116 



HISTORY or AGRICULTURE. 



Part I. 



Bowles, the best Spanish writer on natural history, says, the mucilage might easily be 

 made into brandy. The same plant is used as the boundary fence for villages in the 

 East Indies, and is found a powerful obstacle to cavalry. 



703. The hina, or Indian fig, {Cactus opuntia, Jig. 97 6.) is cultivated in the plains 

 of Seville for its fruit, and also for raising the cochineal insect. It is either grown 

 on rocky places or as hedges. 



704. The palmetto, or fan palm {Chamcerops humilis) , is grown near Seville. From 

 the foot-stalks of the leaves, brushes and brooms of various kinds are formed both for 

 home use and exportation. 



705. The potatoe is grown, but not in large quantities ; nor so good as in England. 

 The Irish merchants of the seaports import them for themselves and friends. The 

 batatas, or sweet potatoe {Convolvulus batatas), turnips, carrots, cabbages, carrots, 

 broccoli, celery, onions, garlic, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, &c., are grown in large 

 quantities. 



706. Though the olive is grown to greater 

 perfection in Spain than in Italy, yet the 

 oil is the worst in Europe ; because the 

 growers are thirled, that is, obliged to grind 

 their fruit at certain mills. To such mills 

 (Jig. 98.), all the olives of a district are ob- 

 liged to be carried, and as they cannot all 

 be ground alone, they are put into heaps to 

 wait their turn : these heaps heat and spoil, 

 and when crushed, produce only an acrid 

 rancid oil. 



707. The vine is cultivated in every pro- 

 vince of Spain, and chiefly in those of 

 the east and south. The old sherry wine, xeres seco, the sherry sac of Shakspeare, 

 is produced in Valencia and Granada, and especially near Malaga. On the hills 

 surrounding this city are upwards of seven thousand vineyards, cultivated by the pro- 

 prietors, or by petty tenants, who pay their rent monthly when in money ; or during 

 harvest when in kind. The first gathering of grapes commences in the month of June, 

 and these are dried in the sun, and form what are known in Europe as Malaga raisins. 

 A second crop is gathered in September, and a wine made from it resembling sherry ; 

 and a third in October and November, which furnishes the wine known on the continent 

 as Malaga, and in England as mountain. In Valentia the grapes for raisins are steeped 

 in boiling water, sharpened with a ley made from vine stems, and then exposed in the air, 

 and suspended in the sun till they arc suflSciently dry. 



708. The sugar-cane {Saccharum officinarum) is cultivated to a considerable extent in 

 Malaga and other places, and the ground is irrigated with the greatest care. The sugar 

 produced resembles that of Cuba, and comes somewhat cheaper than it can be procured 

 from the West India islands. Sugar has been cultivated in Spain upwards of seven 

 hundred years ; and Jacob is of opinion that capital only is wanted, to push this branch 

 of culture to a considerable extent. 



709. The white mulberry is extensively grown for rearing the silkworm, especially 

 in Murcia, Valentia, and Granada. The silk is organised into stuffs and ribbons in 

 Malaga. 



710. Of other fruits cultivated may be mentioned the fig, which is grown in most parts 

 of Spain, and the fruit used as food, and dried for exportation. The gum cistus (Cistus 

 ladanifervs,fig. 99.) grows wild, and the gum which exudes from it is eaten by the 

 common people. The caper shrub grows wild, and is culti- 

 vated in some places. The orange and lemon are abundant, 

 and also the pomegranate. 



711. Other productions, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, 

 indigo, pimento, pepper, banana, plantain, &c., were culti 

 vated in Granada for many ages before the West Indies o 

 America was discovered, and might be carried to such an 

 extent as to supply the whole or greater part of Europe. 



7 1 2. The rotations of common crops varies according to 

 the soil and climate. In some parts of the fertile plains of 

 Malaga, wheat and barley are grown alternately without 

 ,ither fallow or manure. The common course of crops 

 about Barcelona, according to Townsend, is, 1. wheat, 

 which, being ripe in June, is immediately succeeded by 

 2. Indian corn, hemp, millet, cabbage, kidneybeans, or 

 lettuce. In the second year the same crops are repeated; 

 and in the third, barley, beans, or vetches takes place of 

 She wheat., In this way six valuable crops are obtained 



