162 BOTANICAL INFORMATION, 
shifting sands I gathered several pretty plants, the Erodium ' 
hirtum, Linaria pedunculata, Lotus aurantiacus, Plantago albi- 
cans, and Delphinium peregrinum. The Ononis ramosissima 
grew in great abundance, and here and there I saw the 
magnificent Orobanche fætida parasitic on its roots. 
delicate grass, Festuca Alopecuros, seemed to be used as com 
by large families of ants, for I observed them collecting 1 
seeds in their nests in the sand, and prudently leaving be- 
hind the covering which surrounds the seeds. ic 
Among those plants which prevail in the low and cu 
vated parts of the country, the most characteristic, and thos? 
that by their size and abundance give the chief features * 
the vegetation, are Agave Americana, the Prickly Pear, the 
Ricinus or Palma Christi, and Arundo. Donaz; also two La- 
biate, Phlomis purpurea, and Ballota hirsuta; and lastly 
gigantic Thistle, producing yellow flowers and herbaceous 
stems, and growing from five to ten feet high, Kentrophyllum 
arborescens. ‘These plants may be found everywhere, »® 
the fallow spots and in the hedges and waysides. = 
_ The vegetation of the hills presents a different aspect still 
a few of the above species may be seen, but much more" 
Thymus capitatus, Lavandula multifida, Genista 
several kinds of Cistus, and particularly the picturesque Pal- 
metto, Chamerops humilis. This dwarf Palm covers 
spots, and its roots are so strong, that fire cannot destroy 
them, but it sprouts up in all parts of a field, and often 
baffles the labour of the agriculturist. a ne 
A peculiar charm belonging to the cities of the soU 
consists in the solitudes which may be found at their ve 
gates, contrasting so strikingly by their silence and desertion 
with the bustle and confusion that prevail within the walls. 
Ten minutes’ walk from Malaga brings you to such a SP” 
the Cerro Coronado, some rocky hillocks, that lie to the : 
of the city, across the dry bed of the Guadalmedina. ^ 
springs of water, that gush from the rocks, keep up a POF 
tual verdure in the little intervening spots; while, higher 
there are only rough slopes, intersected by ravines, and ove 
