F i\ R JM E R S' REGISTER 



441 



The grower, in the beginning of the season, got 

 ten rials tlie arroba, ol' 25 lbs.; the price is now 

 only seven. The qij'ilily this seiit^on is very had ; 

 many ol'ilie raisins appeared bruised and burst by 

 the rain. Ten rials the arroba amounts to two 

 dollars per (luintai of 100 pounds — one penny per 

 pound. A peasant, who had come with the (iait, 

 said they would irel Trom ten to twelve quintals 

 from a i'anega. '['he persons in the office seemed 

 to think, that, either Irom ignorance or intention, 

 he understated the quantity. This would only be 

 iwenty-lwo dollars lor a (anega. 



Mr. Delius, the clerk of ihe I'ruit department, 

 said, bethought the estimate of 1,G"25 pounds ol 

 Muscatels Ji'oin aliinega, was likely to be correct. 

 They usually, he said, expected 60 arrobas — that 

 is, 1,500 [jounds, in a good season ; hom 50 to 60 

 arrobas was the average. In the iieigliborhood 

 ofMessrs. Rein's stores they were packing lemons. 

 The grower gels sev-en dollars (or a case contain- 

 ing 1.000 : — the largest are sent to England. They 

 are each put into a piece ofpaper by women, who 

 gel through the work very rapidly ; they are em- 

 ployed by the day, and get five rials, about one 

 shiiiinir, lur their work. The green grapes sent 

 to England are packed in oak saw-dust, which is 

 imported from England Ibr that pur()ose ; no other 

 kind will answer. It is a coarse fleshy grape 

 called Loja, from the place where it is cultivated ; 

 it keeps till April and May. There is a large 

 black grape very abundant in the markets at pre- 

 sent, and also a large green grape, neither of which 

 is distinguished lor flavor; ihey are sold at lour 

 quartos, about one penny, a pound. 



The house of Rein ami (Jompany have exten- 

 sive sugar plantations at: Almunecar, about 30 or 

 40 miles east of Malaga, i had determined to ac- 

 company Mr. Delius, a member of the house, to 

 visit these plantations, in which I jtilt a great 

 degree of interest, as 1 was confident, tliat if su- 

 gar could be cultivated here, it. ought to succee>/1 

 at Port Macqiierie. An opportunity of a vessel 

 for Marseilles having, however, presented itsell'in 

 the mean time, I resolved on taking my passage 

 by her. I procured from Mr. Delius ihe .Ijllowing 

 inlbrination respecting the sugar plantations. Sugar 

 has been cultivated in this part of Spain for nearly 

 100 years, but never to any very great extent. 

 The plantations at present are more extensive 

 than they have ever been belure. The whole 

 produce does not, however, exceed 20,000 quintals, 

 of which 5,000 are produced by their house; 20.000 

 quintals, of 100 pounds each, are 894 tuns. Rein 

 and Compay's own plantations are not very ex- 

 tensive, but they have erected a mill and distillery. 

 They receive from the planters the cane, and 

 return them one half of the manufactured article. 

 Four or five kinds of cane have been cultivated, 

 but they are now confining their aitenlion to the 

 large Otaheile cane, finding it succeed better, and 

 yield a better return. The soil is in general of a 

 loose sandy qualit}', but very rich, and is also 

 richly manured. 



The planting takes place in May, and the canes 

 are cut in February following. The same stools 

 will last for six years. They are cut down to 10 

 inches from the surface. Six plants are put in;o 

 one hole, and the holes are not more than three 

 feet apart, eo that it is impossible to enter the 

 plantation after the canes have got to a certain 

 heiCTht. The ground is cultivated by ploughs 



Vol VIII.— 56 



with oxen, but of course only when the canes are 

 very young, or in the early part of the season. 

 The cane ijrows to the thickness of a man's arm 

 and from 18 to 20 feet high. Mr. Deliua has seen 

 fifieen l^et of ripe cane. A liinega of rich land 

 will yield from 45 to 50 quintals, that is, from 

 4,500 to 5,000 pounds of sugar. They have a 

 refinery on the spot. This year their sugar 

 brought 10 per cent, higher than itiiporled sugar ; 

 and their ruin piomis's, when old, to be equal to 

 that of the West Indies. It is now two years old; 

 but as they consider that the rum hitherto made 

 has failed lo come into use, from having been 

 sold to the consumer too eariv, they intend to hold 

 it for two years longer. The frost someliraea 

 injures the sugar cane a liitle, but frost seldom 

 occurs. Twice during 20 years Mr. Delius has 

 observed it of ti>e thickness of a dollar in the night. 

 The ordinary range of the thermometer, during the 

 day, in the winter months, is 56 to 58; in May 

 and June, 72 to 75 ; in July and August, 78 to 82 

 or 83, except when one or twice during the season, 

 it blows over the land, when it rises to 100. The 

 temperature of the atmosphere along the coast is 

 exceedingly equable. During 20 years Mr. Delius 

 never observed the barometer vary more than an 

 inch ; its range is between 29^ and 30.^. The 

 sugarcane will not grow exce[)t within five miles 

 of the coast. Beyond that (iistance the frost is 

 greater, and the weather more unsettled". The 

 land planted wiih sugar cane is irrigated twice or 

 thrice when the shoots are very young, but Mr. 

 Delius thinks not afierwards. All the plantations 

 command the means of irrigation, 



Wiih relerence to the value of vineyards, a 

 friend oI'Mr. Kirkpairii-k's gave me the following 

 inlbrmation : He purchased an estate five years 

 ago. It is situaied about two leagues from Ma- 

 laga, and is all mountain. Vineyards are valued 

 by the number of stocks. An abrado contains 

 1,000 stocks ; this, at seven diet distance, gives 

 180 perches, or one acre and 20 perches, as the 

 extent of an abrado. In this estate there were 80 

 abrados, or 90 acres, planted with vines, which 

 were in very bad order. Also about 150 acres 

 more, which were not planted, and were consi- 

 dered of very little value. The price was 5,000 

 dollars, about £1,050, nearly £12 an acre for the 

 vines, counting the remainder as noihing. The 

 produce was very little the first Qjur years; last 

 year 600 arrobas, this year 1,000 and if the next 

 season be favorable, it will produce 1,500 arrobas. 

 The new wine, as soon as the lermentation is 

 over, is worth from nine to ten rials an arroba ; 

 1,500 arrobas are <'qaal to about '4,500 gallons 

 which is only 50 callons an acre, and at the 

 highest price only eiixht dollars and one third per 

 acre. This is so (loor a return, boih in quantity 

 and value, ihat it is probable the vineyard is still 

 far (i-om havinir beeti brought into lull bearing, 

 and that the 150 acres must have been considered 

 worih a considerable part of the price, notwith- 

 standing its depreciation. 



The produce ol the vineyards round Malanra, 

 which is not converted into raisins, is now chiefly 

 a dry wine. It is similar lo sherry, but very infe- 

 rior in flavor, and is chiefly taken off by 'he Ameri- 

 cans. The demand from America has greatly in- 

 creased since the general establishment of tem- 

 perance societies \n that country. This wine 

 retains a sweet taste till it is two years old. The 



