iff
April f . fiieceeded by4 ffialze,- reapedxriji 'Septe’m b e t5, -and4 by a ’iffrxdd
crop o f eleulents vi'hick follow. * Whfeatb'is' fowm hi Ndvember, arid
feiaped in Ju n e ;>tflix ;in iSd^eiffteri,‘‘‘p ^ d e d ,/i-rfiM a y . ‘thfiiVale o f
Valericia wheat yield-si ffOPi tweritydtb - fori j^^.Mfley >frohi- ei^Meeri to
twenty-^fout- cratsbfrom tWetity :tc f'th irty p i diai^e1 dne^ -hundred; rirife
Jf&rty.' In the, more fo u th en i prirtvirices' 'thfe'-laridi^iMihod^ e^Hklfy •
fe rtile: and the fugar-carre ‘is'killtrVatbd with &HieIs‘neid G rkftadi.
1 he Spanidi plough is generally light, and is drawn by oxen wi(h the-
yoke Over the horns; the nioft proper and natural niode,'; 'ax’ the chief
drengtff b f the arirmaljc'dhtres in the head.' Agriculture is greatly impeded
in Spain by the : fu-perior attention paid to Jiie large ;fldcks df
flieep, which are authorifed by a fpecial code, ''the Meda, to travel froth
one province to another, as the feafon prefents padura^i in the vales
or off the mountains. The Merino oWfock^ fhus privMMed,
fife-’ computed" at J,oj&o,bt3b ; antb ©he' nobleman has. Sometimes
40,000. The fleece is edeemed double in value to that of other IheCp :
but the checks given to agriculture by fuch privileges, unknown to all
other countries,' are incalculable. >
1 • Among the . chief rivers o f Spain may be named, the Ebro,. which Rivers,
anciently conferred an appellation on the country. This noble dream ; Kb™';
? Townf.- L 179*. ^ H H J U ) ? 3 XhicL, iu , 134. I
AND
IC.ULKE
.
rifes.