168 A SHORT HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



taught as it had never been before; algebra and arithmetic were 

 applied to practical uses, the mariner's compass was invented, and 

 science as applied to the arts and manufactures made the products of 

 Moslem Spain the fine leather, the arms, the fabrics, and the metal 

 work esteemed throughout the world. . . . Canals and water 

 wheels for irrigation carried marvellous fertility throughout the south 

 of Spain, where the one thing previously wanting to make the land a 

 paradise was water. Rice, sugar, cotton, and the silkworm were all 

 introduced and cultivated with prodigious success ; the silks, brocades, 

 velvets, and pottery of Valencia, the beautiful damascened steel of 

 Seville, Toledo, Murcia, and Granada, the stamped embossed leather 

 of Cordova, and the fine cloths of Seville brought prosperity to 

 Moslem and Mozarab alike under the rule of the Omeyyad caliphs, 

 while the systematic working of the silver mines of Jaen, the corals on 

 the Andalusian coasts, and the pearls of Catalonia supplied the ma- 

 terial for the lavish splendor which the rich Arabs affected in their 

 attire and adornment. 



The Moors of Andalusia and Valencia acclimatized and cultivated 

 a large number of semitropical fruits and plants hitherto little known 

 in Europe, and studied arboriculture and horticulture not only practi- 

 cally but scientifically. The famous work on the subject by Abu 

 Zacaria Al-Awan was the foundation of such books, and of the applica- 

 tion of science to gardening. It was mainly derived from Chaldean, 

 Greek, and Carthaginian manuscripts now lost. Curiously, Spain had 

 produced under the Romans a famous book on agriculture by Colu- 

 mella : but for scientific knowledge it cannot be compared to the 

 Treatise on Agriculture by Abu Zacaria. . . . From the earliest 

 times the wool of Spain had been the finest in the world. . . . Vast 

 herds of stunted, ill-looking, but splendidly fleeced sheep belonged to 

 the nobles and ecclesiastical lords, and quite early in the period of re- 

 conquest, when these classes were all-powerful, a confederacy of sheep 

 owners was formed, which by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries 

 had developed into a corporation of immense wealth. This was called 

 the Mesta. . . . The fleeces were extremely fine, often weighing 

 12 pounds per animal, and the wool was sought after throughout the 

 world, especially by Flemish and French cloth workers. Even in the 

 ninth century Spanish wool was famous in Persia and in the East ; 

 and as early as the time of the Phoenicians it was considered the 

 finest in the world. Hume. 



