RAMBLE i:tf THE N. OF SPAIN. 115 



also a Linaria, which I am inclined to think the L. PrestrandricB 

 of DeCandolle, whether this be a good species or not ; its flowers 

 resemble those of L. spuria rather than of L. Elatine ; but many 

 of the leaves are hastate, or more often with large teeth at the 

 base. I have found in England and elsewhere, a plant which, 

 having nearly the flowers of L. spuria, had some of the leaves 

 hastate, as in L. Elatine, and I have thought it might be a hybrid 

 between them, but the teeth at the base struck me as something 

 I had not observed before. I did not notice at Santander either 

 L. spuria or L. Elatine : this plant seems to take the place of 

 both. I have never seen the intermediate plant in Sussex, where 

 both species are abundant, and often growing together. 



There are two walks near Santander very beautiful in them- 

 selves and very interesting to the botanist. The first is to a rock 

 called Pena di Castillo, or the Rock of Castillo. This is a rugged 

 hill above 600 feet high, about a mile from the town, and itself 

 nearly a mile long, but very narrow, so that you walk along the 

 ridge witb a rocky precipice on the one hand and a steep slope on 

 the other. It rises abruptly from the general level, and is uncon- 

 nected with anything else about it. It is, I believe, of mountain 

 limestone, which is said in this part of Spain to abound in cala- 

 mine : I am told that there are also two other limestone formations, 

 one belonging to the lower chalk or greensand, and the other to 

 the Jura limestone, but I cannot say that I learnt to distinguish 

 them. This Peria di Castillo affords the most beautiful views over 

 the bay of Santander and its surrounding mountains on the one 

 side, while on the other the eye wanders over the nearer hills to 

 the open Bay of Biscay. To the west, or rather I believe to the 

 south-west, we distinguish three groups of mountains, which in May 

 were entirely covered with snow. At the beginning of July, when 

 I left Santander, two of these groups offered only detached spots 

 and lines of snow. The third, the Sierras Albas, still exhibited it 

 in great masses. All these masses are visible from Fuente del 

 Mar, the house which was my very pleasant home. On this rock 

 I first noticed Genista hispanica, Erinus alpinus, Linaria origani- 

 folia, and Teucrium pyrenaicum, all of which I observed in various 

 places afterwards. Orchis parviflora grows in tolerable plenty on 

 the slope of the north side ; but I was surprised to see on such a 

 rock several moisture-loving plants, as Valeriana dioica, Latliyriis 

 palustris, &c- There is also a small quantity of Anemone Hepatica 

 and Saxifraga Geum. The ridge of the rock affords, however, the 

 best harvest. Here were Cenfranthus Calcitrapa and Conyza 



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