tenfive -plantations in the'neighbourhood o f Alipant and B^rcelotta^ fflb
.th e purpofe o f procuring from- its afhes/the Spanifli barilla, an alkaline
-fait o f confiderable pu rity ,..o f which fome thoül’and tons are eveiy. year
manufactured, partly for foreign commerce and partly for the piepara-
, tion o f the fine Spanifli foap. T h e rocks on the cóaft are chiefly cal-
vcareous, and abound w itffc rithm um maritim um,.fm p h ir e ; viola arbo-
refcens, tree v io let; aftragahis tragacantha, tragacanth vetch-; the ma-
jeftic antirrhinum Lufitanicum ; capparis fpinofa, caper bujlo ; and ftipa
Ttenaciffima, the celebrated efparto grafs, which, on account o f its ex-^
-traordinary toughnefs, is ufed for making ropes,, mats, chair-bottoms,
.and, in fhort, all the articlesjncluded under the French term jp a rterie■.1
T h e high -mountains o f Spain being neither fo lofty, n o r in fnch
-large maffes as th o fe -o f Swifferland, are covered with fribw onJy,f<*r».a
Jew weëks bathe yëai?; toe:th«kfor£, 'afld.in the lower .mountg»o.ifs
*rid^s that border the bay o f Bifcay-,-‘we find a n nm fe E xpiants
Jamaiar to <he tfcÜÜè o f tàè north of Europe ; the. cfineft, timber -trees >in
iSpain are found in Afefereterô©à'TB^fl% and thy IJiigUfh fe a n ift
Height f e e almóft think hi'mfelf in his nfe e'eo iia try pilhfc^ónsiinoh
«Oak, the lime, the biréh, theffidüiitàihafh, the yfewv -the beechr,ithd
-larch, the Holly, 'and thé juniper,sgroW'ter a confiderable fiz e jfe ith e
Tdiailer flfrtibs and herbaceous plants the principal we?arbtUim
'beanherry ; minuartia ’mOtttdfta ; àfperüla Pyrenaicaîyeryngiiïm ? AM
p inum ; arenaria triflofa ; draba aizöides, and. Pyrenaica; faxifraga
cuneifolia and bryoides ; rhododendron ferrugineum alyffum monta-
n um , mmmtaw alyjdn, and ëmpëtrum album, w hite crow-berry.
The-ldh'g-ranges o f riioderate fized hills that occupy th e greateft part
-of Spain confiftf e ith e r o f extenfive arid t r a â s ó f fand; ó f arenaceoüs
fandftöhè, and fe rru g in o u s .rubble fo rm in g the heaths ; o f dry . calcareous
diffficts forming the flieep-walks ; | o rp frm o ift rough grahitic and
•marble ridgesi with b u t à ffiallow foil forming the woodlands.
T h e . Spanifli heaths are gayer and richer with plants th an thofe o f
any other European country ; in fome parts' are thick woods of the
yew -leaved f ir and fto he pine; in others are fcattered groves o f \icprk
trees, quercus fuber ; here the traveller is'regaled w ith the fragrance o f
numberiefs aromatic plants, the . thythus maftichina, mqftich thyme ;
<p . f? lavandula
Ikzanduld-fpiea, ’and ftæch-as, fp ik e lavender; -meliffa nepeta ; origanum Botan
heiiacle'oticum ; teucrium iva, fpinofum, and Luiitanicum ; falvia officinalis,
an d i ‘I /Æ 1 mfPJi and rofmarinus officinalis, '
rofemary ; the golden .bloffoms o f the gorfc, ulex Europ.æus, a plant chiefly
fou n d in England and Spain, and the crimfon, flefli-coloured, and
fnowy floiwërs o f the a-rb'orefeent heaths;; erica umbellata, arborea, purpu-
ralcens,','Jcoparia, vagans", aultralis, &c. mutually heighten each other ;
now:the flately growth of-t-he junipe rus oxyeedrus, or phoenicea a ttra d s -
a ttention, th en the eye turns with delight to the humble diauthus-1
carÿophyllusj clove J u lffo w e r ,. glowing by its fide ; the elegant lithof-
permum fruticofum entangles-itfëlf among thickets' o f dwarf-myrtle, and
every fpot o f fand or d ry rock, forfaken'by Other vegetables, is adorned
a n d ’ pekfmMqd wjjsfp the oifha* ; 'this plant -.there- are nohlpfs; -than-
fourteen, fpeoies’ n atives.of Spain, all .o f them eminently beautiful fo r
th e ir broad filken bloffoms o f pure-white $.r y p jipw 'w ith clpep .cripafon•
eyeS :. the : hn*?eldtaved m flus, p;, laurifolius,; is mbff ‘ frequent .in O ld ’
t€aftilie, b u t the. cpipmonefl o f affifls-, -the çiffius la d ^ n ife ru s ,.^ /» c ifu s ,
a 'ir iô ft elegant and fragrant fh ru b from fix he Tevgff feet, high, " which
sDCGUpïéâ whole miles 'o f d ry rd c k j. an d on this account. forms a very
•peculiar feature in. the fèodêsy o f Spain.
•3 ;: T h e ffieeprwalks are for d ie downs with, little jfhelter,.
iexcept here and th e re a- grove- o f ehefont tr.fcgS,. ,or pvgi^racn
iphèrcù# ilex ; th e tu r f differs effentially ftom th a t o f fheepr
Walks in containing very few fppeies o f grafs,^b.eipg chiefly compofed
of^Mre fmallèr papilioiiSGéous plants^ ©aëtyfis j cynqfejpçâde^, aira
m in u ta , cyhofurus lima, and aureus, -feftucà calycina, and lygeum
fpartnm arenthe ffloft frequent -of the greffes :;-,tfie .other .y^ptabre' inr
habitants o f thefe uplands are fcabiofa ffellata, > galega officinalis, an- %
thÿllis io to ld ^ , and erinaceaf cueubalus b^ry^eO rrm g cflTpr
pion ; a n d■ pfoialea bimminofa.
i T h e wmodlands o f Spain demand particular notice,: in an account o f
-its vegetable, productions ; we find here none ,of -that noon-day night
o f fhade th a t fpreads fuch an aweful folemnity over th e recefles o f the
-German , and Engliffi forefts, the trees are neither fo large nor is the ir -
foliage fo ample ; feverah o f the calcareous fummits are covered with
3 k a. • cheftnut