BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 653 
ment of the dwelling. There was a court-yard, into which 
all the apartments opened, or rather a suite of galleries di- 
vided by very few doors and partitions, all being so contrived 
as to impede in the least possible degree the circulation of 
air, and to admit but little light. Thanks to this style of 
building, the houses here are cooler, even in the height of 
summer, than ours in temperate climates. "The walls of the 
rooms are perfectly bare, but beautifully white and clean ; 
the articles of furniture few in number, and all in wood and 
rushes; the sole ornament consisting of a glazed cabinet in 
which the plate was set, prettily arranged with little china 
figures. This piece of furniture is common throughout this 
neighbourhood, and I met with it in most of the houses in 
the country. 
Quitting Nerja we traversed several low hills, more barren 
than those which we had crossed over in the morning. The 
vegetation I have described, here yields to Cytisus lanigerus, 
Genista umbellata, Cistus Monspeliensis and Passerina dioica. 
Two leagues before reaching Velez we came to a lovely plain, 
stretching between the sea and the vine-clad* hills, that, 
dotted with villages, extend to the base of the Sierra Tejada. 
The soil was generally well cultivated, the fields often reach- 
ing to the very beach, and guarded from the encroachments of 
the wind-wafted sand by thick hedges of Indian Fig and 
Agave. Night, which in these climates comes on very sud- 
denly, overtook us when we were still some distance from 
our goal; but the knowledge of the country which my friend 
possessed, with the instinct of our beasts, conducted us safely 
to Velez. The Posada of Ventura, where we alighted, was 
more comfortable than any previous one, and the walls of the 
rooms containing no treacherous crannies, I enjoyed some of 
the rest which is so needful for the traveller who has, partly 
on foot and partly on mule-back, accomplished eight Spanish 
leagues of such roads as those of this neighbourhood. 
* 
€ —— Mighty wine, 
The blood of Velez’ scorched vine.” 
