CANARY ISLES. 



every head of cattle. The peaaants often rent the 

 Mo cattle without the land, merely to share the half of 

 their increase. In these agreements the husbandman 

 has no inducement to exertion. A moderate crop is 

 all that he expects or desires ; for a plentiful harvest 

 can be of very little value to him, who is prevented, 

 by the prohibitory measures of his government, from 

 converting the overplus into wealth, or exchanging it 

 for foreign commodities. The necessaries of life are 

 all that he requires ; and his labour is confined to the 

 production of these alone. Thus rendered indolent and 

 improvident, he is never prepared against a season of 

 scarcity ; and is sometimes reduced, like his savage 

 ancestors, to feed upon bread made from fern roots. It 

 is, however, a fact, the truth of which is established 

 by rxperience, that a scarcity of provisions in any 

 country arises. not so much from the sterility of the 

 soil, as from the measures of government ; and it 

 need scarcely be remarked, that famine ib more fre- 

 quent in some of the rich and fertile districts of the 

 south, where the exertions of industry are paraliscd 

 by arbitrary regulations, than in many countries 

 which possess an ungrateful sorl, but which are ru- 

 led by a wiser and more liberal policy. Sugar was 

 formerly made here in great abundance ; and twelve 

 sugar mills were employed in the manufacture of this 

 article in Grand Canary alone. It has of late, how- 

 ever, very much fallen off; and the cotton plantations 

 have also been greatly neglected. Besides these, 

 olives, mulberries, and tobacco, might be cultivated 

 here with great success. These islands produce 

 plenty of honey, wax, and a kind of black gum or 

 pitch called bray. All the islands furnish excellent 

 wine, but the preference is in general given to those of 

 Palma and Teneriffe. In good seasons, Teneriffe 

 alone produces above 30,OOO pipes, a third of which 

 is Malmsey or Canary eack, which sells from 50 to 

 60 piastres a pipe. The rest is a dry hard wine, 

 which sells for about half that price. When two or 

 three years old, it can scarcely be distinguished from 

 Madeira ; but when allowed to stand for four years, 

 it turns mellow and sweet, and resembles greatly the 

 wine of Malaga in Spain. The cattle of the" Cana- 

 i ies are, horses, oxtu, goats, sheep, roebucks, and 

 wild asses. They abound with several kinds of game, 

 and poultry, also with singing birds, particularly the 

 Canary bird, so wall known throughout Europe ; and 

 their shores are well stocked with iish, especially stur- 

 geons and mackerel, which are a great source of nou- 

 rujhmtaft to the poor inhabitants. 



Teneriffe is the great centre of European com- 

 merce in these islands. Some ships go toGrandCanary 

 ;uid Pahna, but their number is very inconsiderable ; 

 and this branch of trade is chiefly in the hands of the 

 English. The principal exports to Europe and the 

 British colonies in America, are wines, brandy, fruits, 

 orchilla weed, and commodities which they receive 

 from the Spanish West Indies. From the British 

 islands they receive various kinds of woollen cloths, 

 hats, stockings, hardware, &c. also wheat when there 

 is a scarcity in the island, and beef, pork, butter, can- 

 dies, and salt herring ; from the north of Europe, 

 linens, cordage, gun-powder, bar iron, &c. ; from the 

 Mediterranean, cottons, silks, velvets, salt, oil, bass 

 cordage, and innumerable small articles, either for 



home consumption, or for exportation to the Spanibh 

 West Indies; from North America, deal boards, 

 pipe staves, bacuUao or dried cod, hams, bees-wax, 

 rice, &c. All these goods, imported into the Cana- 

 ries, or exported from them, pay a duty of 7 per 

 cent, on the rated value. The commerce which these 

 islands carry on with the Spanish settlements in the 

 West Indies, is under particular regulations and re- 

 strictions. No foreign bottoms are permitted to be 

 employed in this trade, nor are vessels allowed to be 

 fitted out from any of the islands except Grand Canary, 

 Teneriffe, and Palma. This trade is confined to their 

 own produce, of which they annually export nearly 

 2000 tons ; but they also find opportunities of smug- 

 gling into the country immense quantities of Euro- 

 pean commodities. Besides this foreign commerce, 

 the Canaries carry on a considerable trade with each 

 other. The island of Teneriffe is the principal staple 

 of all Wi'st India and European commodities, which 

 it distributes among the other islands; and receives in 

 exchange, from Grand Canary provisions of all sorts, 

 coarse woollen blankets, raw and wrought silk, flags, 

 filtering stones, and some salt, &c. ; from Palma, al- 

 monds, sugar, sweetmeats, boards, pitch, and raw silk ; 

 from Gomera and Ferro, raw silk, brandy, and cat- 

 tle ; from Lancerota and Forte Ventura, a great quan- 

 tity of corn, cattle, and fowls, also some salt and dried 

 fish ; and from all of them orchilla weed. 



The principal manufactures of these islands are, 

 taffeties, coarse linens, gauze, quilts, knit silk hose, 

 and silk garters ; and in order to encourage their silk 

 manufacture, the exportation of raw silk is strictly pro- 

 hibited. Coarse woollen cloths, and white blankets, 

 are also manufactured in many of the islands from 

 the produce of their own sheep. In all the villages, 

 the women only are employed in weaving, or as tailors, 

 and it is only in large towns that the men exercise 

 those trades. The inhabitants of the Canaries em- 

 ploy a considerable number of vessels in the fishery 

 on the coast of Barbary, which, if properly encou- 

 raged by the Spaniards, might be rendered a source 

 of great convenience and profit to those islands. But 

 the trade is clogged with foolish and unreasonable 

 duties ; and the price is impolitically regulated by 

 the magistrates. This fishery extend*, along the coast 

 about six hundred miles, from Cape Blanco on the 

 south, .to the southern extremity of Mount Atlas on 

 the north. The vessels employed in this trade arc 

 from fifteen to fifty tons burthen, the smallest carry- 

 ing fifteen men, and the largest thirty ; and the ge- 

 neral place of rendezvous is at Porto de Luz, in the 

 island of Grand Canary. They make from eight to 

 ten voyages in the year. The bulk of their cargoes 

 consists of samas or bream ; but they also catch a 

 great quantity of tassarte, cod, anhoua, carbino, and 

 other kinds of fish. The tassarte tastes like a very 

 large and fat mackerel, and when dried cannot be 

 distinguished from dried salmon ; and the cod that is 

 caught on this coast are considered as preferable to 

 those of Newfoundland. " Although this fishery," 

 says Mr Glas, ' is capable of the greatest improve- 

 ment, yet the English have no reason to be appre- 

 hensive of the Spaniards ever being able to bring it 

 to any degree of perfection, so as to rival them in the 

 Spanish or Italian markets : the power of the .clergy 





