[121] 



adapted to the growth of wheat and maize; that the clayey 

 soil lying upon the sandstone is stiff and difficult to till, and 

 that the intermediate soils, resting upon mixed formations, 

 are not very productive without the application of manure. 

 The hills and plains of this region, which are destitute of 

 aromatic plants, afford the finest of pasturage to numerous 

 herds of sheep, cows, and horses, the latter two of which 

 are fed on hay during the winter months, a very rare cir- 

 cumstance to occur in any part of Spain or the south of 

 Europe generally. The other instance referred to is the 

 territory adjacent to the town of Molina, in Arragon, which 

 abounds in aromatic and odoriferous plants, and is cele- 

 brated for its good pasturage and fine flocks, yet their wool 

 is of no better quality than that of the sheep of Montana, 

 where no aromatic plants are to be found. The hills and 

 mountains about Molina are composed of red and grev 

 sandstone, limestone, gypsum of various colors and stages 

 of decomposition, dark and light-colored granite, intersected 

 by numerous veins of lead, iron, and copper, the latter of 

 which contains silver, sulphur, and arsenic; and all the sur- 

 rounding country is rich in springs, from which large quan- 

 tities of salt are annually made. Without digressing 

 further from the subject, it may not be improper tw state 

 that the pastures of Spain are generally prolific in sweet 

 grasses suitable for grazing, several of which are indigenous ; 

 and others have been introduced from northern Africa, the 

 East, and other parts of Europe. 



"That the quality of wool depends much upon climate 

 there can be no doubt, for it is a well established law that 

 the wool of sheep, in the torrid zone, degenerates into a 

 species of hair; and in very cold, rigid ones, though fine 

 near the roots, it becomes coarse toward the ends. Hence, 

 it is only in temperate latitudes where wool approaches to a 

 state of perfection; and its fineness in the Merinos, doubt- 

 less, is owing, in a great measure, to their being able to pass 

 their lives in the open air, free from the extremes of heat, 



