BOTANICAL INFORMATION. |. 403 
it has already exhibited some symptoms of increase since the 
intercourse which steam navigation has established between 
France and Spain, and it would become far more prosperous 
if the bason were deepened so as to allow the entrance of large 
ships of war. 
A few hours’ halt at Port Vendres, to enable us to take up 
passengers, gave me an opportunity of visiting the immediate 
environs, It was Sunday, and the deck of our Phocion was 
quickly crowded by the young country folks, who came to 
gaze and admire the mirrors, the gilding and the polished 
mahogany with which this vessel is adorned. On the quay, 
a detachment of soldiers were engaged in shipping off mules 
for the expedition to Constantine; the poor brutes were 
hoisted aloft by pullies and then dropped into the hold, spite 
of their struggles and resistance, which afforded high diver- 
sion to the bystanders. "Vegetation looked much forwarder 
here than about Marseilles; the orchards behind the bay 
were full of peaches and apricots in full bloom, and the fields 
adorned with the beautiful Narcissus Tazetta. 
From Port Vendres, as far as Roses, the shore presents 
one line of arid and steep promontories, and after making our 
way for three hours between several little rocky, mis-shapen 
islets, we cast anchor opposite Roses, just after passing the 
rums of an old fortification, celebrated in ancient warfare 
under the name of the Bud of Roses. The bay is magnificent 
and extensive, hemmed in towards the back by rich plains, 
and terminated by the snowy peaks of the Pyrénées. Our 
French sailors envy Spain the possession of this port, which 
would be invaluable for their arrivals and departures for and 
from Algiers, as the crossing of the Bay of Lyons is always 
considered the most perilous part of the passage. 
Here Spanish ground rose, for the first time, before my 
eyes, and eagerly was my curiosity roused; but there was no 
Possibility of landing, the sanatory regulations not permitting 
us to disembark at any intermediate port, so I amused myself 
in walking the deck during most of the night, enjoying the 
clear and starry heavens, Dei watching the successive lighting 
